3 Pirates prospects who will be up by Memorial Day (including one bold prediction)

Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates had two of their best prospects in the Major Leagues by Memorial Day. Jared Jones had opened the year on the Pirates' roster, while Paul Skenes joined him in early May. The Pirates' aggression in moving Jones and Skenes to the Major Leagues so soon into the season let them get a ton of Major League experience, and set them up for an important sophomore season this year. 

But, despite having a packed rotation at present, the Pirates still have a ton of pitching prospects in the system, many of whom are nearly MLB-ready. If these three prospects don't open the year on the Pirates' roster, then it's quite possible that given what they've done recently, their current prospect status, and their age, they could follow a similar path to Skenes and be in the big leagues before Memorial Day.

3 Pirates prospects who'll be on the MLB roster by the end of May

3. Bubba Chandler

Bubba Chandler has flown up prospect rankings over the last two seasons. Heading into last season, he was ranked as a consensus top-100 prospect. Now, he's reaching into consensus top-10 prospect territory. He'll almost certainly be the Pirates' best rookie in 2025, and could spend most of his campaign in the Major Leagues.

Chandler pitched 119.2 innings between Altoona and Indy, working to a 3.08 ERA, 3.10 FIP, and 1.02 WHIP last season. He cut his walk rate down to just 8.6% in the campaign while still striking out over 30% of batters he faced with a 30.9% K%. He was also not home run prone, allowing a dinger at an 0.68-per-9 ratio. Chandler's season was great, but he only got better as he went from Double-A to Triple-A.

Among pitchers with at least 35 innings at the Triple-A level, Chandler had the fourth-best ERA (1.83), FIP (2.48), and the 11th-best K% at 34.1%. Chandler had some other very strong peripherals at Indy, inducing a whiff nearly a third of the time (33%) while holding opponents to just an 85.3 MPH exit velocity and a 3.4% barrel percentage when they were able to make contact vs the right-hander. 

Chandler will likely be up around the same time as Paul Skenes was last year, who made his debut on May 11. There's almost no reason for him to be up any later than that. There's not much left for him to prove at Triple-A. Chandler has a legitimate chance to give the Pirates their second Rookie of the Year in a row, and their third player ever to take home ROTY honors.

2. Mike Burrows

Mike Burrows could have already been in the Major Leagues for multiple seasons now had it not been for Tommy John surgery before the 2023 campaign began. While this set his development back, the right-hander got back into action during the second half of the 2024 season. Now, he could be a key part of the Pirates' pitching staff in 2025.

Burrows' recent numbers at Triple-A had their positives and negatives. Starting off with the good, he had a respectable 4.06 ERA with a 25.1% K%. He induced a swing and miss over 30% of the time (31.8%, to be exact), and his 10.2% walk rate was just slightly better than the league average. On the downside, Burrows was very prone to home runs and hard contact with a 1.93 HR/9, 91 MPH exit velo, and 8.5% barrel rate.

Mixed numbers aside, Burrows made his MLB debut during the last series of the season at Yankee Stadium. He pitched 3.1 innings while allowing one earned run, striking out two, and walking a trio of opponents. More importantly, though, he was hitting the mid-90s in his debut. He also topped out at 97 MPH at Triple-A., showing off a curveball with over 2700 RPM, as well as a low-spin changeup and an upper-80s slider in his first big league game.

Burrows could be in the Major Leagues before Chandler. He is already on the 40-man roster, made his MLB debut, and should be the first name the Pirates call upon if they need a right-handed arm to slot in the bullpen. His stuff would play very well in the bullpen, and he could also be a multi-inning option. Burrows is already 25, so there's not much more development he can do at Triple-A at this point. 

1. Hunter Barco

Predicting that Hunter Barco is going to be in the Major Leagues this early is a bold one. Unlike Burrows and Chandler, Barco has no experience at Triple-A and has hardly scratched the surface at Double-A yet. Given how impressive Barco has looked in spring training, he should be the first left-handed pitcher the Pirates call upon this season.

Barco pitched only 66 innings last year, most of which came at Greensboro, but he had a strong 3.27 ERA, 3.29 FIP, and 1.06 WHIP. He had some very similar peripherals to Chandler, with a 31.8% K%, 8.3% walk rate, and 0.68 HR/9 ratio. He was within 1% of Chandler's K% and BB%, and posted an identical HR/9. The left-hander only tossed four innings at Altoona, but struck out six without allowing a free pass. Barco's numbers in 2024 were good, but he's shown a ton of development in spring training to make fans believe 2025 will start off even stronger.

Barco is hitting 95-96 MPH regularly, topping out at 97 MPH. This is a huge step forward from the 92-94 MPH range he was hitting last season with his sinker. His mid-80s splitter and slider have already graded out as above-average pitches going into camp. His lower arm slot adds even more deception and makes it harder for opponents to pick him up.

Barco will be up early in the season, especially if he can maintain sitting in the mid-90s with his two-seamer across 4-5-6+ innings in his starts. Even if the Pirates bring him up as a reliever, he can still be used for multiple innings at a time or for spot starts. Barco is also already 24, and while he did miss time recovering from Tommy John surgery, he should be nearing MLB readiness.