STEVEN PEARCE

4/13/83; '05 8th; Univ. of South Carolina
R/R; 5-11, 190

Level
BA
OBP
SA
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
2005 NCAA
.358
.420
.703
229
16
0
21
23
23
2
0
2005 A-
.301
.381
.474
272
26
0
7
35
43
2
4
2006 A+
.265
.348
.482
328
27
1
14
34
65
7
5
2006 A
.288
.363
.606
160
13
1
12
15
32
1
3
2007 NL
.294
.342
.397
68
5
1
0
5
12
2
1
2007 AAA
.320
.366
.557
122
9
1
6
6
12
5
0
2007 AA
.334
.400
.586
290
27
2
14
33
45
7
2
2007 A+
.347
.412
.867
75
4
1
11
8
13
2
0
2008 NL
.248
.294
.422
109
7
0
4
5
22
2
0
2008 AAA
.251
.312
.417
386
26
1
12
32
75
10
4
2009 NL
.206
.296
.370
165
13
1
4
21
43
1
0
2009 AAA
.286
.373
.502
273
18
1
13
34
46
3
7

In college, Pearce hit for considerable power, especially for a small 1B. He also made very good contact. The Red Sox drafted him in round 10 in 2004 but didn't sign him. Of the Pirates' numerous college draftees that year, he had the best debut. The very high doubles total at Williamsport provided some promise of power to come. Pearce lit up the SAL early in the following season and was promoted in May. He didn't do as well at Lynchburg, and some of the HRs turned back into doubles, but he finished strongly, having easily his best month in August. He had a strong platoon split at Lynchburg, but an even stronger reverse platoon split at Hickory, so these numbers probably don't mean much.

In 2007, Pearce opened at Lynchburg, which seemed to show the Pirates didn't regard him as much of a prospect.  Nevertheless, he went on a HR spree that earned him an early promotion to AA. He was easily the best hitter in the Eastern League during his stay there, earning him a promotion in late July.  He continued to batter the pitchers in AAA, although an 0-for-12 finish dropped his numbers a bit.  In a September callup he did well, not looking at all overmatched.  Unfortunately, he got less playing time than he might have because Jim Tracy became obsessed with the speedy Nyjer Morgan and mostly played Pearce only when injuries forced him to do so.

Pearce is an interesting hitter. He's very aggressive, starting his weight forward early in the pitcher's motion in an effort to drive the ball. He tries to pull most pitches. Scouts have expressed skepticism about his swing since he was in class A, doubting whether he'd be able to hit offspeed pitches at higher levels because he commits too early. Pearce's is more athletic than some people seem to think, as shown by the fact that he's done well stealing  bases in some years. He's a good baserunner who's alert to opportunities to advance. He has good hands and is solid defensively at 1B, with very good range on grounders to his right, although his height is a detriment on throws. In recognition of the fact that he was blocked at first by Adam LaRoche, the Pirates started playing him in RF much of the time in AAA and also during his major league callups in 2007-08.  Although he has a good arm, he doesn't belong in the outfield as he doesn't track fly balls well.

Pearce hit for more power in 2008 spring training than any other player on the team, but the Pirates sent him back to AAA anyway.  The team's new management has made it clear they don't think he can handle offspeed pitches well enough to hit major league pitching.  They may have a point, as he struggled throughout his second stint in AAA and also in the majors.  The team sent him to play winter ball in Mexico, where the pitching is heavily oriented to offspeed stuff.  Pearce struggled there and got off to a slow start in AAA.  In May, however, he started hitting and he continued to improve in the following two months.  The Pirates called him up temporarily in late June, but hardly played him at all and sent him back down in early July.  He came back to the majors late in the month, when LaRoche was traded, and the team announced he'd finally get an extended opportunity at first.  He hit reasonably well in August (254/321/423), but he collapsed in September, hitting 120/254/220.  By the end of the month, Brandon Moss had returned to playing right regularly against RHPs with Garrett Jones moving to first.

Pearce could still be a useful player for the Pirates, as he destroys LHPs.  In his major league career, he's hit 306/358/561 against them.  He's hit them about as well in the minors, but he hasn't struggled with RHPs in the minors the way he has in the majors, as they've dominated him at the latter level to the tune of 209/283/324.  Obviously, the issue is offspeed stuff, usually sliders away.  His approach seems to be to try to lay off the breaking balls as much as possible, which led to good walk totals in 2009, but not much else.  At worst, he could be a good platoon player, but unfortunately John Russell hasn't shown the imagination or flexibility to take advantage of such an opportunity.  With the team in the market for a corner bat; Jones and Lastings Milledge holding down starting spots; Moss, Jeff Clement and probably Delwyn Young available as bench players; and Jose Tabata in AAA, Pearce will have trouble making the Pirates in 2010.  He has one option left.

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