Three Underrated Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects to Watch in 2023

The Pittsburgh Pirates should start these three pitching prospects at Triple-A Indianapolis to start the 2023 campaign.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Triple-A team will look stacked next season. Quinn Priester, Nick Gonzales, Endy Rodriguez, Malcom Nunez, and Henry Davis may all start the 2023 campaign at Triple-A Indianapolis. This gives the Pirates’ 2023 major league team a reasonably bright outlook, as many of these players could make their debuts sometime next year.

But plenty of other talented names get overlooked when glancing at the Pirates’ system. Triple-A may have high-end talent at the top, but it will be a deep roster with plenty of names the Pirates may see sometime during the ‘23 campaign. Let’s look at some underrated pitching prospects who will open in 2023 with the team’s Triple-A affiliate.

Kyle Nicolas

Kyle Nicolas is the best prospect we’ll look at today, though that doesn’t mean the other guys aren’t worthwhile. Nicolas wrapped up his first season in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, putting up a 3.97 ERA, 4.30 FIP, and 1.30 WHIP. While Nicolas had a healthy 25.9% strikeout rate and 0.89 HR/9, he had a 12.1% walk rate. On the surface, Nicolas’ numbers aren’t awe-inspiring. An ERA just a few ticks below 4.00 and FIP above 4.30 doesn’t seem very good, but in Nicolas’ defense, his third game of the season bloated his bottom line.

In that start, Nicolas surrendered eight earned on four home runs in just two innings of work. Those eight earned runs make up 20% of the total ER he gave up all season. Nicolas has a 3.25 ERA, .51 HR/9 rate, and 3.77 FIP outside of that one game. Nicolas surrendered more than three earned runs in just three of his 24 total outings and one or zero ER in half of his games.

Nicolas displayed a mid-90s fastball for the Curve, and he often reached back for more velocity. He also throws a wipe-out slider that sits in the upper-80s and tops out at 90 MPH. The concern for Nicolas is how he would fare in the upper levels of the minor leagues, as he only previously displayed two above-average pitches. However, his curveball has been a quality offering. It’s a distinct pitch that he can separate from his slider. Though his change-up is not reliable. It’s still ways off from being even an average pitch. But he still has three, distinct, average or better offerings between his fastball, slider, and curveball, in terms of movement and velocity.

Nicolas was arguably the best player the Pirates received in the Jacob Stallings trade, and he’s shown a ton of talent at Double-A. It’s easy to overlook his performance when Quinn Priester dominated once he returned. Nicolas has the chance to be yet another pitcher who performs better than what the rankings say.

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.