INDIANAPOLIS - Brand new prospects join familiar talent to make up the list of outfielders in Bradenton for Pittsburgh Pirates spring training. As the big league club starts making roster moves, many of those outfielders could suit up for our hometown Indianapolis Indians. The deep class includes the seven names
INDIANAPOLIS - Brand new prospects join familiar talent to make up the list of outfielders in Bradenton for Pittsburgh Pirates spring training. As the big league club starts making roster moves, many of those outfielders could suit up for our hometown Indianapolis Indians. The deep class includes the seven names below, including four of the Pirates' top 25 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. The source's prospect rankings are listed in parentheses.
POSSIBLE OUTFIELDERS
Barrett Barnes: Following a 2016 season where he surpassed 100 games played and put forth his best numbers offensively, Barnes' 2017 campaign was riddled with injury. He spent just 31 games in Indy due to a strained hamstring a season ago. Over that span, he compiled a .357 on-base percentage, hit for a .310 average at home and recorded multiple hits in six games. The former Texas Tech Red Raider and first-round pick did nearly all his damage in the first half of the year as he recorded 18 hits, seven doubles and eight RBI before the All-Star break. That's compared to 23 hits, eight doubles and 10 RBI for the entire season. Despite a small sample size of games, Barnes performed to his usual standards on defense, finishing the year as one of six Tribe players with more than 50 putouts in the outfield. If granted good health, the 26-year-old has everyday outfielder potential for Indy in 2018.
Christopher Bostick: Simply put, he was the club's best all around player last season. Consider he led the Indians in eight hitting categories and finished top-five in the league in four: runs scored (75, T-3rd), hits (143, 2nd), doubles (33, 3rd) and batting average (.294, 4th). It's no wonder the do-it-all outfielder earned the team's MVP and Silver Slugger Awards for 2017. Bostick also totaled his fewest number of strikeouts since 2012 (97) and collected Organization All-Star honors for the second time in his career. The eighth-year man from Rochester also made his big league debut last May. For the Pirates, he went 8-for-27 with an on-base percentage of .406 and an OPS of .777. This spring, as a member of the 40-man roster, Bostick has appeared in 14 games, slapping three hits in 25 at-bats with five runs scored. He played five different positions for Indy last season, but expect the 24-year-old to hold down a starting outfield spot to begin this year after his impressive 2017 season.
Todd Cunningham: Cunningham is now a part of his third organization in two years. Last season, appearing in both Memphis and Oklahoma City in the Pacific Coast League, he served as a sparkplug at the top of the lineup. The Alabama native recorded almost three-fourths of his at-bats in Memphis from the leadoff spot, plating 49 total runs (18 RBI, 31 runs scored), drawing 29 walks and notching 44 hits. Upon arriving in Oklahoma City in mid-July, he made an immediate impact with a .339 batting average and a .884 OPS. Cunningham's MLB experience includes stints in Atlanta and Anaheim where he went 25-for-121 at the plate and committed just a single error in the outfield. He continued his strong defensive efforts with 135 putouts in 2017. The former second-round selection should bring added experience to an outfield with plenty of young talent.
Jordan Luplow: After slugging .535 through 73 games with Double-A Altoona, the former Fresno State standout registered a hit in his first seven games with the Tribe. His natural power was on full display as he smashed three homers during the streak. That power has shown consistently throughout Luplow's (MLB Pipeline: #23 Pirates prospect) career to the tune of 54 home runs and a .461 slugging percentage through four seasons. The young gun's 2017 minor league campaign included a .337 batting average from the three-hole in the lineup and a .346 clip against lefties. In his first taste of the bigs, he knocked seven extra base hits with 11 RBI. He went on to earn the Minor League Player of the Year Award from the big league club. So far, as a member of the 40-man roster, two of Luplow's three hits are homers, adding up to four RBI. The 24-year-old is a prime candidate for a corner outfield spot in 2018 and carries a lot of momentum following the best season of his young career.
Jason Martin: Martin (MLB Pipeline: #22 Pirates prospect) is a versatile bat. Hitting in every spot in the lineup but the nine-hole a season ago, he appeared in Hi-A Buies Creek and Double-A Corpus Christi, putting up career-high numbers in hits (132) and doubles (35). He logged 24 of those two-baggers in Corpus Christi to lead the Double-A Texas League. The 22-year-old Californian raked three homers in a game for the first time in his career in Hi-A, and immediately made a splash in the month of June (31 hits, 13 extra base hits, 14 RBI, 1.010 OPS) after his promotion in May. He reached another milestone with a grand slam, the first of his career, that resulted in a walk-off win for Corpus Christi. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Martin has sneaky power, showcased by the 41 homers he's blasted over the last two seasons, and solid speed, displayed through 36 stolen bases in that same timeframe. Martin received an invite to Bradenton in a non-roster spot and is 3-for-16 in 11 games. Due to the outfield talent looming in the organization, Martin will likely start the year in Altoona, but don't be surprised if he shows up in Victory Field's outfield grass at some point this season.
Austin Meadows: The two-time Organization All-Star played 72 games with the Indians last season, his most with any club over the last two years. Despite battling a hamstring strain that kept him out all of July, Meadows (MLB Pipeline: Pirates #2 prospect) hit safely in at least three straight games eight times during the season, adding to his .250 average with the Tribe. The 2013 first-round pick showed glimpses of what many consider to be star potential by hitting especially well with the bases loaded (6-for-7, three doubles, 13 RBI) and playing near lights-out defense (one error committed in 662.1 innings). Meadows is batting .368 (7-for-19) in spring training thus far, and his hot start has been a welcome sight. The highly anticipated prospect owns 98 career hits with the Tribe and can eclipse 100 games played for the first time since 2015 with a healthy run this season.
Bryan Reynolds: Hi-A San Jose reaped the benefits of the young outfielder's consistency at the plate in his second season. Reynolds (MLB Pipeline: Pirates #6 prospect) posted a .312/.364/.462 slash line, nearly identical to his 2016 line (.313/.363/.484). His 153 hits, one of six stats ranked in the Hi-A California League's top 10, were second most in the Giants organization. Reynolds justified his No. 3 prospect rating within San Francisco's 2017 system, according to Baseball America, earning the Team MVP Award for San Jose. The slugger adds some power to Pittsburgh's plentiful outfield talent, but he flashes a great glove too. Reynolds recorded a career-high 2.22 range factor and made just five errors the last two seasons. The Vanderbilt alum earned a non-roster invite to Spring Training, where he's played in center and right field and got his first hit on Saturday against the Orioles. He carries momentum into this season, as he hit .328 after last year's All-Star break. He will likely begin the season with Double-A Altoona, but he has the potential to compete in Triple-A in 2018.
