In the System: Martin stays in the moment, a call away from majors

Update: One of the Pirates' top five prospects was promoted up a level Tuesday night. Check out No. 3 below to find out who.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Since Mason Martin was taken in the 17th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, he has mashed his way to being the No. 22 prospect in the organization according to MLB.com, accumulating 96 home runs and 333 RBIs in six minor-league seasons.

Being the No. 22 prospect in an organization that boasts players like Roansy Contreras, Henry Davis and Oneil Cruz among others might seem to be underwhelming, but when you look at the performance the Pirates have gotten out of their rostered first basemen this season, it should be no shock why Martin could be packing his bags and heading to the majors soon. 

"It's been on my mind since I got drafted," Martin told DK Pittsburgh Sports at Victory Field. "That's the ultimate goal, to get to Pittsburgh, and stay in Pittsburgh. That's what I plan on doing and that's what I want to accomplish this year."

Knowing that the players ahead of him with the Pirates are underperforming could easily lead Martin to wonder what could be or when he could get the call.

 "I'm not trying to think about what's going on in front of me or what's going on behind me," he said. "All I can do is take care of what I can take care of on that field that day. And if I'm in the lineup, I'm just thankful I get to play and and go out there and play hard and have a lot of fun."

Martin's .220/.289/.488 slash line leaves much to be desired in both his on-base percentage and batting average, but a look deeper and you'll see that he's worked 20 walks and that 29 of his 46 hits have been for extra bases this season. The most alarming statistic is his strikeout rate, averaging 1.5 per game. 

"I'm not really concerned about his high strikeout rates. He's working on his adjustability right now. That's one of the things he's been asked to do, but he's been making some adjustments," Indianapolis manager Miguel Perez said. "He just turned 23, too. So he's working that aspect, that mindset what was the plan going to the plate, what he looks for in certain situations, so he's been working on it, and to be honest, man, I have confidence the strikeout rate is going to come down."

Moving forward though, it'll be about the focus on his approach and recognizing when pitchers are making mistakes and capitalizing on them.

"I can't go up there and try to hit absolutely everything, I have to be disciplined in my approach, and know what I do well, and not so well and play to my strengths. That's the biggest key. If I go up there and try to be somebody I'm not, then that works in the benefit of the pitcher and his plan. I'm focused more on my plan. My plan is basically wait for a mistake, let the pitcher make the mistake. And if he makes the mistake, then I'm ready for it. And, you know, at the end of the day, if he executes three pitches, perfect pitches, then you tip your cap."

Should Martin make those adjustments, he could very well make that familiar trek from I-70 to I-79 to 376 and find himself at PNC Park before the summer truly hits. 

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

This is the new DKPS top-10 ranking of the Pirates' prospects, as selected -- and debated -- by our baseball staff of Alex Stumpf, Chris Halicke, Jarrod Prugar and Cory Giger. 

Each week, we'll move players up and down as warranted, though the final ranking's always intended to reflect the overarching potential for their performance upon arriving in Pittsburgh, rather than being a short-term hot/cold list.  Also, if they're in the majors, even on an emergency basis, they won't be on this list. It's for players in the minors.

We have some slight movement in this week's rankings, primarily because we wanted to bump Mike Burrows up a spot, as well as give Ji-Hwan Bae a little more love. We also have a bunch of great comments from Pirates farm director John Baker, courtesy of Stumpf, who caught up with Baker in Atlanta.

1. ONEIL CRUZ (1)

Position: Shortstop
Affiliate: Class AAA Indianapolis
Acquired: Trade with Dodgers, 2017
Age: 23
Stats: .236/.344/.440, 9 HRs, 33 RBIs

We all want to know why he's still in Class AAA, despite having enough offensive success recently to warrant a call-up to the majors. Jarrod and I discuss that at length in our podcast below, and I encourage anyone who cares about all this stuff to give it a listen. While we can only speculate at this point, I will say the whole thing just seems suspicious -- as in, there has to be more to the story that the Pirates are not (and will not) tell us. Cruz has a seven-game hitting streak, batting .374 (9-for-24), and has reached base safely in 15 straight games.

2. HENRY DAVIS (2)

Position: Catcher
Affiliate: Class AA Altoona
Acquired: Pirates' first-round pick, 2021
Age: 22
Stats: .316/.455/.568, 6 HR, 24 RBIs

He returned to action last week after missing nearly three weeks with a wrist fracture. He caught the combined no-hitter at Bradenton and rejoined the Curve on Friday. Wouldn't you know it, he was hit by a pitch in his first two ABs Sunday, giving him an insane 15 HBPs in only 124 plate appearances. Given the beating Davis will take behind the plate as a catcher, it has to be a concern for the Pirates if he's going to be getting hit at the plate 20 times or more in a season. As mentioned last week, can it all  be bad luck? Or are there things Davis simply must learn to do differently at the plate to avoid getting hit so much? If there are fans in Pittsburgh who want to see him play in person, Altoona is home this week from Tuesday through Sunday.

3. MIKE BURROWS (4)

Position: Right-handed pitcher
Affiliate: Class AA Altoona
Acquired: Pirates' 11th-round pick, 2018
Age: 22
Stats: 4-1, 2.13 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 66 K, 19 BB

Have we talked enough about how much we love Burrows this season? We bumped him up a spot ahead of Liover Peguero after Burrows tossed five shutout innings, allowed only one hit and struck out a season-high nine his last time out at Reading. Burrows is absolutely the real deal, so we have to start wondering if a promotion to Indy will be coming soon.

"Mike's been great," Baker said. "I think we need space in Indianapolis for Mike. But yeah, he's done such a phenomenal job that I think when the time is right, we'll see that jump."

Update: Burrows was promoted to Class AAA Indianapolis following his start with the Altoona Curve on Tuesday, according to the Altoona Mirror. Burrows has been outstanding this season, but he was not sharp in his latest outing, giving up five runs on five hits in only 1.1 innings against Erie (Tigers affiliate). That raised his season ERA from 2.13 to 2.94. He had three strikeouts and no walks.

“When you have a target on your back, you’re leading the league in a lot of categories, those guys were amped up to face him," Curve manager Kieran Mattison told the Altoona Mirror after the game. He’s a student of the game, and he’ll learn from it. We’re excited for him. … I’m looking forward to him continuing to have a successful season."

4. LIOVER PEGUERO (3)

Position: Shortstop
Affiliate: Class AA Altoona
Acquired: Trade with Diamondbacks, 2020
Age: 21
Stats: .291/.315/.479, 5 HRs, 31 RBIs

He didn't really do anything to deserve to get dropped a spot, it's just that Burrows is hard to overlook. Peguero is second in the Eastern League with 62 hits, tied for second with 17 doubles and tied for third with 26 extra-base hits. He had no errors this week, so his season total remains 14 (11 at SS, three at 2B).

5. NICK GONZALES (5)

Position: Second base
Affiliate: Class AA Altoona
Acquired: Pirates' first-round pick, 2020
Age: 23
Stats: .247/.366/.377, 4 HR, 15 RBIs

He remains on the injured list with a heel injury. He hasn't played since May 31, and there haven't been any updates about the timetable for his return.

6. QUINN PRIESTER (6)

Position: Right-handed pitcher
Affiliate: High Class A Greensboro
Acquired: Pirates' first-round pick, 2019
Age: 21
Stats: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, .000 WHIP, 1 K, 0 BB

He made his season debut last week and threw three perfect innings in Bradenton's combined no-hitter. He had been sidelined with an oblique injury, but he's now free and clear of that. He'll make his next start for Greensboro and should be up with Altoona very soon.

"No-hitters are special," Baker said. "I think the most important thing, to be honest with you, is that both Quinn and Henry passed their health check after the game. It's wonderful that they threw a no-hitter, and those things are so rare. It's a big confidence booster for Henry Davis, who is a great athlete and has been really focused on the soft skills. To go into a new environment, meet new people that he hasn't really caught a lot of times ... and guide them through innings when the pressure's on. I mean, it's not like there are 40,000 people in the stands at the Marauders game, but man, every out that you get closer to that 27th out in a no-hitter, there's more tension across the field. What a wonderful opportunity for all of our players to experience and go through it."

7. ANTHONY SOLOMETO (8)

Position: Left-handed pitcher
Affiliate: Low Class A Bradenton
Acquired: Pirates' second-round pick, 2021
Age: 19
Stats: 1-0, 0.82 ERA, .909 WHIP, 10 K, 4 BB

He followed Priester and threw four hitless innings in the Bradenton no-hitter, striking out three. There is so much to like about the 19-year-old, and it will be interesting to see how he fares when he starts to get challenged some.

Stumpf asked Baker why Solometo is just now making his pro debut.

"The gap between Solo's last appearance in high school and the draft was so long that it's dangerous," Baker said. "He's the first one out of the complex because he's incredibly matured and composed, on top of the routine the whole time, on top of throwing strikes all the time. These guys have inning limits that we have to build towards, and we have to be smart about it.

"This is not 1986 where we throw him right into Double-A because we drafted him in the second round and sink or swim. Maybe that guy's a big-leaguer, maybe he just blows out because he doesn't know how to take care of himself. That's obviously not any of these young pitchers that we drafted last year. But just again, trying to be very smart and thoughtful and considerate about what is best to make these players long-term major leaguers."

8. ENDY RODRIGUEZ (7)

Position: Utility
Affiliate: High Class A Greensboro
Acquired: Trade with Mets/Padres, 2021
Age: 22
Stats: .246/.323/.419, 6 HRs, 22 RBIs

The batting average has dipped to .246, as he's hitting just .152 in nine games this month (5-for-33). That's after he hit .296 in May. Once again, these top 10 rankings are meant to be a big-picture view of prospects over the long haul, and the intent is not to bury any player after one rough patch. Still, Rodriguez is going to have to get things going here in the coming weeks to hold off some others and stay in the top 10.

9. JI-HWAN BAE (10)

Position: Utility
Affiliate: Class AAA Indianapolis
Acquired: International free agent, 2018
Age: 22
Stats: .303/.374/.478, 6 HRs, 30 RBIs

He had a great week, raising his average from .287 to .303, and he's batting .344 (15-for-44) in 10 games this month. His 44 hits since the start of May rank fourth in the International League. I keep telling people to keep an eye on Bae, who could be called upon to step in and be a contributor for the Pirates very soon.

10. JARED JONES (9)

Position: Right-handed pitcher
Affiliate: High Class A Greensboro
Acquired: Pirates' second-round pick, 2020
Age: 20
Stats: 2-3, 5.10 ERA, 1.490 WHIP, 62 K, 23 BB

He allowed just one run in 4.1 IP his lone start last week to lower his ERA to 5.10. So he didn't do anything to drop on this list, but just got surpassed by Bae, who is red hot at the plate right now.

HONORABLE MENTION

• Mason Martin: There's a whole bunch about him up top. While batting average isn't the metric it used to be to evaluate hitters, it's hard to get past Martin's .220 average. He simply has to be more consistent.

• Matt Gorski: He hit his 19th homer last week and is slashing .283/.368/.433 since getting called up to the Curve. "Seeing Matt break through like this has just been something that we've been super pumped about," Baker said.

• Bubba Chandler: He made his pro pitching debut Sunday for the Florida rookie team, tossing one scoreless inning with one strikeout. He then hit his first pro home run Monday. He wants to be a two-way player, and he's extremely talented, so the Pirates will roll with this until he emerges in one area. "Yeah, Bubba Chandler is still hitting," Baker said. "He's a funny one. The pitching looks awesome right now. He's been working on landing his breaking ball, and when we consistently see him do that, we'll see him in Bradenton too and probably DHing a couple days a week."