Rule 5 Draft Prospect Profile: Osvaldo Bido
The transition to professional baseball can be hard, but if you are able to get over those initial struggles, it can have its rewards. Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Osvaldo Bido has faced several hurdles throughout his professional baseball career but has hit a late spurt of success that has him rising through the Minor League ranks. He went from almost being off the Pirate's radar in 2017 to becoming the ace of the Greensboro Grasshoppers staff in 2019. The loss of the 2020 Minor League season hurt Bido big time not only from a development standpoint but from an age standpoint as well. He is entering his age 25 season in 2021, he is already one of the oldest prospects in Class Low-A baseball.
Bido is looking to make some more progress in his professional career and he is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in his career. He picked up double-digit wins for the first time in his professional career. He has exhibited good strikeout numbers and good control, but, he hasn't yet pitched above Advanced-A ball. Plus, at 25-years-old he is still at least two years away from being Major League ready. That would make him 27-years-old by the time he makes his Major League debut and puts him close to his prime right from the get-go. It has been a long journey from the Dominican Republic to professional baseball, and Bido is looking to take his career to the next level in 2021.
Late Start to Pro Ball
When the Pirates signed Osvaldo Bido to a professional contract, he was much older than some of his peers. He signed at 22-years old but featured a mid-90s fastball that the Pirates front office simply couldn't ignore. With his fastball hitting regularly at 95 miles per four, it was up to the Pirates to help him discover a secondary pitch that he could use later in counts. After he signed, he didn't have far to go as the Pirates assigned him to the Dominican Summer League Pirates. He played just 45 miles from his hometown of Los Hidalgos, Dominican Republic. The Pirates would start Bido out as a starting pitcher and he joined the DSL Pirates rotation.
As Bido began his transition to pro ball, things did not go well from the get-go. He finished his first season 1-8 with a 5.33 ERA in 50.2 innings of work spanning 15 games, 13 starts. While he was showing good velocity, the biggest issue was his control as he walked 15% of the batters he faced. He was still learning how to use his fastball, and opponents were taking advantage of his growing pains hitting .270 against him. It may have been a rough start for Bido, but he finally got into a groove at the end of the season. He pitched to a 2.40 ERA over his final 15 innings of work and earned his first professional win on August 9th, 2017, and had confidence heading into the off-season.
He would advance to Class-A Short Season West Virginia in 2018 and jumped into the Black Bears' starting rotation. He started to show signs of improvement, dropping his ERA to 4.18 while going 4-6 over 14 starts. He worked in a career-high 75.1 innings of work while walking just 6.7% of batters, nearly a 10% drop from the previous season. Things didn't look good in the beginning, as Bido gave up four or more earned runs in three of his first four starts of the season. However, once July hit Bido went off turning in quality starts in nine of his final 10 starts of the season. His second to last start of the season came on August 27th, 2018 when he worked 6.1 shutout innings allowing just two hits.
2019 was a big year for Bido as he started out with the Greensboro Grasshoppers in Low-A Ball. He took the South Atlantic League by storm going 11-5 with a 3.55 ERA in 111.2 innings of work. His 95 mile per hour fastball was finally coming into its own as he struck out almost 20% of the batters he faced. His command was better than ever and he even won the SAL Player of the Week on June 9th, 2019. At the end of July, Bido was called up to Advanced-A Bradenton where he continued his success going 1-3 with 2.25 ERA. He dealt with a little injury bug in the beginning of August, but it wasn't enough to keep him out. He threw two shutouts with Bradenton and is hoping for a promotion to Double-A Altoona in 2021.
Promotion Looming
With Bido entering his age 25 season, advancing through the Minor League system is a must. With the 2020 season already being a loss, it is important that Bido show that he can hang in the upper levels of the Minor Leagues. Any injury or ineffectiveness could mean the end of his professional baseball career. For a team that is lacking pitching depth, Bido could be an option to add some depth to the Minor League system. He has the mid-90s fastball that makes him a marketable option, and his control has continued to get better with every passing season. His walk rate is consistently in the single-digits and he is starting to develop a cutter that has been tagged as his out pitch.
As for Bido's 2021 projection, look for the Pirates to be aggressive with him and push him into the Double-A Altoona starting rotation. He has to see if his fastball can manage in the Eastern League and continue to develop his putaway pitch. Once he does that, he can be considered a Pirates top prospect and could possibly make his MLB debut in either 2022 or 2023. With the Pirates looking to compete in that window, he could be a candidate for the starting rotation of the future. At 6'3, 175 pounds, Bido has the build of a Major League pitcher, it is up to him to make sure that his stuff is something that can help the Pirates in the future.
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