Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects 2023 Recap: Starting Pitcher Aaron Shortridge

After being a workhorse in the starting rotation at Double-A Altoona, The Pittsburgh Pirates promoted Aaron Shortridge to the Triple-A level for his final start of the 2023 season

For most of the 2023 season, right-handed pitcher Aaron Shortridge was a workhorse out of Altoona's rotation. Shortridge pitched in 29 games with 27 being starts at Double-A, but earned a promotion from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the end of the season.

The final start Shortridge made in 2023 came for Triple-A Indianapolis. This was his first career start above the Double-A level and Shortridge impressed. In 5 innings pitched for the Indians, he allowed a run on just a single hit, while walking 4 and striking out 3.

In his 29 outings with Altoona, Shortridge pitched 138.1 innings. He posted a 5.01 ERA and a 4.48 FIP, while allowing 19 home runs (1.24 HR/9). Shortridge hit 3 batters with the Curve, threw 6 wild pitches, walked 8.1% of batters faced, and struck batters out at a 19.5% clip.

Overall, not the greatest numbers from Shortridge. Especially for an age-26 season spent mostly at the Double-A level. That said, there were still some positive signs from Shortridge. Primarily, these positive signs point toward a pitcher who could potentially benefit in a big way from a move to a relief role.

At times last season Shortridge showed the ability to rack up strikeouts. In 11 of his 30 appearances, he struck out at least 6 batters. Moving to a relief role could lead to an uptick in Shortridge's stuff, allowing him to put up the big strikeout numbers more often.

It should be noted that Shortridge is Rule 5 Draft eligible. Now, odds are, he will not be selected in the draft due to having just one appearance above Double-A and not pitching particularly well at Double-A. But it is still worth mentioning.