Jared Oliva Continues to Hit in the Arizona Fall League
Jared Oliva's continued excellence in the Fall League is going beyond a hot streak. I've been careful to not get too excited about Oliva's early play in Arizona, but with another multi-hit game last night, it would be a little silly to not view this as a possible breakout for the 23-year old.
Yesterday, Oliva went 3-4 with a double and triple, and 3 RBIs.
Oliva's bat has been steady throughout his stint in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, but he hasn't shown much in the minors that would suggest he's a future star. His career on-base percentage is good (.348), but probably not quite enough to off-set his lack of power - 15 homers in 1,215 career at-bats.
Oliva's offensive edge is his speed, and it's what makes him an ideal candidate for the Pirate's future lead-off hitter. However, that .348 on-base percentage would need to improve to make that happen. His performance in the fall league against competition that is made up of other promising prospects suggests that he's getting closer to making that jump.
Oliva's ability to swip bags and get extra bags is something the Pirates don't have much of at the major league level. So, is skillset would be most welcomed. This season in Altoona, Oliva had 36 stolen bases and was caught 10 times. The only player on the Pirates roster that is capable of numbers like that would be Starling Marte, and his role inhibits his opportunity to be much of a base-stealing threat.
Starling Marte is actually an interesting name in relation to Jared Oliva, because their careers in Pittsburgh may very well be linked. Marte has been a hot name on the trade rumor mill, and the organization's confidence in Oliva replacing him may be the determining factor in whether or not a trade would happen.
My biggest concern with Oliva becoming the center fielder in Pittsburgh would be the dropoff in slugging percentage. Oliva's .398 slugging in AA would rank 8th on the Pirate's current roster. He would need to steal a lot of bases to make up for the lack of those extra bases - especially when considering Marte is tied for second on the team in slugging (.503).
This is why Oliva's performance in Arizona is so exciting. Not only is his batting average .393, but he's also slugging .625. He isn't hitting home runs, but he doesn't have to. Oliva's ability to put balls in gaps, like he has so far in the fall, will go a long way in determining how bright his star will shine. Being as that, he is 16 games into the fall league, this doesn't feel like simply a hot streak, but rather an indication he can be something special in Pittsburgh.
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