Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Noteable, Successful Softy Tossing Pitchers

Pitch velocity has gone up dramatically over the last handful of years, but these Pittsburgh Pirates prospects still make 90 MPH and under work for them.

Baseball pitch velocities have skyrocketed over the last handful of seasons. Ten years ago, the league average fastball velocity was just 91.7 MPH. Today, it’s 93.8 MPH. If you were to average 91.7 MPH today, your fastball would be in the low-20th percentile of fastball velocity. But having no velocity doesn’t mean you’re a bad pitcher. Guys like Justin Steele, Marcus Stroman, and Clayton Kershaw are all highly effective, despite throwing 92 MPH or slower with their four-seamer.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have some pretty hard-throwing pitching prospects throughout their system. Jared Jones can run it up in the mid-90s, while Paul Skenes regularly tops out at 102 MPH. Jun-Seok Shim is a teenager already throwing 94-96 MPH who tops out at 100, and Zander Mueth is a recent high school draftee with a Chris Sale-like arm slot and sits 92-95 MPH. But they do have some prospects who throw 90 and under but are still decent prospects.

Lefty Jackson Wolf

One of the Pirates’ newest pitching prospects, Jackson Wolf, also throws under 90. Wolf is a left-hander who had a 4.00 ERA, 3.84 FIP, and 1.09 WHIP on the year. The lefty has struck out 29.2% of opponents with a 1.15 HR/9 rate and a strong 6.6% walk rate. Jackson has already made his debut despite not pitching a game at Triple-A yet.

In that one game, Wolf averaged just 88.9 MPH. His fastball, however, isn’t his only pitch. He also tosses a slider, curveball, and changeup. Wolf is a sidearmer with above-average command, so despite lacking seriously powerful stuff, he can get batters out. Wolf is one of the organization's better pitching prospects and could potentially be in the starting rotation by the end of the season.

Lefty Nick Dombkowski

Undrafted free agents are always low-risk gambles, but Nick Dombkowski has so far looked like a good gamble. In his second season as a pro ball player, Dombkowski has a 3.23 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP this year at Altoona, working as a swingman. He has started six of his 30 games but has 75.1 innings pitched. Dombkowski hasn’t been able to carry over his big K% from last year, currently sitting at 16.8%. He also has a mediocre 1.43 HR/9 rate. However, his walk rate is just 6.8%, and opponents are hitting a meager .227/.281/.395 against him this season. That’s about what Willy Adames is slashing for the Brewers this season, and he has a wRC+ of just 85.

Domkowski is the hardest thrower here, though that doesn’t mean he’s a hard-throwing pitcher. He is only able to top out at 92 MPH. Though he’s typically sitting 88-91 MPH. Like a lot of soft-tossing lefties, he has a plus change-up and above-average command. His third pitch is a slider, another pitch that projects as above average. Dombkowski might find a role as a solid #6 type starter for the Pirates, sort of like Jeanmar Gomez.

Seeing 100 MPH on the radar gun is always fun, though some guys don’t even have to hit 90 to be effective regularly. Hopefully, some of the guys we talked about today can become something for the Pirates. Wolf has a very good chance of making his Pirates debut this year. Kellington is only 20, so he’s still a few years away. Given his age, he might be throwing harder in a year or two. Dombkowski might not have an exciting profile, though he could still carve out a role in the future.