DAN GAMACHE
SECOND BASEMAN
  Born: November 20, 1990
Height: 5′ 11″
Weight: 195
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Drafted: 6th Round, 182nd Overall, 2011
College: Auburn
Agent:  N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES
Gamache put up good hitting numbers at the plate for his first two years, but fell off some his third year, maybe in part due to the change in bats.  A hand injury ended his 2011 season early.  He’s lacked power, with just 16 homers in his three year career, spanning over 400 at-bats.  He’s got an athletic frame with good defensive skills, highlighted by good range and a strong arm.  He hits to all fields, but he might not have much value at third base unless he manages to add power.  He signed shortly after the draft, but didn’t start play immediately as he was still recovering from the injury.

2011
R:  350/440/350, 20 AB, 3 BB, 5 K
A-:  231/292/338, 65 AB, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 BB, 13 K, 1-2 SB

After a brief tuneup in the GCL, Gamache got into 20 games with State College.  He didn’t hit well, but that may not mean much due to the small sample size, the adjustment to wood bats, and possible lingering effects from the hand injury.  He split his time between third and second, so the Pirates may plan to move him to the latter, where his bat would play better.

2012
A:  285/350/430, 449 AB, 40 2B, 5 3B, 5 HR, 41 BB, 95 K, 7-11 SB

Gamache played second exclusively for West Virginia.  He had a solid year at the plate, without dominating the way you’d like to see a college hitter do at low A.  Two factors in his favor are that he played the season at age 21, and he improved in the second half, going from a .745 first-half OPS to .813 in the second half.  He had a moderate platoon split, posting an OPS of .802 against RHPs and .710 against LHPs.

Gamache should be the regular at second for Bradenton in 2013.  If he’s a real prospect, he should be able to earn a mid-season promotion.  In fact, it’s a little surprising the Pirates didn’t promote him late in 2012.  There wasn’t anybody blocking him at Bradenton.
STATS
Baseball Reference–Minors
Fangraphs
MiLB.com
NCAA
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
2009 .383 .508 .638 47 3 0 3 14 8 0 0
2010 .365 .442 .582 189 15 1 8 24 33 7 2
2011 .299 .414 .464 194 13 2 5 30 33 2 0
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2013: Minor league contract.
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: $125,000
MiLB Debut: 2011
MLB Debut:
MiLB FA Eligible: 2017
MLB FA Eligible:
Rule 5 Eligible: 2014
Added to 40-Man:
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 7, 2011: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 6th round, 182nd overall pick; signed on June 12, 2011.