Last Pirates prospect from Jameson Taillon trade is off to a ridiculous start in 2025

During the Ben Cherington regime, there have been a lot of trades where the Pirates unloaded their top players for prospects. Time and time again, the Pirates consistently appear to lose these trades, constantly seeing these prospects fail to pan out.

The Jameson Taillon trade was completed during the second offseason under Cherington, and it has not worked out well at all. Roansy Contreras looked promising in 2023, then completely fell off and is now with the Orioles. Miguel Yajure never found a groove in Pittsburgh, leading him to Japan instead. Canaan Smith-Njigba also got a few opportunities with the Pirates, but dealt with various injuries and currently remains unsigned.

That leaves Maikol Escotto as the last piece of that trade who's still active with the organization, and prior to 2025, he was looking just as much of a bust as the other three. Escotto has been in Greensboro since 2022, and started 2025 with the same team. His insufficient production at the plate prevented him from moving up, but now he is starting to look like a brand new player.

Maikol Escotto, Pirates' trade chip from Jameson Taillon deal, is finally looking like a decent prospect with a hot start.

Through 18 games, Escotto is batting .438 (28-for-64) with two home runs and nine RBI. He already has more doubles than his 2024 total, with seven on the year, building a .641 slugging percentage. That goes with an on-base percentage of .456 to generate an OPS of 1.097. Additionally, his wRC+ sits at 198 and his strikeout rate is down to 19.1% after being up to 33.6% in 2024.

Those numbers are obviously very impressive, but they are not sustainable. They will fall, but if he can continue to keep a wRC+ above 100, he may get up to Double-A for the first time in his career. He is still just 22 years old, but being in his fourth season in High-A is not something to be excited about.

Another thing holding him back is his defensive value. He does not have a primary position, and has seen the most games at designated hitter. He started as a shortstop, and now he has only played one game there this season. First base and second base have been the spots he has gotten the most time at this season.

Escotto is still young and has not been a very successful prospect until now. This hot start to the season is a great sign to see from him, and if he keeps it up, maybe he could bring some value to the organization. Whether that is with a trade package, or his bat eventually reaching the big-league lineup, his positive production could very well help the Pirates at some point.