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JOSE OZUNA
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FIRST BASEMAN
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Born: December 12, 1992 Height: 6′ 2″ Weight: 213 Bats: Right Throws: Right Signed: Int. FA, Pittsburgh Pirates, 2011 How Acquired: Int. FA Birthplace: Venezuela Agent: N/A |
WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES |
| Ozuna is one of several Latin American outfielders at the lower levels of the Pirates’ system who’s shown the potential to develop into a good prospect. While the others (Willy Garcia, Luis Urena, Gregory Polanco) are tall, lean players whose skills are still very raw, Ozuna is already strongly built and has much better current hitting ability. According to Baseball America, he was originally a pitcher, but signed with the Pirates as a hitter after his velocity dropped. He has a very good approach at the plate, especially for his age, as he seldom chases bad pitches. He’ll be strictly a corner outfielder or a first baseman.
2010 Ozuna was one of the better power hitters in the VSL in 2010, leading the league in HRs at age 17. 2011 Got off to a very fast start in the GCL and, although he cooled off a little, he continued to hit well all summer. He had almost as many walks as Ks, which is impressive for an 18-year-old who hits with power. He fanned just a little more than once every nine ABs. He played left field initially, but moved to first about halfway through the GCL season, probably to make way for the other, faster outfielders. He had two errors in twenty games, so the move at least wasn’t a disaster. He got into two games at State College at the end of the season. BA rated him the 5th best prospect in the GCL. The Pirates may try to jump Ozuna to West Virginia next year. He should have a good chance of handling it well, considering the advanced approach he’s shown at the plate. The organization doesn’t have an obvious candidate to play first there, assuming Alex Dickerson moves up to Bradenton, and there are a lot of outfielders at the lower levels who are more athletic than Ozuna, so there’s a good chance he’ll play first there. |
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STATS
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| Baseball Reference–Minors Fangraphs MiLB.com |
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CONTRACT INFORMATION
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| 2012: Minor League Contract |
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PLAYER INFORMATION
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| Signing Bonus: $250,000 MiLB Debut: 2011 MLB Debut: N/A MiLB FA Eligible: 2016 MLB FA Eligible: N/A Rule 5 Eligible: 2014 Added to 40-Man: N/A Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
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TRANSACTIONS
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| December 5, 2009: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent. |
