WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2010
A-:  156/257/203, 64 AB, 3 2B, 9 BB, 15 K, 5-6 SB 

Got into eighteen games for State College and struggled mightily at the plate.  He also had some problems in the field, where he had eight errors.  It was a small sample size, though.

2011
A:  267/361/357, 484 AB, 27 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 64 BB, 71 K, 32-50 SB
A+:  000/500/000, 1 AB, 1 BB, 1 K

The Pirates in the past have moved well-regarded college infielders, such as Brock Holt and Brian Friday, directly to high A in their first full seasons, but they sent Maggi to West Virginia, possibly due to the weak showing at State College.  He initially alternated between the two middle infield positions with Gift Ngoepe, but after Ngoepe got hurt early in the year he became the regular shortstop for the rest of the season.  Maggi got off to a miserable start at the plate, hitting just .141 in April.  He eventually got hot in June, hitting 340/432/479, but he slumped to 204/308/258 in July.  He then hit .323 in August and September.  Overall his line wasn’t bad, but he didn’t excel the way you’d want a player from a major college program to do in low A.  He did show good strike zone judgment.  He had a big platoon split; his OPS was over 100 points better hitting left-handed, but one-year splits can be deceiving.  Maggi showed good enough range in the field, but I’m not sure he has the arm for short.

2012
A+:  241/352/308, 195 AB, 8 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 32 BB, 46 K, 17-20 SB
AA:  218/299/263, 179 AB, 4 2B, 2 3B, 18 BB, 41 K, 5-7 SB

Maggi opened the season at Bradenton as the secondbaseman, with Ngoepe at short.  He continued to show good patience at the plate, but he struck out a lot and what gap power he had mostly disappeared.  Surprisingly, the Pirates moved him up to Altoona in late June as part of a number of player moves.  Initially he played in the outfield corners, then he moved to short after Brock Holt moved up to Indianapolis.  Maggi only played about two-thirds of the time in July and August; between that, the time he spent in the outfield, and the promotion following a couple of mediocre months in high A, it looks as though the Pirates now regard him more as a utility player than anything else.

2013
AA:  254/338/333, 264 AB, 14 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 27 BB, 49 K, 18-24 SB

Maggi spent the season as a utility player with Altoona.  He played 26 games each at short and in left, and a handful or so at first, second and third.  He did a decent job of getting on base and using his speed on the bases.  He had a huge platoon split, with a .778 OPS against LHPs and .590 against RHPs.

2014
AA:  280/382/340, 347 AB, 12 2B, 3 HR, 50 BB, 58 K, 37-56 SB

Maggi returned to Altoona as a utility player.  He got off to a good start and played his way into an every day role.  He primarily played third and left, and also got in time at second, short and first.  He did an excellent job of getting on base and also stole a lot of bases, although he also got caught a lot.

Maggi transitioned surprisingly quickly to an organizational utility player, a role that he’s done well in.  You have to wonder whether the Pirates concluded their original scouting judgments weren’t on target.  He’ll probably return in a similar role in 2015, but it could be at Indianapolis.  He won’t be eligible for minor league free agency for another two years.