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.

Joaquin Tejada

The Pittsburgh Pirates made multiple trades leading up and during the trade deadline. One of which was sending left-handed starting pitcher Tyler Anderson to the Seattle Mariners for two players. One was catcher Carter Bins, but arguably the more intriguing of the package was right-hander Joaquin Tejada.

Tejada was an international free agent signing by the Mariners in 2019. Going into 2021, Tejada would only be in his age-17 season. Between the M’s and the Bucs’ Dominican Summer League affiliates, the very young pitcher would only toss a total of 28.2 innings but giving up 14 earned runs. Impressively, he only allowed 2 home runs and had a 24.3% strikeout rate, though this did come with a 12.5% walk rate. Some good things, and some bad things during his first taste (albeit very small taste) of pro-action.

According to FanGraphs, Tejada is a very athletic pitcher. He has grown a bit since he was signed, now standing at 6’1″. He’s also added some velo since his signing. He was coming in around the upper-80’s originally but was sitting around the 90-93 MPH range during his time with the M’s affiliate. Though the real attraction is his slider and curveball. Both are considered offerings with plus-plus potential given that they both have spin rates in the 3000 RPM range.

While Tejada has struggled with command, that isn’t something uncommon for a 17/18-year-old. There’s a lot of pure, raw talent in the right-hander. While he may not see the majors for another 4-5 years, Tejada has a high ceiling and it will be fun to watch him as he develops.

Austin Roberts

Back when we looked at each of the best tool grades going into the 2021 season, Austin Roberts ended up with the best changeup in the organization. Roberts didn’t get very much coverage this season, but he had some pretty solid numbers, but also some mixed results.

Roberts pitched most of his campaign at High-A Greensboro. He tossed 65.1 total innings, serving as a long-relief man (39 total games played). He had a 4.55 ERA, 5.05 FIP, and 1.36 WHIP. He had some interesting peripherals. He struck out a ton of batters, posting a 34.9% strikeout rate. He also had a very solid 8.8% walk rate. Plus his 4.04 xFIP was decent. The problem was he gave up home runs at an awful 2.04-per-9 rate.

As stated earlier, Roberts has a very good changeup. FanGraphs projects it as a very good, 60-grade offering. He also has a four-seam fastball that was coming in around 92-95 MPH. That’s a tick-up from 2019 when he was sitting in the low-90’s. If the velocity is real, FanGraphs gives it a 55-projected. He also added a curveball instructs, which is a third, average offering.

Roberts has pitched both out of the pen and as a starter back in 2019. What role he’ll have in the future is still up in the air, but he has proven he can go multiple innings. Only 14 of his 39 total outings lasted less than 1.1 innings. He had 21 total outings where he went 2 or more innings. Though if his changeup and velocity are legit, he could be a really solid swingman type pitcher.

Eddy Yean

Seen as the headliner of the Josh Bell swap, Eddy Yean has a high ceiling and was buried under the number of pitching prospects that were added to the farm system after his acquisition. Yean had an extremely rough start to the 2021 season, which buried him even further down the list. But his surface numbers don’t tell the full story.

Yean pitched 66.2 innings at Bradenton, posting a 5.27 ERA, FIP, and 1.43 WHIP. While the right-hander had a 13.2% walk rate, he posted a solid 23.3% strikeout rate and 1.08 HR/9. Yean induced ground balls at a phenomenal 52.6% rate. But of his 39 earned runs he surrendered, 10 came in just one whole inning between May 5th and August 8th. Outside of these two extremely poor outings, he has a solid 3.97 ERA. His walk rate goes from above 12% to 11.3%, but his strikeout rate rose to 24% and HR/9 to 0.96.

Yean was clocked around 91-94 MPH before the trade, but he was in the mid-to-upper-90’s this season. He already had above-average spin, so he likely added more based on the velo increase. His fastball projects as a 60-grade offering. His slider is also considered a pitch with plus potential. He throws a hard slider, averaging around 88-91 MPH. FanGraphs sees it as a 55-projected pitch. Finally, there’s his changeup, which is a third pitch that FanGraphs sees as above average.

While Yean needs to improve his command, he’s still fairly young. 2022 will only be his age-21 season. The former National prospect has the stuff to be a quality pitcher. He’s a raw talent, but if the Pittsburgh Pirates can refine that talent, there’s a pretty decent pitcher within Yean.

Braxton Ashcraft

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted right-hander Braxton Ashcraft in 2018 with the 51st overall selection. Ashcraft was one of the better prospects going into the draft. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the 64th best player available.

Ashcraft showed some promise in 2021. He had a 5.35 ERA, 5.50 FIP, but some solid underlying numbers. He had a 1.22 WHIP and struck out batters at a healthy 25.6% rate. Plus he showed some solid control with a 7.6% walk rate. Ashcraft’s ground ball rate was only 40.2%, but he had a fantastic 16.7% line drive rate. Ashcraft’s biggest struggle was home runs. He surrendered 8 in only 38.2 innings, resulting in a 1.86 HR/9.

The former second-rounder throws around 91-94 MPH and doesn’t have much spin. He averaged around 2250 RPM. His four-seamer projects as just a 45-grade pitch. But his slider (55-projected) and curveball (50-projected) are considered solid offerings. His change-up isn’t all that great either, though he has solid command.

Ashcraft may not be some sort of high-end pitching prospect, but he does have some talent. The right-hander could be a solid back-of-the-rotation type starting pitcher, or a swing-man who could serve both roles. He needs to control the long ball, but if he can do that,