Pirates hit with setback after injury to excelling southpaw prospect

Hunter Barco has been the biggest story in the Pirates organization as he went on streak of 30 scoreless innings to start the season. This got him into MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects, but he is going to be off the mound for a stretch of time, following a start where he was pulled in the first inning after 23 pitches.

Barco has a bad injury history, so this is really troubling news for the emerging prospect. When he was drafted back in 2022, he was recovering from Tommy John Surgery and had a shortened 2023 of just 18 1/3 innings. Then, to conclude 2024, he dealt with a leg injury that cut his season short.

The organization has dealt with a lot of injuries to the pitching staff over the last few years. The starting rotation is already down Jared Jones and Johan Oviedo while the bullpen is missing Dauri Moreta, Tim Mayza, and Justin Lawrence. Anthony Solometo is the only other ranked left-handed pitching prospect and he has also recently joined the injured list with shoulder issues.

Pirates emerging prospect Hunter Barco hits in injured list after remarkable start to 2025

Even after his rough start, Barco still has a 0.89 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. He adds an 11.87 K/9 with an opponents' batting average of .139. He has straight up been dominant to begin 2025, and losing him halts very encouraging progress.

It was unlikely that Barco was going to be promoted to the big leagues before the other guys in Triple-A such as Bubba Chandler, Mike Burrows, and Braxton Ashcraft. On the other hand, if he continued to dominate the way that he was, the organization may have acted aggressively, especially if they continue to lose and end up selling at the trade deadline. In that case, Andrew Heaney and possibly Bailey Falter would be gone.

As we wait for updates, all we can do is hope that he was pulled for something minor. He has had elbow surgery in the past, and getting a second procedure on it would be a worst-case scenario.