3 Pirates prospects who could rise onto future top 100 prospect lists

The Pittsburgh Pirates have some of the best prospects in the game. Konnor Griffin is the number one prospect across all of baseball, while Bubba Chandler is the number one pitching prospect in the sport. Fellow pitching prospect Hunter Barco can be found on MLB Pipeline's top 100 list. But neither Chandler nor Barco began their careers as top 100 prospects. The Pirates have developed them to the point where they have very promising outlooks.

So, given their recent development successes, who else could join top 100 prospect lists over the next few years from within the Pirates' system?

3 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects who could rise onto Top 100 lists

Edward Florentino

Edward Florentino is the popular pick for future top 100 lists right now from the Pirates' system. The outfielder/first base prospect obliterated complex league pitching this season, putting up a .347/.422/.642 triple-slash over 113 plate appearances. His wOBA sat just above .500 at .502, and his wRC+ nearly hit 200, coming in at 193. That, of course, led to a swift promotion to the first full-season level of the minor leagues.

All Florentino has done is continue to rake. It has only been 153 plate appearances, and he has eight home runs to go with a .268/.395/.537 line. Florentino is walking at a 14.4% rate, with a strikeout percentage of 22.9%. He has seen a decrease in both wOBA and wRC+, but .432 and 152 are still outstanding, respectively. Florentino has a top ten OPS, wOBA, and wRC+ among all A-Ball hitters with 150+ plate appearances.

A look under the hood only makes Florentino look even better. His whiff rate is well below 20% at 17.1%. That's well under the average A-Ball hitter whiff rate of 27.8%. Florentino's 88.8 MPH exit velocity is another well-above-average mark of 87.1 MPH. Finally, there's his 11.1% barrel rate, which dwarfs the league average rate of 5.1%. 

One of the few criticisms of Florentino's game right now is his fielding and range. He has primarily played center field at Bradenton, with some games at first base. He is a solid runner right now and has gone 20-for-23 in stolen base attempts since getting to A-Ball. But if he slows down, first base may end up being his long-term home. Right now, MLB Pipeline projects him as an average defender with a strong enough arm to play the outfield. If he can stick on the grass, he'll be that much more valuable, with a better chance of ending up on a top 100 prospect list in the near future.

Regardless of his long-term defensive home, everything Florentino has done this season comes from a player who is just 18 years old, and won't turn 19 until November. There are very few teenage prospects who can even come close to Florentino's production right now. There is still a long way for Florentino to go, but his current outlook definitely looks like that of a top 100 prospect.

Antwone Kelly

There wasn't much fanfare for Antwone Kelly heading into the 2025 season. He put up quality numbers in the Florida Complex League in 2022 and 2023, but had rather pedestrian results last year at Bradenton. But Kelly's uptick in velocity and his dominance over batters at Double-A make his prospect status legitimate.

Kelly has pitched 89.2 innings this season between High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona. He has put up a 2.91 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 2.74 FIP. After struggling with walks last year, with a BB% of 11.3%, Kelly has cut his free pass rate down to just 7.5%. He is also striking out nearly 30% of opponents, with a 28.9% K%. Home runs have also been a non-issue for Kelly, with an 0.50 HR/9 ratio.

One important stat to focus on is K%-BB%, as it has a stronger correlation with future ERA than past ERA, or even ERA predictors that attempt to predict future results. Kelly sits at 21.4%, the tenth-highest mark of any minor league pitcher this season who has started at least 15 games (Kelly has started 20). Only four pitchers have a K%-BB% of at least 20% with a sub-3.00 ERA and sub-1.00 WHIP, including Kelly.

Kelly has seen a dip in strikeout rate going from High-A to Double-A, from 30.4% to 25.8%, but he still has an outstanding bottom line, including a 2.67 ERA and 2.61 FIP. Kelly has a big fastball as well, one that sits upper-90s and can hit triple-digits. That's a massive step forward from the mid-90s he was sitting at last year. Baseball America is very bullish on his fastball's potential, giving it a 70-grade. He also brings a slider and changeup to the table.

There are some questions as to whether or not Kelly can stick as a starting pitcher long term, but he has drastically improved his strike-throwing and is getting a better feel for his secondary offerings. The thing that stands out the most is that Kelly is doing all of this in just his age-21 season. The young right-hander wasn't even a top 30 prospect in the Pirates' system at the start of the year, but is now their among their top 15 by Baseball America's rankings. If his slider develops into a plus offering, or his changeup becomes a third above-average pitch, while still maintaining a low walk rate, he may start appearing on top 100 prospect lists.

Murf Gray

The Pirates drafted Murf Gray with their second-round competitive balance pick in this year's draft. While Gray is more of a bat-first type of prospect, the upside in the batter's box is very intriguing. He has the potential to have both a plus hit tool and above-average power, two things that only the best prospects can effectively put together.

Gray finished off his final season at Fresno State putting up a .324/.398/.639 triple-slash. He had no trouble hitting for power, going yard 18 times in only 279 plate appearances. His isolated slugging percentage was above .300, clocking in at .315. While he only drew a walk in 8.2% of his trips to the plate, he struck out at a clip just above 10% at 10.7%. 

His performance in college isn't the only reason why Gray has a potentially promising future in baseball. He also went off with the bat in the Cape Cod League in 2024. It was only 150 plate appearances, but he hit .329/.367/.500. He drew walks at an even lower 4.7% rate, but struck out even less frequently, with an 8% K%. Gray also went yard five times with an ISO of .171. The part that makes this arguably even more promising than his college season was the fact that the Cape Cod League is a wood bat league, and Gray still hit well above average. For reference, the average triple-slash in the Cape Cod League in 2024 was .251/.351/.371.

Gray is a third baseman with questionable defense. Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America project him as a fringy defender at the hot corner, with both sites giving him a 45-grade, but he has a powerful arm that should be able to make deep throws from third base. If he can develop into an average defender, the only tool that won't look like a below-average part of his game is his speed.

Gray's ultra-aggressive approach has worked exceptionally well in college, but could get exposed by better pitching in pro ball. He may need to adjust and become more selective, but he seems to have no problems making contact, as he put up a 91% contact rate against fastballs this year (according to FanGraphs). There is something very promising about a hitter who makes a lot of contact and can hit home runs. A step forward in plate discipline and an improvement with the glove at third base could be all Gray needs to become a top 100 prospect.