The Pittsburgh Pirates will be sending nine prospects to the 2024 Arizona Fall League, headlined by 2022 fourth overall pick Termarr Johnson. The league begins play on October 7th, and the Pirates minor leaguers will be playing for Scottsdale.
Johnson is joined by RHP Mike Burrows, RHP Khristian Curtis, RHP Derek Diamond, INF Kervin Pichardo, C Geovanny Planchart, OF Sammy Siani, RHP Eddy Yean, and RHP Brandan Bidois. Here is the outlook for each player, along with where they rank in the system.
Pittsburgh Pirates 2024 Arizona Fall League Participants
The top two prospects heading to the league this year from the Pirates are Johnson and Burrows. In my latest update to the system rankings, Johnson was the fifth best prospect, while Burrows was tenth. Pichardo was inside the top 50, while Siani, Curtis, and Yean were just outside of the top 50.
Termarr Johnson, INF (5) – The Pirates promoted Johnson to Altoona at the end of the season, where he got into 14 games. He hit .229/.316/.396 with two homers in 48 at-bats. That came after a season in Greensboro where Johnson hit 13 homers and stole 20 bases with a .757 OPS in 395 at-bats. He didn’t have a great season, starting slow, getting better as the season progressed, and fading for a bit before the promotion. Johnson has seen limited time against upper-level pitching, though he’s shown promise in that limited time. He’ll get his best upper-level experience with this AFL assignment.
Mike Burrows, RHP (10) – Returning from Tommy John this year, Burrows threw 51.1 innings across three levels. That included 10 appearances and 37.2 innings in Triple-A, finishing off with ten strikeouts in his final start of the season. The Pirates are giving him a chance to build upon his workload in the AFL. He’s the most likely of all the pitchers they’ve sent to start in the fall league. Burrows could be a rotation option for the Pirates in 2025 out of Triple-A, and could mostly use the additional innings against upper-level hitters.
Kervin Pichardo, INF (36) – I like the placement of Pichardo. The Pirates acquired him from the Padres at the start of the season when the 22-year-old was heading into his first full Double-A season. He hit for a .679 OPS on the season, which was below the league average. He did improve as the season progressed, with his best months being in June and July. The AFL will give him additional work against upper level pitching, with Pichardo needing to work on improving his on-base abilities.
Sammy Siani, OF – This is another placement that I like. Siani was promoted to Double-A after 20 games with a .965 OPS in Greensboro to start the season. He had a .693 OPS in Double-A, which was slightly above average. This was largely due to a month of August when the former first rounder hit for an .812 OPS, doing a great job of getting on base and hitting for extra bases. Siani didn’t carry that into September, though he did have a .275 average. The 23-year-old will benefit from additional time against upper level pitchers.
Khristian Curtis, RHP – At the age of 22, Curtis is a bit old for Single-A, where he pitched 75.1 innings this season. The Pirates had him working out of the rotation, where his six pitch mix featured a mid-to-upper 90s fastball and a few swing and miss offerings. The 2023 12th rounder could probably pitch as a reliever in the upper levels next year. The Pirates are working him as a starter, banking on the pitch mix and the 6′ 5″, 210 pound frame. His issue is control, holding back the impact of his difficult to hit secondary. He could make the Majors as a reliever, but will likely continue working as a starting project. That could be paused in the AFL.
Eddy Yean, RHP – This will be the third push that Yean will receive in 2024. He was pushed up to Double-A after a 5.01 ERA in Greensboro in 2023. Yean improved at the higher level, with a 3.45 ERA in 73 innings out of the bullpen, and a 65:21 K/BB. He had fewer walks than his Greensboro numbers last year, despite 23 more innings. The Pirates pushed him up to Triple-A for two shutout innings at the end of the year. He’ll be a guy to watch as a potential shutdown reliever against showcase hitters. Yean works with a mid-90s sinker and a swing and miss slider. That combo could get him to the Majors in 2025. He was acquired by the Pirates in the Josh Bell trade.
Derek Diamond, RHP – After making nine starts at the level in 2023, Diamond pitched in High-A for the entire 2024 season. He had a 4.80 ERA in 95.2 innings out of the rotation. He worked his way into the rotation with a good month in April as a long reliever. He struggled in the new role, before putting up a 3.86 ERA in 28 innings in August. Diamond could excel as a reliever, and could move back to that role in the AFL. As a starter, his stuff doesn’t profile him making it beyond Triple-A. Diamond was drafted by the Pirates in the sixth round of the 2022 draft.
Geovanny Planchart, C – One of the better defensive catchers in the system, Planchart made it up to Altoona by the end of the season when they needed catching help. Prior to that, he spent his season in Greensboro as the defensive option to two power hitters. He hit for a .675 OPS, but stood out for his defensive abilities. He should help the Pirates pitchers, along with the pitchers from other rosters when he’s behind the plate. Planchart could make it full-time to the upper levels of the minors due to his defense.
Brandan Bidois, RHP – The relief prospect spent the year in Greensboro, with a 4.25 ERA in 29.2 innings, along with a 43:17 K/BB. He finished with a single shutout inning in Triple-A. During that inning, he threw a four-seam that reached 96.4 MPH, sitting 94.7. He also mixed in an upper-80s slider and a mid-70s curveball. Bidois has a good mix of pitches, and will be an interesting reliever to watch as he makes the jump to the upper levels. He was originally signed by the Pirates as a free agent out of Australia in September 2019.
Three Pirates Observations
The Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 on Wednesday. Here are three things which stood out from the game.
- This start wraps up an amazing season for Luis Ortiz. The 25-year-old entered the season as a relief option, but eventually worked his way into the rotation. After allowing one run in seven innings on Wednesday, Ortiz finishes the season with a 3.32 ERA in 135.2 innings. The Pirates will have Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, and Jared Jones in the rotation next year. They have Bailey Falter under team control. They’ll also have Johan Oviedo returning from Tommy John, with a group of prospects emerging from Triple-A. Despite this depth, Ortiz looks like a guy who should be a member of the rotation, behind the trio of right-handers at the top.
- The Pirates said they weren’t going to have a closer when they turned away from David Bednar, but the save opportunities have gone almost exclusively to Aroldis Chapman. Since Bednar went down, Chapman has eight saves in nine attempts, with Jalen Beeks and Dennis Santana each picking up a save. Chapman has received the last four opportunities. It will be interesting to see what the Pirates do this offseason with Chapman a free agent and Bednar ending the season in limbo.
- Liover Peguero went 1-for-3, picking up a two RBI double in the fifth inning to score the only two runs of the game. Peguero hit 29 doubles in Triple-A this year, making this his 30th and biggest of the season. The Pirates just promoted him this week, after the Indianapolis season ended. He was batting ninth and playing shortstop. With Oneil Cruz in center field, there is a path for Peguero to hit his way to a shot at the starting shortstop role in the future. That’s currently projected to be occupied by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who went 2-for-4 with a stolen base playing third base and batting leadoff on Wednesday.
Altoona Curve Season Recap
The Altoona Curve had an elite trio of pitching prospects this year, followed by a lot of disappointment. On Wednesday, I broke down the 2024 Altoona season, looking at their hitter and pitcher of the year, top ten prospects, notable performers, and the early 2025 outlook. Read the 2024 Altoona Curve season recap.
