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Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Rum Bunter’s Preseason Top 10
By Noah Wright
Number 5 – RHP Roansy Contreras
The third player to appear in this article from the Jameson Taillon deal, Roansy Contreras has become one of the most notable RHP prospects in the National League. Contreras flew up rankings last season and is now considered a consensus top 100 prospect.
Contreras started the year at Double-A Altoona, where he had a phenomenal 2.65 ERA, 2.71 FIP, and .902 WHIP through the start of his season. The right-hander struck out well over a third of batters faced with a 34.9% K-rate. However, he wasn’t just a big-K pitcher with no control. He only walked 6.3% of batters faced with an HR/9 of .83. He arguably could have had a lower HR/9 given he had a 47.5% GB rate and sub-15% line-drive rate.
Contreras got promoted to Triple-A and eventually made his major league debut in the second half of September. Between the two levels, he pitched 6.2 innings with 10 strikeouts and only two walks. Plus, he only gave up a single earned run. He was showing he could handle the upper levels of the minors and looking really good during his debut.
Contreras didn’t fly up prospect boards solely because of his performance, and it was because of his massively improved stuff. When the Pirates acquired Contreras, he averaged out around 92-95 MPH. This past year, he was coming out and firing 96-98 MPH consistently. He already had plus spin, making his fastball an elite offering. He also throws a curveball and slider, both of which are above average offerings, and a change-up, which is about a fourth average offering.
Contreras is easily a National League Rookie of the Year candidate next season, and he should make 20-24 starts so long as he remains healthy. Contreras is not only one of the Pittsburgh Pirates best prospects but one of the better prospects in all of baseball. He’s MLB ready now and should make his fair share of starts next season.