If you’ve never had the chance to see rookie ball in action, you’re missing some of the ugliest baseball in the professional ranks. It’s a far cry from Major League Baseball, or even the full-season pro levels.
There are two rookie levels for the Pittsburgh Pirates, playing in the minor league complexes in Bradenton, Florida and the Dominican Republic. When a player signs as a teenager out of the international ranks, they usually go to the Dominican for at least one year. When a player is taken out of the high school ranks, or when an international player make his first jump to the United States, they end up in the Florida complex.
Both of these levels offer a lot of raw athletic players who are just getting used to playing the game of baseball. International players might not have much experience playing the actual game, while American players might not have the experience of playing against pro-level talent.
I don’t put much stock into stats at this level, due to the raw abilities on display. Those raw abilities do offer the chance to make big projections over the long-term. A guy who can hit the ball 450 feet in batting practice gets the benefit of the doubt without many games played. He then gets even more benefit hitting a home run against a high school level talent who might never make it out of rookie ball.
From the team perspective, there’s a dual assignment. The obvious assignment is to develop baseball players. However, players at these levels also get an education.
The Dominican complex doubles as a school, where players take classes after their morning games. The Florida Complex almost acts as a freshman dorm for players who would have otherwise gone to college, had they not turned pro with baseball. Players take classes and learn how to live on their own, away from their childhood homes, for the first time at these levels.
Today’s feature is going to focus on the players who stand out with projectable abilities that might allow them to eventually reach the majors. The groups below include the FCL and DSL Pirates, though I’m only including two players from the DSL, based solely on their signing bonuses.
Above-Average Potential
As I’ve written in the Greensboro and Bradenton features, I only have one player below Double-A who I feel comfortable enough projecting an above-average possible future. That would be asking a lot for players from these levels. That said, these levels are fun because you can imagine above-average potential from almost anyone. When you’re projecting a future from players who are less than a 20-grade current value, who says where the cap comes?
Potential Starters
There are two pitchers in the rookie levels who I’d give the potential starter tag. In both cases, these are extreme risk projections, compared to any of the potential starters who have come in previous articles.
Zander Mueth, RHP – The Pirates drafted Mueth with the 67th overall pick last year, signing him out of Belleville East high school. So far, he’s put up a 3.06 ERA in 17.2 innings in the FCL, with 18 strikeouts. The 6′ 6″, 205 pounder throws from a lower slot on the right side, but still can touch upper 90s with his fastball. He also has the potential for an above-average slider and an average or better changeup. The three pitch mix, with below-average control, gives him a lot of potential to remain a starter. His high pick and bonus will almost certainly give him more opportunities than most.
Jun-Seok Shim, RHP – Shim is currently out with a right shoulder issue, related to last year’s thoracic muscle injury. He only has eight innings across four appearances since signing out of Korea in early 2023. The 6′ 4″, 215 pound pitcher had some of the best stuff in the lower levels, to the point where you could project his stuff easily to a higher level. He did hold opponents to a 3.38 ERA in his eight innings, with 13 strikeouts. He’ll return next year, in his age 21 season, with a chance to build up innings. His stuff allows him to be projected out as a future starter, but his early injury history adds risk to such a long-term projection.
System Depth
The pitchers in the previous tier are the top prospects at the level, and easy top 20 candidates in the system. The system depth tier looks at the best remaining players who could reach the majors, even if it’s only as Triple-A depth.
David Matoma, RHP –
