There’s still enough time in the offseason where the Pittsburgh Pirates can make some moves and add to the system. Even so, we are starting to get an idea at how things may start to shape up in the minors.
We won’t know who is being sent where until right before the season starts, but with what we know so far, here’s how the rotation may shape up at each level.
Pittsburgh/Indianapolis
Triple-A is going to be interesting this year when it comes to the rotation. In years prior you probably wanted to stack as many depth options there to cover for injuries and such. This year will be a little different, as some of the team’s top pitching prospects will be starting in Indianapolis.
That’s why I decided to combine these two levels, as one directly impacts the other more than the other teams in the minors.
In the majors, Mitch Keller, Roansy Contreras, and JT Brubaker seem like locks so far, with Johan Oviedo probably not far behind them.
That would leave a Bryse Wilson/Vince Velasquez/Zach Thompson competition for the final spot, with Wilson having a default advantage due to him being out of options and would have to go through waivers to be sent to the minors. Velasquez’s edge comes in the $3.15 million the team committed to him.
That would force Luis Ortiz, Mike Burrows, and probably Thompson (all on the 40-man) to Indianapolis to bide their time. Thompson pitched out of the bullpen to end the season, but the Pirates might want to keep another arm on the 40-man stretched out in case of emergencies, and he still has options.
To fill out the Indy rotation would be Quinn Priester and either a combination of one of the other 2022 Altoona starters — Carmen Mlodzinski and Kyle Nicolas — or a Jerad Eickhoff type free agent signing.
Altoona
The Curve may be some sort of middle ground this upcoming season. There is a possibility we see quite a few repeats, at least to start, like we saw Jack Suwinski last year.
Whoever is left out between Mlodzinski and Nicolas — or even both — could headline the rotation in 2022, or even be shifted into the bullpen.
Sean Sullivan, Jared Jones, Nick Garcia, Justin Meis and Ricky DeVito are potential option from Greensboro to fill out the rotation.
Altoona started the year last season by piggybacking a lot, using pitchers in three to four inning outings to ease them in, before eventually stretching a few out into traditional starter roles.
Greensboro
The Grasshopper rotation might be one of the most intriguing to watch this upcoming season, and could be one of the deepest. They as well could start the year using upwards of six or seven pitchers in multi-inning outings.
Anthony Solometo should headline a group that should also include Valentin Linarez, Po-Yu Chen, Carlos Jimenez, and Braxton Ashcraft. Bubba Chandler struggled a bit with his control, and only pitched 26 innings in Bradenton, it is possible they start him there again before moving him up at some point in the season.
Thomas Harrington was the 36th overall pick and has an advanced college pitch set, which gives him a strong case to start the year with Greensboro.
Bradenton
If Harrington does get squeezed out, he’d headline the Marauders rotation. It would be a little hard to predict who moves up, but Cristofer Cruz, Wilber Dotel, and Alessandro Ercolani were among the leaders in games started and innings pitched for the Pirates FCL team this past season, so they would make the most sense.
The Pirates have a lot of decisions to make this upcoming year, and we could see quite a few starters get shifted to the bullpen this year as part of the roster jam. They also could make some trades to move out some of these names to create space for others.
Highlight of the Day
Pirates Prospects Daily
By Tim Williams
**With the Pirates making several moves already to add relievers, I broke down where the bullpen stands at this point in the offseason.
**Anthony featured Rule 5 pick Jose Hernandez, who has a pitch mix that fits perfectly in an MLB bullpen.
**Anthony had an article on Domingo Gonzalez ready for last week. I thought it would have gotten buried during the winter meetings. Then, Gonzalez was taken in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. We adjusted it, and ran it this week, showing you one of the better players the Pirates lost. I wouldn’t say this is a big loss, as the Pirates had a lot of depth for Gonzalez to compete with.
**The Pirates made their signing of RHP Vince Velasquez official, announcing him as a member of the starting group.
**Oneil Cruz, Rodolfo Castro, and Miguel Andujar all saw action in the latest Pirates winter league update from John Dreker.
**Missed yesterday? Anthony looked at how Canaan Smith-Njigba fits into the outfield picture.
Song of the Day
Pirates Prospects Weekly
Tuesday is our weekly article drop. We had three articles this week.
**With the Pirates making several moves already to add relievers, I broke down where the bullpen stands at this point in the offseason.
**Anthony featured Rule 5 pick Jose Hernandez, who has a pitch mix that fits perfectly in an MLB bullpen.
**Anthony had an article on Domingo Gonzalez ready for last week. I thought it would have gotten buried during the winter meetings. Then, Gonzalez was taken in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. We adjusted it, and ran it this week, showing you one of the better players the Pirates lost. I wouldn’t say this is a big loss, as the Pirates had a lot of depth for Gonzalez to compete with.
