Pittsburgh Pirates: Intriguing Non-Roster Invitees to Spring Training

Right-handed pitcher Cody Bolton

Prior to the pandemic, Cody Bolton was one of the best pitching prospects in the Pirate farm system. However, after the pandemic shut down the 2020 minor league season and Bolton missing the 2021 season with a knee injury, his prospect status has plumetted.

With Pirate fans cheering for his comeback, Bolton finally pitched after almost two seasons away from baseball and he pitched well for Triple-A Indianapolis. With Indy, Bolton posted a 3.09 ERA, 3.81 FIP, struck out 82 batters, walked 40, and had a 1.28 WHIP across 14 starts and 79.2 innings pitched.

Bolton showed flashes of brilliance at times, but had some struggles as well, walking over 12.4% of the batters he faced (an alarming increase compared to prior seasons). He struggled toward the end of the season with command issues (especially with the increase in walked batters), but for the most part, he was arguably one of the better pitching prospects in our farm system.

With Vince Velasquez and Rich Hill most likely being traded at the deadline, Bolton has the potential to become a solid back of the rotation arm for the Pirates. Worst case scenario, he will be a dominant long reliever out of the bullpen. While some fans believe this was a fluke season, I'm optimistic that he can be a reliable pitcher in the majors. He will most likely be one of the first pitching prospects to be called up this season, alongside top pitching prospects Luis Ortiz, Mike Burrows, and Quinn Priester.

Second baseman Temarr Johnson

Termarr Johnson is the most recent first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was selected 4th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft. At just 5'7", the 18-year-old was arguably the best pure prep hitter in the draft and he quickly became a top prospect for the Pirates.

After previously playing shortstop in high school, he has now transitioned to be a 2nd baseman for the foreseeable future. Last season with the Bradenton Marauders, Johnson posted solid numbers in a small sample size, posting a .275/.396/.450 slash line, with 1 home run, 6 RBI, and a 139 wRC+ across 53 plate appearances.

While Johnson isn't known for hitting home runs, he makes up for it with a great contact bat that can produce hits all across the field. Johnson is currently ranked as the no. 26 prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline and is projected to start out this season in High-A Greensboro.

Even with a great hit tool, It is highly unlikely that Johnson will sniff the Major Leagues until he faces better competition at the Double-A and Triple-A in 2-3 years, but he will be fun to watch this spring in Bradenton alongside former first-round picks Nick Gonzales and Henry Davis. Keep an eye on this kid for the foreseeable future.

Right-handed pitcher Kyle Nicolas

After being acquired in the Jacob Stallings trade with the Miami Marlins, 23-year-old Kyle Nicolas has become one of the most underrated and intriguing pitching prospects in the Pirate farm system. Last season with Double-A Altoona, Nicolas posted a 3.97 ERA, 4.30 FIP, struck out 101 batters (10.03 K/9), walked 47 (4.67 BB/9), and had a 1.30 WHIP across 90.2 innings pitched and 22 starts.

Nicolas struck out almost 26% of the batters that he faced, but struggled with walks, walking 12.1%. While these aren't "ace level" stats, his stats were heavily inflated after one fluke start early in the season, where he gave up 8 earned runs in 2 innings. Take out that fluke start, and Nicolas' season numbers would have been significantly better.

Nicolas has a solid pitching repertoire that consists of a mid 90's fastball, a solid slider, a serviceable curveball, and a below-average changeup. As the old saying goes, "you can never have enough pitching", and Nicolas could easily compete for a bottom of the rotation spot in 2023 and beyond, and Spring Training could further solidify that projection. With Nicolas projected to start out the 2023 season in Triple-A Indianapolis, expect him to potentially make his major league debut in 2023 if he performs well.

Utility man Andres Alvarez

After being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 22nd round of the 2019 MLB Draft, 25-year-old Andres Alvarez became a more notable name in the minor leagues last season. The utility man posted a .220/.339/.429 slash line, while hitting 20 home runs and driving in 50 runs. He also posted a 111wRC+ across 110 games.

Alvarez got on-base at a decent clip, walking 14.4% of the time at the plate, and stole 20 bases, becoming a baserunning threat. Alvarez's power came out of nowhere last season, finishing 3rd in home runs on the Curve behind notable power hitters Mason Martin and Aaron Shackleford. After hitting 7 combined home runs in three prior seasons (6 of which were from 2021), Alvarez has clearly figured something out.

While his slash line isn't "All-Star" worthy, he is still very impressive as a power-hitting infielder. With improving power potential and plus speed/baserunning ability, Alvarez could easily compete for a backup infielder role in the future and could surprise fans this spring.

Right-handed pitcher Tyler Chatwood

After signing a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in January, Tyler Chatwood was immediately an under-the-radar signing.

Many Pirate fans may remember him during his time with the Chicago Cubs as a spot starter/long reliever, but he hasn't pitched in the MLB since 2021 after struggling with the Toronto Blue Jays and a brief stint with the San Francisco Giants, In his entire career, Chatwood has posted a combined 4.45 ERA, 4.62 FIP, 660 strikeouts, and a 1.51 WHIP across 878.2 innings pitched, and has been a solid groundball pitcher with a career 53.9 ground ball rate.

Last season, Chatwood signed with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the Japan Western League and had a solid year, posting a 2.59 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched. Will his success in the JWL translate to MLB? Probably not, but he'll be relatively reliable as a reliever and could be trade bait. With injuries bound to happen, expect the 33-year-old Chatwood to make a few appearances and provide veteran depth in Triple-A.

First baseman/outfielder Matt Gorski

After being drafted in the second round of the 2019 MLB draft, Matt Gorski really struggled in the minor leagues. Due to this, Gorski really was not known for his offensive potential and power upside. That is until he hit 17 home runs during his 2021 season in High-A Greensboro. 2022 was his official breakout season in High-A after putting up a .294/.377/.754, hit 17 home runs, drove in 37 runs, and posted a 188 wRC+ and a .460 isolated slugging (ISO) in 146 plate appearances.

This success led to a promotion to Double-A Altoona where he posted a .277/.354/.489 slash line, hit 6 home runs, drove in 28, stole 10 bases, and had a 130wRC+ across 159 plate appearances, and he played one game in Triple-A Indianapolis. He was also pretty solid defensively in the outfield with great arm strength. The only downside with Gorski was his high strikeout rate at 29.6% in Altoona.

Somewhat surprisingly, Gorski was not selected in the Rule 5 Draft this offseason, and he now has the ability to compete for an outfield spot and get first base reps this season. Spring training will be a great way for Pirate fans to see the potential of Gorski.

The future of the Pittsburgh Pirates appears to be bright and spring training is a great way for fans, as well as the team's management and front office to see these players perform. If the majority of non-roster invites do not play well in spring training, they will still have an entire season in the minor leagues to figure things out. Even though top prospects Nick Gonzales, Henry Davis, and Quinn Priester are notable non-roster invites, the majority of Pirate fans have at least heard their names and they already have high expectations to be the future of the Pirates, so it wouldn't make sense to do another breakdown of these players.

Which Pirate players are you excited to watch this spring?