A Closer Look at Two Standout Minor Leaguers: Adrian Pinto and Gilberto Batista

[Simon Li]

Adrian Pinto - 2B/OF - 22 years old - High-A Vancouver
You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but Adrian Pinto leads the Northwest League in homers, tied with the Jays' no. 1 prospect Arjun Nimmala and Seattle Mariners top prospect Lazaro Montes, each with seven apiece. Acquired in the Raimel Tapia/Randal Grichuk deal as a throw-in prospect, Pinto has quietly been one of the most productive hitters in the Jays farm system since that trade, albeit only when healthy. With him standing just 5-foot-6 and 156 pounds, one wouldn't expect Pinto to have such power, but he generates a lot of it with a strong base and some strong hands, even having the ability to drive the ball to the opposite field for a homer.

Even with the sneaky pop, Pinto’s best skill is his ability to get on base, with a career minor league OBP of .414. He pairs strong contact abilities (career .295 batting average), a strong ability to avoid strikeouts (career 14.0% strikeout rate), and strong plate discipline (career 13.5% walk rate). He is quite fast as well, at one point stealing 41 bases in the Dominican Summer League for the Rockies, but he hasn’t stolen as often as he has moved up the minor league ladder.

Defensively, Pinto plays two main positions. In the infield, he’s a second baseman. He did play some short earlier in his career, but he’s only played on the right side of the middle infield since then. When he gets a break from playing second, he moves to center, where he can utilize his speed to cover distance, although he’s no more than an average defender at both positions.

This season has arguably been the best of Pinto's career, with a career-high seven homers in only 19 games played as of May 13. His walk rate has rebounded to a more respectable 9.4%, compared to only a 16.4% strikeout rate. He's already stolen three bases, and at the top of the lineup for the Canadians, he's been a consistent run scorer. He leads Vancouver in wRC+ at 162 and is fourth in the Northwest League. The Jays have been careful with him, limiting his playing time relative to his peers, but when he has played, he's been one of the best in High A.

Results-wise, Pinto has been one of the best prospects in the system, but that comes with a pretty significant caveat. He has rarely been able to stay on the field, as the most plate appearances he’s accumulated in a single year since being traded to the Jays was 194 in 2022. The talent and skill set are there for the 22-year-old utility man, but staying on the field and continuing this strong performance in the upper minors are the next steps if he's going to move his way up prospect top lists, or even get on any in the first place. This year, he was omitted from FanGraphs' top 40, Baseball America's top 30, Baseball Prospectus' top 20, as well as Jays Centre's top 20.

Gilberto Batista - RHP - 20 years old - Low-A Dunedin
Like Pinto, Gilberto Batista also earned Player of the Week honours last week after a career-best start in which he pitched five innings of scoreless baseball, only allowing four hits and one walk. He was acquired in the Danny Jansen trade along with Edinson Paulino and Cutter Coffey ahead of the 2024 trade deadline, but he has quickly established himself as the most productive prospect from that deal. In 47 2/3 innings in the Jays organization, Batista has pitched to a 2.10 ERA with a 23.2 K% and a measly 3.6% walk rate. He doesn’t overpower hitters or overwhelm them with strong stuff, and at only six feet and 165 lbs, he doesn’t blow anyone away physically either. However, Batista can really pound the zone, throwing strikes 68% of the time this season.

Batista also has some projection to go; at only 20 years old, he is still filling out his frame. He has already begun to increase his velocity since last season, when he sat around 91-93 mph. He’s added a tick on his fastball since then, sitting 92-94 and topping out at 96 mph so far this season. The fastball shape isn’t outstanding, especially relative to more advanced college pitchers, but it still has 17 inches of ride and 10.6 inches of run. However, coming out of a higher three-quarters slot, that is more pedestrian than good.

His cutter/slider that sits in the mid-80s has been his best pitch (or pitches?) this season. The cutter is slightly tighter with less break, and the slider is slightly slower and drops a few inches more. Both of these pitches are very similar, though, and although Statcast categorizes them differently, they feel like two versions of the same pitch. Combined, they have caused hitters to chase nearly 40% of the time, generated whiffs at a 41.2% rate, and only given up an opponent’s batting average of .111 this season. He also mixes in a higher-80s changeup that has 26 inches of drop and 11.6 inches of fade that gets hit pretty hard but generates a good amount of chase, as well as a 93-mph sinker that has yet to induce a single whiff. Still, it gives hitters another look that they must keep in mind.

Batista is a little unique as a kitchen sink pitcher who relies on pitchability and command to get outs, but if he can add some more velocity, and maybe fine-tune his changeup and sinker, he could really turn some heads.

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[Spanky99]

Pinto's our Altuve breakout in the making. 😜

[max silver]

55 minutes ago, Spanky99 said:

Pinto's our Altuve breakout in the making. 😜

In a perfect world Altuve felt like this guy's unrealistic best case scenario outcome. He's certainly an interesting prospect, as he's clubbed 10 home runs in his last 160 PA in high A Vancouver since his arrival there in August last year. If he can ever find a way to stay on the field more consistently he offers a lot of potential upside with the bat.