Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Best Second Halves Of 2023

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a handful of prospects who performed exceptionally well in the second half of the 2023 campaign

Sometimes, it's not about how well you start; it's about how you finish. For these Pittsburgh Pirates prospects, this rings true. While these Pirates prospects may have performed well in the first half, their second halves of the 2023 season were outstanding. They ended the year on an extremely high note and will look to carry that momentum into the 2024 season.

Note by the second half, I am talking about post-all-star break. Anything prior to the All-Star break is considered the first half to make things simple for today's article. Since different levels have differing amounts of games, and players play at different levels, I will give one single point in time for all the prospects talked about today. I also want to mention Bubba Chandler. Chandler had an outstanding second half to 2023, maybe even the best out of all Pirates prospects (at least the pitching prospects), but given I already went in-depth about his second half this week, I want to give some other worthwhile players the attention they deserve.

Nick Gonzales

Nick Gonzales got a late start to the second half in the minor leagues, as he played the final few weeks of July and part of the first week of August in the Major Leagues. Gonzales' brief Major League cameo had its ups and downs, however his numbers in the second half of Triple-A Indianapolis' season have been outstanding.

Gonzales slashed .326/.411/.603 in 163 plate appearances. Power has been one of Gonzales' specialties, and he slugged seven homers while having a .277 isolated slugging percentage. Strikeouts have been a long-term question for Gonzales, though the infielder seemingly gets better as he gets familiar with each and every level. He struck out at just a 21.5% rate while having an 11% walk rate. Between his quality plate discipline, his plus power production, and his ability to rack up hits, Gonzales had a .435 wOBA and 150 wRC+.

Gonzales is a slow starter. He struggles for the first month or two at each level before eventually figuring things out. It has happened at each and every level, and it happened again at Triple-A this season. Up through May 28th, Gonzales had just a .331 wOBA, 84 wRC+, .747 OPS, and 31.7% K-rate. Given how hitter-friendly the International League is, this is mediocre production. Then, from that point up until the Pirates promoted him, Gonzales owned a .956 OPS, .427 wOBA, 145 wRC+, and a much improved 23.2% strikeout rate. Over the last month of playing time, Gonzales has just a 20.2% strikeout rate.

I still think Gonzales has the potential to be a quality regular at the Major League level. He's always been a slow learner but a good adapter. Once he figures things out, he goes on a tear. We'll see what kind of role Gonzales will play for the Pirates in 2024. He is one of the Pirates' many middle infield options for the long-term future and not the only middle infielder we'll look at today.

Jack Brannigan

Jack Brannigan was the Pirates' third-round draft pick in 2022. Brannigan had a nice final year at Notre Dame as a two-way player. The Pirates, however, have had Brannigan focus solely on his skills as a position player since getting drafted. While Brannigan had already started to hit prior to the all-star break, he carried that into the second half.

In Brannigan's final 189 plate appearances of the season, the infielder batted .288/.365/.583. Brannigan hit for a ton of pop, as his isolated slugging percentage was just a few ticks from .300 at .294. He blasted 13 home runs, which was a pace of over 40 dingers in 600 plate appearances. Brannigan also walked in 11.1% of his plate appearances but struck out over 30% of the time, 32.8% to be exact. But despite the strikeouts, Brannigan ended the second half with a .412 wOBA and 149 wRC+.

As I stated earlier, it's not as if Brannigan had just found his way in the second half. From May 27th up through the All-Star Break, Brannigan was a .292/.444/.547, .460 wOBA, and 169 wRC+ batter. He both walked (18.5%) and struck out (25.9%) at better rates, though he hit for less power, indicated by his .255 isolated slugging percentage. But Brannigan was able to take his abilities to High-A Greensboro and continue to hit there in the second half.

Brannigan is a power-hitting infielder who has some hit tool risk. He's also a decent runner with a great glove. Brannigan might take over shortstop next season at Altoona, given how sound of a defender he has shown to be. There's no question about his arm. He fired upper-90s fastballs in college, so he should be able to play on the left side of the infield with no trouble making the deep throws. If Brannigan continues to hit through Altoona, look for him to force his way into future plan conversations.

Termarr Johnson

The Pirates took Termarr Johnson with the fourth overall pick in 2022, and set what at the time was the highest signing bonus for a 4th overall selection. Johnson, like many of the names we have talked about and will talk about today, did not do poor in the first half. But he caught fire in the second half and improved his game, which helped him perform exceptionally well after the All-Star break.

In the second half of 2023, Johnson batted .260/.451/.487. Johnson got on base at an extreme rate. He drew a walk (23.4%) almost as often as he got a hit. Notably, he is the first player who was 19 years old or younger to reach 100+ walks in a season since 2005. He also hit for good pop, racking up ten homers in 205 plate appearances and having a .227 isolated slugging percentage. Johnson showed off his hit tool, only striking out 20% of the time. His final line in the second half included a .437 wOBA and 161 wRC+.

Johnson still hit well in the first half of the year with a .800 OPS, .388 wOBA, and 126 wRC+, but these numbers pale compared to his second-half numbers. Johnson still walked over 20% of the time (20.6%), but he was striking out at an alarming rate to start the year. His K% was 30.7%, though as stated in his second-half numbers, that was cut down by just over 10%.

Johnson has power, speed, and a solid glove at second base. His hit tool might be the best in the system. He showed off some outstanding stuff in the second half of 2023, making some very promising improvements. Johnson might make it to Double-A while still being a teenager. Keep in mind only four prospects received 100+ plate appearances at Double-A this year while still in their age-19 or younger season. Maybe Johnson will be among those players next season.

Michael Kennedy

Here we have our next 2022 draft pick, left-handed pitcher Michael Kennedy. Kennedy was taken in the 4th round by the Bucs. The southpaw was one of two high school pitchers the Pirates drafted but the only one who signed. Kennedy's first season was spent at the Florida Complex League and Low-A Bradenton at the tail end of his rookie campaign.

After the All-STar Break, Kennedy pitched 28 innings, pitching to a 1.93 ERA, 3.14 FIP, and 1.07 WHIP. Opponents couldn't touch Kennedy in the second half. They managed a batting average well below the Mendoza Line at .188 (despite a relative league average .295 BAbip) and struck out in nearly a third of their plate appearances with a 31.3% strikeout rate. Kennedy, impressively, didn't allow a single home run. But he did have a 10.7% walk rate.

Kennedy's first few games in the first half weren't bad, though the second half was a major improvement. Kennedy still had a 2.81 ERA, 35.4% K-rate, and 0.48 HR/9, but he allowed far more walks (16.5%) and worked around a worryingly low .229 BABIP. Granted, this was in an even smaller sample size of 18.2 innings.

Kennedy isn't a hard-throwing pitcher, tossing a low-90s sinker. But he has a good slider, change-up, and command. 2024 will mark Kennedy's age-19 campaign. He won't turn 20 until November of 2025. He was the 10th youngest player to throw at least one inning at A-Ball this season. It will be interesting to see how he handles a full year at Bradenton next season.

Tres Gonzalez

Tres Gonzalez is our third and final member of the 2022 draft class. Gonzalez was drafted one round after Kennedy, going in the 5th round. Gonzalez is also our first and only unranked prospect on today's list. Despite no outlets ranking him as one of the Pirates' better prospects, his second half might put him on some radars.

Throughout the second half of 2023, Gonzalez batted .292/.406/.409. Gonzalez isn't known for his power and had an isolated slugging percentage of just .117. But he walked a whole lot and rarely struck out. His 15.2% walk rate is almost a mirror image of his 15.7% strikeout rate. Despite his lack of power, Gonzalez owned a .381 wOBA and 130 wRC+. He is the only batter of today's article that didn't have a wOBA of .400 or greater in the second half, though that's not a knock on Gonzalez.

Gonzalez was great in the second half of 2023, but give the first half of his season some respect. He still batted .287/.404/.397 with a .381 wOBA, and 127 wRC+. He struck out more often with a 19.3% strikeout rate but had a similar 15% walk rate and .111 isolated slugging percentage. Gonzalez's first-half numbers are extremely similar to his second-half numbers, but that doesn't take away from what he did after the All-Star Break.

The outfielder has decent speed and split his time around all three outfield positions for Greensboro. Gonzalez has a very good hit tool, an above-average runner, and a defender. But his arm is below average, while his power is well below average. Gonzalez offsets his weaknesses by drawing walks, hitting for a high BA, and keeping a very low strikeout rate. He could be an outfielder to watch next year for Altoona.

Joe Perez

Joe Perez didn't open the second half of the season in the Pirates' farm system. Instead, he was a former Houston Astros infield prospect who was released at the start of August and was signed by the Pirates about a week later. Perez might not be one of the Pirates' best infield prospects, but credit where credit is due. Perez's second half, both with the Pirates and Astros minor league affiliates, was strong.

Perez stepped to the plate 183 times and slashed .280/.404/488 in the second half. He smashed nine home runs while having a respectable .207 isolated slugging percentage. Perez walked in 16.4% of his plate appearances but also struck out just a tad over a quarter of the time with a 25.1% strikeout rate. Perez ended his second half with a .403 wOBA, and 139 wRC+.

These are major improvements from his first half. His .745 OPS and .333 wOBA might not look too bad, but these came in the Pacific Coast League, where the league average OPS is .823 and the league average ERA is nearly 6.00 (5.72). He also walked less often (8.8%) and struck out more frequently (26.8%). After adjusting for the rest of the run environment and park factors, Perez ended his first half with a 79 wRC+. Per wRC+, he improved by 60%.

Perez plays all four corners, both in the infield and the outfield. He's not considered a great defender, though he does provide some versatility. The power is Perez's calling card. But there's always been questions as to how his power will play because he's consistently posted a mediocre strikeout rate. Still, there's a chance he could be a solid power-first bench corner utility man.