4 Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospects who deserve a promotion

Carlson Reed

One of the many pitchers the Pirates took in the 2023 draft was Carlson Reed. Coming out of WVU, Reed was utilized as a late-inning arm for the Mountaineers. But despite getting drafted as a reliever, the Pirates slotted Reed into Bradenton’s rotation, and he has pitched even better than he did for West Virginia last year.

Reed has pitched to a 2.75 ERA, 3.76 FIP, and 1.31 WHIP. The righty has only allowed four homers in 68.2 innings while posting a 55.1% ground ball rate. Batters have just an 85 MPH exit velo and 2.8% barrel rate against him, so it’s no surprise he’s barely allowed any homers. Another one of his strengths this year has been inducing strikeouts. Reed has a 31.9% whiff rate and 28.8% K%. 

Unfortunately, Reed struggles with command. He’s handed out a walk to 13.5% of opponents faced this year. Even with WVU last year, he had a 14.5% BB%. He’s a long 6’4”, 200 pounds, and his delivery, which includes keeping his arm long, can hinder his command on the bump. Luckily, the stuff should play well enough that below-average command might be good enough to get the job done.

As a reliever, Reed sat in the mid-90s, but he’s been closer to the lower 90s as a starter, which isn’t all that surprising. Reed’s arsenal includes a four-seamer that sits 93-94, a sinker that comes in around 91-93, a low-80s slider, which he gets a ton of his swings and misses with, and a low/mid-80s changeup.

Getting bumped to Greensboro could be a real test for Reed. That could determine if he stays in the rotation or gets bumped to a bullpen role long-term. Reed has been a nice surprise. He’ll definitely be an interesting prospect to watch to see if he can stick as a starter. If so, he’ll be yet another prospect who could potentially find himself as a long-term cog in the Pirates’ rotation.