Prospect Watch: Stephen Alemais
When you think of strong offensive numbers on the field, you usually think of first basemen, third basemen, or corner outfielders. However, once in a Blue Moon a middle infielder will emerge who can both flash the leather and hit the cover off the baseball. Pirates infield prospect Stephen Alemais is looking to be the next to make his way through the Pirates Minor League system. When baseball resumes, he will be looking for a comeback season after missing nearly the entire 2019 season with a right shoulder strain. He only got to play in 12 games last season before the injury sidelines him in late April and ended his season.
Alemais's last full season came in 2018 with the Altoona Curve when he hit .279 with one home run and 34 RBI. Even better than his batting average was his .346 on-base percentage as he worked 44 walks in 120 games played. Alemais is a guy who can work the count and make the opposition throw a lot of pitches. He was a leader at the top of the Curve batting order last year, where he was able to use both his ability to get on base and his speed to his advantage. He swiped 16 bags in 25 tries for a stolen base percentage of 64%. If that speed can translate in the upper levels of the Minor Leagues, Alemais could be a huge threat at the top of the Pirates lineup in the future.
Alemais played his college ball at Tulane where he spent three seasons with the Green Wave. His batting average got better and better with each year he played as he developed from college player to professional prospect. During his freshman year, he was a part-time player for Tulane and ended up hitting .241 with a home run and 19 RBI. He hadn't yet developed the patience that he has shown in professional baseball, and he wasn't getting on base as consistently as he would have liked. When he did get on base, he would cause havoc for the opposition stealing 11 bases in 12 chances.
The following year, he transitioned into a full-time player, and his batting average ended up shooting up. His sophomore year saw him bat .312 with one home run and 22 RBI while playing in a college career-high 60 games. As he started reaching base more, he was able to show off more of his speed. He attempted 37 stolen bases and was successful 27 times, showing that his speed can be a useful tool. Following his sophomore year, he would head to the Cape Cod League where he played for the Cotuit Kettleers. In eight games, he continued to swing a hot bat hitting .429 (6-14) in those eight games. All eight of those hits ended up going for singles, as he couldn't generate much power at the plate.
During his senior season at Tulane, he kept his average above .300, hitting .312, with one home run and 28 RBI. He started to show more patience at the plate, with a .368 on-base percentage, walking 20 times while striking out 29 times. He continued to steal bases at a high rate going 19-24 on the base paths and was beginning to catch the eyes of professional scouts. Alemais was a guy who could both play good defense and hit for average while displaying good speed. It would be the Pittsburgh Pirates who took the chance on the then 21-year-old, picking him in the third round of the 2016 MLB Draft.
Alemais would sign just weeks later and jumped right into his professional career as he was optioned to the Class-A Short Season West Virginia Black Bears. After struggling in his first three games with the Black Bears, Alemais hit his stride at the end of June into early July. He would rattle off a hit in eight straight games and was hitting .285 by mid-July. His season average would stay right around that mark, as he hit .263 with one home run and 18 RBI in 39 games played. His speed was playing well in the New York Penn League as he stole nine bases in twelve chances during the season. However, his defensive transition did not go as smoothly as he committed seven errors in 329.1 innings at shortstop for a .957 fielding percentage.
While his defense needed some work, his offense was basically right where he wanted it to be, and he was called up to Class Low-A West Virginia by seasons end. He would end up spending 11 games with the Power during the 2016 season, but couldn't get it going at the plate, hitting .189 with no home runs and two RBI. He put together a seven-game hitting streak from August 23rd to August 30th where he hit .304, but that was all the offense he would generate while with the Power. One of his problems was that he was chasing pitches out of the zone more frequently and only walked two times in those 11 games.
Because of his struggles at the plate, Alemais would return to the Power for the 2017 season to try and improve his game. Through the first two months of the season, he would hit just .206 with three home runs and 12 RBI. While his power numbers were up, his batting average had hit an all-time low for the middle infielder. Then he would hit the injured list for the first time in his career and ended up missing over a month of the season and had to spend eight games in Rookie Ball on a rehab assignment. When he came back healthy, the Bradenton Marauders had a need in the middle infield, and it was Alemais that got the call to fill in.
The time off ended up helping Alemais as he found his offensive groove hitting .317 with one home run and 20 RBI. His strikeout rate went way down, with only 14 on the season, and he started walking a little more helping increase his on base percentage to .396. He started his success in Bradenton right from the start as he rattled off a six-game hitting streak that ended with him going 3-4 with an RBI. He made his home at the top of the Marauder lineup and was starting to show his strong offensive side that he had in college. His defense also continued to improve as he posted a .964 fielding percentage with the Marauders as he began to show the defensive ability that you want to see from a middle infielder.
With his offense picking up at the end of the 2017 season, the Pirates were trying to keep it going as they moved him up to Double-A Altoona. His average ended up taking a dip, as he hit just .279, but his run production stayed right on par with one home run and 34 RBI. However, he raised his extra-base hit ability setting a career-high with 16 doubles and four triples. He was able to stay healthy all season long, playing in 120 games between second base and shortstop. He had his best defensive season putting up a .977 fielding percentage committing just 12 errors in 958.1 innings of work.
He was slated to start 2019 back with the Altoona Curve and started the season as the team's starting shortstop. However, he would get to play in just 12 games he would hit .267 with two RBI. His season would come to an end, when he injured his shoulder on a slide into second base on August 24th. He would require shoulder surgery and ended up missing the entire 2019 season. When baseball does start back up, it will be an opportunity for Alemais to get back to the offensive success that he saw in the past two seasons. He has been going through recovery for the past two seasons, and he is hoping that his shoulder can come back just as strong as before his injury.
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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