Benjamin Pierce was drafted by Yellow Springs with the 1st overall pick in the 2016 draft. Later picks in the draft include super prospect Leon Sandcastle with the 4th overall pick by Marquette, Daniel Danny Boy” Labrie by Vegas at 9th overall and Stuart “Psycho” Pearce at the 54th pick by Omaha. With 3 years in the books it is time to take an early review of the top pick of the draft.
Pierce was a can’t miss college prospect that was coming off of an impressive 5 year college career but still had room to improve. The combination of ability and upside allowed Yellow Springs to select the 21 year old shortstop. The local beat writers had this to say at the time:
“What a name… it just rolls off the tongue doesn’t it? Hawkeye has it all and was easily the best player available in the draft. He is well developed although he’ll likely have a year or 2 in the Nine farm system to help acclimate Pierce to the daily grind. He is a true 5 tool player with great power, awesome speed and top notch defense in centerfield. His ability for both contact and power will make Pierce a great number 3 hitter in front of Bo Jordan.”
While many will argue that Sandcastle and Labrie are better players after the first few years there still is room for the agile centerfielder to develop. Yellow Springs scouts believe that his improvement from year to year will continue and that Pierce, who has one of the top power hitter sin the game batting behind him, will be the star they thought he could be when they drafted him back in 2016.
Pierce did not spend time in the minors to acclimate to the big league demands but rather was placed immediately into the Yellow Springs starting lineup in their push towards the playoffs in 2016. Many scouts believe that the decision to start Pierce right away may have hindered his development and had a negative effect on his stats the first few years. In 2016 he hit .254 with 6 HRs and 43 RBIs over 113 games. He stole 45 bases while being caught stealing 30 times. The Nine played him in the leadoff role and allowed gave him the green light to steal. 75 attempts in 113 games is impressive, even if he did get thrown out as much as he did. Then in 2017 the team asked him to step his game up but he only showed slight improvement over that span. He hit a career high .262 with 13 HRs and 48 RBI’s in 131 games. He had 33 SBs and 36 CS. He improved his walk total and lowered his strikeouts which allowed him to double his WAR, from 1.0 in 2016 to 2.0 in 2017.
Heading into the 2018 season scouts were optimistic that Pierce turned a corner and expected a lot from the 3rd year player. He hit .308 in spring and earned the respect of the front office. He was taking his game to the next level and was setting himself up for a good season. The vats improvement of 3B prospect Luis Martinez has allowed the team to plat Martinez leadoff and move Pierce down in the order. He has mainly been in the 3rd spot in the order and has prospered, hitting .289 at the 3rd spot while hitting .238 batting leadoff. After 121 games he has a .269 batting average to go along with 19 HR’s, 65 RBI’s and 39 SB’s. He is on pace to double his WAR again to around 4.0.
The team is very happy with the continued progress of the 25 year old and expects to have him in a Nine uniform for years to come.
Career stat lines:
Pierce - .262 avg, .738 OPS, 365 G, 1452 AB, 380 H, 50 2B, 16 3B, 38 HR, 156 RBI, 159 BB, 239 SO, 117 SB
Sandcastle - .340 avg, .948 OPS, 255 G, 966 AB, 328 H, 50 2B, 17 3B, 37 HR, 138 RBI, 104 BB, 204 SO, 44 SB
Labrie Jr - .320 avg, .920 OPS, 387 G, 1540 AB, 493 H, 73 2B, 34 3B, 68 HR, 243 RBI, 134 BB, 251 SO, 49 SB
