Cleveland Baseball Insider's 2023 End Of Season Top 50 Prospects: No. 41 OF prospect Jose Pirela

As we close out the 2023 season and players prepare for a new year and spring training to begin, there’s no better time to bring you an up-to-date look at Cleveland Baseball Insiders' top 50 prospects heading into the off-season.

Rankings are based on seeing the players live, watching videos, and having conversations with evaluators within and outside of the organization, as well as other writers.

While prospect lists are fun and entertaining for fans, they are not an end-all-be-all in terms of who makes it eventually to the major leagues. Remember, Jose Ramirez was never a top-100 prospect nationally and players like Steven Kwan and Will Brennan weren't considered top-20 prospects in the Guardians organization by many outside publications.

The ultimate goal here is to inform our readers and give you information on some of the young talent in the organization that they can follow and look forward to seeing in the future at the MLB level.

Jose Pirela - OF

Jose Pirela signed for $320K out of Maracaibo, Venezuela as part of the Guardians 2023 international signing class on January 15th, 2023. He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2023.

Pirela was unknown outside Venezuela coming into the 2023 Dominican Summer League and was considered more of a mid-level sign. After his 2023 campaign, he's now viewed by many as the second-best prospect outside shortstop Welbyn Francisca from a deep 2023 Guardians international position player class.

Scouting Grades

The athletic Pirela has a lot of nice tools to his game, but it may be his power potential that may end up being his best skill as he moves forward.

Pirela was listed at 6'3" 183lbs when he signed back in January of 2023 as a 16-year-old. His tall lanky frame will only enable him to add more muscle and good weight as he continues to develop and mature going forward.

Despite his long levers he possesses a quick compact stroke and has very fast hands allowing him to turn on inside pitches. He makes hard contact and shows the ability to barrel up the ball consistently. Pirela also has a good eye with the ability to draw a walk working deep counts.

He possesses average to above-average speed and despite his size started 28 of his 41 games in center field while also stealing eight bases in 2023. His arm currently grades as average but could improve as he matures and gets stronger. Pirela may eventually end up moving to a corner outfield position in the future.