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The Pirates Have Possibly Put Together Their Best Group of 20 & Under Pitching Talent

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When the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Brennan Malone in the Starling Marte trade, it brought up an interesting situation. In our 2020 Prospect Guide, we have an article about the potential starting rotation for the Greensboro Grasshoppers this year. The Pirates had five top 20 prospects who looked like they could be in the Greensboro rotation to begin the season. That would make it one of the most interesting pitching groups since we started this site, which is exactly why it got the article in the Prospect Guide. The addition of Malone adds another high upside name to that group.

I’m not going to focus on the Greensboro rotation in this article. Instead, this is a look at the incredible amount of young talent in the pitching ranks, focusing in specifically on guys who are 20 years old or younger right now. The Pirates right now could have their best collection of talented pitchers in the 16-20 age range.

Their current top prospect list includes 20-year-old Tahnaj Thomas, 19-year-old Quinn Priester, 19-year-old Brennan Malone, 20-year-old Braxton Ashcraft and 20-year-old Michael Burrows all among their top 11 prospects. Just a little behind them is 19-year-old Santiago Florez, who would have easily been the best “fifth man” in their Low-A rotation at any point. That was before Malone was acquired, which will make that rotation battle interesting.

That gives the Pirates six pitching prospects with high upside in the 19-20 age range who could all be on the same team in 2020. That’s a nice group to have if it stopped there, but the 2019-20 international signing class is the best one (in my opinion) that they have ever had for pitching. Honestly, there isn’t another pitching group that comes close to this current one.

Cristopher Cruz was the Pirates biggest signing of the year with his $850,000 bonus. Jesse Sanchez from MLB.com had him rated as the second best pitcher in the entire 2019-20 international signing class. Roelmy Garcia received $350,000 and then immediately added five MPH to his fastball and now hits 95 MPH at 16 years old, with elite arm speed that could lead to even more velocity.

Lefty Yojeiry Osoria received a $600,000 bonus because of a three-pitch mix that includes a curve and changeup with plus potential, along with command of his pitches. You never hear “command” put on a 16-year-old, so don’t gloss over that part. Finally, I’ve been told that Gilberto Alcala out of Venezuela might be the best pitcher right now of the four high upside international signings, and he could easily end up being the best down the line as well because he has a lot of projection left. All of these players were signed at 16 years old.

Since we are looking at pitchers who are in the 16-20 age range, I have to mention Noe Toribio, who made it up to Greensboro before his 20th birthday last year. He’s a sleeper prospect in the system to keep an eye on. Right now, he’s the most advanced pitcher in this age group, and he has hit 97 MPH in the past. He ranks 34th in our Prospect Guide, but I wouldn’t rule him out as a potential high upside pitcher, so I think you could give 11 pitchers age 16-20 that “high upside potential” tag.

I could throw others in here like 19-year-old Valentin Linarez, who is a huge right-handed pitcher in the DSL. He made our top ten list on a loaded DSL top ten for 2019 and will be in the U.S. this year, likely jumping over the GCL. I could also mention Carlos Jimenez, who is 17 years old and one spot above Linarez on that DSL list. Or 18-year-old Ryan Harbin, who the Pirates liked enough to give a $397,500 bonus in the 2019 draft to keep him from attending college.

Those players offer potential if they reach their peak. Maybe the new front office can develop them into pitching talent that makes our top 20 down the line. We will see about them in years to come. Right now though, they aren’t as exciting as the group of 11 pitchers mentioned above.

Pitching is a game of attrition, everyone knows that. The more high upside pitchers the better, because there are no guarantees when they are all this far from the majors. That being said, the Pirates have never had a group of 20 and under pitchers, where you could make a top ten list of them, and still leave off a really exciting prospect.

The Pirates system was recently ranked 24th overall by Baseball America before the Marte trade brought in two top ten prospects. That will change their ranking because BA focuses in one top prospects much more than depth. The 24th spot seemed a little harsh to begin with, though I’m talking maybe 3-5 spots and nothing major. This young pitching talent has a real chance to carry this system back to a top ten system on their own. It might be a rough season watching the Major League club this year (“might” seems a bit generous), but the young pitching talent gives a hope for the future.

 

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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