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.

Shalin Polanco:

In 2021 Polanco was one of the Top 10 international prospects, he signed with the Pirates for over 2 million dollars. This was the same year the Pirates, in the Amateur draft, got Henry Davis, Bubba Chandler, Lonnie White Jr. and Anthony Solometo. He has been on the Top Pirates Prospects lists since 2023.

Polanco has been rated with just below average contact. However, he rated as above average for Power, Running and Arm strength with an average fielder rating. Scout all comment that he has been able to increase his power since his signing. They talk about how he has managed to increase his exit velocities and strike the ball better. However, his strike out percentage remains high, and while he can draw walks, he does not put enough emphasis on that part of his game. Defensively he has the ability to play all three outfield positions but is best suited for one of the corner positions if he makes the big leagues one day. He had a quad strain that caused him to miss significant time, fortunately it has not limited his running prowess.
2023 was a breakout year for Polanco, he had a .197 ISO with a wRC+ of 104. He hit 16 doubles and 12 homeruns while stealing 17 bases, vaulting him higher into the Pirates prospects rankings. However, in 2024 his second year in Bradenton has been a disaster. His K% has gone up 4% to 32.5% his ISO has dropped to .149 and he has only managed a wRC+ of 66. While his power numbers remain similar numerically it is with 50 more at bats. His steals are down, as his BB% (which wasn’t good to begin with). His triple slash this year has been .177/.254/.326 with a dismal .580 OPS. While he is only 20 he will be 21 entering next season, and will need to have a complete 180 if he hopes to regain his status as he will surely tumble down or out of the rankings going into next year.

Polanco’s struggles this year mean he will have even more to prove next season if he want to be in serious contention for the Pirates lineup one day. One bad year doesn’t spell the end for prospects but the struggles this year have been many. Most of them are the same that many a ball player struggle with, but if he isn’t able to cut down on his strikeouts and start hitting the ball better he will never make it out of AA, if he makes it that far. He will absolutely start next season again in Bradenton, if he can show a better bat he should see Greensboro at some point in 2025. That will be the test to see if he will have any shot at MLB, if he cant he will end up going the way of Jase Bowen and Tres Gonzalez. Players rating relatively well and playing relatively well, but never being able to put it together enough to make the Majors.