Pittsburgh Pirates Could Have a Top Starting Rotation Soon

While the starting rotation may currently be a mess for the Pittsburgh Pirates this could change quickly in the next few seasons

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a lot of young, talented pitchers in their farm system. This offseason alone they added nine new pitching prospects to their organization. They have so much pitching depth that it could become a potentially good problem in the near future, which is something I’ve covered. However, not only could they have a good problem on their hands, I think they could have one of the best pitching rotations in the very near future.

First, let’s discuss arguably the organization’s top two pitching prospects: Quinn Priester and Brennan Malone. Both of these right-handed pitchers were chosen in the 2019 draft and the two could be co-aces for the Pittsburgh Pirates one day soon.

Priester has recently skyrocketed through prospect lists, going from unranked to a consensus top 75 prospect. His fastball and curveball are considered elite. His four-seamer averages out in the mid-90s, in the 94-97 MPH range, but has been clocked at 99 MPH. FanGraphs sees it as a 60-grade offering in the future. Then there’s his curve, which is seen as an 80-grade pitch, one of the best curveballs in the minor leagues. This is mainly because of its elite spin rate, which came in at 2900 RPM. He also has a changeup and slider, both of which are seen as average pitches, but both still have the potential to be plus pitches.

Like Priester, Malone also has four pitches that grade out as average or better. His fastball, which sits in the 91-96 MPH range and tops out at 99 MPH, has a 60-future grade on FanGraphs. Meanwhile, both his slider and curveball are seen as 55-grade tools. His changeup is technically his worst pitch with only a 50-grade, but overall, this is a very strong arsenal of pitches. Malone has a feel for all four of his offerings, which could make him a very effective starter in the very near future.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a third pitcher in the system with at least four average or better pitches, that being Miguel Yajure. Yajure, who was the main piece the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired in the Jameson Taillon trade, has a 60-future grade cutter with a 55-future grade four seam fastball, changeup and 50-grade curveball.

This excellent pitch repertoire helped him put up an outstanding 2.14 ERA, 2.52 FIP and 1.07 WHIP through 138.2 innings of minor league work in 2019. He had a solid 23.9% strikeout rate, but a very strong 5.4% walk rate and HR/9 of just 0.33. Not only does he get outs with all four of his offerings, but he can control each. He has a 55-current/60-future command grade.

The impressive part is that the Pittsburgh Pirates could add a fourth options with four above-average pitches. In this upcoming draft, the Bucs will have the #1 overall pick. The draft is pretty pitcher heavy, and Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter are two of the most exciting pitchers in this year’s class. Each has at least four offerings that have the potential to all be 55+ grade pitches.

After the 2021 draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates could have foundr top pitching prospects, all of whom have very strong pitching repertoires, and high ceilings. However, they’d be far from the only notable pitching prospects the Pirates could have in the starting rotation in the near future.

The likes of Tahnaj Thomas, JT Brubaker, Eddy Yean, Cody Bolton, Carmen Mlodzinski, Nick Garcia, Roansy Contreras, Wil Crowe and Mitch Keller represent another whole rotation’s worth of pitchers that the Pirates can supplement into the starting five or six when they need to, or turn into some of their best relievers. They could also become valuable trade pieces if the Pirates find themselves with an overabundance of starting pitching, and a potential weak spot in the lineup.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a whole bunch of high ceiling/floor guys coming up through the system. Strong, deep starting pitching and starting pitching depth is something every team needs if they want to compete. Luckily for the Pirates, they could have it. It might be bold to predict this now, but based on all the new prospects coming up through the system, the upcoming draft, and the new pitching philosophy the Pirates are preaching in the Majors, I think this team has the chance to have one of, if not the best starting rotation in all of baseball in the next few seasons.