4 Pirates prospects who possess the best position player tools in the farm system

Position players are judged by five tools: hit, power, fielding, arm, and speed. Players who are average or better in all five categories are considered five-tool players. These are typically the best players in the game; think of a Bobby Witt, Gunnar Henderson, or Francisco Lindor type. This is especially important when talking about prospects; the emergence of toolsy prospects can inspire hope among left-behind fan bases like that of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates have plenty of pitching talent, but their position player talent seems to get left behind when talking about what the Bucs have in the minor leagues. Throughout the Pirates' system, which hitters best represent each of the five tools? We took our best shot.

Which Pirates hitting prospects best represent the five tools?

Hit: Mitch Jebb

The hit tool is defined as a player’s ability to hit for average, make contact, and avoid striking out. No player fits the bill better than infield/outfield prospect Mitch Jebb. The Pirates took Jebb in the second round of the 2023 draft. Coming out of Michigan State, Jebb hit .327 throughout college with a strikeout rate of just 9.9% in 685 plate appearances.

Coming out of the gates this year, you would've thought that something had gone wrong between collegiate ball and the pros. Jebb had just a .199 batting average and struck out over a quarter of the time with a 25.9% K% throughout his first 239 plate appearances of the season. While it took some time, the sort of hitter many expected Jebb to be from the jump started to show up in the second half of the season.

His final 258 plate appearances of the year saw him hit for a .307 average, and slash his strikeout rate down to a microscopic 12.8%. Getting more hits and striking out far less often aren’t the only improvements Jebb made. He also drove his BB% from just 8.4% to 14% spanning his first poor stretch through his second half stretch.

Jebb’s first half left some concern. Given he has little power, he has to hit for a high average and avoid the K to be a productive batter. Luckily, his second half represented what many thought Jebb would do this year. Add in the fact he can draw walks at a quality rate, as well as steal some bases, and Jebb could be the Pirates’ leadoff hitter in a year or two.

Power: Tony Blanco Jr.

Power can be evaluated a few different ways. It can represent a player's ability to hit home runs and get extra-base hits, or it could reflect a player's raw power ability, which can be evaluated through stats like exit velocity, barrel rate, and home run distance. Either way, no prospect in the Pirates’ system exudes the power potential that Tony Blanco Jr. does. The Pirates signed the outfielder/first base prospect in the 2021-2022 offseason and he was one of the top international signees of his class. Very few prospects throughout all of the minor leagues have the potential to hit bombs like Blanco does.

That’s because, at just 19 years old, Blanco Jr. is listed at 6’7”, 245 pounds. He is nearly the same height as New York Yankees’ slugger and former MVP Giancarlo Stanton, who is the same weight but just one inch shorter. Blanco Jr. is massive, to put it lightly. He batted .305/.385/.505 with a 138 wRC+ in 109 plate appearances for the Pirates’ Florida Complex League this season.

Blanco has the potential to lead MLB in home runs someday, but he will definitely need to make enough contact to do so. Blanco Jr. struck out 28.4% of the time this year. Granted, that was an improvement over the 39.2% strikeout rate he carried throughout 176 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League, but it's still a ghastly number. His size leads to a very large strike zone, and he has a long swing.

Jhonny Severino also deserves an honorable mention in the power category. He displayed a lot of potential this year. But, given Blanco’s insane size and raw power already, he just edges out Severino for this position on this list heading towards 2025.

Arm: Jack Brannigan

Jack Brannigan was the Pirates’ third-round pick in 2022. He was initially taken as a two-way player, seeing time at third base and out of the University of Notre Dame’s bullpen. Although the Pirates have seemingly scrapped his two-way prowess, given he has not pitched in the pros, Brannigan has been able to show off his powerful arm on the left side of the infield.

As a pitcher, Brannigan was sitting mid-to-upper-90s and topping out at 100 MPH. That kind of arm strength has been very useful for the infield prospect. Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America are in agreement that Brannigan has plus-plus arm strength, putting him at a 70-grade. It also helps that he projects as an above-average to plus defender who can play third base, second base, and shortstop. SS was his primary position this past season.

Griffin gets an honorable mention here, too. He also pitched some as an amateur and received a 60 grade from Pipeline and BA. His arm will play at shortstop and in the outfield. Cook also gets another honorable mention. Baseball Savant put his arm value at +1, and while it’s not the best way to evaluate a player’s arm strength, he did make two outfield assists in less than 100 innings in the major leagues.