Pirates lose potential third baseman of the future to season-ending surgery

The Pirates' Double-A affiliate just had a recent injury scare with top slugging prospect Esmerlyn Valdez, as he was removed from Tuesday night's game on a cart. Quickly, the thought of him being out for the season emerged, but he shut that speculation down on his own. While the organization is lucky that Valdez won't be out for the year, fellow Altoona slugger Jack Brannigan will be, following season-ending surgery to his shoulder.

As Danny Demilio of Pittsburgh Baseball Now posted via X, "Jack Brannigan underwent right shoulder labral repair surgery. The Pirates anticipate a full recovery and for him to be ready for the season next year."

Brannigan is the 11th-ranked prospect in the organization, per MLB Pipeline and one of his key attributes that makes him a top prospect is his power. He belted 37 home runs with 29 doubles in 2023-2024. His hit tools have generally lagged behind, as he's consistently struck out at a rate above 25%.

Nonetheless, the third base prospect brought something that this organization desperately needs. Now that he is out for the season, this sets the 24-year-old prospect back even further. He was drafted in 2022 and this was his first season in Double-A. He was slowly progressing through the organization, and this makes things much more difficult for him moving forward.

Pirates top prospect Jack Brannigan is now out for the season with shoulder surgery.

A surgery like this could also impact his swing and throwing mechanics. The hope here is that once he is healthy again, he will have picked up right where he left off, without an altered swing. That will be something to watch for when he returns.

This injury will also deplete the Pirates' organizational depth ahead of the MLB trade deadline. Ke'Bryan Hayes has been a surprisingly hot name on the market and Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Pittsburgh would like to move on from him.

If Hayes goes, there is not much to look forward to in his wake at the third base position. Jared Triolo will likely be that guy who's next in line, and his OPS is worse than Hayes'. Brannigan is still someone to watch for in the future as a replacement at third base, but this injury sets him back significantly.