Prospect Watch: Chris Sharpe
One of the hardest things for a professional hitter to master coming up through the ranks is plate discipline. It can plague players for years, even after they make the Major Leagues, and can end up ending careers. However, one guy in the Pirates system who is already showing great plate discipline in Double-A outfielder Chris Sharpe. In his first three years of professional baseball, he has had an on-base percentage of .330 or higher and has drawn more than 35 walks three times. Because of this, Sharpe has seen a lot of good pitches to hit and, after showing glimpses of power during his first two professional seasons, he broke out last year setting career-highs in home runs and extra-base hits.
He started the year with the Bradenton Marauders and would perform so well that he moved up to the Altoona Curve by the All-Star break. It was a career year in terms of power for the 24-year-old as he hit 16 home runs and collected 50 extra-base hits throughout the season. His batting average would drop with the newfound power to .254, but he would continue to draw a bunch of walks, walking a career-high 45 times. His strikeout rate would also drop as he was making more contact with the ball in favorable counts. This was allowing him to drive his pitch, rather than taking a pitcher's pitch, leading to the surge in power numbers.
Growing up in Massachusetts, Sharpe would play baseball all year around perfecting his skills in the outfield. After playing his high school ball at Bridgton Academy, Sharpe would not travel far for his college ball playing at Umass Lowell. Much like when he was growing up, Sharpe continued to play baseball year around participating in collegiate summer leagues during his college off-seasons. The transition to college ball did not go well initially for Sharpe as he struggled to find his footing at the plate. He played in 50 games for the Riverhawks and managed to hit just .228 with 19 RBI. The one aspect that he excelled at was his played discipline as he walked a team-high 28 times and put together a .351 on-base percentage.
With this high on-base percentage behind him, Sharpe was able to use one of his other tools, his speed. He was a perfect eight for eight in the stolen base department and was always looking to take that extra base. However, if he wanted to be a potential Major League prospect, he was going to have to work on his offensive game. So, he headed to the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League where he would play for the Newark Pilots. In 45 games played for the Pilots, he raised his batting average to .254 and showed some more power with 15 extra-base hits during the season. He used this momentum heading into his sophomore season as he would go from a good college player to a great college player.
He came back for his Sophomore season and raised his batting average by nearly 1,000 points going from .228 to .338 in just one season. His power numbers started coming through more as he hit seven home runs and picked up 26 extra-base hits in 33 games played. He had a walk rate of 10.3% and set a new career-high with a .432 on-base percentage. With his ability to get on base, and his higher batting average, he made himself a front runner to be picked in the MLB Draft that season, if he wanted to leave the Riverhawks in his sophomore season. It was a decision that he would have to make as he was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 14th round of the 2017 MLB draft. After weeks of deliberation, Sharpe decided to leave Umass Lowell and start his professional career with the Pirates.
That plate discipline would help him immensely during his first season of professional baseball with Class-A Short Season West Virginia. His batting average was nowhere near where he wanted it to be at .234, but he walked 19 times in 185 plate appearances and sported a .330 on-base percentage. His 19 walks placed him second on the team, behind prospects Bligh Madris and Jose Barraza, and when he was on base he could use his speed to its full effectiveness. He would end up swiping six bases in 12 attempts for the Black Bears as he was transitioning to the speed of professional baseball.
However, his slight power numbers that he was showing at the end of his college career did not translate to his first season in the pros. He hit just three home runs during that first season and collected a total of 12 extra-base hits in his 39 games played. It was a struggle for Sharpe through the first month of his professional career as he was batting just .189 and had three extra-base hits, only one of which being a home run. However, as the calendar turned to August, something clicked for the then 23-year old as he started showing more power and made more contact. He would finish the year batting .278 with two of his three home runs and nine extra-base hits. He ended the year picking up at least one hit in 17 of his final 18 games, giving him a much-needed boost heading into the off-season.
He did so well at the end of the year that the Pirates would move him to full-season ball with the Class Low-A West Virginia Power in 2018. He saw his stats go up across the board, in both good ways and bad, and overall had a very successful year. His average jumped to .263 that season and his knack for picking up extra-base hits had seemed to return. He collected 17 extra-base hits that season, including four home runs, as he started to use the gaps once again, something he excelled at in his college days. He also became a better base stealer that year, swiping 11 bags in 15 tries as he was starting to learn the speed of the game and get better jumps.
His walk rate was still one of the top on the West Virginia Power roster as he walked 39 times, but he started running into the issue of striking out too much. He went down a career-high 98 times in 278 at-bats and had a strikeout rate of nearly 30%. With his power back on the rise, the strikeouts were not a reason to panic but it was a little concerning. He was beginning to establish himself as a solid two-hole hitter, and the strikeouts were not going to bode well for the young outfielder if he wanted to remain atop the lineup. An injury would end up cutting his season short as he missed nearly a month of the season, and only played two games upon his return.
However, his ability to get on base was still an encouraging sign for the Pirates, and they promoted Sharpe to Advanced-A Bradenton at the beginning of last season. The move would end up working out in the Pirates favor, as Sharpe burst onto the scene slashing .292/.385/.451 in his 64 games with the Marauders. His power numbers continued to rise as he hit five home runs and totaled 24 extra-base hits. In just a half a season played, Sharpe was in the top three on the team in several offensive categories including doubles (17) walks (28), and stolen bases (15). He was named a Florida State League Mid Season All-Star for his work and also earned a promotion to Double-A Altoona right after the all-star break.
While his power numbers increased with the move to Double-A, his batting average saw a major dip over the final two months of the season. He ended up hitting just .216 in 68 games with the Curve while walking just 17 times. His strikeout rate was higher than ever at 29% as it seemed he was trying to do too much at the plate. His speed was also becoming less a part of his game as he took just two bases in five attempts. However, the power came in droves with the promotion as he hit 11 home runs and totaled 26 extra-base hits. It was the most home runs that Sharpe had hit at any level of the Minor Leagues and if the power keeps developing I'm ok with the drop in batting average.
As for Sharpe's future with the Pirates, I feel he will be back in Double-A whenever baseball does resume. I feel another full-year of development will be necessary for Sharpe to see if the power was a fluke and if he can bring that batting average up some more. The fight for an outfield spot on the Major League roster is not without its share of competitors, and Sharpe will have to make himself stand out from the rest of the pack. For now, the 24-year old outfielder will look to continue to develop his skills as he looks to one day battle for a spot on the Pirates big league roster.
It is still uncertain as to when the 2020 MLB season is set to begin, but we at Buccos Cove are determined to continue to bring you strong content. Until the 2020 season begins, we will continue looking at the players who make up the 2020 Pirates organization and how they will impact the organization this season.
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