Pittsburgh Pirates: Roansy Contreras Climbs FanGraphs Prospect Board

Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitching prospect Roansy Contreras has shot up FanGraphs’ prospect rankings in their newest updated list

The Pittsburgh Pirates made a trade this past offseason that has the potential to be one of the best trades the franchise has ever made. This was when they sent right-handed starter Jameson Taillon to the New York Yankees for a four-player prospect package. Things got even more promising as of recently with FanGraphs updated prospect rankings. One of the prospects the Bucs got back, Roansy Contreras has shot up FanGraphs top prospect boards.

The talented right-hander went from a 40+ future value grade prospect in their original rankings, up to a 50 FV grade prospect. With Contreras reaching the 50 future vale mark, he now ranks as one of the best prospects in baseball, coming in at #104.

Contreras’ stuff has looked outstanding this year. His fastball has seen a huge step forward in velocity. In 2019 with the Yanks, he was averaging out in the 90-94 MPH range and topping out at 96 MPH. However, 96 MPH has been closer to the norm for him this year with him working in the 96-98 MPH range. Not only has he been throwing harder, but he’s always had good spin on his four-seamer. His breaking ball is another plus pitch that has looked even sharper this year, and his change-up is a third offering that is showing to be another above-average offering.

Contreras has the numbers to back up his improved arsenal. So far through 33 innings at Double-A Altoona, Contreras has a 2.18 ERA, 1.99 FIP and 0.88 WHIP. He’s just one of 8 Double-A pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched and a sub-2.00 FIP. He also ranks 11th in WHIP and his 2.68 xFIP ranks 12th.

The 21-year-old has seen a huge rise in his ability to strike batters out and prevent walks. Contreras’ strikeout rate has skyrocketed from 21.1% in 2019 up to 36.4%. This hasn’t come at the cost of his control though, with a strong 6.2% walk rate. This has led to an outstanding 5.88 K/BB ratio. Additionally, Contreras has allowed just one home run this season, leading to a 0.27 HR/9 rate. This is compared to a 0.68 HR/9 rate in 2019. Much of this has to do with a massively improved ground ball rate. Currently, he sits with a 52.9% mark, a 12.8% increase from 2019.

With Contreras now ranking among the best prospects in baseball, this gives the Pittsburgh Pirates two players from the Taillon deal that FanGraphs gives at least a future value of 50. The other being right-hander Miguel Yajure. Contreras is easily on pace to become one of the organization’s best pitching prospects by the end of 2021.