Pirates Prospect Update: Omar Alfonzo homer streak, Thomas Harrington, Billy Cook

While the Pirates got the job done over the weekend against the Phillies with a sweep, so did the prospects down in the minor leagues. There's a lot of noise around the promotion of Konnor Griffin to Greensboro and he will joining another surging prospect in Omar Alfonzo.

Alfonzo has hit a home run in three straight games, marking nine on the season. He is now slugging .640 to open up June and that number sits at .436 for the season. He has done great and is emerging as the next best catching prospect in the organization since Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez.

On the season, Alfonzo has generated a 131 wRC+ with a .821 OPS and 29 RBI. Hitting for power and walking at a high 17% rate has been his game, but the only thing holding him back right now is his 30.3% strikeout rate. Once he can fix that, Alfonzo will likely move his way up to Altoona. Pittsburgh will have a big decision with him this offseason as he is already Rule 5 Draft eligible and they fortunately were able to keep him after the last draft.

Thomas Harrington twirls best start of season; Billy Cook finally heating up to headline Pirates farm system

Thomas Harrington has not performed well so far this season ever since his demotion from Pittsburgh. He cannot seem to find a groove on the mound and has been completely off his game. On Sunday though, Harrington was able to snap out of it, tossing six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out five.

On the season, Harrington's ERA fell to 5.76 with a 5.58 FIP and a 7.74 K/9. Last year he didn't walk many batters, nor did he allow many home runs, but this year both have skyrocketed. Getting those two areas down is the key to his success moving forward.

Similarly, Billy Cook got off to one of the worst starts to the season that one could possibly have, but he is finally turning things around. He is riding a six-game hitting streak that includes five multi-hit games and had another six-game streak snapped just before his most recent surge.

Now that he is finally getting hits to fall, his average has climbed to .253 with a .658 OPS. He has not hit for any power this season, logging just 10 doubles and a triple. He has power in him that he displayed in Pittsburgh last season with three home runs. If he can keep this hot streak up, maybe he can replace Tommy Pham once and for all.