Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Stetson Allie transforming into slugger
By Matt Shetler
When the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Stetson Allie in the second round of the 2010 draft, many thought the Bucs hit the jackpot.
And why not? It’s not every day that you can find a high school pitcher who throws over 100 mph falls to a team like the Pirates in the second round, especially at a time when they needed talent badly. But things don’t always go according to plan.
Pirates minor leaguer Stetson Allie
By now, most avid Pirates fans know the story of Allie. Even though he was an intimidating 6-foot-2, 238-pound presence on the mound, Allie managed to throw only 26.2 professional innings.
However, even though Allie didn’t pan out as a pitcher, the Pirates still may have hit the jackpot.
While Allie may have had an intimidating frame on the hill, he brings that same presence to the batters box where he is currently starring as a first baseman for Class-A West Virginia.
Allie is crushing the ball for the Power this spring. He leads the South Atlantic League with a 1.055 OPS, 47 RBIs and 199 total bases, is tied for first with 13 homers and is third with a .340 batting average. The Bucs currently don’t have much in the way of power-hitting first basemen in the organization, so Allie’s development has been huge for the franchise.
Allie’s transition is similar to that of former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Rick Ankiel who carved out a pretty successful big-league career after losing it as a pitcher. If that’s the case, give the Bucs credit for recognizing the problem and trying to make something out of Allie before it got too late.
Of course it is still way too early to denote Allie the Pirates first baseman of the future. He has struck out 61 times in 49 games and must improve in terms of plate recognition, but early on the signs are more than encouraging.
If Allie has another monster week like he did last week when he was named South Atlantic League Player of the Week, he may start to move through the Pirates system quicker than expected.
Sometimes you hit a home run even when it looks like you swung and missed. Hopefully that becomes the case with Allie.