The 2023 minor league season fully kicks off this weekend. To get you prepared to follow the prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, we’ve put together previews for every level.
Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews
Triple-A: Indianapolis Indians
Double-A: Altoona Curve
High-A: Greensboro Grasshoppers
Single-A: Bradenton Marauders
Indianapolis is set to provide depth for the Pirates with a lot of the system’s top prospects. The Pirates have a few young players already getting their shots in the majors this year. They will hopefully be joined by top prospects Endy Rodriguez, Nick Gonzales, Quinn Priester, Mike Burrows, and others.
The prospect and overall depth at Indianapolis is deep. Here is how that breaks down, with an obvious tendency here for focusing on the prospect depth.
CATCHERS
The Pirates will see the top prospect in their system getting everyday playing time behind the plate. Endy Rodriguez had a breakout season in 2022, and will look to break into the majors this year. As of this writing, the Pirates have already seen an injury at the MLB level, with Tyler Heineman getting the early season call. Rodriguez will get experience in the upper levels, and if all goes well, he should be in the majors by summer.
Aside from Heineman, Grant Koch is in Indianapolis as a backup, with both of the backup catchers standing out for their defense.
INFIELDERS
The standout here is Nick Gonzales, who the Pirates drafted with their first pick in 2020. Gonzales was drafted for his pure hitting skills, but has shown contact issues in the upper levels. He’s been making adjustments over the last year to adjust his bat path and allow it to fill up the zone more.
Gonzales has a good eye, quick hands, and that combo gives him a tendency to try and meet the ball at the point of contact with a direct bat path swing to that point. The Pirates have been working on getting him to be less direct to the ball, and instead, swinging with the forgiveness to allow him to hit multiple pitches. He showed some good results at the end of last year, but I don’t think the adjustment has consistently taken hold. When it does, Gonzales probably will be a more rounded player, rather than just a high contact guy.
Malcom Nunez and Aaron Shackelford both have a shot to stand out in the first base race. The Pirates have Carlos Santana, Ji-Man Choi, and Connor Joe as options in Pittsburgh, so there’s no rush to get help from the minors at that position. Nunez was acquired last year at the deadline for Jose Quintana, and is the lead candidate to emerge as a first base option in Pittsburgh. Shackelford emerged with a decent offensive season in Altoona, and is a sleeper to follow.
Tucupita Marcano is in his age 23 season, and has shown flashes of success at the plate. He can play all over the field, and is on the 40-man roster, so expect him to get a lot of looks for depth this year. His upside in the majors looks to be a super utility player with the chance to develop into an average starter.
Jared Triolo has some of the best potential on the team, with Gold Glove defense at third base, an ability to play all over the field, and power potential at the plate. However, he will miss a lot of time this year after hamate surgery, which will also impact his power production in the short-term.
Indianapolis has veterans Mark Mathias and Chris Owings to provide MLB depth. Mathias was acquired in a small trade during Spring Training, and will likely be one of the early-season options the Pirates turn to in a pinch.
OUTFIELDERS
The Pirates have a lot of young outfielders between the majors and Triple-A. Jack Suwinski and Canaan Smith-Njigba are getting a shot in the majors this year, but they’ve got competition in Indianapolis.
Travis Swaggerty is the standout of this group. The 2019 first rounder is the best defensive center fielder between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis, but has yet to hit consistently, due to lost development time from injuries. He had a big spring, and will get a shot to stay healthy and hit his way into the big leagues this year.
Cal Mitchell has seen time in the majors, but has yet to stick at the level. He’s got power potential and a good approach at the plate. Mitchell is on the 40-man roster, and could be an early season depth option for the Pirates, if Swaggerty isn’t hitting.
The Pirates have a few older players for depth, led by Miguel Andujar, who will likely be the main short-term option if one of the 1B/DH/RF options goes down. Ryan Vilade and Chavez Young will also give Indianapolis some veteran presence in the outfield.
PITCHERS
The biggest boost to the Pirates this year will come from the Triple-A battery. Endy Rodriguez will be one to watch behind the plate when he eventually arrives. The other standouts on this roster are top pitching prospects Quinn Priester and Mike Burrows.
Priester is making his debut at the Triple-A level, and will need to show his ability to dominate upper level hitting. He’s got the stuff, the work ethic, and the competitive attitude to be a top of the rotation guy. The knock against him is that his numbers haven’t been dominant, although that’s never been a concern for me. Priester reminds me a lot of Jameson Taillon, due to his mature approach. I’m sure that he could have gone for more strikeouts to date, but that’s not really development. This is the level where we should start to see him focus on putting it all together.
Burrows got to this level last year, after having success in Altoona, and struggled a bit maintaining consistency. He’s got everything to be a middle of the rotation guy or higher, and has an advantage over Priester in that he’s on the 40-man roster. Both pitchers could be in the big leagues by the end of the season, although the early look of the MLB rotation doesn’t show an urgent need for either prospect.
If there is an urgent need, Luis Ortiz would probably be the guy to get the call. Ortiz spent some time in the majors last year, and has that sort of fringe profile where he could settle for being a power reliever, or push for a little bit more and try to be an average or better starter. The Pirates are keeping him in the rotation, and I’d expect him to join Johan Oviedo as early-season rotation depth.
The bullpen depth is interesting. The Pirates are starting to convert some of their former starting depth to the bullpen, with Carmen Mlodzinski and Cody Bolton leading the way. They had 32-year-old Caleb Smith making a start, so it’s not like either of these guys are being forced out by other prospects. This is a departure from previous approaches, where the Pirates would keep prospects in the rotation until they were pushed out by other prospects. Mlodzinski and Bolton both have a better path to the big leagues focusing primarily as relievers now.
Blake Cederlind will be returning from injury, and should eventually pitch as depth on this roster. Yerry De Los Santos is a hard throwing reliever who has pitched in the majors, and one of the more intriguing depth options. Colin Selby is a hard thrower who is on the 40-man roster. Yohan Ramirez got a look in the majors last year, and posted results good enough to be turned to again for depth. J.C. Flowers is a guy to watch coming up from Altoona last year. He pitched in a swingman role in Double-A last year, and had a 2.88 ERA in 68.2 innings, with a 62:24 K/BB.
