3 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects heading into a make-or-break season

The Pirates have a handful of prospects coming off of disappointing 2024 seasons. But they showed promise in the past, and 2025 will be huge for their development.

Feb 20, 2024; Bradenton, FL, USA;  Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Anthony Solometo (41) poses for a photo during photo day at Pirate City. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Feb 20, 2024; Bradenton, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Anthony Solometo (41) poses for a photo during photo day at Pirate City. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
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Yordany De Los Santos

One of the Pirates' best recent international signings was infielder Yordany De Los Santos. He was signed out of the Dominican Republic in the 2021-2022 offseason. So far, De Los Santos has done nothing but mash Florida Complex League pitching, but he's now received two promotions to Bradenton, falling flat both times. He needs to start showing some life at the first full-season level of the minor leagues.

De Los Santos has a combined .340/.404/.494 triple-slash in the FCL over the previous two seasons. He's walked at an 8.2% rate but has struck out in just 17% of his 294 plate appearances. De Los Santos' isolated slugging percentage clocks in at .150, and he has six homers with 14 doubles and four triples. Overall, his performance has amounted to a .427 wOBA and 140 wRC+.

But in 254 plate appearances at Bradenton, De Los Santos has slashed just .189/.312/.259. Although he has walked in 13.2% of his trips to the plate, he has also struck out nearly a third of the time, sporting an unsightly 32.3% K%. Along with a sub-.100 ISO, he has a wOBA below .300 at .298, and a wRC+ that sits at a meager 72. De Los Santos received 153 plate appearances at Bradenton in 2023 at just 18 and 101 more in 2024, posting a wRC+ of 72 in both stints.

The numbers under the hood are also concerning. De Los Santos' whiff rate is 37.8% at A-Ball thus far. When he does make contact, it hasn't been good contact. His 84 MPH exit velocity is 2.7 MPH below league average. Far more worrisome is his 1% barrel percentage. He is hitting the ball into the ground far too often, clocking in with a GB% of 53.5%.

De Los Santos is still only heading into his age-20 season, so there's less of an urgency for him than for White Jr. Still, it would be huge for De Los Santos' development if he can start showing some life at A-Ball. He doesn't have to light the league on fire, but if he can just show off some promising traits, it would be a massive step forward for him. De Los Santos' ceiling is that of a power-hitting infielder, and if he can show just a glimpse of that, his outlook will look a lot better than it currently does.

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