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Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Minor League Statistical Leaders

ByNoah Wright|
Altoona Curve pitcher Roansy Contreras as the Binghamton Rumble Ponies hosted Altoona on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. The Ponies lost to the Curve, with a score of 5-0.
Altoona Curve pitcher Roansy Contreras as the Binghamton Rumble Ponies hosted Altoona on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. The Ponies lost to the Curve, with a score of 5-0.
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Pittsburgh Pirates
Jul 27, 2017; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; A general view of First Data Field during the game between the St. Lucie Mets and the Bradenton Marauders. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Walk Rate (pitcher)
Trey McGough
5.4%

Among the Pirates’ lesser talked about names, left-hander Trey McGough silently put up some pretty solid numbers at Double-A Altoona. While he isn’t one of the Pittsburgh Pirates top prospects, as many of the other names we’ve taken a look at today, his season is at least worth a mention.

McGough posted a 3.19 ERA, 3.57 FIP, and 1.12 WHIP in 113 innings. The southpaw only struck out 19.7% of batters faced but kept a strong 5.4% walk rate. Plus he kept home runs to a minimum. His HR/9 of .64 was the 4th best among Pirate minor league pitchers. This was across 113 innings (95 at Altoona, 18 at Greensboro).

Clearly, Trey is more of your control/command type of pitcher rather than a power arm. But his batted ball rates were even better than his team-leading 5.4% walk rate. McGough induced ground balls at a 48.8% rate. That’s good to start with, but paired with a 14.5% LD% and you’re looking at a very good pitch-to-contact/command type guy.

While McGough may not be one of the Pirates’ best minor league pitchers, his solid campaign at an upper-level of the minor leagues deserves some recognition. Maybe the Pirates can find something in him, even if that’s just an early-2010’s, Jeff Locke. There’s no such thing as too much pitching depth.

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