Connor Kaiser: The Surprise Add to the Alternate Training Site

Last week, the Pittsburgh Pirates released their alternate training site roster for the month of April. There were some names that you would expect on the list, but one of the big surprises on the roster was third-year Minor League shortstop Connor Kaiser.

Late last week, the Pittsburgh Pirates released their 2021 Alternate Training site roster, which will be located in Pittsburgh. Many of the names on the list are ones you would expect, like Todd Frazier, Geoff Hartlieb, and Oneil Cruz. However, one of the names that left Pirates fans scratching their heads was the addition of 24-year-old shortstop Connor Kaiser. Kaiser is entering his fourth year being in the Pirates organization and was nowhere to be found around the Spring Training roster or non-roster invitee list. Kaiser was a third-round pick by the Pirates in the 2018 draft and spent the 2018 and 2019 Minor League seasons between short-season and full-season ball.

Over those two seasons, Kaiser has managed to hit .217 with 9 home runs and 53 RBI in 447 Minor League at-bats. While his primary position is shortstop, the Pirates have been trying him out all over the diamond. In two pro seasons, he has already seen time at shortstop, third base, and second base and his tall 6'4 frame could allow him to round out the infield and get some time over at first base. Kaiser isn't a guy who is going to light up the scoreboard with gaudy home run numbers, but he can put the ball in play and use his speed to push for extra bases when he needs to. However, Kaiser's biggest weapon is his defensive ability. He has a career .979 fielding percentage at shortstop and has not committed an error anywhere else on the field. Today, we look at Kaiser's career so far, and what he can gain out of being at the Pirates alternate training site.

Blossoming in the Minors

When the Pirates drafted Kaiser in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft, he was one of the most consistent bats at Vanderbilt. He had started at shortstop as a freshman and quickly matured in the program according to Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin. Because of this, when he came to the Pirates he was able to skip past Rookie Ball and got his start in Short-Season ball with the former West Virginia Black Bears. He was the team's starting shortstop by the end of the 2018 season but struggled at the plate. He hit just .212 with a home run and nine RBI in his first 31 games as a pro. However, his defense was second to none as he only committed one error at shortstop all season. When a job opened up in full-season ball, it was Kaiser's defense that got him promoted to Advanced-A West Virginia.

When he got there, everything all of a sudden clicked for Kaiser and he took off at the plate over the 16 game stretch. He hit .302 during that stretch with a home run, eight RBI, and a total of three extra-base hits. One of the biggest things that helped Kaiser was that he was putting the ball in play more often. After striking out 25% of the time in short-season ball, he dropped that four percentage points to 21.7% with the West Virginia Power. The other thing that helped is when he was putting the ball in play, it was finding a hole as opposed to finding a glove. His BABIP jumped from .280 in short-season ball up to .375 in Full season. With this newfound confidence, he was ready to take on his new role head-on.

Because of his success in late 2018, the Pirates decided that Kaiser was ready for full-season ball and promoted him to Greensboro for the 2019 season. However, Kaiser's offensive game took a major step back as he hit just .200 in 79 games but began to show a little power with seven home runs and 36 RBI. His strikeout rate stayed about where it was the season before at 22%, but those strikeouts caught up to him as he wasn't putting the ball in play as much. Because of this, he also wasn't able to use his speed on the basepaths to cause havoc for the opposing pitchers. He only got to steal four bases in 2019 and had an on-base percentage of just .331. However, the one positive Kaiser can take from the 2019 season was his ability to pick up extra bases, finishing the season with 20.

Entering Camp in 2021

After a year off of baseball due to the pandemic, Kaiser and other Minor Leaguers around the league are just happy to get back on the diamond. Kaiser was not a member of the alternate site last season and is looking to impress the upper-level coaches in the Pirates Minor League system. For Kaiser, the biggest thing he needs to work on this spring is lowering his strikeout rate, and making more consistent contact. He is a big guy at 6'4, 195 pounds, and he is beginning to generate some power with that bigger frame. At 24-years-old, his body is essentially done growing, and while he may not be a premier power hitter, he has the ability to hit 15-20 home runs if given a full season.

However, because he isn't a premier power guy, he will hopefully start to look to drive the ball in the gap as opposed to over the wall. His career-high 12 doubles, and 20 total extra-base hits, in 2019 was a step in the right direction, but you would like to see him do that more consistently and with a higher batting average. During his college days, his highest home run total was six during his senior season, but he also featured a .293 batting average and 14 doubles that year. If he can find a way to post similar numbers when the Minor Leagues resume in 2021, he could begin to pick up some momentum in his climb to the Major Leagues. However, one of the things working against Kaiser is his age. At 24-years-old, he is already one of the oldest prospects in A Ball and needs to make a move fast.

Kaiser was hurt dramatically by the 2020 Minor League shutdown as he lost a key year of development that could have been used to help him advance through the system. As to where the Pirates will place Kaiser when the Minor Leagues do begin, that is left to be determined. Because of his age, I would guess that the team is going to start him at Advanced-A Bradenton, but a slow start could doom him. As to whether or not he will turn into a top prospect in the Pirates system, I would say that is a likely no. At 24-years-old, it will take a lot of improvement just to climb the Minor League ladder in time. However, it is always nice to see a fresh young face in camp, even if it is an alternate training site.

The Pittsburgh Pirates (1-2) continue their three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds (1-2) tonight at 6:40 pm at Great American Ball Park. Trevor Cahill (0-0, -.--) gets his first start in a Pirates' uniform going against Wade Miley (0-0, -.--) who will be making his season debut for the Reds. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet or listen live at 93.7 the Fan. Sorry, no live tweets for tonight's game, but check out our Twitter and Facebook pages afterward for final score updates.

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