Pittsburgh Pirates: A Look at the Best Draft Prospect Tools
By Noah Wright
Command/Control – Brandon Barriera
Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates picked one of the best command pitchers in the draft, left-hander Anthony Solometo. This year’s draft’s best command pitcher is another left-hander, this being Brandon Barriera.
The high schooler could go in the top 15 picks. The southpaw has been highly touted for his ability to locate his offerings. FanGraphs is a bit higher on him, putting up as the 10th best prospect with a 60-grade for his command, but MLB Pipeline also likes him. They rank him as the 21st prospect with a 55-control grade.
https://twitter.com/CBAcad/status/1498310677995442179
All of Barreria’s offerings project as above average, and both FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline see them becoming 55-grade pitches. While he isn’t a flamethrower, he’s hitting the 90-94 MPH range as a high schooler. He’s topping out at 96 MPH, so it isn’t out of the question if he can reach more of a 92-96 MPH range by the time he’s 21-23-years-old.
He has a slider low-80’s slider, a high-spin curveball, and a deceptive changeup to go with his four-seamer. It’s a nice set of offerings to have given his near-elite command. Barrera doesn’t need to go up there, pumping 98 through the zone with regularity. If he averages out at 93-94 MPH with good make-up and secondary stuff, two things that he’s been praised for having, he’d be a guy to keep an eye on this season.