A Crazy Ride To The Big Leagues Leads to Night of Firsts for Stokes
On Friday, Troy Stokes Jr. found out that he was being put on the Pirates taxi squad, coming up from Triple-A Indianapolis. Five days later, he is a big contributor in a 7-2 Pirates win over the Cincinnati Reds, going 2-3 with a walk, a double, and two RBI. It has been a long and winding road to the Big Leagues for Stokes Jr., but now that he is finally here he is looking to take advantage of his opportunity. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and spent the last seven years going through the systems of three different organizations before finding the Pirates. He was claimed off waivers by the club on January 12th, 2021, and has shown enough to get a Big League chance early in the season.
It is a big moment for Stokes JR., who missed most of the 2019 season with a broken hand and then had to sit out 2020 because of the Minor League shutdown. The one-time Top 100 prospect has shown all the tools to be successful in the Minor Leagues and seized his opportunity last night. He went 2-3 with a double and two RBI while collecting his first two Big League hits. He thought he had his first MLB hit in his first MLB at-bat, but that was taken away by the official scorer, who turned a hit and an RBI into a straight error. Stokes Jr. has looked really good defensively in right field and is hoping to make his first trip to the Major Leagues his last. Today, we look back on Stokes Jr.'s Minor League career to see how he climbed the ladder and got this shot with the Pirates.
A Long Minor League Road
After he was drafted in 2014, the Milwaukee Brewers decided to send the then 18-year old outfielder to Rookie Ball at the Arizona Summer League. Right away, Stokes Jr. showed that he could swing the bat hitting .262 with 18 RBI and a .694 OPS with the AZL Brewers in 47 games played. He showed his speed on the base paths with 19 stolen bases and collected 11 total extra-base hits on the season. While he was hitting the gaps on a pretty consistent basis, there was a lot of raw power that the Brewers felt Stokes wasn't tapping into. He stayed in Rookie Ball once again in 2015 and showed a little more of that power-hitting .270 with five home runs and 27 RBI in 62 games played.
He advanced to Low-A Ball in 2016, and once again had an ok power showing, hitting .268 with four home runs and 29 RBI. Most of his power was going to the gaps as he hit a career-high 20 doubles and was starting to grow into his 5'9 frame. While he was developing on the offensive side of the ball, his defense was the one thing that always remained solid. He did not commit an error during his first professional season and had just two total errors after his second season. With the defense under control, the offense was allowed to flourish, and it did when he made the jump to High-A ball. He made the jump to the Carolina League right at the start of the year and that is when he really tapped into his power.
It was a career offensive year for Stokes JR. in 2017 as he hit .253 with 20 home runs and 78 RBI. Naturally, with the increase in home runs came an increase in strikeouts, but Stokes Jr. was still hitting for enough power where you could live with the strikeouts. He was going down swinging at a 19.7% clip, which isn't too bad considering he was a member of the 20 home run club. He added 31 stolen bases to his resume that season as well and was well on his way up the Brewers ladder. He added on with another strong season in 2018, hitting .233 with 19 home runs and 53 RBI at Double-A, and was ready for the promotion to Triple-A. However, a concussion and a broken hand in the last two seasons kept him from progressing and led him to the opportunity he currently has with the Pirates.
The Call to The Big Leagues
The story of how Manager Derek Shelton told Stokes Jr. he was a Big Leaguer is an interesting one. He called the young outfielder into his office, and Stokes wasn't really sure what it was about, being he was a member of the taxi squad. Then, Shelton asked one simple question, "Do you want to be a Big Leaguer?" Of course, Stokes Jr. said yes and he ended up being in the starting lineup that night. His parents found out while they were in a taxi cab and ended up flying to Chicago for the game. They got there by the end of the seventh inning and got to see the final three innings of their son'sdebut. It was an interesting one for Stokes Jr. full of ups and downs.
He thought he had his first MLB hit and first MLB RBI in his first at-bat, as that is what initially was ruled. However, the official scorer eventually took both away and left Stokes Jr. with a straight error instead. The outfielder would have to wait two more days for that first hit, picking it up last night as part of a 2-3, 2 RBI day. Stokes Jr. has played just three games at the Big League level so far, but his approach has been pretty good. He has struck out just twice in his first 11 at-bats and has made some solid contact. The power hasn't shown up yet, but with the first hit out of the way, Stokes Jr. can now focus on just playing the game and using his skills rather than worry about how many hits he has.
As far as how long Stokes will be with the Pirates, I think this could be a pretty extensive look. Even with Ben Gamel and Gregory Polanco being activated, Stokes has stayed on the roster which tells me the Pirates have some confidence in him. He has already made a big impact on defense, making a couple of sliding catches, including one near the brick wall in right field at Wrigley. If his offense can find a way to be consistent at the Big League level, Stokes is a guy we could be talking about in Pittsburgh for years to come. He has been an exciting player to watch early on, and only time will tell if he will pan out and be a future star for this team.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (15-21) kick-off a four-game weekend set with the red hot San Francisco Giants (22-14) tomorrow night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm. Wil Crowe (0-1, 4.02) will get the start after three strong performances in Chad Kuhl's absence as he goes against Anthony DeSclafani (2-1, 2.40) for the Giants. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.
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