3 late-blooming Pirates prospects who made an impact in 2024

There are a lot of MLB players who were late bloomers. A mix of things, such as injuries, depth chart priority, and even prospect status can hold a player back. But sometimes, even after all of that, some players break out and prove to be solid MLB pieces.

Since the start of the 2020s, there have been 13 position players who were 25 or older in their rookie season to post a 110 OPS+ or better (minimum 300 plate appearances) and 58 pitchers of the same age or older in their rookie years to post an ERA+ of 110 or greater (min. 50 IP).

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ system mostly consists of very young players, like Konnor Griffin and Levi Sterling, but they do have some older prospects who could make an impact. Last time, we looked at underrated prospects in the Pirates’ system who were 20 years old or younger. This time, we’re going to take a look at prospects who could be late bloomers — that being ones who are 24 years or older but have either put up good numbers in the minor leagues or have the potential to be something worthwhile in the near future.

Late-blooming Pirates prospects who could make an impact in the near future.

Scott Randall

The Pirates acquired Scott Randall from the Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2022-2023 offseason for utility man Diego Castillo. A former seventh-round pick, Randall missed the entirety of 2023 due to injuries. But he’s come back in 2024 strong and posted some very promising numbers.

While Randall’s 4.39 ERA wasn’t great, it was the only blemish on his report card. He struck out 24.3% of opponents alongside a microscopic 3.2% walk rate. That amounted to a 7.57 K:BB ratio. He had the 7th-best walk rate and 11th-best K:BB ratio among minor league pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched. Randall only allowed home runs at a 0.51 per 9 rate, accompanied by a 45.1% ground ball rate. 

He had a 1.18 WHIP, 2.92 FIP, and 3.36 xFIP as well. Randall’s inflated batting average on balls in play was the most likely culprit for his poor ERA. His BABIP clocked in at .333, the sixth-highest among Pirates minor league arms with 50+ frames under their belt this year.

Randall’s four-seam fastball sits in the low-90s, topping out at 94 MPH, but it has good movement with above-average ride and solid break. His primary breaking pitch is an upper-70s curveball. He’ll also mix in a slider, cutter, and change-up. He has also displayed strong command over his offerings.

Randall made it to Double-A this year but only made one start. It was a strong outing as he pitched four scoreless innings, striking out three and allowing zero walks. Randall turned 26 in early August, so he is an extremely late bloomer at this point. But he is coming off a strong season.

2025 will be Randall’s age-26 season. He pitched well this year, both out of long relief, pitching multiple innings out of the 'pen nine times while making eight starts. Given his age, he has a chance to open 2025 at Triple-A. He could be a long-relief option for the Pirates if he keeps putting up strong numbers.

Emmanuel Chapman

The Pirates acquired Emmanuel Chapman this past offseason when they signed him out of Cuba. Chapman was already 25 when the Pirates signed him, and he did not show much promise in Cuba. Throughout 51 1/3 innings, he had a 9.82 ERA and walked far more batters (58) than he struck out (46).

But even though he had a poor showing in Cuba, Chapman looked great in his first taste of professional baseball in the United States. The right-hander opened his season pitching to a 3.00 ERA, 4.17 FIP, and 1.00 WHIP in 18 innings for High-A Greensboro. His 1.50 HR/9 was a touch high, but a 23.1% HR/FB ratio indicated some poor fly ball luck in a small sample size. He still struck out nearly a third of opponents (32.9% K%) with a much improved 8.6% walk rate.

That strong start earned him an early-season promotion to Altoona. But things couldn’t have gotten off to a rougher start for the right-hander. Chapman allowed eight earned runs with only four Ks, two walks, and a home run allowed through his first seven innings and three appearances. But after that, Chapman seemed to piece things back together.

Throughout his final 56 frames of the year, Chapman had a 2.73 ERA, 3.34 FIP, and 1.09 WHIP. He struck out 24% of opponents with a 10.9% walk rate and only allowed home runs at a 0.32 per 9 innings rate. Chapman got more work in as a starter, with six of his last 10 appearances coming out of the rotation.

While he got some work in as a starter in the second half of the season, he projects best as a reliever. Chapman sits mid-to-upper-90s with a low-80s slider. He’s had some obvious issues with command, but to go from a near-20% walk rate in Cuba to just under 10% in the minors shows that he’s at least improved his control to an adequate degree.

Chapman’s stuff would likely play up in shorter stints out of the bullpen, and his issues with control and command would also be better hidden. Even when he was being used as a reliever, many of his appearances were in a long relief role. Fifteen of his 29 appearances as a reliever went multiple innings. Only seven of his relief appearances lasted a single inning or less.

Chapman is already 26, so he should start next year at Triple-A, and after his solid performance at Double-A, he’s earned it. There have been some late-blooming foreign relievers in recent baseball history, like Yennier Cano (was an All-Star in his age-29 rookie year), Felix Bautista (made his debut in his age-27 season), Robert Suarez (made his MLB debut at age 31), and the Pirates’ own Dauri Moreta (broke out in his age-27 season) that have gone on to put up decent numbers in the Major Leagues. Hopefully, Chapman can be like them because the Pirates could definitely use another good reliever next year.