The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed right-handed pitcher Kurt Yacko, Pirates Prospects has learned. Yacko showed up on the extended Spring Training roster, a week after it was announced that he was released from the Colorado Rockies organization.
Yacko has a career 3.31 ERA in 294 innings, with a 9.7 K/9 and a 2.2 BB/9. He’s mostly been a reliever, pitching as high as Double-A for two games. Last year in high-A he had a 3.64 ERA in 59.1 innings, with a 7.6 K/9 and a 2.1 BB/9 ratio. That came at the age of 24, which is a little old for the level. For now he will be in extended Spring Training, but he could serve as bullpen depth for one of the full season minor league teams this year.
