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Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Three Players Who Could Earn Promotions Soon

By Noah Wright |
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These three Pittsburgh Pirates prospects could get moved to the next level of the minor leagues within the very near future

The Pittsburgh Pirates lower minor league levels arguably have more talent than Double-A and Triple-A combined. Some of these prospects currently stationed at Bradenton or Greensboro are performing well and are likely going to be handed a promotion to the next level of the minor leagues soon.

The Bucs have been a little more aggressive with moving their prospects up through the minor leagues. Last season, Endy Rodriguez appeared at three levels of the minor leagues. Before that, Roansy Contreras and Oneil Cruz both made their debuts before playing much at Triple-A.

While getting them to the major leagues might be a different story, they've been moderately aggressive with moving guys through the system. Tres Gonzalez was already given an early season bump from Bradenton to Greensboro, but who are the next guys to consider?

Honorable mention to Henry Davis, but I think that's a too obvious candidate to get moved to the next level. He might be the most deserving minor league player to get a promotion. I am mostly looking at prospects who aren't obvious choices or are the ones who aren't getting the attention they deserve.

J.P. Massey

J.P. Massey might not be a major surprise if you read my recent article on the right-hander. A seventh-round pick out of the University of Minnesota, Massey wasn't any sort of high-profile college arm. Massey worked to a 6.52 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, and 1.62 K:BB ratio in his last year at Minnesota. Although he had a respectable 21.8% strikeout rate and 0.80 HR/9, he also gave up a free pass to 13.5% of opponents.

Massey has worked both as a starting pitcher and reliever, but his best work easily has to be as a starter. Over his last three starts, Massey has pitched 15 innings (five innings in each game), striking out 41.1% of the batters he's squared off against, a WHIP of just 0.80, and K:BB ratio of 3.29. Massey's 12.5% walk rate isn't great, but it's about the only thing you can knock him for. Massey's 53.8% ground ball rate on the season is another strong point to mention.

Massey's fastball velocity has increased in each of his last three starts. During his most recent game on May 13th, Massey threw the fastest pitch of the game, topping out at 96.2 MPH. Although he topped out there, he mostly worked around 90-94 MPH. Along with his four-seamer, Massey works with a sinker, slider, and curveball.

Massey was considered a projectable arm out of college with some potential because of his increasing velocity. At 23 and on a hot streak, it's only a matter of time until Massey outgrows Bradenton and Low-A competition, if he hasn't already, and gets the bump to Greensboro. With his age, the Pirates might want to consider outright giving him his next assignment at Altoona.

Braxton Ashcraft

Braxton Ashcraft barely pitched between 2020 and 2022. The canceled '20 season meant that no minor leaguers got the opportunity to play competitively. Then in 2021, Ashcraft fit in 32.1 innings before having to undergo Tommy John surgery in August. That would mean he wouldn't appear in 2022, either. But Ashcraft has returned with a vengeance and is now looking to get moved to Altoona.

After two strong rehab starts at Bradenton, Ashcraft returned to Greensboro, the affiliate he was at before his untimely surgery. So far, in 14 innings and four starts, Ashcraft has allowed just five earned runs, and two walks and has struck out 12 batters. Opponents are only managing a .220 batting average against him as well. But of the 11 total hits he has allowed, three have left the ballpark.

Now do keep in mind that Ashcraft entered Tuesday's game with a HR/FB ratio of 25%. Greensboro is a hitter-friendly environment, and some of his poor numbers at High-A can be chalked up to a small sample size and luck in a pitcher-hostile climate.

Ashcraft was steadily working around 93-96 MPH during his last start at Bradenton on April 15th. That was about a month ago, and unfortunately, we don't have any up-to-date data, given that Greensboro doesn't have the luxury of Statcast data. Either way, the mid-90s is good for a guy who pitched less than 50 innings in three years, two of which he pitched zero innings in, and has returned as strong as he has.

Jackson Glenn

Jackson Glenn was a fifth-round pick by the Pirates in 2021. Hailing from Dallas Baptist University, Glenn was signed for just $12,500 as the Pirates had previously drafted expensive players like Henry Davis, Bubba Chandler, Anthony Solometo, and Lonnie White Jr. Although Glenn impressed in his first look against professional pitching in 2021, he struggled the following season at Greensboro after getting an extended look.

But Glenn is off to a fantastic start at Greensboro. Going into Tuesday's game, Glenn was slashing .296/.396/.543 with the same amount of walks as strikeouts, with a dozen each. He also had five home runs to match his five doubles. Even though he has a .418 wOBA at Greensboro, that's still nearly 50% better than the league average, coming in with a league/environment adjusted 148 wRC+.

Glenn has split his season between the hot corner and designated hitter this season. However, he's logged at least one inning at every infield position between college and with the Pirates. Going into 2023, he had more innings logged at the keystone than at third. There is some value in a guy who can basically play whatever infield position that's needed that day.

But do keep in mind that he's a 25-year-old who's repeating the same level he spent all of 2022 at and is hitting well in a hitter-friendly environment. Even though once you adjust his numbers for the rest of the league and his home ballpark, he's still been an elite-level batter, these are things to keep in mind when talking about Glenn. However, that doesn't mean he isn't deserving of a promotion to Altoona or even Indianapolis. There's not much left for him to do at Greensboro.

dark. Next. Quinn Priester is heating up at AAA

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