Pirates Promote Rising Catcher Prospect
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have a promising catcher prospect that they recently moved up in their farm system.
The Pirates promoted catcher Axiel Plaz from Single-A Bradenton to High-A Greensboro on Aug. 17, making him just three more promotions away from the MLB.
C Axiel Plaz has been promoted from Single-A @The_Marauders to High-A @GSOHoppers #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/TKlwLwGXLY
— Pittsburgh Pirates Player Development Report (@PGHplayerDev) August 18, 2025
Plaz hasn't played since June 17, after Bradenton put him on the seven-day injured list, but this promotion might mean that he's ready for a return towards the end of the season.
He slashed .262/.348/.450 for an OPS of .798 in 55 games at Bradenton, with 53 hits in 202 at-bats, 11 doubles, nine home runs, 40 RBIs and 21 walks to 47 strikeouts.
Plaz played 41 of his games at catcher, but also started 12 of 13 contests at first base and started one game at designated hitter in 2025.
The Pirates signed Plaz on Jan. 15, 2022, as one of the few international signings that period, including infielder Yordanny De Los Santos and designated hitter Tony Blanco Jr., both at Bradenton.
Plaz, who hails from San Felix, Venezuela, signed on for $350,000 and played for the Dominican Summer League (DSL) Pirates Gold team in 2022. He slashed an impressive .382/.500/.706 for an OPS of 1.206 in 32 games, with 26 hits in 68 at-bats, 11 doubles, one triple, three home runs, 21 RBIs and 13 walks to 16 strikeouts.
He struggled the following season with the Florida Complex League (FCL) Pirates in 2023, dealing with injuries that kept him to just 33 games. He slashed .144/.359/.237 for an OPS of .596 in 33 games, with 14 hits in 97 at-bats, four doubles, one triple, one home run, 13 RBIs and 21 walks to 41 strikeouts.
Plaz played eight games with the FCL Pirates in 2024, before moving up to Bradenton on May 17. He played in 76 games there, slashing .207/.302/.438 for an OPS of .740, with 50 hits in 242 at-bats, 11 doubles, 15 home runs, 42 RBIs and 32 walks to 82 strikeouts.
He has a scouting report evaluation from MLB Pipeline of Hit (40), Power (55), Run (30), Arm (55), Field (45) and Overall (40).
MLB Pipeline and Baseball American both rank him 29th in the Pirates farm system and the fifth best catcher, behind Rafael Flores (eighth overall) at Triple-A Indianapolis, Edgleen Perez (17th overall) at Bradenton, Omar Alfonzo (19th overall) at Double-A Altoona and Easton Carmichael (20th overall), also at Greensboro.
The Pirates acquired both Flores and Perez in the David Bednar trade with the New York Yankees on July 31 and selected Carmichael with the 82nd overall pick in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft. They signed Alfonzo back in August 2019.
Plaz only turned 20 years old on Aug. 12 and will have time to develop into both a great catcher and hitter in the Pirates organization.
He will also play with top Pirates prospects in Greensboro, including shortstop Sammy Stafura (seventh overall), who came in the Ke'Bryan Hayes trade with the Cincinnati Reds, plus first baseman Jared Jones (27th overall), who the Pirates took in the ninth round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of LSU, and Carmichael.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.