Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects Who Made Their Pro Debut in 2023

Thomas Harrington

Thomas Harrington is our first 2022 draft pick of the day, but is far from our last. Harrington played the most of any of the prospects we will look at today. The right-hander made his pro debut on April 7th, firing five scoreless innings and striking out seven, and didn’t look back, tossing a total of 127.1 frames.

In those 127.1 innings, Harrington owned a solid 3.53 ERA, 4.00 FIP, and 1.24 WHIP. The right-hander had a healthy 27.8% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. His excellent strikeout and walk rate led to a K:BB ratio of 3.56. Of the weakest link in his profile, Harrington allowed home runs at a 0.99-per-9 pace. However, that was still a manageable rate.

Harrington isn’t a flamethrower like Skenes but sits comfortably around 92-95 MPH. However, he spins his fastball well and makes it ride through the strike zone. Harrington's best off-speed pitch is his change-up, an offering with plus potential. It falls off the table, and he can locate it wherever he wants.

However, it's not his only offering with plus potential. He adopted more of a slurve/sweeper last season after toying around with it in the offseason. He'll also throw a sinker and a curveball in the mix. These are two more average or better pitches. But Harrington could easily get by with his fastball, sweeper, and change-up alone.

Harrington has great command. You could easily envision him posting sub-8% walk rates in the coming future in the big leagues. While he may not be a power-pitcher, that sweeper and change-up are a deadly duo. Combined with a fastball that rides through the top of the zone, a sinker that falls out of the bottom of the zone, and a solid curveball, Harrington may potentially be one of the most underrated prospects in baseball.