Prospects are sprouting up on mound
A year ago at this time, it would’ve been a fair criticism.
The Pirates had failed to fully develop Tyler Glasnow and watched him pitch to a 1.86 ERA with 55 strikeouts over his first eight starts with the Tampa Bay Rays. Shane Baz, the player to be named later in the Chris Archer blockbuster trade that was headlined by Glasnow and Austin Meadows, was flirting with triple-digits en route to a a 2.99 ERA in his first full season at Class A.
The Pirates, meanwhile, entered the 2019 season badly bereft of starting pitching prospects. Mitch Keller headlined their top 10 overall list, per MLB Pipeline, but the only other sliver of
hope was reliever Luis Escobar, who was designated for assignment in November when the Pirates needed to clear space on their 40-man roster.
While the Pirates aren’t teeming with pitching prospects, they do have a few arms who could bolster the rotation in years to come. It’s a group headlined by 2019 first-round draft pick Quinn Priester and another hard-throwing righthander in Brennan Malone, one of two key pieces in the Starling Marte trade.
“There’s actually some depth with potential, highupside guys,” said Larry Broadway, senior director of minor league operations. “Anytime that you’ve got that to work with, it’s exciting. Big strong guys with big arms who do it pretty clean, then have some pedigree … it’s fun for our staff. It’s fun for our coaches and coordinators to see those guys grow and develop and work together and what could be.”
Priester and Malone aren’t alone, which is more good news for the Pirates.
Hard-throwing reliever Blake Cederlind turned heads in spring training and could soon be ticketed for a back-end bullpen role, and there are several other young starters who have shown promise.
In addition to above-average velocity among the pitchers occupying seven of the top 16 spots on MLB Pipeline’s annual list, they also have good size — all are at least 6 feet 3, and five are 6-4 or 6-5 — and athleticism.
“They’re not slugs,” Broadway said. “They’re guys who can move.”
Priester is already considered the Pirates’ fourthbest prospect behind Keller, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz, This offseason, Priester has bulked up and looks every bit of 215 pounds.
The transition to pro baseball went very well for Priester, who wound up striking out 41, walking 14 and pitching to a 3.19 ERA in 36⅔ innings with the Gulf Coast League Pirates and one four-inning outing with Class A West Virginia.
Priester’s four-seam velocity sat at around 93 mph and touched 97. His sinker and curveball played. His changeup needs work, but he’s only 19.
Malone is in a similar situation — drafted out of high school with a ton of tools. His fastball has been around 96 mph with very good breaking pitches. The same as Priester, there’s work to be done on his changeup and consistency with his delivery.
The COVID-19 pandemic won’t help Priester and Malone. The Pirates hoped to get them acclimated to year-round work — navigating a set number of starts, getting on a five-, sixor seven-day plan between them while maintaining velocity and making improvements between those outings. With the strong possibility there won’t be a minor league season in 2020, the Pirates will have to figure out other ways to help these two future front-line starters improve.
Behind Priester and Malone, 21-year-old Cody Bolton comes in at No. 10 and has been good in spurts. His issue has been health, as the sixth-round pick from 2017 battled forearm tightness in 2018 and a groin strain in 2019. Despite the injuries, Bolton’s results have been very good when he has been healthy. He breezed through Class A Bradenton in 2019, striking out 69 over 12 starts (61⅔ innings) and pitching to a 1.61 ERA. Class AA proved to be an adjustment, as Bolton wound up with a 5.85 ERA and a WHIP that went from 0.859 to 1.325.
“He’s really effective when he’s healthy and takes the ball,” Broadway said. “We have to make sure he does that as much as possible without getting banged up and losing time.”
The biggest wild card is probably Tahnaj Thomas, a converted infielder the Pirates acquired from
Cleveland in the deal that featured infielder Erik Gonzalez. Thomas averaged 96 mph and topped at 100, but his ancillary pitches need work. Despite a fastballheavy arsenal, Thomas, 20, fared well at Bristol in 2019, pitching to a 3.17 ERA with 59 strikeouts and just 14 walks in 48⅓ innings.
In the immediate future, the biggest injection of pitching talent should come from Cederlind, who touched triple-digits in spring training and has seen his career take off since adding a sinker. Broadway said the Pirates want to see Cederlind settle on a breaking ball and better develop that.
“He’s made huge strides since two years ago,” Broadway said.
• Statistically speaking: In his time with Class AA Altoona last season, Cederlind went 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA, striking out 42 and walking 16 in 45⅔ innings.
• Know this: Malone is a North Carolina native and was committed to the University of North Carolina when the Diamondbacks drafted him No. 33 overall in 2019. As a high school senior, Malone attended IMG Academy near the Pirates’ spring training home in Bradenton, Fla.
• He said it: “With some big bodies you get some tradeoffs with some twitch and athleticism, but I think the guys that we’re looking at in the top of this depth area, we’re not making those tradeoffs. They’re strong guys — large frames, big and tall — but they also move well. They move quickly. I think that bodes well for them.” — Broadway on the Pirates’ top pitching prospects.