Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects Who Made Their Pro Debut in 2023

Which top Pittsburgh Pirates prospects made their professional debuts in the 2023 minor league season?

The Pittsburgh Pirates saw a lot of top prospects play their first professional games. 2022 and 2023 draftees, along with some international signings from last off-season, have finally started to play against professional competition. Some had shorter-lived seasons than others, but so long as they didn’t play prior to 2023 and appeared in at least one game this year, they are on today’s list.

By top prospect, I only mean prospects who are on FanGraphs, MLB Pipeline, or Baseball America’s top Pirates list. There are a lot of prospects from the 2023 draft who made their debuts, but as of right now, I only want to focus on the ones evaluators are the most bullish on. If we went into detail with every single 2022 and 2023 draft pick, and all international signings the Pirates made last off-season who made their pro debut last season, we would be here forever.

Paul Skenes

The top of the 2023 draft class was one of the most hyped group of players in ages. The Pirates, who had the number one pick, drafted Paul Skenes, and signed him to a record breaking bonus. The Pirates were extra cautious with Skenes’ usage in his first look against pro players. Skenes pitched just 6.2 innings, but struck out 10, only walked two, and didn’t allow a single home run.

It’s understandable why the Pirates put Skenes on a strict innings regiment after getting drafted. Skenes had already tossed 122.2 innings for Louisiana State University, which led all of D1 NCAA baseball with over 230 innings in total throughout his college career. Skenes pitched phenomenally last year, and that may be an understatement. He owned a 1.69 ERA, a WHIP of just 0.75, and K:BB ratio of 10.45. Skenes only allowed seven home runs all year, with a 45.2% strikeout rate and walk rate clocking in at just 4.3%.

Skenes' worst pitch still has plus potential, and that’s his change-up. Both his fastball, which sits 97-100 MPH, and his slider, which has extreme late break to it, are elite offerings that could get MLB batters out right now. On top of that, he can locate everything, at least to an above-average level.

Skenes is an athletic pitcher as well. The Pirates even offered Skenes the opportunity to develop as a two-way player. After all, he had a 1.046 OPS at Air Force before transfering to LSU. Skenes caught a handful of games during his first two college seasons, played a couple of games at first base, and a game in left field.

There’s a reason why Skenes is one of the best prospects in all of baseball. Many see him as the best draft prospect, at least pitching wise, since Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg. It’s more than likely we get to see Skenes sometime next season in the Major Leagues. I honestly believe that if the Pirates had stayed in the Wild Card race into late August, we may have seen him at least make an appearance out of the bullpen, if not taken over a regular starting rotation spot.

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.

Jun-Seok Shim

Jun-Seok Shim’s debut was short-lived. The Pirates’ top international signing from last off-season, Shim only pitched eight innings in four outings for the Pirates’ Dominican Summer League affiliate. He looked decent when he pitched, striking out 13 and allowing three walks with only one home run, but I personally really wish he had stayed healthy to pitch more.

There's a reason why Shim is so highly touted. The South Korean right-hander opted to take his talents to the United States but was considered the best pitching prospect in South Korea, had he entered the KBO draft. Shim, who was only 18 at the time he signed, was topping out in the triple-digits and was regularly sitting in the mid-upper-90s with his fastball.

Shim's best secondary offering is his curveball with 12-6 shape. It also has plus potential, but as FanGraphs notes, it is easy to read out of the hand. Shim also throws a slider and change-up. Even though they're further behind than his fastball and curveball, they do project as average pitches.

But Shim isn't just a hard thrower with no control. He has displayed control that is developed much further along than many of his age with his powerful stuff. Shim has a repeatable delivery and good athleticism, which could help him improve his command even more. At the very least, he could have fringe-average control over his stuff.

Hunter Barco

Hunter Barco may have made his debut late into the 2023 season had it not been for Tommy John surgery early into his final college season. But Barco returned strong in the second half of the 2023 season. In 18.2 innings, the lefty pitching prospect did not allow a single home run and a phenomenal 7.7% walk rate and 35.9% strikeout rate. He had a 3.44 ERA but a 1.79 FIP. But the most impressive part of his small sample size was his 53.5% ground ball rate.

Barco’s final season at the University of Florida was great, even though he was limited to just nine outings and 50.2 innings. He still pitched to a 2.50 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, and a K:BB ratio of 6.27. Barco had a 34.3% strikeout rate along with a microscopic 5.5% walk rate. Home run prevention was his weakest skill, as he had a 1.07 HR/9.

The southpaw is a soft-tossing arm, only averaging 89-90 MPH on his sinker but throwing it with above-average spin. His best pitch is his slider, a low-80s pitch that has crossfire action. Then there’s his changeup, a third average offering with above-average potential.

Barco’s low arm slot makes all his stuff play up. While he looked a little rusty out of the gates, Barco only allowed two walks in his final five games/ten innings of the season. He also got pretty unlucky with a .386 batting average on balls in play; however, this is likely a microcosm of a small sample size. After a normal off-season, hopefully, Barco can get stretched out as a starting pitcher.

Michael Kennedy

Michael Kennedy was taken in the 4th round of the 2022 draft. The soft-tossing southpaw was one of the better high school lefties in the draft, and his first pro season was pretty decent. He started the year at the Pirates’ Florida Complex League affiliate but ended his 2023 campaign at A-Ball Bradenton.

Kennedy pitched a total of 46.2 innings in his age-18 season, working to a strong 2.12 ERA, 3.51 FIP, and 1.11 WHIP. Kennedy only allowed a single home run for a 0.19 HR/9 rate. He also owned a 33% strikeout rate. But walks gave him some issues, as he dished out a free pass at a 13.1% rate. Granted, nine of his 23 walks came in his final three outings of the season.

While Kennedy struggled to limit walks, he projects as a good command pitcher. He isn’t a hard thrower, averaging around 90-91 MPH on his sinker during his few games spent at Bradenton. However, Kennedy’s low arm slot makes his sinker play up.

While his sinker is a solid offering, his best pitches are his secondaries. That includes his change-up, which was his second most used offering at Bradenton and sits around the upper-80s. His slider is a third decent pitch which he tosses around the low-80s.

Mitch Jebb

Mitch Jebb was taken first overall in the second round of the 2023 draft, and our first position player of the day. Jebb hit like how you’d expect a player of his archetype to bat. In 153 plate appearances, the middle infielder hit .297/.382/.398 with a .373 wOBA, and 116 wRC+. Jebb hit for very little power, only going yard once with a .101 isolated slugging percentage. But he only struck out 11 times with 17 walks. He also went 11-for-12 in stolen base attempts.

Jebb has one of the best hit tools in the Pirates’ system. We are talking about a potential double-plus weapon. He batted .337 with a strikeout rate of just 11.6% in college with a 13.3% walk rate. But we are also talking about someone with some of the worst power potential. He had just a single home run at Michigan State. He may be a 40-grade power hitter, and that’s a stretch.

Jebb is fast, really fast. FanGraphs puts his speed at an 80 grade, which means he has the best run times in all of baseball. His speed also allows him to cover a ton of ground up the middle. Jebb was smart about his base stealing at Bradenton, however, he was caught more frequently in college. We shall see if he can continue to steal bases at a high success rate next year.

While there’s no question that Jebb has the range of a middle infielder, the arm is on the fringy side. That means he may play better at second base. He also played a ton of third base in college, but again, with a mediocre arm, he may have trouble making deep throws from the left side. But with that speed, it’s possible he could make the transition to center field.

Garret Forrester

The Pirates took Garret Forrester as their third-round pick. The corner infielder only appeared in six games for A-Ball Bradenton, with 29 plate appearances. However, Forrester didn’t do bad. He had five hits and ten walks. He struck out seven times and didn’t have a single extra-base hit, but overall, it was a solid debut for the then-21-year-old.

Forrester did very well at Oregon State last year, batting .341/.485/.522 through 304 plate appearances. Known for his plate discipline and vision, Forrester drew walks at a strong 19.4% rate and struck out even less frequently with a 16.8% K%. While power isn’t his specialty, he did go yard ten times with a dozen doubles and a respectable .181 isolated slugging percentage.

There’s certainly potential for Forrester to hit for power in the future. He has a potentially plus hit tool with his outstanding pitch recognition. He also has good bat speed and can generate good pop. He’s more of a doubles-driver rather then a big-time home run hitter, but you’re still looking at a guy who could hit 30-40 doubles and 15-18 home runs.

The Pirates took Forrester as a third baseman, and that’s the only position he played for Bradenton. But he only saw time at first base this past season at Oregon. Forrester has a good enough arm, and he can play the part of a third baseman, but there are concerns about his mobility. He’s a well below-average runner, keeping his range at a questionable level. He may have to slide over to the other side of the infield if it does become a problem or if he is blocked at the Major League level if he makes it that far.