Pittsburgh Pirates prospects who could get promoted to A-Ball at the end of the month

We are in the final month of the Florida Complex League. Playoffs start at the end of July, and then their season comes to a close. For some context, the FCL is the second-lowest level of affiliated professional baseball. It is a tier below A-Ball but above the Dominican Summer League. They do not play through September, and their season started in May. Most rosters are made up of recent international prospects and high school draft picks.

Most of the Pittsburgh Pirates' best position players are currently stationed with their FCL team. But with their season coming to a close, they could soon make the jump to a full-season level. So, who are some Pirates prospects we could potentially anticipate getting sent to Bradenton within the coming weeks?

Jhonny Severino

The Pirates acquired Jhonny Severino in the one-for-one deadline swap for Carlos Santana. Severino was one of the Milwaukee Brewers' top international prospects, and he's shown why for the Pirates' FCL team. He's been one of their best hitters and has displayed his best tool: power.

Severino has been hitting extremely well. The infielder is batting .277/.370/.562 with a .424 wOBA and 139 wRC+ through his first 154 plate appearances. Power has easily been the best part of Severino's game. He's hit eight home runs, the most by any FCL batter in 2024. His isolated slugging percentage is shy of approaching .300 at .285.

Severino has done very well keeping his strikeouts under control. He has just a 17.5% K% on the year, but has just a 10% strikeout rate dating back to the start of June. He's also drawn walks at 13% of the time. But Severino's approach last year left his hit tool in question. Last year, he drew just three walks in 64 plate appearances, resulting in the third-lowest walk rate among any FCL batter with at least 60 trips to the plate. Although he was able to maintain a sub-20% K%, both last year and this year, as well as up his walk rate in 2024, he can get overly aggressive. 

Severino has split his time between shortstop and the hot corner. Severino has the arm to play on the left side of the infield, but his range is already limited. He's a fringe runner at just 19. At 6'2", 185 pounds, some added muscle could slow him down. Third base seems like the potential future home for Severino, but his strong arm could play in an outfield corner as long as he doesn't slow down too much.

Regardless of what position he ends up in, the power is intriguing, and him striking out about 10% of the time over the last month should raise some eyebrows. Even though it is only the FCL, it is something worth bringing up. Swing decisions have been his biggest downfall early in his pro career, and if he can improve those, his power will play up.