3 Pittsburgh Pirates players who are being unfairly blocked by Tommy Pham

Tommy Pham has arguably been the worst free agent signing Ben Cherington has made since he took over as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ general manager in the 2019-2020 offseason (who wasn't a participant in the disappointing COVID-shortened 2020 season), and that’s saying something. Pham is hitting just .206/.281/.237. He has yet to hit a home run, and his 28.4% strikeout percentage would be the highest single-season mark since 2016. The only good thing he’s done with the bat is put up a chase rate in the 91st percentile and draw walks 9.2% of the time. Overall, his wOBA is only .239, and his wRC+ is 45. Pham isn't expected to do much better either, with just a .210 xBA, .281 xSLG%, and .255 xwOBA.

Pham’s defense is at least playable, but that’s about all you can say about his efforts. He has +5 defensive runs saved, but -1 out above average. He doesn’t have a powerful arm, only ranking in the 58th percentile of arm strength, while falling about average in terms of jump and route running. There are worse defenders out there, but Pham doesn’t get particularly glowing reviews by any other defensive metric.

This isn’t like Rowdy Tellez, either. The Bucs picked up Tellez for his age-29 season, only two years removed from a 35-homer campaign. Tellez was also off to a strong start for the first two months of 2023 before a forearm injury slowed him down. Pham is 37 and didn’t show any potential in 2024, his age-36 season. Pham is just deadweight, taking up a roster spot that another, more promising player could fill.

3 Pirates players who deserve the chances Tommy Pham is receiving

Billy Cook

Billy Cook was acquired at the 2024 trade deadline. Although he excelled at Triple-A last year, posting a .862 OPS, .382 wOBA, and 128 wRC+ between the Baltimore Orioles and the Pirates’ Triple-A squads, he’s struggled for most of this season. He is only slashing .212/.304/.271 with a 62 wRC+ in his first 163 plate appearances of the year, all of which have come at Triple-A Indianapolis. He is starting to show some signs of life, though, with 11 hits, five walks, and only four strikeouts over his last 11 games.

Cook made his major league debut last season and hit three home runs and a pair of doubles in only 49 plate appearances. The downside is Cook struck out 19 times with a 39.8% whiff rate, didn’t draw a single walk, and chased outside the zone 36.9% of the time. But his 92.6 MPH exit velocity, 13.3% barrel rate, and .432 xSLG% showed he had plenty of raw power.

Cook flashed the potential to be an exceptional base runner and defender. He had +6 DRS and +2 OAA in only 85 innings in the outfield, and saw time at all three outfield positions. He can also play first base and looked solid there as well. His sprint speed was in the 93rd percentile of MLB players last season, placing him above known speed threats like Mike Trout, Kevin Kiermaier, Gunnar Henderson, and Andrés Giménez.

Is Cook a complete season-changer? Probably not. But what we do know is that Cook is significantly faster than Pham and lightyears ahead of the veteran outfielder on defense. Cook can also play first base, something Pham can’t do. He’s about 11 years younger and is ranked as a top-20 prospect in the Pirates’ system by both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. 

Matt Gorski

Matt Gorski has done well for himself at Indy since the start of 2024. He is hitting .261/.319/.521 with a .359 wOBA and 112 wRC+. Gorski has hit for plenty of power, going yard 27 times in 521 plate appearances with a 91 MPH exit velocity and 13% barrel rate. Conversely, his plate discipline was lacking, with an 8.2% walk rate, 28.2% strikeout percentage, and 37% whiff rate.

Gorski got a brief taste of MLB action earlier this year, and similarly to Cook, he flashed plus power and strong defense, but had plenty of issues with swings and misses. He smacked a pair of home runs in 42 plate appearances. His 74.8 MPH bat speed is elite, ranking higher than the likes of Bryce Harper, Bobby Witt Jr., and Brent Rooker, all of whom are above the 80th percentile of bat speed. But he drew just a single walk with a 43% chase rate and struck out 16 times, putting up a whiff rate of 38.9%.

Gorski mostly played first base in his brief MLB call-up and only saw 11 innings in the outfield. For what it’s worth, he looked like a strong defensive outfielder in that microscopic sample size, which lines up with previous scouting reports, as Baseball America graded his fielding out with a score of 60. He was also in the 87th percentile of sprint speed, which, again, BA gave a 60 grade.

Like Cook, the chances that Gorski is the key to turning the Pirates around are slim. But he definitely brings more upside and power to the plate. He’s miles better than Pham when it comes to playing the outfield and running the bases. Plus, you get some utility at first base, which is another positive that Pham doesn’t provide.

Nick Yorke

Nick Yorke was also a deadline acquisition by the Pirates in 2024, and he was one of the best hitters at Triple-A last year. He ranked third in batting average, sixth in OBP and wOBA, fourth in wRC+, and 15th in OPS. Yorke also made his MLB debut last season, stepping to the plate 42 times with eight hits, including a pair of home runs.

The start of 2025 was not a good one for Yorke. At the end of April, Yorke was only slashing .214/.321/.314 with a 78 wRC+. While he had a quality 13.6% walk rate, he also struck out just over 30% of the time (30.9%), which was a huge uptick from the 18.9% K% he had at Triple-A last year. On top of that, Yorke missed about a week early in the season with an injury. 

However, since that sluggish start, Yorke has begun to heat up, batting .324/.342/.432 with a .350 wOBA and 108 wRC+ in May. The top prospect has only drawn a pair of walks, but has significantly cut down on the strikeouts, with only a dozen in 76 plate appearances. He has only hit a pair of home runs, with an isolated slugging percentage of .108, but carries with him an advanced exit velocity of 89.8 MPH in the month. The power should eventually come through.

While second base is Yorke’s primary position, he’s seen time in both outfield corners. Yorke has significant upside, with both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline ranking him as the Bucs’ sixth-best prospect. He’d likely out-hit Tommy Pham and would provide much more value in terms of versatility.