Five underrated Pittsburgh Pirates prospects who are off to good starts to 2024

These Pittsburgh Pirates prospects might not be any prospect lists, but they're off to great starts to the 2024 season.
Vanderbilt pitcher Patrick Reilly (88) pitches against Arkansas during the first inning at Hawkins
Vanderbilt pitcher Patrick Reilly (88) pitches against Arkansas during the first inning at Hawkins / Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com / USA
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Enmanuel Chapman

Enmanuel Chapman didn’t get much fanfare when the Pirates signed him during the off-season as one of their international signings. Chapman had struggled in the Cuban league, walking a ton of batters and allowing a ton of earned runs. On top of that, he wasn’t considered much of a prospect. But Chapman hasn’t let those things prevent him from starting the year off right.

Chapman has pitched 7.1 innings, all out of the bullpen for Greensboro, but has only allowed a single earned run. He has struck out nine batters in that time. Control was an issue for Chapman prior to signing with the Pirates, but he’s only allowed to free passes. in both cases, Chapman hit the strike zone at least twice, and it wasn’t called on him.

Chapman is an imposing presence on the mound. He’s 6’6”, 255-pounds while sitting mid-to-upper-90s with his fastball. The Pirates and Chapman agreed on a deal on December 15th worth $200K.

With Chapman dominating High-A batters to open the year and already in his age-25 season, I don’t see what reason there would be to keep Chapman at Greensboro beyond the month of May if he both stays healthy and keeps pitching extremely well. He was an older international signee, so let’s give him a real test and see what he can do against Double-A-level competition. He could end up being an interesting relief prospect to watch.