Rum Bunter
FanSided

Pittsburgh Pirates: Prospects Who Need Promoted This Month

By Marty Leap

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 16: Mike Burrows #50 of the National League pitches during the fifth inning of the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game against the American League at Dodger Stadium on July 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 16: Mike Burrows #50 of the National League pitches during the fifth inning of the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game against the American League at Dodger Stadium on July 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
Pittsburgh Pirates
PITTSBURGH, PA – APRIL 17: A detailed view of the Nike cleats and Stance Socks worn by Jake Marisnick #41 of the Pittsburgh Pirates during the game against the Washington Nationals at PNC Park on April 17, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Relief pitcher Tahnaj Thomas

At one point it appeared that Tahnaj Thomas may join Priester and Burrows as big parts of the Pirate starting rotation. While things did not work out for the former top 100 prospect as a starting pitcher, he has developed into a great relief pitching prospect.

Thomas throws a power fastball and has a plus slider. This combination can lead to a lot of success for a relief pitcher, which is what the Pittsburgh Pirates have seen from Thomas out of the Altoona bullpen this season.

Coming out of the Curve bullpen the righty has pitched 48.1 innings in 35 outings this season. Thomas has posted a 2.98 ERA and a 3.36 FIP, while walking 9.3% of batters faced and striking out opposing batters at a 25.0% clip.

The Pirate bullpen is far from good, especially with David Bednar on the injured list and Wil Crowe looking like a pitcher who is battling dead arm and may be out of gas for the season. Why not give Thomas a look out of the MLB bullpen to see how he handles himself against big league hitters?

As is the case with Burrows, a 40-man roster move would have to be made to promote Thomas. But with Thomas likely to become a key bullpen cog next season, getting him onto the 40-man roster is something that is likely to happen at some point early next season anyway. Plus, there are plenty of pitchers on the 40-man roster that the Pittsburgh Pirates could easily designate for assignment to make room for Thomas.

Home/Pirates Prospects