Stephen Piscotty

On Sept. 7, Piscotty was slashing .264/.308/.348, a modest upgrade over the prior year. Then, he was beset with wrist and knee woes, finishing .105/.150/.105. Even when Piscotty was seemingly producing there were warning signs as he was on the way to a career-low BB% and career-high K%. His average exit velocity and hard-hit rates were both down, but a fortunate .304 BABIP propped up his numbers. On the wrong side of 30 years old, Piscotty's defense remains above average, but he would be in danger of falling into the weak side of the platoon if Oakland had the appropriate partner. He seems to have fallen out of mixed-league favor and paying for a full season of at-bats in AL-only formats is a risk, both in terms of health and production. Piscotty is too young to completely crater, but with waning power and little speed, he needs batting average to be useful. Unfortunately, that appears to be heading south too.

Piscotty is a pretty tough player to figure out, as he's been up and down throughout his big-league career. He's been well above league average on a per-plate-appearance basis in three seasons and below league average in two others. What is crystal clear is that he was not healthy for most of 2019. In June, he underwent surgery to remove a melanoma from his right ear. That was just the beginning of his issues. Piscotty sprained his knee later that same month, was out until August and then sprained his ankle a few weeks following his return. He returned for just one game in September and was left off the roster for the AL Wild Card Game. Before the injuries mounted, Piscotty was doing his usual thing in terms of strikeouts and walks, but his exit velocity, xBA, xSLG and xwOBA all ranked in the bottom 50% of the league. He was coming off a great year in 2018 and it won't cost much to see if he can rebound.

Last year was a trying year for Piscotty, who was dealt to the A's, partly to be with his ailing mother, who unfortunately passed away in early May. However, he fit in well in his first year in Oakland, and after getting off to a slow start, he posted a .907 OPS from June 1 onward and finished the year with a career-high 27 home runs. He was more aggressive at the plate, upping his swing rate by nearly seven percentage points to 53.3%. The result was fewer walks (6.9%), but much more consistent hard contact. The tradeoff was well worth it, as Piscotty graded out as 25% better than league average at the plate. Thanks to his power display last year, Piscotty is locked in as Oakland's regular right fielder. He most often batted sixth in the order last season, but chances are he finds himself hitting higher in the order more often in 2019.

Piscotty made several noteworthy improvements in 2017: He boosted his walk rate from 7.9 percent to 13.0 and swung at fewer pitches outside the strike zone (just 29.5 percent compared to 33.1 in 2016). Plate discipline advancement aside, the soon-to-be 27-year-old lost ground nearly everywhere else and even was sent to Triple-A Memphis to try rebuilding the swing that lifted 22 homers and an .800 OPS in 2016. Additionally, he lost time to head, knee, hamstring and groin injuries in 2017, which ultimately may have factored into his disappointing production throughout the season. The pedigreed bat has always profiled as a "sum of his parts" player at his peak, showing something less than elite power but the potential for steady contact and run production throughout his time as a professional prior to last season. Piscotty should step into a prominent role in Oakland's outfield after being traded from St. Louis in December.

Piscotty got off to a blazing start in his first full season as an everyday starter and was hitting .295/.370/.480 heading into the All-Star break. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to maintain that impressive line, as it dropped to .247/.310/.430 in the second half of the season. His dip in performance lined up with a decrease in contact, as he posted a 17.4 percent strikeout rate in the first half followed by a 24.3 percent second half clip. If he fails to make the necessary adjustments, Piscotty's batting average may not be as stable as one would expect, given his scouting report from his days as a prospect. Fortunately, he showed he can bring noteworthy power regardless, as he hit 11 home runs in each half of the 2016 season. His season line from 2016 probably paints a pretty accurate picture of his skill set: an above average hitter with enough power to be an asset in home runs and RBI and enough on-base skills to be an asset in runs.

With Matt Adams injured and ineffective, Piscotty earned 63 games in the Cardinals lineup in the second half and established himself as one of the club’s keys of the future. Piscotty needed just 256 plate appearances to mash 26 extra-base hits, including seven home runs. He finished with a .305/.359/.494 batting line while playing all three outfield positions as well as first base. Piscotty showed similar power in the minors, where he was a doubles machine with a fair share of home runs sprinkled in. At just 25, there’s a chance Piscotty continues to bulk up and turns some of those doubles into home runs. Even if the power stays where it’s at right now, Piscotty’s gap power is enough to keep his batting average high and give him plenty of chances to compile runs and RBI in a deep (as always) Cardinals lineup.

Despite putting up solid numbers at Triple-A Memphis, the 23-year-old Piscotty failed to receive a September callup. It's entirely possible that given the Cardinals' wealth of young outfielders, and Piscotty's fairly large minor league workload (500 AB's in 2014), the Cardinals simply decided to give Piscotty some rest. Piscotty will turn 24 in January as he heads into his fourth year of professional baseball after being drafted out of Stanford University. His numbers don't jump off the page other than being very solid across the stat sheet -- he's hit .292/.359/.435 with 28 home runs and 25 stolen bases while posting a 132 to 95 K:BB ratio in 1,137 minor league at-bats. He's been succesful at every level and has the prototypical build for a corner outfielder or infielder. All that being said, he likely won't find his way into an MLB lineup on a consistent basis in 2015 without some help from injuries or a trade.

Piscotty had an excellent season between High-A and Double-A in his transition from third base to the outfield hitting .295/.355/.464. He kept it going during the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .371/.430/.506 and stole seven bases in nine attempts. Unfortunately for Piscotty, the Cardinals' outfield is very crowded and there likely won't be a spot for him until Matt Holliday retires or finds a new team which could be another few seasons. Piscotty still has some work to do in at the Triple-A level, and it's possible that he'll return to Springfield before a promotion to Memphis given that he only played 49 games at Double-A after his promotion last season.