ALTOONA, Pa. -- Will Craig's mission to make consistent, hard contact this season has paid off. The right-handed slugging Craig leads the Eastern League with 84 RBIs and ranks third with 18 home runs, the result of him trying to develop into the player the Pirates envisioned when they selected him in the first round two years ago.
Yet, Craig isn't satisfied. Upon joining the organization, Craig's singular focus was improving as a hitter by making consistent contact and improving his plate discipline. As a result, he batted .280 at short-season West Virginia and .271 with High-A Bradenton last season.
However, his average has dipped to .250 with Double-A Altoona this season. Craig, the No. 18 Pirates prospect according to MLB.com, is trying now to hit for both average and power.
"It's definitely not where I want it to be, but ... this year was for me to show power, to show I can hit the ball all over the yard and hit the ball over the fence," Craig said. "I feel like I've done that and making that change and progress from last year to this year power-wise will help next year develop me into where I was my first two years, on-base and hitting for average, as well as power."
On the other hand, Curve manager Michael Ryan isn't sold on batting average being a catch-all statistic that measures a hitter's impact.
"I think it's a perfect example of sometimes average gets, not overlooked, but sometimes it's more of a bigger deal than people might think it is," Ryan said. "You look at the production of the guy, he's leading the league in RBIs or he's close to it. He's going to hit 20-some home runs. Any time you can do that, that's a phenomenal season."
Craig was able to parlay his performance during the first half of the year into a trip to the Eastern League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby, where he played an integral role in the Western Division team's victory.
"It was definitely an awesome experience first and foremost," Craig said. "The Home Run Derby was awesome, very tiring though. Don't think it's that easy because the guys in the big leagues are doing it, it's exhausting for sure."
With the game tied at the end of the ninth inning, Craig represented the Western Division in a swing-off, and he won the competition.
"Everyone was kinda wondering who was gonna swing and I was looking around and people were just looking at me because of the Home Run Derby the night before," Craig said. "It was pretty cool being able to step up to the plate for the Western Division."
The growth in Craig's game at the plate hasn't been the result of a changed or improved approach, but rather sticking with the same simple approach he's had his entire career, dating back to his time at Wake Forest.
"I wouldn't say my approach has changed that much. I'm definitely getting my best swing off as many times as I can in the box," Craig said. "Last year, I feel like I was conservative just trying to put the ball in play, trying to be more of a contact guy. We all know my body type isn't built for just contact, I need to produce a little bit," said the 6-foot-3, 212-pound first baseman.
For Ryan, he's seen quite a bit of improvement in Craig's game this season both offensively and defensively.
"To be able to sit on off-speed one at-bat, to go to sit on fastball the next and to be able to hit all three pitches in each game. There's been times he's hit doubles to right-center on a fastball. There's been times where the next at-bat he hits a homer on a breaking ball and then he hits a changeup up the middle," Ryan said. "He's grown a ton this year and he's played a lot of good games at first base, as well."
While the growth and performance Craig has shown this season bodes well for his future within the Pittsburgh organization, there's work to be done if he wants to end up in a Pirates jersey someday. His first goal is to become a hybrid player who brings together his best traits from his minor league career.
"Trying to go back to the first two years' Will Craig on-base-wise and average-wise, but maintain this year's Will Craig." Craig said. "I know that's easier said than done, but that's one thing I really want to work on is continuing my progress with hard contact but being able to do that more consistently."
For now, though, Craig is focused on the remainder of the 2018 season as he hones his craft and continues his upward trend as a prospect within the Pirates organization. This season has given Craig a glimpse of what he's able to accomplish on the field with his power and ability to drive the ball to all fields.
"Now that I know what's in the tank, it'll make it a lot easier next year for me," he said.
MORE ALTOONA (AA)
• Outfielder Bryan Reynolds, acquired as part of the Andrew McCutchen trade, had a five-game hitting streak entering Sunday and was batting .333 over his past 10 games. Reynolds, a 23-year-old switch-hitter, hit a walk-off home run Thursday and has raised his season slash line to .272/.355/.415.
Reynolds has four home runs with 30 RBIs and 26 walks in 53 games this season.
• Starting pitcher Luis Escobar, promoted from High-A Bradenton earlier this month, has allowed five earned runs over 12 innings in his first two starts. Escobar, 21, has six strikeouts to five walks.
• Shortstop Cole Tucker, a first-round pick in 2014, hit a solo homer Saturday and is batting .289 over his past 10 games. The 22-year-old is batting .260 with a .683 OPS and 27 stolen bases in 98 games for the Curve.
INDIANAPOLIS (AAA)
• Starting pitcher Mitch Keller, the Pirates' top prospect, had four strikeouts to one walk Saturday against Buffalo. Keller's allowed 17 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings since being promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis. He has walked 11 over those four starts.
• Shortstop Kevin Newman had two multi-hit games this week and is batting .291/.342/.380 in 93 games for the Indians. He's batted just .225 in July.
• Infielder Kevin Kramer, a second-round pick in 2015, has batted .389 over his last 10 games, raising his season slash line to .294/.352/.475 with 11 home runs and 46 RBIs in 96 games. He's batted .331 over the past two months. However, he's struck out 100 times in 96 games this season.
BRADENTON (High-A)
• Outfielder Jared Oliva, a seventh-round draft pick last year, had three hits and an RBI on Wednesday and has hit safely in 16 of his last 18 games. Oliva, a right-handed hitter, is batting .285/.368/.457 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs in 90 games this season.
• Third baseman Hunter Owen has hit just .233 over his last 10 games, and he's now batting .255 with a .766 OPS, 13 home runs and 45 RBIs in 82 games this season. A 25th-round pick in 2016, Owen has just a .310 OBP and 85 strikeouts.
• Right-handed pitcher James Marvel leads the Marauders with 120 1/3 innings this season. Marvel, a right-hander selected in the 36th round in 2015, has a 3.96 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 91 strikeouts to 28 walks in 20 appearances, 19 of which were starts.
WEST VIRGINIA (Low A)
• Shortstop Oneil Cruz, now ranked the club's fifth-best prospect by MLB.com, has hit safely in four of his last five games and is batting .297 with a .835 OPS, 11 home runs and 55 RBIs in 92 games. Although he's struck out 90 times, Cruz has 23 doubles, 32 walks and a .348 on-base percentage.
• Outfielder Calvin Mitchell, a second-round pick last summer, is batting .313 over his past 10 games. The 19-year-old is batting .288/.356/.444 with eight home runs and 45 RBIs, although he's homered just once since June 1.
• Outfielder Lolo Sanchez, ranked the club's 10th-best prospect by Baseball America during the offseason, is now batting just .233 with a .644 OPS in 84 games. Sanchez, 19, has 21 stolen bases.
OTHERS
• Outfielder Travis Swaggerty, the Pirates' first-round pick last month, hit his third home run of the season Tuesday and is now batting .268/.349/.454 with 10 RBIs in 25 games for short-season West Virginia. The 20-year-old has batted .253 with a .786 OPS in July.
• Starting pitcher Shane Baz, the club's first-round pick last year, has a 5.05 ERA and 1.60 WHIP with 42 strikeouts to 19 walks in eight starts for the Pirates' rookie ball affiliate in Bristol. Baz, a 19-year-old right-hander, has allowed 38 hits in 35 2/3 innings.
• Ji-Hwan Bae, the South Korean shortstop signed by the Pirates in March, is batting .314 with six RBIs in his last 10 games for the GCL Pirates. Bae has raised his season slash line to .284/.368/.365 with nine RBIs and nine stolen bases in 21 games this season.
