Pittsburgh Pirates: Six Overlooked Pitching Prospects

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a deep farm system with a ton of young pitchers. That means that some were bound to be forgotten, or not talked about a whole lot throughout 2021.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired and have started developing a ton of young players over the past 2 or so years, most notably a handful of young pitchers. Quinn Priester (developed), Roansy Contreras, Carmen Mldozinski, Miguel Yajure, Bubba Chandler, Brennan Malone, Anthony Solometo, Jared Jones, Ricky DeVito, Bryse Wilson, Wil Crowe, Po-Yu Chen, and Logan Hofmann are just a few of the names that come off the top of my head.

With so many worthwhile names, I’m sure there are a few you forgot about. These names have probably slipped many fans’ minds when looking throughout the extremely deep farm system. While it’s understandable when you take a look at the many talented players throughout the organization, these prospects could play a significant role in the near and long-term future.

Jack Hartman

The 2020 draft has the potential to be a strong one for the Pittsburgh Pirates. They selected Nick Gonzales with the #7 overall pick, then a high-ceiling right-hander with the 31st overall selection in Carmen Mlodzinski. Jared Jones is another very talented right-handed pitcher with a huge fastball. But their 4th round pick isn’t talked about all that much, that being right-handed relief pitcher Jack Hartman.

Hartman pitched 33.2 innings at Appalachian State University between 2019 and 2020. Hartman had a poor 4.28 ERA and 1.75 WHIP, mainly stemming from a 16% walk rate. But he had a phenomenal 29.4% strikeout rate and gave up just 2 home runs, resulting in a 0.53 HR/9 rate.

Hartman has a big fastball. He averages out in the mid-90’s and has topped out at 97 MPH. It’s also been described to have high spin as well. His slider is another plus offering that he can use to get swings and misses. Hartman’s frame stands at 6’3, 205 pounds, making him a fairly big pitcher.

Hartman has all the hallmarks of a reliever. Big fastball, good slider, lots of K’s, but some command issues. The right-hander was an under slot pick, but he has the potential to be a really good relief prospect. The 23-year-old, unfortunately, had to undergo Tommy John surgery before the 2021 minor league season started, so he hasn’t pitched an inning professionally yet. Though given his age and talent, he could be contributing to the Major League roster within the next year, so long as his surgery doesn’t set him back all that much.