3 prospects the Pirates should trade this offseason as sell-high candidates

Jack Brannigan

The Pirates originally took Jack Brannigan as a two-way player out of Notre Dame in the third round of the 2022 draft. Brannigan has hit very well in his career thus far. He is certainly a risky prospect, but after coming off yet another strong season, the Pirates should try and capitalize on his value now.

Brannigan hit .238/.344/.490 in an injury-shortened 341 plate appearances at Greensboro. He projects to be a power hitter, and he definitely showed that off this year, blasting 18 dingers and posting a .252 isolated slugging percentage. He showed some prowess on the base paths as well, swiping 12 bags in 15 attempts. He struck out 26.1% of the time but walked at an 11.7% pace. Brannigan ended his year with a strong .378 wOBA and 135 wRC+.

Brannigan made a handful of improvements to his game. He struck out 29.9% of the time last year. The infielder also started to lift the ball more frequently, as his fly ball rate rose from 43.9% in 2023 to nearly 50% (49.7%) this season. Meanwhile, his grounder rate has dropped significantly from 31.1% to 25.6%. He hit nearly as many line drives as ground balls with a 24.6% LD%.

Some might point to Brannigan’s drop in batting average as a reason for decline. He batted nearly .300 for Greensboro last year to just .238 this season. But his performance for the Pirates’ High-A club this year was much closer to sustainable. His batting average on balls in play fell from .395 last year for Greensboro to .276 for the same team. Last year, he struck out over a third of the time at High-A but has cut that down to nearly 25%.

As a defender, Brannigan projects as an above-average shortstop. He originally was a third baseman, and while he still frequented the hot corner this season, his defensive ability is best used at short. Brannigan has the speed to play up the middle, as well as the arm to play anywhere on the left side of the infield. After all, he was hurling upper-90s fastballs as a two-way infielder/pitcher for Notre Dame.

Brannigan has the potential to be a power/speed threat with a strong glove up the middle. But that hit tool leaves some unanswered questions. Sure, he improved, but that part of his game still projects as fringy at best right now. Like Reed, Brannigan has yet to be challenged at the upper levels of the minor leagues, and the jump to Altoona is big.