Pittsburgh Pirates: Six Overlooked Pitching Prospects

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.