WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2014
R:  262/363/331, 172 AB, 10 2B, 1 3B, 24 BB, 47 K, 19-22 SB

Stokes debuted in the Arizona League, spending two-thirds of his time in left and the rest in center.  He did respectably at the plate, with a lot of walks but also a lot of strikeouts.  He made an impressive showing as a base stealer.

2015
R+:  270/384/407, 226 AB, 12 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 33 BB, 50 K, 26-32 SB

The Brewers moved Stokes up only to advanced rookie ball and he made modest improvements at the plate, including more power and a lower K rate.  He continued to steal bases effectively.  He again played a third of the time in center and the rest in left.

2016
A:  268/358/395, 314 AB, 20 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 36 BB, 62 K, 20-24 SB

Stokes continued in much the same manner in full season ball, although he missed some time in April and June.  He had a reverse platoon split.

2017
A+:  250/344/445, 364 AB, 19 2B, 5 3B, 14 HR, 47 BB, 77 K, 22-31 SB
AA:  252/333/452, 135 AB, 9 2B, 6 HR, 16 BB, 34 K, 9-12 SB

Stokes went to high A until a late-July promotion to AA.  He played left almost exclusively.  At the plate, he added significant power and hit just as well after moving up.  He had no platoon split  Baseball America did not rate Stokes among the Brewers’ best prospects.

2018
AA:  233/343/430, 467 AB, 23 2B, 6 3B, 19 HR, 65 BB, 147 K, 19-21 SB

The Brewers kept Stokes in AA the entire season, playing left most of the time.  He fell off marginally from the previous year, with his K rate increasing from a little less than one every four ABs to a little under one in three.  He had a slight platoon split.  Stokes won the minor league Gold Glove for left field at the AA level.  BA rated him 15th in a very weak system and the Brewers added him to their 40-man roster after the season.

2019
AAA:  233/341/385, 322 AB, 22 2B, 9 HR, 47 BB, 87 K, 14-17 SB

In AAA, Stokes struggled.  His power dropped off despite being in the Pacific Coast League in a year when power was sharply up due to more lively baseballs; his slugging average was nearly 100 points below the league norm.  Milwaukee designated Stokes for assignment in early September and the Tigers claimed him.

2020
DNP

The Tigers called Stokes up to their training facility in August, then placed him on the injured list with a fractured hamate.  He didn’t play during the shortened season.  Afterward, Detroit designated him for assignment and the Pirates claimed him.

The Pirates need a fourth outfielder and a right-handed hitter would be helpful considering Gregory Polanco’s injury and performance issues.  Stokes seemed likely to compete for the job, but the Pirates designated him for assignment to clear roster space after the Jameson Taillon trade.  He cleared waivers and was assigned to AAA, with an invitation to major league spring training.  He has a reasonable chance of seeing action with the Pirates in 2021.

UPDATE:  The Pirates called Stokes up in May when Colin Moran got hurt.  They designated him for assignment a short time later after they claimed Ildemaro Vargas.  He cleared waivers and was assigned to Indianapolis.