A few days ago, it looked like outfielder Jared Oliva would not get a chance in the majors this season, despite getting rave reviews for the work he was putting in in the Pirates’ alternate training camp in Altoona, Pa.
In August, the Pirates even rewarded that hard work by including him as part of their taxi squad on a road trip to Cincinnati in August. But with a week to go in the regular season, he still wasn’t included on the roster, sticking on the taxi squad.
That changed Monday when Jason Martin tweaked his back during live batting practice. The Pirates already only had a three man bench and needed an outfielder. So Oliva, the club’s 10th best prospect, per MLB Pipeline, had his contract selected.
All signs point to there being playing time to be won in the Pirates’ 2021 outfield. This season has been considered an evaluation year within the organization, giving opportunities to players to make their mark in the majors.
Well, here’s a chance for Oliva.
“I got here for a reason,” Oliva said. “I definitely think there’s more I can show out there, but I don’t want to be anybody different than Jared Oliva.”
Oliva is a prototypical leadoff hitter, grading very well as a runner and having a high on-base percentage. He had a .352 OBP and 36 stolen bases with the class AA Altoona Curve last year, and was named an All-Star during the Arizona Fall League.
Oliva was invited to his first major-league spring training in Bradenton, Fla. back in February, but admitted that he felt nervous being around big-leaguers for the first time. It was a different story in the Altoona camp, where he was much more himself.
The pitchers in Altoona considered him one of the toughest outs in camp, if not the toughest.
“I go curveball starting a strike, but ends up a ball and he just spits on it,” relief pitcher Nick Mears told me in August. “It’s just underneath the zone for a ball, and you think to yourself, ‘How did this guy just take that pitch?’ And then you go fastball up and in to him, and he just ropes a single. It’s like, what else am I supposed to throw?”
Oliva went hitless in his first start Tuesday, and will start in center field and bat ninth Wednesday.
So what can he do in this week-long cameo?
“I don’t really think he can prove anything,” Derek Shelton said. “It’s just a chance to get eyes on him and watch him going into next year, next spring. We were able to see him a little bit in Spring Training 1.0, but he did a nice job down in Altoona, really good reports from our group down there. Just a chance to see him at the major league level and get his feet wet.”
The organization already has a good idea of what Oliva can offer after his two months in the Altoona camp. Still, he is hoping that this is hoping to make more of a splash than get his feet wet.
“I think that should be a goal for everybody here to finish strong, but yeah, I just want to go out and show who J.O. is,” Oliva said. “I feel like I improved on some things. I think it would be good for me to get your feet wet, I guess, but really try to make an impact from what I can do this last week, and then it’ll kind of lead into going to instructs right after this, get some more at-bats. I thought that would be beneficial for myself, and then I think that would set me up properly for spring training 2021, looking like the long-term.
"So this is definitely going to be a beneficial week for myself. I’m looking forward to it.”