4 Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospects who deserve a promotion

Thomas Harrington

Thomas Harrington is arguably the Pirates’ second-best pitching prospect and their third-best prospect overall. The right-hander had an extremely promising 2023 season between Bradenton and Greensboro, and while he missed the first month of the 2024 campaign, he’s not only picked up where he’s left off, but he’s doing even better than he did for the Marauders or the Grasshoppers.

Through 52.2 frames, Harrington has a 2.41 ERA, 2.81 FIP, and 1.02 WHIP. He’s striking out over a quarter of batters faced for the second season in a row with a 26.8% K%. On top of that, he has one of the lowest walk rates among minor league starters. His 3.8% BB% is the eighth-lowest among all minor-league arms who have started at least 10 games. Harrington has been immune to home runs, sporting an 0.60 HR/9 on the year.

Unlike Chandler, Harrington doesn’t overpower guys with high-90s heat. Instead, he sits 93-94 MPH with great spin, giving it ride through the top of the zone. Harrington’s slider has also improved since he’s reached pro ball. He employs a sweeper in the low-80s that he gets a good amount of swings and misses on. Another pitch that he added last year was a cutter, which has shown some potential as an average or better pitch. Then there’s his two-seamer, which also sits low-90s like his four-seamer, but with more sinking action. Finally, Harrington will mix in a changeup that has above-average potential, though his other pitches have seemingly surpassed it.

Either way, he can throw all of his pitches for strikes, and he consistently hits his spots. This is something else that helps Harrington’s stuff play up. He has plus command, and he’s put that on display by posting a walk rate below 4%. He’s one of just 32 minor league starters with a BB% below 5%.

While I understand Harrington got a late jump to the season, he’s been outright dominant for Altoona. Like Chandler, he’s got almost nothing left to prove at Double-A. There might have been an outside chance Harrington would have already been at Triple-A had he been healthy to start the year and was pitching like he has been, but in April as well. Still, Harrington should be at Triple-A soon, maybe by the end of July if he pitches anything like he has thus far at Altoona.