Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Forgotten Prospects Who Could Impact 2022

These underrated and overlooked prospects could make an impact for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season

We’ve already done plenty of coverage on prospects who will likely play key roles with the 2022 Pittsburgh Pirates. Oneil Cruz and Roansy Contreras are the two of the team’s best prospects and should be regulars by the time May rolls around. Others like Travis Swaggerty, Matt Fraizer, Diego Castillo, Ji-Hwan Bae, and Mason Martin are popular names who will likely get regular playing time sometime this season.

But what about some of the lesser talked about names in the system? The Pittsburgh Pirates have plenty of other prospects who could play important roles with the 2022 MLB team, and not every prospect who will make their debut is among the higher-end names. Other guys could end up being important in the long run who aren’t the cream of the crop right now as prospects.

RHP Cody Bolton

If Cody Bolton slipped your mind, don’t feel too bad. He hasn’t pitched since 2019, when he was then considered one of the best pitching prospects the Pittsburgh Pirates had in their farm system.

That was before the additions of Contreras, Jared Jones, Anthony Solometo, Bubba Chandler, Miguel Yajure, and many, many more. But Bolton should be on your radar as a guy who could have a nice bounce-back campaign.

Bolton was a mixed bag the last time we saw him. He started the year at Bradenton, where he had a 1.61 ERA, 1.96 FIP, and 0.86 WHIP. But once he reached Double-A, Bolton struggled to the tune of a 5.85 ERA, 4.67 FIP, and 1.33 WHIP. A lot of things went wrong between the two levels.

The big thing was his inability to prevent home runs. He allowed just one long ball in 61.1 innings at Bradenton but then surrendered six more in 40 innings at Altoona. Although that was his biggest downfall, his strikeout rate plummeted from 28.9% to 19.8%, and his walk rate spiked from 5.8% to 9.6%.

When Bolton was healthy, he averaged out in the low-to-mid-90s with his fastball. He doesn’t throw very hard, but he did show an ability to put some spin on it, averaging out at 2400 RPM. His best pitch is his slider, which comes in with about 2600 RPM. He also throws a change-up that has average potential.

Bolton’s role is still up in the air. Going into 2021, he was supposed to start the year in the bullpen after making all of his previous appearances as a starting pitcher. Either way, Bolton should make his debut sometime this year. He’s going into his age-24 season. He could be in the majors if he’s healthy when June rolls around. Those first few weeks of the season could determine what role he serves.

Outfielder Jack Suwinski

Jack Suwinski was one of the three players sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Adam Frazier trade. Suwinski had an exceptional breakout campaign at the Double-A level. He’s showed improvement in 2021 and could end up as an outfield and DH option for the Pirates sometime this year.

Before the trade Suwinski had put up a .269/.398/.551 line, boasting a 16.9% walk rate and .282 isolated slugging percentage. Between his phenomenal patience at the plate and upper deck power, Suwinski ended up with a .412 wOBA and 150 wRC+.

After arriving in Altoona, he did see a downtick in power but overall put up solid numbers. Suwnski hit .252/.359/.391 with a .337 wOBA, and 110 wRC+. Suwinski still walked at a healthy 13.7% rate, but his isolated slugging percentage plummeted to .139, a 143 point drop during his time with the Padre Double-A affiliate. Overall, he was still an above-average hitter, albeit with little power.

The downside to Suwnski’s game is his strikeout rate. He went down on strikeouts 27.8% of the time. While that’s not as bad as someone like Mason Martin, it’s still not great for Double-A. At the very least, he offset that with a 15.6% walk rate.

Suwinski’s glove is solid, and he can play a good corner outfield position. He has a powerful arm that should play well in right or left field. He also has some surprising speed, which gives him decent range. Think of something similar to Hunter Renfroe.

Suwinski is one of the many outfielders who could make their way to the majors next year. Along with Swaggerty and Fraizer, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Suwnski could see time in the outfield corners and designated hitter.

RHP Austin Roberts

Austin Roberts is one of the many underrated prospects in the Pirates’ system. Roberts has consistently shown solid talent, even if the bottom-line numbers don’t ultimately reflect his ability. Now, in his age-23 season, Roberts will likely skip Double-A and get things started at Indianapolis. If he’s healthy and keeps improving, he could come up around summer with Bolton.

Roberts spent most of the season at High-A Greensboro. He was mainly used as a long reliever, appearing in 39 games and pitching 65.1 innings. Now on the surface, he struggled with a 4.55 ERA, 5.05 FIP, and 1.36 WHIP. But there were plenty of positives to come out of the season for Roberts.

Roberts had a 34.9% strikeout rate. He wasn’t prone to walks either, with an 8.8% walk rate. His K:BB ratio sat at 3.96. Plus, he had a solid 4.04 xFIP. So, where did it go wrong for Roberts in 2021? Well, it was the home runs.

Roberts gave up 15 long balls, leading to a 2.07 HR/9 rate. He was primarily a flyball pitcher with a 45.2% fly ball rate. That was a significant change from 2019, when he had a 48.1% ground ball rate. He also had a .348 batting average on balls in play, which was a tad high. His 21.4% HR/FB ratio also was higher than average. It’s quite likely that both move in the right direction, especially with Roberts moving out of such a hitter-friendly environment.

The most significant improvement Roberts made was with his fastball. When the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him in the 8th round of the 2019 draft, he was only hitting around 90-92 MPH. He was sitting approximately 95 MPH on average this past season and topping out at 98 MPH. Roberts has also taken big steps forward with his curveball. On the downside, his change-up has deteriorated to an average third pitch. At one point, it was arguably the best change-up in the system.

Still, Roberts looks like he could be a quality utility pitcher, seeing time in multiple roles. He works multiple innings at a time and could possibly make spot starts here and there. Roberts has already made his Triple-A debut, albeit just a 1.1 inning debut. The increase in velocity is very promising, and if he’s consistently hitting 94-96 MPH in the majors, he may see a more critical, high-leverage role.

Catcher Carter Bins

Carter Bins was one of the many catching prospects the Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired over the last year-plus. With Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez, Abrahan Gutierrez, and Wyatt Hendrie now in the system, it’s easy to overlook someone like Bins. But Bins brings both power and solid glovework behind the dish.

Bins started the year out with the Seattle Mariner High-A affiliate, where he batted .284/.422/.493 with a .410 wOBA and 147 wRC+. Bins had an insane 17.3% walk rate in 185 plate appearances, along with a .209 isolated slugging percentage. But once he reached Double-A, things went south fast.

The one positive was that he upped his walk rate to 18.3% but hit just .149/.321/.207 with a .270 wOBA and 62 wRC+. He struck out 29.4% of the time and saw his ISO fall below .100 to .057. There were signs of regression at High-A for Bins, including a .398 batting average on balls in play and a 29.2% strikeout rate, but his massive decrease in production was very unexpected. Part of that was his BAbip went from extremely high to extremely low at .222.

Despite his poor production in his first taste of Double-A action, Bins still has the ability to become a long term cog. He has shown good power ability and a great arm behind the dish. He’s also a solid defender who should stick behind the plate. The ceiling here is Robinson Chirinos but with defense that is around average. Not a super flashy option, but comes in, does the job, and provides some power along the way.

Bins is heading into his age-23 season. What level he starts 2022 at is still up for debate. It might end up being decided by where guys like Davis, Rodriguez, and Gutierrez end up. Regardless, he’s still a guy that you could see in the second half.