PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A pair of the best power hitters in the Pirates minor-league system will be with the major leaguers as non-roster invitees when camp opens this month.
Mason Martin
It’s a flyer when you draft a high school player out of the 17th round. Often those players will decide to go to college to raise their draft stock. The Bucs took a shot in 2017 with 6’, 200 pound Mason Martin out of high school in Washington state.
That flyer paid early dividends as the lefty-hitting Martin homered in his fifth pro game, and then his sixth, hit two homers in his eighth, homered in his ninth, tenth, and eleventh games as well. Martin would finish with 11 homers and a .307 average.
Martin, 21, would start again in rookie ball in 2018 and move up to low A, combined he hit 14 homers in 104 games, so there was a feeling that maybe the first year was a power fluke. Not so much.
In 2019, Martin destroyed class A baseball at the low and high levels with 35 homers, 32 doubles, 129 RBI and a walk rate of 12%. He was fairly consistent hitting six homers in April, nine in May, five in June, eight in July and seven in August. He is also an above average fielder and right-handed thrower.
Martin named the Pirates Minor League Player-of-the-Year in 2019 and spent last season with the prospects in Altoona. That’s likely where he will start this season.
Cal Mitchell
Came out of the same draft as Martin, but much more expected of the second round pick. It’s been a mixed bag for the 21-year-old taken out of a San Diego high school.
The lefty-hitting and throwing right fielder appeared in 43 games going from high school to rookie ball, hitting .245 with a pair of homers and 20 RBI, but a .351 OBP. Mitchell drew 24 walks to 35 strikeouts.
The power grew playing at A ball in West Virginia in 2018 hitting 10 homers, 29 doubles and driving in 65 with the average up to .280. With the added power came more strikeouts, but the OPB was still .344.
In 2019, Mitchell played for high A Bradenton as an everyday player. Mitchell hit .251 with a career-high 15 homers and 64 RBI. The OBP dipped to .304 after 142 strikeouts. Mitchell did struggle against lefties, hitting .218 with only one homer. He also struggled in August, hitting, .205 with one home run.
He is an average fielder and a ranked a top 20 organizational prospect and it’s his first time to really play in front of new Pirates management.
There aren’t a lot of other power options, right-hand hitting first baseman Will Craig, 26, will be back at major league camp after 23 homers at AAA in 2019. Thoughts can’t be high of Craig, he was released after last year and his best option was to return and get this shot. Craig is an outstanding fielder.
Catcher Jason Delay hit 3 homers in his first two seasons in the minors, but hit 8 in 67 games with Altoona in 2019. The righty-hitter was a fourth round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2017. He’s going in be 26 next month.
There is hope that 22-year-old infielder Oneil Cruz will develop more power. The 6’7” former Dodgers prospect only hit one homer in 35 games at AAA in 2019 and is now on the 40-man roster.