CHICAGO -- As Major League Baseball attempts to cling to players with larger-than-life personalities, the Pirates have their own candidate in Liover Peguero.
Of course, it helps that he's among the most talented prospects in the system.
Sure, Ke’Bryan Hayes might be their best player for years to come, but he’s one of many players on this club that are men of few words, at least publicly. Like Bryan Reynolds and Adam Frazier, Nick Gonzales is more of a stoic.
Peguero was a late arrival to camp due to visa issues, but his short time in Florida was probably the most impressive among the prospect group. He batted .364/.417/.545 with two doubles, including a well-struck rope to the opposite field in Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Twins. He also logged 22 innings at shortstop without an error.
At 20 years old, he fit in the big-league clubhouse and was credited by both veterans and fellow prospects alike for providing a burst of energy every day during the spring. He’s likely the shortstop of the future, flanked by Gonzales and Hayes on the infield.
Peguero has yet to play a full season of professional baseball, but his personality is built for the major leagues. The game is not only more accepting, but, finally, more encouraging for eccentric, passionate players to be themselves on the field. Peguero is going to provide can’t-miss material every time he’s near a microphone.
He already gave my favorite interview of the spring, in which he mentioned that he told an umpire in Sarasota, “I don’t need to know you. I love you.” He also had a very confident response when he was asked if he’s his same chatty self around the veterans that he is around the younger guys.
“Oh, hell yeah! Oh, hell yeah! I’m not going to change. Never,” he said. “You cannot be changing the good stuff that you have in yourself. You’ve just got to be you all the time.”
Obviously, it seems, he has the personality to go with the skills.
YOUR TURN: Which of the prospects the Pirates invited to big-league camp impressed you the most?
