Bligh Madris added to Triple-A Outfield Mix After Promotion
As the Pittsburgh Pirates start the process of becoming competitive again, we continue to keep an eye on the Minor Leagues, as we watch guys develop. On Wednesday, there was a minor move that added another outfielder to the mix at Triple-A Indianapolis and brought a whole lot of defensive help to the Indians. 25-year-old outfielder Bligh Madris was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis yesterday and will get his first shot at the Triple-A level. Madris is off to a slow start at the plate this year, hitting .192 with an RBI over his first 26 at-bats, but he is one of the top defensive outfielders in the Pirates system. He has a career fielding percentage of .987 and has a very strong arm with 15 career outfield assists over his first five seasons as a professional.
Those defensive skills we're put on display already this season, as he was the primary right fielder for the Curve. He routinely made sliding and diving catches in the outfield and has not yet committed an error this season. However, the slow start is uncharacteristic for Madris as he is a career .253 hitter with 22 home runs and 140 RBI. He has routinely kept his batting average around the .250 to .260 mark throughout his career and is trying to get back to that in 2021. After a year working from home, Madris is just happy to be back out on the field. He can play all three outfield positions and does so at a high level, and with so much competition for playing time at Triple-A, it will be interesting to see how he fares. Today, we look back at Madris's journey with the Pirates so far and see how he fits into what is becoming a crowded Indians outfield.
Contact Hitter With Some Pop
Throughout his college career, Bligh Madris was always known for his consistent bat at the plate. What teams didn't know was the power that was in his bat until he broke out his junior season. At Mesa State in 2017, Madris was able to hit .422 with 17 home runs and 67 RBI in 62 games. The Pirates saw potential and ended up grabbing Madris in the ninth round of the 2017 MLB Draft. Because he played at a smaller Division 1 school, the Pirates decided to start him at the Short-Season West Virginia Black Bears. His average dropped down to a more modest .270 mark with five home runs and 31 RBI. The Pirates were impressed with the early showing from Madris and ended up promoting him straight to A Ball the following season.
However, the transition wasn't as smooth for Madris as his average dropped to .238 but his power numbers went up. He hit a career, -high nine home runs and 53 RBI, but as what usually occurs with power hitters the strikeouts went up as well. The Florida State League has always been known as a pitcher-friendly league, and Madris struck out 21.4% of the time. However, he was still racking up extra-base hits and was tied for third on the team with his 12 doubles. As the season went on, things got worse for Madris as he hit just .200 (3-15) over his final over his final four games and ended hitting just .238. With Double-A Altoona having a need for outfielders, Madris ended up making the jump to Double-A the following season.
Madrid played in a career-high 132 games with the Curve in 2019 and began to hit more consistently at .260 with eight home runs and 55 RBI to go along with an OPS of .703. He finished second on the team with 26 doubles that year and second in home runs with eight, as he was beginning to mature at the level. However, for the first time in Madris's young career, he did not make the jump to the next level the following season. After working from home during the Pandemic, Madris was sent back to Double-A Altoona to start 2021. In 10 games, he hit just .192 with one RBI but still earned a call-up to Triple-A to help in the outfield.
Using That Glove to Play
With the way Madris has shown that he can play defense, my guess is the move was made to make available more playing time for everyone. In Altoona, the Curve had seven outfielders on the roster and the Indianapolis Indians only had four. The move evens out the rosters and allows more playing time for everyone. Madris has proven time and time again that he can play solid defense, going back to that .989 career outfield fielding percentage. His strongest attribute is definitely his arm, as over his career he has 14 outfield assists. The arm plays better in right field, where 13 of those assists have come from, but Madris has played all over the outfield.
However, what has given Madris the spotlight essentially in the Minor Leagues is the amount of highlight-reel-worthy plays he makes. The Altoona Curve Twitter page is routinely filled with diving, sliding, and leaping catches by Madris all over the outfield. When you have a guy who can not only hit for power but also play great defense, that is a big plus for any team and probably one of the reasons the Pirates are so interested in his development. At 25-years-old, he is one of the older players on the Indians staff. This could play to his and the organization's advantage, as he tries to help mentor top outfield prospect Travis Swaggerty and help him sharpen his skills on the defensive side of the ball.
Although, ultimately Madris's goal is to make it to the Big Leagues, and if he wants to do that he is going to have to continue to hit the ball consistently. He saw the consequences of selling out for the home run during the 2018 season, when he hit just .238, and bounced back nicely the following year. He has always shown an ability to drive the ball to the gaps, so look for that to be a focus for Madris moving forward. With the Pirates giving more and more young players opportunities at the Big League level, it wouldn't surprise me if by the end of the year we maybe see Madris get a shot in a Pirates uniform while guys like Swaggerty continue to develop. Madris has been flying under the radar throughout his career, and now he is finally looking to be the guy in the spotlight on his path to the Major Leagues.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (17-25) head to take on the Atlanta Braves (20-23) in a four-game weekend series at Truist Park. Wil Crowe (0-2, 4.35) is looking to bounce back from a rough start his last time out as he goes against Drew Smyly (2-2, 5.23). You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet 2, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.
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