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Jack Brannigan
Jack Brannigan missed part of the 2024 season due to injury, but was still very productive in the 341 plate appearances he had. In total, Brannigan slashed .235/.344/.490, with a .378 wOBA and 135 wRC+. He went yard 18 times with an isolated slugging percentage well above .200 at .252. The infield prospect walked in 11.7% of his plate appearances but, more importantly, saw his K% drop from 29.9% in '23 to 26.1% last year for Greensboro. While his batting average dropped from .275 in '23, Brannigan put a heavier focus on fly balls, causing a dip in BABIP from .363 to .276.
Like Jebb, if Brannigan does well in 2025, that gives them their potential shortstop for 2026. Although he was drafted as a third baseman/RHP, he saw most of his innings at shortstop in 2024. He's considered a plus defender with an arm that can play anywhere, given he was a pitcher in college and was pumping high-90s fastballs. He projects as an even better defender than Jebb.
The Pirates' defense at shortstop hasn't been great. Last season, they combined for -11 defensive runs saved and -7 outs above average. Moving Oneil Cruz to center field and implementing IKF full-time will definitely improve the glovework at shortstop, but Brannigan could be the best defender the Pirates have had at shortstop in a long time.
Brannigan will likely pair with Jebb up the middle at Altoona next year. That would be huge for the Pirates, as long as he can continue to hit for power and lower his K% as he gets to the upper levels of the minor leagues. The Pirates had just a .137 isolated slugging percentage with 160 home runs last season. Both numbers ranked bottom five in baseball, and the Pirates haven't ranked in the top half of the league in either stat since 2014. Brannigan has the potential to be a 20+ home run hitter at the next level. Now, he has to build upon his foundation.