Pirates' sixth-ranked prospect continues meteoric rise with another promotion

The Altoona Curve's dominant pitching staff has taken a hit after star prospect right-hander Thomas Harrington got promoted to Triple-A. This promotion was richly deserved, as Harrington has quickly emerged as a top prospect within the organization and has ascended this summer.

He likely will not be the last notable Pirates pitching prospect to jump levels in 2024.

The Pirates promote Thomas Harrington to Triple-A Indianapolis a year after being in Low-A Bradenton.

Harrington was selected early in the 2022 MLB Draft, but was shut down after a long season with Campbell University. He quickly got to work in Bradenton, and after eight starts, he found himself in Greensboro. He excelled at both levels, finishing his first year with a 3.53 earned run average, a WHIP of 1.24 and 146 strikeouts.

Although Harrington began the 2024 campaign with a rotator cuff injury, he started the year with another new team following a rehab assignment. He was once again promoted, which landed him with the Altoona Curve, where he went on to pitch exceptionally well this season.

In 13 outings with Altoona, Harrington posted an earned run average of 2.24 in 68.1 innings pitched and struck out 74 batters. Opposing batters are hitting just .227 against him, and his WHIP sits at 1.00. Another impressive number from Harrington is his 2.55 FIP, while his xFIP is still very good at 3.14.

This outstanding showing at Double-A has resulted in his promotion to the next level. If he pitches well in Indianapolis to close out the season, he could be a strong candidate to have a shot at the Opening Day big-league roster in 2025. The Pirates have an abudance of good pitchers locked in for the future throughout all levels of the organization.

It is likely that Harrington will make his Triple-A debut on Thursday. Jake Woodford was originally supposed to start Thursday, but he was called up to pitch for the Pirates in Game against the Astros. Harrington was also scheduled to pitch Thursday for Altoona, prior to his promotion.

Let's see what Harrington can do. If he performs well, he could be another addition to help the Pirates' postseason push.