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Pittsburgh Pirates prospects who should be promoted to the major leagues immediately
The Pirates desperately need a breath of fresh air, and bringing up some prospects could help give them a second wind.
August has been a rough month for the 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates. Entering the month, the Pirates were on the upward swing. They were 55-53, only two games out of a Wild Card spot and six games out of the division. Fast forward to a horrendous 1-7 start to the month, and now they’re below .500, 11 games out of the division, and 5.0 out of a Wild Card spot.
Things are falling apart rapidly. This slide has been painful for the Pirates to go through, and something needs to change. Making some roster moves could help the Pirates and give them a much-needed breath of fresh air. They certainly have some options right now, however, and should bring up some of these prospects.
3 Pirates prospects who should be promoted immediately
Billy Cook
One of the prospects the Pirates acquired at the trade deadline was Billy Cook, who came over from the Baltimore Orioles for Patrick Reilly. The utility prospect was hitting well in the O’s system prior to the trade, batting .275/.371/.470 with a .373 wOBA, and 120 wRC+. Cook struggled to keep his strikeouts under control in previous seasons, but had just a 21.8% K% with the Orioles' Double-A and Triple-A teams. He also maintained a solid 11.4% walk rate. Cook has consistently hit for good power in the minors, and maintains a .195 isolated slugging percentage.
Since arriving to the Pirates, Cook has only continued to hit. In his first six games for Indianapolis, stepping to the plate 24 times since the trade, he collected nine hits. Five of those were doubles, and one left the yard. Cook went four-for-four on the basepaths swiping bags as well. He struck out five times and drew just a single walk, but that’s about the only negative of his first handful of games in the Pirates’ system.
If the Pirates call Cook up, they have plenty of options as to where to play him. Cook has primarily played first base this season, but has a handful of games at the keystone as well. He’s also played all three outfield positions. Cook is a plus runner with a plus arm, so he has the tools to play any of the outfield spots.
If promoted, Cook could seamlessly replace Connor Joe. Since the start of June, Joe only has a .549 OPS, .252 wOBA, and 58 wRC+. He has options remaining, so the Pirates can send him to Triple-A until he figures things out. Cook has an OPS over 1.000 against left-handed pitching this year in the minor leagues, so he could easily fill the role of platooning with Rowdy Tellez and, given his utility, will probably find himself in the lineup nearly everyday.
Mike Burrows
Mike Burrows had the potential to make an impact in 2023, but his season ended before it really even began. The right-handed pitching prospect underwent Tommy John surgery in April, just two starts into his season. But Burrows is back in action, and considering he is already on the 40-man roster, it’s time for him to help bolster the Pirates’ big league pitching staff.
In 2022, the last time Burrows was given an extended look, he pitched 94.1 innings between Altoona and Indy, working to a 4.01 ERA, 3.29 FIP, and 1.21 WHIP. Burrows struck out 28.2% of opponents with a 7.9% walk rate, and 0.76 HR/9. His numbers are a bit inflated, as he allowed six earned runs and one home run in just 0.2 IP in his final game of the season. Prior to that outing, Burrows had a 3.46 ERA, 3.11 FIP, and 1.15 WHIP.
Burrows made a handful of rehab appearances between the Florida Complex League and A-Ball Bradenton, but he is now back in action at Indianapolis. Since returning to Triple-A, Burrows has pitched 12.1 innings and has allowed five earned runs and two home runs, walking just one batter and punching out 14.
Burrows hasn’t seemed to miss a beat in terms of stuff. His four-seam fastball is sitting 94-95 MPH with good ride through the strike zone. Burrows is throwing two breaking balls, including an upper-80s slider with high spin, as well as an upper-70s curveball. His curve has over 50 inches of drop. Burrows has greatly improved his changeup over the last few seasons. It is now a mid-80s pitch with 28 inches of drop and 13.5 inches of break. Burrows has always been able to control his stuff well and hasn’t posted a walk rate above 9% since 2021.
The Pirates could definitely use a good arm on their active roster. Right now, their long-relief options include Jake Woodford and Domingo German. Ben Heller is also on the active roster. Burrows would be a huge improvement over all three. While the Pirates are understandably taking things slow, given that he just returned from Tommy John surgery in mid-June, they could let him build up his workload in the major leagues, help a team in need of pitching, and potentially put himself in a position to compete for a rotation spot next season.
Nick Yorke
Along with Billy Cook, the Pirates also acquired the Boston Red Sox’s 2020 first-round pick Nick Yorkeat the deadline. He was traded to Pittsburgh for another former first-round pick, Quinn Priester. Like Cook, Yorke was also performing well with the Red Sox’s Double-A and Triple-A teams.
Between the two levels, he was hitting .278/.363/.422 with a .357 wOBA, and 116 wRC+. Yorke had a strikeout rate below 20% at 18.6%, along with an 11.5% walk rate. The only negative to his game was his .144 isolated slugging. Yorke did exceptionally well for the Sox’s Triple-A affiliate, posting a .898 OPS, .402 wOBA, and 136 wRC+ in 169 plate appearances.
Yorke has appeared in 10 games with 35 at-bats for Triple-A Indianapolis (three walks, one iBB). In that time, he has 13 hits, four of which have been doubles. Yorke has struck out just five times. His wRC+ in the small sample size is 134, and his OPS is just over .900 at .911.
Yorke’s numbers under the hood are also promising. He has a whiff rate below 20% at 19.3% and is making hard contact on a consistent basis. His exit velocity clocks in at 91.2 MPH (the 19th best among any minor leaguer at A-Ball or Triple-A with at least 200 plate appearances) and 12 degree launch angle. His exit velo and launch angle are similar to that of Carlos Correa, Manny Machado, Ryan O’Hearn, Riley Greene, and Jurickson Profar this season.
Yorke is primarily a second baseman, but he has also played a handful of games in left field this season, including with the Red Sox and the Pirates minor league teams. The Pirates have also played him in center field once already at Indy.
The Pirates lost Nick Gonzales to the 10-day IL, but helped resolve the position by acquiring Isiah Kiner-Falefa at the deadline. Still, Yorke could replace either Ji Hwan Bae or Jared Triolo on the active roster. Triolo may bring elite defense to multiple positions, but Yorke is no slouch with the glove, and Triolo has just a .557 OPS on the season. Bae has an OPS below .500 right now and his defense in center field has taken a step back from the second half of last season.
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