Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Three Pitchers Who Could Become Consensus Top 100

These three Pittsburgh Pirates prospects are having great seasons and could be on there way to becoming consensus top 100 prospects

Going into the 2023 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a decent amount of pitching talent, but much of that was in the low levels of the minor leagues or had yet to have a chance to fully establish themselves. Aside from Quinn Priester, Mike Burrows, and Luis Ortiz, the Pirates were hoping that some of their young arms could rise to the occasion and join them in becoming potential top-100 prospects.

The Pirates have certainly seen a handful of minor league players step up and become better prospects. By the end of the year, some of these names might become top 100 prospects, and today, I want to focus on three pitching prospects who have certainly gained enough traction in 2023 to where they’re on pace to get on most top 100 lists.

Jared Jones

Jared Jones was the Pirates’ second-round pick in 2020. An over-slot high school draftee, Jones had a big fastball and high-end talent coming out of La Mirada High School. Jones’ first two pro seasons had their ups and downs. In his rookie season, he posted some solid results at Bradenton but ran into bad luck. He cut down on the walks the next season at Greensboro, but his other numbers moved in the wrong direction. But now, at Altoona, it seems like Jones has put it all together.

In 40.2 innings, Jones owns a strong 2.21 ERA, 3.55 FIP, and 0.98 WHIP. How Jones would handle walks as a professional would be a big make-or-break point for the right-hander. But as of now, he has a walk rate just below 9% at 8.1%. Jones has a healthy 25.6% strikeout rate while only allowing three home runs all year.

Jones’ stuff was never in question. He still averages out in the mid-upper-90s with a plus-plus spin. He also has a plus-plus slider while mixing in an average curveball and change-up. However, his control has gotten significantly better season after season. He first had an 11.3% walk rate but is now below 9%. However, command wise, Jones still gets inconsistent. Both are trending in the right direction. However, his control is far out ahead of his command.

Jones has already gotten some early top 100 attention, with Baseball America putting Jones at the tail-end of their recently updated top 100 prospect list. Jones came in at no. 91 but certainly could rise from there. Other lists, such as Baseball Prospectus, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, could soon add Jones to their top 100 lists. He’s certainly trending in that direction.

Anthony Solometo

Anthony Solometo really should be a consensus top-100 prospect by now. A second-round pick in 2021, many saw Solometo as a top-20 talent in the draft. However, questionable signability led to him falling to the first pick in the second round. Solometo had a phenomenal debut at Bradenton last season, where he had both an ERA and FIP under 3.00 and didn’t allow a single home run across 47.2 innings.

Now at Greensboro, Solometo has continued to be a highly dominant pitcher. Across 54.2 innings of work, Solometo owns a 2.47 ERA, 3.46 FIP, and 1.15 WHIP. The left-hander is striking out 28.8% of opponents faced while only allowing two home runs. Solometo is a strong ground ball pitcher and owns a well above-average 48.8% ground ball rate, the 15th highest qualified rate in High-A ball.

In an inverse to Jones, Solometo has elite command, but his control hasn’t been nearly as sharp. Solometo has pinpoint accuracy with his stuff, which isn’t fully reflected in his 11.5% walk rate. Also, unlike Jones, Solometo doesn’t rely on big velocity. He typically works around 90-94 MPH with a big breaking ball and average-to-above-average change-up. But his delivery and arm slot add a lot of deception, which throws off batters.

Solometo is only 20 years old and a young 20 at that. He won’t turn 21 until December. He’s dominating in a league where the average age for pitchers is 23.2 years of age, and the average age for position players is 22.3 years old. On top of that, he’s in an extremely hitter-friendly league. The average ERA is 4.54, while the average WHIP clocks in at 1.41. With his ability to dominate in that environment, along with his fastball velocity trending in the right direction, and other attributes that make it all play up, I don't see how Solometo isn't already on multiple top 100 prospect lists.