Three Underrated Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects to Watch in 2023

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TALLAHASSEE, FL – MARCH 9: Outfielder/Pitcher J.C. Flowers #8 of the Florida State Seminoles on the mound during the game against Virginia Tech on Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium on March 9, 2019 in Tallahassee, Florida. The #7 ranked Seminoles defeated the Hokies 5 to 2 to give Head Coach Mike Martin his 2000th career win. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

J.C. Flowers

J.C. Flowers entered 2022 as one of the least talked about prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates system. A 4th round pick by the Bucs in 2019, Flowers wasn’t your typical pitching prospect coming out of college. The right-hander tossed just 26.2 innings at Florida State before being drafted. Flowers was primarily a center fielder up until the year he was drafted.

Despite the lack of pitching experience, it didn’t take Flowers long to get acquainted with his new role. He put up decent numbers last year for the Pirates’ A-Ball and High-A affiliates, working to the tune of a 3.78 ERA, 3.62 FIP, and 1.27 WHIP. After getting promoted to Double-A in 2022, Flowers has maintained solid numbers.

In 68.2 innings, Flowers has a 2.88 ERA, 4.01 FIP, and 1.18 WHIP. While Flowers’ 21.8% strikeout rate or his 8.4% walk rate may not impress anyone, he has a phenomenal 56.8% ground ball rate and 0.79 HR/9. On top of that, Flowers has been red hot since the start of summer.

His last 38 innings have yielded a 2.61 ERA, 3.33 FIP, and 1.03 WHIP. His 9.1% walk rate isn’t great, but he has struck out well over a quarter of the batters he has faced with a 27.3% strikeout rate. Of course, he’s silenced the long ball, posting a 0.47 HR/9 and holding batters to just two long balls throughout June through the present day.

Flowers has arguably the best breaking ball in the organization with a 70-grade slider, and some may even see his slider as an 80-grade pitch. With quick and late horizontal and vertical break, it’s one of the best sliders the Pirates have seen in a while. It also helps both his four-seam fastball and two-seam fastball are above-average offerings. The only issue is his change-up is a work in progress. But his athleticism allows his stuff to play up, and his change should eventually become a solid offering.

What role Flowers will play in the future is still up for debate. Despite mostly pitching out of the bullpen this season, he’s gone two-plus innings in 21 of his 33 outings and 3+ innings in a third of his games played. I’d argue for Flowers to start 2023 in Triple-A’s rotation and see how he does. However, his stuff may play well out of the bullpen as well.

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