Pirates Catching Prospect Showing Promise At The Plate
A pair of Pittsburgh Pirates prospects who entered the Arizona Fall League as players primarily known for their defense have shown signs of turning the corner at the plate.
Pirates catching prospect Geovanny Planchart had another strong day at the plate, going 4-5 with a home run and three RBIs in the Scottsdale Scorpions' 11-10 loss to the Peoria Javelinas (4-9) on Wednesday. Planchart's homer was his second of the AFL.
The Pirates' catching prospect's first hit of the game plated the Scorpions' first run of the game in the bottom of the second with an RBI single. He tallied another single in the bottom of the fourth inning before he was set down for the first time with a strikeout in the bottom of the sixth.
Planchart followed that up with another single in the bottom of the eighth inning then hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to trim the Javlinas' lead to one with two outs and bring the potential game-tying run to the plate.
Planchart, 23, has played in five games and had 18 at-bats in his stint in the AFL. Thus far, he has slashed .389/.450/.778 with two home runs and five RBIs.
Entering the AFL, Planchart was viewed as more of a glove-first prospect than one who's going to make an impact at the plate.
"Planchart joined the organization near the end of the 2018-19 international signing period for just $41,000," MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo wrote. "Since then, he’s established a reputation for being a glove-first backstop. Though he’s yet to show much production with the bat, he did reach Double-A for the first time this season ahead of his 23rd birthday."
Planchart has been in the Pirates' minor league system since 2019 and worked his way up to High-A Greensboro, where he played 52 of his 55 games last season. The 23-year-old catcher made a brief appearance in Double-A, only playing in three games.
Planchart hit three home runs, drove in 25 runs and slashed .223/..354/.320 in 2024.
The Scorpions (5-8) return to the diamond on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET to face the Mesa Solar Sox (7-6).
