Liover Peguero #2

Liover Peguero (pronounced “LEE-over puh-GAIR-oh”)...Learned how to spell and speak English by writing down lyrics from American music around the age of 10...His favorite player growing up was Ozzie Smith, who retired four years before he was even born... He watched clips of him play and was inspired by his unique style and the way he played the game...He was also a huge fan of the backflip that Smith would do before the games started...His hobbies include playing video games and hiking...Began his professional career with the Dominican Summer League Diamondbacks in 2018 after signing with Arizona as a non-drafted free agent in 2017.

2023

Combined to hit 20 home runs between the Minor and Major League levels…Was recalled on 7/17; started at shortstop that night vs. Cleveland and went hitless in three at bats…Went hitless in his first three games and 12 at bats with the Pirates before collecting his first Major League RBI with a double on 7/23 at Los Angeles (AL)…Had two hits and connected off Yu Darvish for his first Major League home run on 7/24 at San Diego…Made his first career start at second base on 7/29 vs. Philadelphia and went 3-for-4 with a home run - his first at PNC Park...Homered again on 8/1 vs. Detroit…Recorded his first big league stolen base on 8/5 at Milwaukee…Doubled and singled in the same inning on 8/7 vs. Atlanta...Hit safely in five straight games from 8/29 thru 9/3 (10-for-22, .455), which included three straight multi-hit games from 9/1-3…Served as the leadoff batter for the first time in his big league career on 9/17 vs. New York (AL) and went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

2023 MiLB SEASON: Hit .260 (81-for-312) with 20 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 39 RBI, 21 stolen bases and a .333 OBP in 76 Minor League games with Altoona and Indianapolis…Began season with Altoona...Was the Opening Day starter at shortstop and went 1-for-4 with a walk…Led the Curve with seven home runs in 24 games during the month of June while also recording a .969 OPS (ranked seventh in the Eastern League)…Was promoted to Indianapolis on 7/4...Went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in his first Triple-A game on 7/5 vs. Memphis while playing second base…Homered twice on 7/14 at Omaha.

2022

Spent all but one game with Double-A Altoona...Ranked fifth in the Eastern League in hits and eighth in stolen bases (his 28 stolen bases ranked fourth among Pirates minor leaguers)...Began the season with Altoona, where he was the Opening Day starter at shortstop and homered in his second at-bat on 4/8 vs. Harrisburg... Hit safely in eight straight games from 4/2-28, going 17-for-35 (.486) with six multi-hit efforts while raising his average from .258 to .379...Produced a .357 average (15-for-42), three doubles, two triples, one home run, nine RBI and a .981 OPS during a 10-game hitting streak from 5/18-29...Made his Major League debut on 6/18 vs. San Francisco; started the game at shortstop and singled off Alex Wood in his second at-bat while going 1-for-3; at 21 years old, became the youngest Pirates player to appear in a game since Aramis Ramirez, who was 19 years and 335 days old at the time of his debut on 5/26/98...Was optioned to Altoona on 6/20...Hit safely in nine of his final 10 games.

2021

Entered season ranked by both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America as the fifth-best prospect in the Pirates minor league system... Spent entire season with High-A Greensboro, where he made 86 starts at shortstop... Ranked second among High-A East players in stolen base behind teammate Lolo Sanchez (30)... Homered in each of his first two games on 5/4-5 and batted .323 (10-for-31) in eight games during the month of May... Homered twice on 6/26 vs. Greenville... Was named the league’s Player-of-the-Week for the week of 7/26-8/1 after hitting .423 (11-for-26) with five homers and 12 RBI in six games... Homered in four straight games from 7/29 thru 8/1, which included a two-homer game on 8/1 vs. Winston-Salem... Produced a .329 (25-for-76) batting average and .920 OPS over his last 18 regular-season games, reaching base safely in 16 of the games, dating back to 8/25...Hit safely in all six post-season games against Bowling Green, going 6-for-21 (.286) with three RBI and three stolen bases.

2020

Was ranked by FanGraphs as Arizona’s fifth-best prospect (No. 7 by Baseball America) at the time he was acquired by the Pirates...Was a member of Pittsburgh’s alternate training site in Altoona...Was listed by MLB Pipeline as the “Best Athlete” among Pirates minor leaguers at the end of the season. 

2019

Hit a combined .326 (74-for-227) in 60 games between Missoula and Hillsboro during the 2019 season...Was named to the 2019 Pioneer League mid- and post-season All-Star teams...Was named the Northwest League Player-of-the-Week for the week of 8/5-11 in 2019 after hitting .471 (8-for-17) with four doubles, one triple, two RBI and two runs scored.