Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Surprising Prospects This Season

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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Pittsburgh Pirates
PITTSBURGH, PA – AUGUST 22: Roansy Contreras #59 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on August 22, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

These five Pittsburgh Pirates minor leaguers entered 2022 with low expectations, but have performed surprisingly well

There’s been a ton of attention given to top-performing prospects like Ji-Hwan Bae, Endy Rodriguez, Quinn Priester, and Mike Burrows this season. Even Nick Gonzales has done great since returning from the injured list. But they were all expected to do well. There are no surprises there.

But the Pittsburgh Pirates have had a handful of shocking seasons this year. That doesn’t mean that these players don’t have talent, but they’ve far exceeded their expectations for the year. They’ve been so good this year that they may make future roster decisions, especially when we approach the Rule 5 draft, a bit more challenging.

Today, I want to look at five surprising minor league performances this year. The baseball season is winding down, and we’ve seen some guys play very well for the Pirates minor league affiliates. But these guys went far beyond the expectations set for them.