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Pittsburgh Pirates: Ranking Ben Cherington's High School Draft Picks
By Noah Wright
Michael Kennedy
Michael Kennedy was the Pirates’ 4th-round pick in the 2022 draft. The southpaw pitched 46.2 innings in his first professional season. Kennedy pitched extremely well with a 2.12 ERA, 3.51 FIP, and 1.11 WHIP. He had a 33% strikeout rate and allowed just a single home run. Where Kennedy struggled was with free passes, allowing walks to 13.1% of the batters he faced.
Kennedy made it to A-Ball Bradenton, and while he only pitched 4.1 innings, he was the 10th youngest pitcher to pitch at that level. Kennedy throws a sinker, slider, and changeup. He is not a hard-throwing pitcher, at least right now, sitting in the low 90s. His slider comes in the lower-80s, while his changeup is an upper-80s pitch. All three offerings have a distinct amount of spin as well.
The lefty is still a very young arm, but he’ll get his first shot at a full season next year at just 19 years old. Kennedy has the potential to be a top-100 prospect in the future. He’s displayed solid command and projects to have above-average location on his pitches. While none of his stuff seems overpowering, all of it projects to be average to above average.