Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Rum Bunter’s Top 5 Pitching Prospects

Number 5: Brennan Malone

Coming in at our #5 spot is Brennan Malone. Seen as one of the top high school players in the 2019 draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks selected the right-hander with the 33rd overall selection. Though he was picked at #33, he could have gone within the top 20 picks. MLB Pipeline had him as the 20th best prospect available while FanGraphs had him at 23. Part of the reason he fell a few picks was his commitment to North Carolina.

In the 2019-2020 offseason, Malone, alongside top shortstop prospect, Liover Peguero was sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of the Starling Marte deal. Malone has a strong four-pitch mix. His four-seam fastball already can get into the upper-90’s, sitting around 95-97 MPH. He’s shown decent durability and stamina as he can maintain that kind of velocity throughout a game. FanGraphs sees it as a 60-grade offering in the future while MLB Pipeline gives it an even better 65-grade.

His best breaking ball is his slider. MLB Pipeline considers it his put-away pitch. Just look at the movement on the pitch. No wonder MLB Pipeline considers it another offering with 60-grade potential and FanGraphs gives it a 55-grade:

His curveball has 11-5 movement, which while not as good as his slider, is still a pitch with above-average potential. FanGraphs gives it a 55-grade, giving him 3 offerings with plus or better potential by their measurements. He’ll also throw a changeup. However, at the very least, it projects as an average offering. Four average or better offerings make Malone’s ceiling very high. While he isn’t a control-freak kind of pitcher, he does have a good feel for all his offerings and projects to have average command.

Malone hasn’t thrown much yet, but he’s also just 20-years-old. He’ll turn 21 in early September. The prospect already has a strong 6’4″, 205-pound frame. He’s got a few years to go before reaching the major leagues, but he has the tools to be a #2 or even #1 pitcher.

Number 4: Miguel Yajure

Miguel Yajure was signed by the New York Yankees back in March 2015. He steadily climbed his way up through the minor leagues despite a Tommy John surgery and made his major league debut in 2020 with the Yanks. Though over this past offseason, he, along with 3 other players, one of which will come up later, were sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Jameson Taillon in what looks like a very successful swap on the Pirate end thus far.

Like Malone, Yajure possesses a pitch repertoire you’d like to see from your starters. 4 offerings with average or better potential and plus control. Yajure isn’t a hard thrower. His four-seam fastball only comes in around 91-95 MPH but has averaged about 2400 RPM with the offering. FanGraphs projects this as a 55-grade offering.

Though his more effective fastball is his cutter. His cut-fastball sits around 87-90 MPH. Though it’s already considered a 55-grade offering and could improve to a 60-grade pitch. His change-up is another off-speed pitch with plus potential. It comes in with similar velocity to his cutter but gives batters a different look. It’s also a 55-projected pitch. Finally, there’s his curveball, an offering that comes in around 77-80 MPH and at the very least is a third average offering. Though he does have a feel for it and could improve over time.

While Yajure doesn’t throw into the upper-90’s like Malone or some other noteworthy prospects can, he has well above-average command. FanGraphs currently grades his command at 50, which is average. Though once he’s fully developed, Yajure could have 60-grade command.

Yajure stands at 6’1″, 220 pounds. He’s 23-years-old and has improved his overall numbers at each level of the minor leagues. Yajure’s outstanding command should help his offerings play up. The 23-year-old should get a long look in the big leagues very soon. His outstanding control and plus spin are a nice combination and one that makes him a potential long-term rotation anchor for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Number 3: Carmen Mlodzinski

The Pittsburgh Pirates used their 2020 competitive balance pick on college pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski. The right-hander went a few hundred thousand dollars under slot, coming in with the 31st pick. While FanGraphs ranked him at #48, MLB Pipeline had him at #21. Overall, it looks like a good pick on the Pirate part.

Mldozinski’s sinking fastball can run up into the upper-90’s. He’s touched 99 MPH before. With the velocity and movement Mlodzinski can put on this pitch, FanGraphs sees his heater as a 60-grade offering in the future and an already above-average pitch (55-current grade). His breaking ball can be seen as two different pitches but of the same variation. It comes in around the low-80’s. It’s a slider with cutter-like action. MLB Pipeline only grades out a slider, which is still seen as a good, 55-grade offering. FanGraphs meanwhile grades both. A cutter with a 55-future grade and a slider with a 50-future grade. Finally, there’s his change-up. MLB Pipeline sees this as a decent pitch with sink and a third potential plus-offering. Though FanGraphs doesn’t hold it in as high of regard with a 45-grade offering.

Mlodzinski stands at a strong 6’2″, 232 pounds. The 22-year-old is a good power-pitcher with plus off-speed and breaking pitches. We could see the right-hander as early as sometime next season. He’ll be 23 for all of the 2022 season, so there’s a decent chance he gets at least a taste of big-league action next season.

Number 2: Roansy Contreras

Earlier, we talked about Miguel Yajure. Yajure is an extremely talented pitcher. He was also part of the return for Taillon. But he wasn’t even the best part of that trade. That would be right-hander Roansy Conteras. Contreras was an international signee by the New York Yankees in 2016. After a few solid seasons, he was included in the deal for Taillon. However, since that deal, Contreras has significantly boosted his stock this past season.

Before heading to the Pirates, Contreras was only averaging out in the 90-94 MPH range while topping out at 96-97 MPH. However, 96-97 MPH has been very much the norm this year for Contreras. He’s even been able to hit triple-digits. He already had plus-spin before this year with about 2400 RPM. While FanGraphs currently has it as a 55-future offering, they haven’t upped his grades despite bumping him up significantly throughout their prospect rankings. Based on the velocity and spin, they could bump it up to a 60, or even possibly a 70-future grade. Just in terms of spin and velocity, you’re looking at an offering similar to two former Pittsburgh Pirates, Gerrit Cole, and Tyler Glasnow. Most pitching prospects with similar velocity and spin rates have a 60-70 future grade on their fastball.

His breaking ball has been seen as both a slider and curveball at times. Though it has also shown much improvement with sharper break. Again, they could bump his future projected grade up to a 60, but it currently comes in with a 55. His changeup has always looked like a plus offering, coming into 2021 with a 55-grade.

Despite the huge uptick in velocity and movement on his breaking pitch, Contreras’ command hasn’t suffered. It still projects as a 50-grade weapon by FanGraphs, and he’s even put up a lower walk rate this year compared to 2019.

Contreras is a bit on the smaller side, standing in at 6-foot, 175 pounds. He could get to the 6-foot/200 LBS mark to help build up some stamina and more durability, but other than that, his massive spike in his prospect stock is extremely promising. He’s pitched extremely well at Double-A, but he is only 21-years-old. With his injury keeping him out a few weeks, we probably won’t see him until 2022, but he has a good chance of locking down a rotation spot before the mid-season mark next year.

Number 1: Quinn Priester

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Quinn Priester with the 18th overall pick in the MLB Draft. Like how Contreras shot up prospect boards over this past season, Priester shot up prospect boards this past off-season. His work in the instructionals led to him ranking as a top 60 prospect across all boards. If Malone was seen as the second-best high school arm in the 2019 draft, Priester was seen as the best prep arm available.

Priester’s fastball was averaging out in the upper-90’s. He was averaging just around 97 MPH but has hit 99 in the past. He also has a decent spin on the pitch with 2200 RPM. He’ll also use a sinking two-seam fastball. Priester still needs a bit of fine-tuning, but he has a good feel for the offering and it’s another pitch with the potential to be an average or better offering. His slider also projects as an above-average breaking offering.

But among all his pitches, his curveball may be the best. FanGraphs sees it as the best curveball in the minor leagues. He and Houston Astros’ right-handed prospect Bryan Abreu are the only two prospects FanGraphs projects to have an 80-grade curve. Priester can put a ton of spin on the pitch with 2900 RPM. His curveball comes in around the low-80’s with insane break.

Priester is 6’3″, 210 pounds. He’s also very young at just 20-years-old. Despite him not turning 21 until mid-September, Priester is already at High-A Greensboro. Obviously, the Pittsburgh Pirates shouldn’t rush him to the big leagues, but he should be a quick riser given his immense talent. He might get his first taste of Triple-A in 2022.