Prospect Watch: Dylan Busby Providing Power, Looking for Consistency in Minor Leagues
Typically with power hitters, you have guys who can smash mammoth home run shots and then turn around and strike out and look absolutely terrible at the plate. When evaluating a guy like that, you have to take the good with the bad and hope he can produce every day. Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League infielder Dylan Busby is still trying to find that balance between being a liability at the plate and being a big contributor in the middle of the order. His plate discipline has been a struggle throughout his career and it has caused him to go through those ups and downs that power hitters normally experience.
Last season, he was the everyday third baseman for the Bradenton Marauders and was hit or miss in terms of his offense. He appeared in 114 games for the Marauders and finished the year hitting .213 with four home runs and 22 RBI. His strikeout rate was his biggest downfall and has been throughout his professional career. He struck out in over 36% of his at-bats during the season going down 158 times in 434 plate appearances. This strikeout rate affected his power numbers as he just wasn't able to generate enough contact to make that power effective. He was battling back from a series of concussion and that may have affected him during the season.
Busby grew up in Sarasota, Florida, and was one of the top baseball players in the state during his high school career. He earned several national awards and honors during his four seasons, but one of his biggest accomplishments was getting to play in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Baseball Classic after his senior season. He ranked as the #195 overall prospect in the stare of Florida and was destined to earn a scholarship at the Division I level. It was hometown Florida State that came calling and Busby was looking to continue his family legacy after his father was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1988.
From the moment he joined the Seminoles baseball team, he became a regular in the starting lineup. He ended up starting 57 of the 65 games played and hit .242 with nine home runs and 45 RBI. The raw power was one of his biggest assets as he finished the year with 15 doubles and a total of 24 extra-base hits. He also had decent speed and knew how to use it on the base paths, taking 12 of 13 stolen base attempts. His strikeout rate was high, but he was able to make up for it with his run production numbers. He led the team in doubles, finished second in home runs, and third in RBI. He would supplement his strong season with a year in the Northwoods League where he played in 13 games for Kalamazoo.
He came back for his sophomore year and earned the full-time starting spot as his offense just kept getting better. He upped his batting average to .323 the following season and hit 14 home runs while driving in 55 RBI. He was the all-around team leader on offense and set new career-highs in doubles (16), triples (5), home runs (14), and slugging percentage (.597). He helped lead his team to the ACC Championship game by hitting a walk-off single against Miami. He got to compete on the National Stage representing the ACC in the TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby. He finished the 2016 athletic season in the Cape Cod League and was named the #4 prospect in the league.
He finished up his collegiate career with his best season in terms of power numbers as he hit 15 home runs and drove in 65 RBI. His batting average dropped slightly to .315, but he once again set career-highs in doubles (21) and home runs (15). He dropped his strikeout numbers to just 64 in 291 plate appearances and showed he had the ability to lay off bad pitches. He finished his Seminoles career with a .297 average, 38 home runs, and 168 RBI over his three seasons and was bound to move to the next level. He would end up going in the third round of the 2017 MLB Draft as the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him with the 88th overall selection.
He would take a couple of weeks to sign and would be sent to the Class-A Short Season West Virginia Black Bears. However, as he moved to the professional level, his strikeouts became a big problem. He was swinging for the fences a lot and he wasn't connecting like he had at college. He hit just .188 that season with one home run and 14 RBI. The Pirates were banking on the raw power that came with Busby, but it wasn't showing through at all during his first season. He managed just nine total extra-base hits that season and ended up striking out over 26% of the time.
He caught a little spark at the end of the season where he hit three extra-base hits, including his only home run, over the last four games of the season. Overall, it was a disappointing season for the FSU graduate as he couldn't get to where he was offensively in college. He would head into the off-season trying to get back to where he was in his college days. Because of his struggles, Busby would end up being sent to Class Low-A West Virginia in the South Atlantic League. This would allow him to continue to develop before the Pirates determined if he was ready for Advanced-A.
He would get off to a hot start in 2018 hitting .273 with five home runs and 42 RBI over the first month and a half of the season. It seemed that his power had returned as the five home runs were encouraging and his 14 extra-base hits showed that he had his timing down. His strikeout rate stayed about the same as the year before at 27.6%, and he was reaching base more often with a .341 on-base percentage. However, just as things were starting to go Busby's way, an injury would set him back almost the entire year. After playing 12 games in May, Busby was hit in the head by a pitch and dealt with concussion symptoms for the rest of the season.
He was sent on a rehab stint with the Gulf Coast League Pirates and played in eight games in rookie ball. He played in eight games hitting just .091 with one home run and three RBI. He would suffer another setback as he got beaned again during his rehab stint and started the process all over again. He would finally make it back to the Power by the middle of August and would only appear in four games before heading to the Disabled List for the rest of the season. Those concussions put a big dent in Busby's development setting him back almost an entire season. He would still be promoted the following season as he got a chance as the everyday third baseman for the Bradenton Marauders.
He had his share of ups and downs throughout the season, but it was clear that his power was back. He played in 114 games hitting .213 with 22 home runs and 63 RBI while reaching base at a .316 clip. His batting average was still lower than expected, as his strikeout rate soared to new heights. His 158 strikeouts topped the team as he went down over 36% of the time during the season. He had his series of slumps over the course of the season, going almost a month without hitting a home run in May and having a 17 game stretch at the end of the season where he didn't hit a home run or drive in an RBI.
With all of that said, his power that he was able to generate was impressive as he led the Florida State League in home runs with 22 and his .453 slugging percentage ranked second in the league. The Florida State League is known for its dominant pitching and to see Busby still produce those type of numbers was rather impressive. He was named both a Florida State Mid-Season All-Star and a Florida State League Post-Season All-Star for his efforts during the season. However, if he is to continue hitting for that kind of power in the higher levels of the Minor Leagues, he is going to have to cut down on his strikeout rate. Power is something the Pirates desperately need in their system, and Busby is looking to provide that in the future.
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