After signing in January of 2022, Esmith Pineda got his career started in June of 2022 and got out to a hot start. Through 15 games he was hitting .367 with seven walks, nine strikeouts, and three home runs. His OPS was 1.048 at that point, but that point was also where his season ended after an ankle injury.
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When 2023 began the Cincinnati Reds sent Esmith Pineda to the Arizona Complex League. He didn’t get out to the same kind of hot start that he did in 2022, putting up a .605 OPS in the first 12 games of the season. But from June 26th through July 5th he was on fire, hitting .500 and driving in 21 runs in eight games. That’s not a typo – he had two 4-RBI games and a 6-RBI game in that stretch. He also walked six times with just one walk during that span.
For as hot as he was during that time, he cooled off just as quickly, going 3-24 (.125) over the next two weeks. Things did improve from there, but he was inconsistent over the final month of the season, hitting .233 in that span with five doubles and 10 walks.
For all 2023 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).
Esmith Pineda Scouting Report
Position: Outfield | B/T: R/R
Height: 5′ 10″ | Weight: 183 lbs. | Acquired: International FA (2022)| Born: November 13, 2004
Hitting | An average tool.
Power | Has potential to be above-average.
Speed | He’s got fringe-average speed.
Defense | Potentially average.
Arm | He has a plus arm.
There’s four or five tool potential for Esmith Pineda if everything develops. Things are still quite a ways from there, though – as they are with just about every teenage baseball player.
Offensively he can use the entire field and he’s got power from gap to gap. Pineda made contact at a solid rate throughout the season, but he did battle some consistency as he rode hot and cold streaks during 2023. The power didn’t quite show up in terms of the ball leaving the yard, but he was among the league leaders in doubles and down the road some of those are going to turn into home runs.
His speed is fringe-average and limits him to a corner outfield spot. His plus arm fits well in right field. While the tools are there to be a good right fielder, he made seven errors in 2023 after not making any in his 13 games played in his debut. Five of those seven errors were on throws. Pineda is going to need to clean that up as he continues to develop.
For now, Pineda is a toolsy but inconsistent player. All of the pieces are there for a future starting outfielder in the big leagues, but there’s a lot of development that still needs to take place to get there.
Video
Esmith Pineda Spray Chart
Interesting Stat on Esmith Pineda
With no outs he hit .390/.449/.559 in 59 plate appearances.