One underrated player at each Pirates minor league team to watch in 2025

The Pittsburgh Pirates will have plenty of top talent at each level of the minor leagues in 2025. A-Ball Bradenton will see the likes of Zander Mueth and possibly even an extended look at Konnor Griffin. Greensboro will see what Carlson Reed has to offer, while Altoona will get a full season of Termarr Johnson, and Indianapolis may open the season with Bubba Chandler in their rotation. If not, they’ll still have Thomas Harrington, another consensus top-100 prospect on their depth chart.

These prospects are some of the best in the Pirates’ system, but each level isn’t entirely composed of top prospects, of course. There are some that will fly under the radar at each stop, making surprising impressions along the way.

Aside from the top prospects in the Pirates’ system, fans should also follow these underrated minor leaguers in 2025.

Underrated Pirates Minor-Leaguer in Bradenton: Luke Scherrer

Undrafted free agents rarely ever get much attention. However, Luke Scherrer is definitely one of the more notable ones in recent years. Scherrer was a high school catcher out of Yucaipa High School in California. The Pirates signed him after the 2023 draft, and he made a nice first impression in 2024 in the Florida Complex League.

Scherrer only had 139 plate appearances, but put up a quality .273/.406/.346 triple-slash. He did not hit a home run and had just a .073 isolated slugging percentage, but hustled out eight doubles. The right-handed hitter also walked nearly as often as he struck out with a 15.1% K% (21 Ks) and a 12.9% BB% (18 free passes). This all led Scherrer to a .385 wOBA and 118 wRC+.

Scherrer received some positive reviews prior to the 2023 season. Prospects Live stated he had evolved into one of the most complete backstops among high school catchers. He showed off athleticism behind the dish and a 1.8-second pop time, which was the fastest in the Perfect Game National Showcase, according to Prospects Live. They also praised his arm from behind the dish.

Scherrer is built to hit for more power in the future. He is listed at 6’1”, 215 pounds. He had some struggles with lifting the ball, with a 46.6% ground ball rate and sub-40% flyball percentage at the Florida Complex League last season. The young backstop showed some power to his pull-side and went to left field at a 47.3% rate. Scherrer is only in his age-20 season, but he should get a look at the first full-season level of the minor leagues in 2025. 

Honorable Mention: Will Taylor