Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Five Best Left-Handed Pitchers

Anthony Solometo

Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to go over slot with four of their first five draft picks. Among them was lefty Anthony Solometo. Solometo was arguably the best southpaw the 2021 draft class had to offer.

Ranking 17th on MLB Pipeline’s list and 34 on FanGraphs’ list, Solometo went to the Pittsburgh Pirates at no. 37 because of signability concerns. But Solometo forwent his North Carolina commitment for a $2,797,500 signing bonus, which fell just short of $800K over slot.

Solometo’s biggest strength is his command. Gunnar Hoglund was the only pitcher in the 2021 draft who was projected to have better command over their offerings. Solometo has pinpoint accuracy over his four-seamer, slider, slurve, and change-up. He mostly works in the low-90s with his fastball but can increase the heat when he needs to. His breaking stuff has sweeping action, and he has a feel for his change-up. There’s a good possibility of three above-average pitches plus a fourth average offering.

Solometo has gotten his first professional work this year. He’s only tossed 29.1 innings for the A-Ball Bradenton Marauders, but he has a quality 3.68 ERA, 2.90 FIP, and 1.19 WHIP. He has a healthy 25.4% strikeout rate, albeit with a slightly disappointing 9% walk rate (though it is worth mentioning that Low-A does use the automated/digital strike zone, and many pitchers have a tough time adjusting to it, which has caused an uptick in walks at A-Ball). On the plus side, he’s yet to allow a home run and has a 48% ground ball rate.

Solometo has a large 6’5”, 200-pound frame. He has a deceptive motion with a Dontrell Willis-like leg kick and Madison Bumgarner-esque delivery. There are a lot of moving parts, but he makes it work. Solometo is still only 19 years old. I think there’s a plus-plus command pitcher here who consistently operates in the 92-94 MPH range here within Solometo.