Pittsburgh Pirates: Checking in on the 2021 Prep Pitchers

The Pittsburgh Pirates added some serious prep pitching talent in the 2021 MLB Draft.  How are those arms performing so far?

Everyone knows the hype around the Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Draft class.  The team added several top 50 draft prospects and signed all of them.  However, they also added a couple much needed pitching prospects.

In the 2021 Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates spent a significant portion of their Draft bonus pool on 3 prep arms.  The top-rated pitcher the Bucs took was left-hander Anthony Solometo.  They then drafted two-way prospect and former Clemson Quarterback commit Bubba Chandler. The final prep pitcher, Owen Kellington, was taken in the fourth round.

The Bucs spent over 6 million dollars of their Draft bonus pool on these three pitchers.  Obviously, a large investment for this Front Office.  All three signed for over-slot deals.  The three pick slots they were drafted at were valued at about 3.5 million dollars.  So the team spent well over their allotment to get the deals done.

All three pitchers have seen game action this year, albeit all in the lower minors.  Of course, Chandler has also been getting some at-bats in games as well.  So let us take a look at how these three intriguing prospects are performing in their first full seasons in  the Organization:

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The Pittsburgh Pirates assigned Owen Kellington to the Florida Complex League for the start of his 2022 season. The Vermont native has had to wait over a year to make his Organizational debut. The team did not give the 6’3” pitcher any game action in 2021.  So this would be the first look at the over-slot draftee.

Things have not gotten off to the best start for Kellington.  He has only appeared in four games so far. One reason is that the Complex Leagues do not start until June,  He also spent most of the month of July on the Injured List.

So far Kellington owns an ERA of 11.81 through just 5.1 innings of work.  In those 5.1 innings, he has given up 7 earned runs.  The good news is that he also struck out 10 batters.  This is good for a 35% rate, which is extremely good to see.  His walk rate is 14%, which is a little high but also expected for a young pitcher and not out of control by any means.

Kellington missed most of July after being placed on the Injury list at the beginning of the month.  Kellington returned from the injury (not reported) and has pitched twice since.  Hopefully, now he can start to find some consistency on the mound.

Bubba Chandler was also assigned to the Florida Complex League to start his career in the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization, as a pitcher.  Chandler did make his Organizational debut last summer in form of a hitter.  He was able to record 37 plate appearances but never took the mound.

This year he has been doing both.  He has pitched as part of a typical rotation, but also has spent time being the designated hitter. Chandler quickly earned himself a promotion from the Complex League.  At that level, he had an OPS over 1.000 and walked 9 times while only striking out 6 times.  As a pitcher, he was straight dominant.  He did not allow a single earned run in his 15.1 innings of work.  Furthermore, he struck out an impressive 27 hitters in those innings.

Chandler was promoted to Low-A Bradenton in mid-July. He has once again been doing both pitching and hitting.  As a hitter, he is not having as much success.  He currently owns an OPS of .625 in 42 at-bats.

His pitching numbers at Low-A are a little more interesting.  His ERA is not great, sitting at 5.68 across 12.2 innings of work.  However, he is still getting a lot of swings and misses striking out 19 total batters.  Things will likely get better for Chandler as he gains more experience on the mound, the stuff is obviously there.