3 Pirates prospect favorites who are finding their groove after tough starts

The minor-league season is well under way, as we’re over a month into the campaign. The Pittsburgh Pirates have plenty of prospects in their system who are doing exceptionally well. Bubba Chandler looks everything like the top-10 prospect Baseball America currently ranks him as. Hunter Barco just set a franchise record with 25 2/3 straight scoreless innings to open the year. Both pitching prospects have been great from the start.

Further below the surface, though, the Pirates are starting to see some other notable minor leaguers finding their groove. All three of these players have been red hot recently after some early struggles.

3 Pirates prospects who've heated up after cold starts

Mitch Jebb

Mitch Jebb was the Pirates’ first pick after selecting Paul Skenes during the 2023 draft. 2024 was Jebb’s first extended exposure against professional pitching, and while it took him a minute to adjust, he eventually made the changes he needed to. From the start of June through the end of the season, the second-round pick batted .284/.382/.387 and had a 120 wRC+. He only struck out in 15.2% of his plate appearances and drew walks at a healthy 13% rate.

So far, Jebb has carried over a similar level of production to Double-A Altoona this year. He is off to a solid start to 2025, slashing .299/.409/.338 with a .358 wOBA and 123 wRC+. Jebb has been especially good recently, striking out fewer times (seven) than he’s reached via walk (eight), and is batting over .400 (.408) over his last 59 plate appearances.

Notably, Jebb is drawing walks at a rate you usually don’t see from contact hitters. His BB% sits at 16%, which is an improvement over last season; the adjustments at the plate he made at Greensboro are evident. Compare that number to former Pirates’ All-Star Josh Harrison, a contact bat who never posted a walk rate over 6% in any non-COVID shortened Major League season. Of course, Jebb's work came at Double-A, but typically, high contact/low strikeout batters also have a low walk rate. Three-time batting champ Luis Arraez only had a 7.7% walk rate as a minor-leaguer in the Minnesota Twins’ system.

Jebb being able to draw walks, but still maintaining the same aggressive in-zone approach that you’d see from guys who hit .300 is very promising. It’s even more promising once you consider he’s now being this productive at Double-A. This combination of high batting average and high walk rate will be very valuable, given how fast he is. Reaching base at a well above-average rate with his speed could be a game-changer at the top of the Pirates’ lineup, and so far, it has been for Altoona. He’s scored 10 runs in 21 games and is 12/13 in stolen base attempts.