North Shore Nine

Welcome to the weekly Scouting Prospects; The Top 30 series. Each week we will take a look at a different one of the Pirates Top 30 prospects, with a few bonus “double drop” weeks. The format of these articles will highlight and discuss the following.

• Scouting Score
• Performance
• Expectations
• Projected Debut
  
  When it comes to scouting grades, the scale used is 20-80. So, a 20-30 grade would be considered well below average. A 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average (Also called Plus) and 70-80 is well above average (or Plus Plus). For prospects the overall grade is where scouts expect the player to perform once in the majors. For example, a 65 grade would be an All-Star caliber standout player, whereas a 50 would be an everyday player and a 40 would be a bench player.

Tsung-Che Cheng:

Cheng was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ’19-’20 International signing window. Due to the Covid Pandemic he was unable to make his debut until 2022. In 2023 Cheng entered the Pirates Top 30 prospect list coming in at 30. To start the 2024 season he had jumped into the Top 10 coming in at 9 but being quickly moved to 8th after the Jared Jones graduation. He stands at 5’7″ and weights roughly 173 pounds at 22 years of age.

Like many of the middle infield prospect in the Pirates system Cheng is a contact first player with a good glove and a bit of speed. Cheng does not have the ceiling with his contact or speed that Mitch Jebb has, but his fielding is slicker, and he is expected to remain at short. His arm is rated as very accurate though he does not have the power behind it to be reminiscent of Oneil Cruz. Cheng has also played at second base and third base during his time in the minors and done well there. Cheng is rated currently as the best defensive shortstop in the Pirates system. Also, as a plus runner he is expected to steal a lot of bases as he continues to develop. When added to his hitting he could end up as a good top of the lineup option for the Pirates in the future.

Cheng made it to Altoona in 2023 after hot start in Greensboro. He played very well in the call up to Altoona and began the 2024 season once again in Altoona. Through mid June he is doing as well as last year, with upticks in a few categories. He is hitting .221/.342/.363 with a .705 OPS, all but his average being better than what he put up last season. With 60 less at bats this season he is also already above his totals from last season in walks, RBI and homeruns. A big difference for him this season is his line drive percentage is up over 7%. He has also raised his wRC+ to 106 on the young season. When this is all added to the 12 steals he has to date we can start to see where the scouts see him potentially ending up.

Cheng is projected to possibly be up with the Pirates by 2025. This will be very much dependent on how he can continue to play the back half of 2024 and if he can get the call to Indianapolis. If he manages to do that then he could be looking at a potential cup of coffee with the Pirates in 2025. Though a lot of that will heavily depend on the ability to get on base. He rates very similar to Ji Hwan Bae though with less contact and less speed. That greater contact and speed has not allowed Bae to stick with the big-league club so Cheng will have some work to do if he wants to be a bigger contributor for the Pirates.