Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Three Underrated Players Who Play a Key Role

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a deep farm system, but these three more underrated names could take over key roles in 2023

The Pittsburgh Pirates have their fair share of up-and-coming prospects. At the end of the year, you may see the likes of Endy Rodriguez, Quinn Priester, Mike Burrows, and Luis Ortiz in regular roles. But those prospects are some of the best the Pirates have to offer. Ortiz, Rodriguez, and Priester are consensus top 100 prospects. Burrows has shot up prospect boards in the last two years and has gained a decent reputation.

But the Pirates have plenty more where they came from. After all, many still consider them arguably a top 5 system, even with two consensus top 100 prospects graduating last year (Oneil Cruz, who was a consensus top 30, and Roansy Contreras). There are many more rookies who the Pirates could see slot into regular roles by the end of the year, and these three could be key players in 2023.

Blake Cederlind

It wasn’t all that long ago that Blake Cederlind looked like the Pirates’ next potential closer. In 2019, Cederlind was the team’s best relief pitching prospect. He then made his Major League debut the following year, firing some upper-90s bullets in the small four-inning sample size in the shortened campaign.

Going into 2021, Cederlind was projected to take over a regular high-leverage role. But an early season Tommy John surgery eliminated him from 2021 entirely but didn’t rule 2022 out. However, Cederlind suffered even more setbacks, keeping him out for the rest of ‘22. It’s now been three years since the last time Cederlind pitched a worthwhile amount of innings, but Cederlind is now healthy.

Back in ‘19, Cederlind had a 2.28 ERA, 3.39 FIP, and 1.18 WHIP in 59.1 innings. The right-hander was not much of a strikeout pitcher with a 21.9% strikeout rate, nor was he excellent at preventing walks with a 9.6% walk rate. But Cederlind’s best pitch is his upper-90s sinker, which induces a ton of ground balls. He had a 48.4% GB%, leading to a 0.3 HR/9 rate.

Cederlind is reportedly fully healthy and was throwing BP in late February. The former top relief prospect is now 27 years old and multiple years removed from pitching a notable amount of innings. But if Cederlind hasn’t lost his velocity, he could find himself in a regular bullpen role next year. The Bucs’ bullpen is unstable, given the lack of proven arms, and Cederlind should get the opportunity to prove himself sometime next year.

Tahnaj Thomas

Blake Cederlind is still a major question mark, but Tahnaj Thomas is much less of an unknown commodity. Still, considering the players the Pirates have right now on the 40-man roster, the fact that Thomas has been left off for two Rule 5 draft cycles and picked neither time, to me, makes him somewhat of an underrated pitching prospect. He’s a relief pitcher, but one with plenty of potential.

Thomas was previously used as a starting pitcher but made the full transition to the bullpen last year. The first two months in his new role weren’t great. He allowed nine earned runs while walking ten batters in his first 14.1 innings of the year. He also only had 11 K’s and surrendered two home runs. But by the time June rolled around, Thomas fully settled in.

Across his next 36.1 innings, Thomas worked to a 1.98 ERA, 2.70 FIP, and 1.05 WHIP. Walks, which had previously been a massive weakness for Thomas, all of a sudden became a non-issue. His BB% was cut to just 6.9%. Home runs had also been something Thomas had struggled with, but the right-hander’s 0.69 HR/9 rate was well above average. Not only was he limiting walks and home runs, but he struck out 28.5% of opponents faced.

Thomas throws hard, topping out in the triple-digits, and he pairs that with a plus-plus slider. Thomas may have dominated in the lower-level minor leagues, but once he started to face higher-level competition, he started to struggle because of his lack of a third offering. His change-up is rarely used below-average pitch. But two plus-plus offerings will do for a reliever.

Even if Thomas’ command (ability to locate) isn’t pinpointed, both it and his control (ability to limit walks) have improved. FanGraphs even states that he’s throwing a “surprising amount of strikes.” It’s shocking he wasn’t taken in the Rule 5 Draft. He seems like the most prototypical Rule 5 pitcher: hard thrower with a good breaking ball but some command issues. Sure, there’s plenty of risk, but what Rule 5 pick has no risk? Regardless, I think Thomas could find himself as a set-up man by the end of the year.