Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Underrated Prospects Who Deserve A Promotion

Outfielder Matt Gorski

Matt Gorski is a 24-year-old former second-rounder. This is his second go-around at High-A Greensboro, and the improvement is showing. Sooner or later, the Pirates are going to have to get Gorski a promotion, maybe even to Triple-A given, not only how good he’s done but also given his age.

In his 142 plate appearances of 2022, Gorski is batting for a phenomenal .286/.366/.680 line. Gorski is striking out a little more than you’d like with a 27.5% strikeout rate but is also walking at a healthy 12% mark. However, the big part of his game this year has been power.

All of the numbers mentioned earlier were going into Sunday. During Sunday’s game, Gorski added on three more home runs, raising his already incredible .402 ISO to an even more insane .460 mark. He has already matched his 2021 home run total but in over 250 fewer plate appearances. His slugging percentage is currently higher than 41 separate players OPS from last season.

Now, I get that Greensboro is a hitter-friendly environment. But nobody has an HR/PA rate greater than 2001 Barry Bonds because of the favorable environment alone. He’d still average over 35 home runs in 650 plate appearances if you cut his HR/PA rate in half.

Gorski also has plus speed. That doesn’t mean he’s going to be a guy with Barry Bonds’s power and Rickey Henderson’s speed, but he can swipe a bag when he needs to and can handle center field as well. Plus, he brings some versatility to the table. Gorski has played all three outfield positions and has seen some time at first base.

With Gorski already being 24-years-old and having insane numbers at Greensboro, he might skip a level of the minor leagues. Getting him to Triple-A would give the Pittsburgh Pirates another outfield capable prospect on the cusp of reaching the major leagues.