Edwin Espinal

Edwin Manuel Espinal

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 250 lb.

• Born January 27, 1994 in Mao, Valverde D.R.

BR register page

Biographical Information

Edwin Espinal has played as high as AAA and for the Dominican national team.

Espinal was signed by Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Rene Gayo and Cristino Valdez in April 2011. He hit .269/.382/.352 in his pro debut with the DSL Pirates that year, with twice as many walks (20) as strikeouts (10). That ratio was not nearly as good with the 2012 GCL Pirates at 3:26 as his batting line fell to .244/.261/.328. With the 2013 Jamestown Jammers, he hit .288/.316/.350 and drove in 41 runs, tying Zach Green for 3rd in the New York-Penn League, behind David Washington and Yeicok Calderón. Baseball America rated him as having the best infield arm in the Pirates system, unusual for a first baseman.

In 2014, he produced at a .283/.327/.385 clip for the West Virginia Power and had 71 RBI. He led South Atlantic League first basemen with 82 assists. He led Bucco farmhands in RBI, one ahead of JaCoby Jones. He had a fine Dominican Winter League debut, going 8 for 18 with a double, 3 runs and 4 RBI in six games for the Águilas Cibaeñas.

Espinal moved up to the Bradenton Marauders in 2015 and batted .256/.316/.351. His .995 fielding percentage paced Florida State League first basemen. He was 3 for 14 in the winter for the Águilas. With the 2016 Altoona Curve, the 22-year-old hit .289/.324/.411 with 56 RBI. While he improved his fielding at 1B to .997, he did not lead the Eastern League as Dominic Ficociello was at .998. He was 5th in the Pirates chain in average, between Josh Bell and Tito Polo. He had a rough winter (.154/.283/.359 in 31 G, backing up José Julio Ruíz at 1B).

The Mao native split 2017 between Altoona (.283/.322/.474, 15 HR, 72 RBI) and the Indianapolis Indians (.323/.341/.369 in 35 G), showing his best offense yet while still young for his level. He missed the EL top 10 in slugging by .003 and tied Josh Fuentes for 8th in RBI. In the Pirates chain, he tied Albert Baur for 2nd in doubles (31, 2 behind Chris Bostick), tied Danny Ortiz for 4th in home runs (15), led in RBI (19 ahead of Mitchell Tolman) and led in total bases (222, 4 ahead of Jordan Luplow). He also played error-free ball at first base that year. He was named the EL All-Star first baseman.

Espinal hit .287/.350/.364 in the winter. He tied Gabriel Guerrero for 9th in the league in average. In the 2018 Caribbean Series, he hit .280/.308/.360 with 6 RBI in six games, but made an error after none the prior summer. He tied René Reyes for 3rd in the Series in RBI, behind Anthony García and Balbino Fuenmayor. Moving on to the Detroit Tigers system, he slumped with the 2018 Toledo Mud Hens (.242/.330/.319, 24 RBI in 100 G). He continued to shine with the glove, leading the 2018 IL first basemen with 72 assists. Baseball America named him the IL's best defensive first baseman. His winter performance for the Águilas was also below his prior levels (.196/.242/.217). He rebounded in the 2019 Caribbean Series, going 5 for 15 with a double and a walk. He tied for 10th int he Series in average.

Moving on to the independent leagues, he hit .253/.303/.347 for the 2019 Somerset Patriots. He was one of the veteran position players on the Dominican team in the 2019 Premier 12 and did well, with 3 runs and 3 RBI against the Dutch national team and 3 more RBI against Team USA. He finished the event at .444/.444/.500. Only Seiya Suzuki and Bobby Dalbec had more RBI in the Premier 12 and they each played 8 games to Edwin's 3.