5 best Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospects who rely on more than pure heat

Thomas Harrington

Prior to the Pirates taking Michael Kennedy, they took Thomas Harrington in the second round. The right-hander was selected out of Campbell University, and he looked great in 2023. 2024 has only further propelled him into prospect stardom, as his strong season has led to him appearing on the backend of some top 100 prospect lists, like MLB Pipeline's and Baseball America's latest updates.

Harrington has mostly pitched for Altoona and Indianapolis this year (he also made a rehab start at Bradenton), combining for 105.2 innings on the season. In total, he has a 2.64 ERA, 2.98 FIP, and 0.94 WHIP. He has struck out just a hair over a quarter of his opponents, with a 25.9% strikeout rate, while limiting home runs with an 0.68 HR/9. Few pitchers have limited walks as well as Harrington has. His BB% is just 3.7%, the third-best mark of any minor leaguer with 100+ IP this season.

Very few pitchers have both been as effective as Harrington with a workload as large as his. There have been just four pitchers this year with an ERA and FIP below 3.00 and a WHIP below 1.00 in 100+ IP throughout all levels of the minor leagues.

Harrington might be the hardest-throwing pitcher on this list. Since getting promoted to Triple-A, Harrington’s fastball is sitting at 92.2 MPH, with his fastest pitch coming in at 95.2 MPH. But his ability to ride the pitch through the zone with some run makes it an above-average offering. Harrington reworked his slider into more of a low-80s sweeper in pro ball. His low-to-mid-80s changeup has always shown above-average potential as well. He rounds out his expansive pitch mix with a low-80s curveball and an upper-80s cutter.