Like most Pittsburgh Pirates fans, Reese McGuire watched as many games as he could last season, particularly during the final month of the regular season and the wild-card playoff game.
But no matter the opponent or significance of the game, one thought consistently flowed through his head.
“I wish I was there. I wish I was playing behind the plate,” McGuire said.
It might not be long before he gets his wish.
McGuire is the top catching prospect in a talent-rich minor league system. The second of the Pirates’ two first-round picks in 2013 — outfielder Austin Meadows was the first — McGuire was recently ranked as the Pirates’ No. 6 prospect by Baseball America, this after putting together a solid first season with high-Class A Bradenton.
McGuire has spent the past month playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. He’s one of six prospects with the Desert Dogs. Meadows, the No. 2 overall prospect in the Pirates Organization, played in 17 games before being removed from the roster to attend to an illness in his family.
Like Meadows, McGuire was selected to play in the AFL All-Star Game, a big honor made even more significant considering he’s the youngest player on his team and one of the youngest in the league at just 20 years old. McGuire, a left-handed hitter, is batting .333 with a .417 on-base percentage and has struck out only three times in 42 at-bats.
Among those impressed with McGuire’s talent is Glendale pitching coach Justin Meccage, who holds the same position at Class AA Altoona. Meccage praised McGuire’s defensive ability and developing offensive skills, and said he looks forward to working more with McGuire, possibly as soon as the start of the 2016 season.
“He’s a really nice prospect, especially blocking and receiving and throwing, the physical part of the game,” Meccage said. “The thing that he’s still learning and we’re all still learning is pitch calling and things like that. I hadn’t seen him much offensively, but he’s really impressed me offensively out here. He’s swung the bat really well. So there’s a nice little package working for a 20-year-old guy that’s in the fall league.”
After last season, Baseball America named McGuire the best defensive catcher in high-Class A in addition to the No. 11 prospect in the Florida State League.
“Everything seems pretty instinctual out there,” McGuire said. “My baseball IQ has been real good. Being able to call my own games since I was a young kid has really helped me, as well.”
Offensively, McGuire has shown a lot of promise. He hit .254 with 34 RBIs in 98 games at Bradenton in 2015, a year after hitting .262 with 45 RBIs in the same number of games at West Virginia.
“I’m getting better every day for sure,” McGuire said. “I’ve learned a lot this past year. Coming off of my first full season in 2014, I was able to come into this past season with a pretty good idea of who I am as a player and develop a consistent routine.”
Projecting when McGuire will make it to Pittsburgh is difficult. Starting catcher Francisco Cervelli is coming off a strong season and could be in the Pirates’ long-term plans. Another catcher, Elias Diaz, is the organization’s No. 10 prospect who spent the 2015 season at Indianapolis before a late-season call-up.
Regardless, it appears McGuire could have the label “major league-ready” attached to his name soon, maybe even this year.
Said Meccage: “He’s going to put himself in position to be able to make an impact up there in the next few years.”
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