Pirates sixth ranked prospect Thomas Harrington has returned

On Tuesday evening, the Pittsburgh Pirates sixth-best prospect made his first start in 2024 with the Bradenton Marauders. Thomas Harrington began the season with an injury to his rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder. After building up his pitch count in the Florida Complex League, Harrington traveled to Bradenton to begin his rehab assignment.

In his first start back, Harrington pitched three innings and struck out three batters. He also allowed a hit, a walk, and no runs. Two of his strikeouts came from his sweeper and the other came from his changeup. This is a great start for Harrington in his first game back. Last season, he dominated in Bradenton and Greensboro, resulting in him going from the Pirates' twelfth-best prospect to their sixth-best prospect. This was his first professional season as he was the Pirates selection with the 36th overall pick in the 2022 Major League Draft.

In that first season with the Pirates, Harrington began in Bradenton and after eight starts, he got promoted to Greensboro. Harrington posted a 7-6 record with an earned run average of 3.53 in 127.1 innings pitched and he struck out 146 batters. He also had a WHIP of 1.24 and an opposing batting average of .248.

Harrington has five pitches that he works with. All grades are from MLB Pipeline. His fastball is in the mid-90s and is graded a 55. Not only does he throw a traditional fastball, but a cutter as well that is graded a 50. He also has a slow curveball that is graded a 45 and a sweeping slider that is graded a 55. His last pitch is a mid-80s changeup which is graded a 55. Harrington attacks the strike zone, but with his quantity of pitches, he is able to get batters to strike out a lot.

Getting Thomas Harrington back from injury is huge for the Pirates farm system. He is a great arm that appears to be developing at a fast rate. When he is finished with his rehab assignment, he should join the Altoona Curve and join other top pitching prospects Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft, and Anthony Solometo.