Minor League Baseball handed out the weekly awards on Monday afternoon. The Pittsburgh Pirates had two pitchers receive recognition from their leagues.
Right-handed pitcher Thomas Harrington was named as the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week. The 21-year-old tossed seven shutout innings on Thursday, finishing with two hits, no walks and eight strikeouts.
Harrington has tossed shutout ball in six of his ten starts this season. He has made two of those starts since joining Greensboro ten days ago.
Harrington was the 36th overall pick in the 2022 draft. He has a combined 2.79 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, a .229 BAA and a 52:12 SO/BB ratio in 48.1 innings this year.
Right-handed pitcher Greiber Mendez was named as the Dominican Summer League Pitcher of the Week. He made two appearances last week, throwing three innings each time without an earned run.
The 19-year-old Mendez faced the minimum over three innings in his season debut last Monday. He gave up two runs in his second game, though both were unearned. He walked two batters (one intentional), while striking out two batters in both of his appearances.
Mendez was signed by the Pirates in January of 2021. He pitched just once during the 2021 season, which did not go well. He had a 3.78 ERA last year over 33.1 innings, with a 1.50 WHIP and 35 strikeouts.
Mendez was very raw when he signed out of Venezuela, with a 6’0″ frame that had just 150 pounds on it. He topped out at 87 MPH with his fastball, to go with a changeup and curveball. He had a very projectable frame, with a feel for all of his pitches. He was considered to be a project that would take some time.
