Pittsburgh Pirates: Three 2023 Draft Picks Who Could Quickly Climb Through the Minors

The Pittsburgh Pirates could see these three 2023 draft picks speed run through the minor leagues and be the first from the team's draft class to make their MLB debut

Most of the time, it takes three, sometimes four years, for a draft pick to make the Major Leagues, even college draftees, assuing they aren't set back by any injuries. Even for good prospects, it takes a few years. Of course, there are outliers to this. Some can get to the big leagues within two years, and in rare instances, a draft pick could reach the Major Leagues the following season after being taken.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have their fair share of prospects who are nearing Major League readiness. But most have spent the last few years in the minor leagues, including Jared Jones, Anthony Solometo, Quinn Priester, and Mike Burrows, to name a few. The Pirates’ 2023 draft class included some talented names, some of which could be fast-tracked to the bigs and debut within the 2024 or 2025 seasons.

One thing I do want to note is that you’re not going to see Skenes here. Saying Skenes could make it to the Major Leagues quickly has been stated so many times that it doesn’t need to be repeated in an article like this. Let’s spotlight some other names when talking about the Pirates’ 2023 draft class.

Garret Forrester

The Pirates took Garret Forrester with their 3rd round pick. The corner infielder out of Oregon State brings a balanced approach to the plate. He is a contact hitter, first and foremost. But that doesn’t mean he’s like Kevin Newman, with little to no power projection. He can also draw some walks and projects to have average power.

In his last year at Oregon, Forrester slashed .341/.485/.522 with ten home runs through 304 plate appearances. Forrester walked (59) more often than he struck out (51), marking the second college season in a row he accomplished that feat. In 2022, he also drew 64 walks with 48 strikeouts. 2023 was the first year he collected double-digit home runs and doubles (12).

Forrester continued this trend into Bradenton, where he drew ten walks to oppose seven strikeouts. None of his five hits went for extra bases, however. But it was a small sample size, so take it with a grain of salt. Forrester only stepped to the plate a total of 29 times. For what it’s worth, he did have a 167 wRC+ in the microscopic sample size.

Forrester’s hit tool could end up as a plus weapon in his skillset. His BB:K ratio throughout college was 1.14, and he got a hit in over a third of his at-bats in 2022-2023. He has excellent bat-to-ball and pitch recognition skills that both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline praise. He isn’t a physical monster, standing at 6’0”, 208 pounds, but he can generate solid raw power numbers with his bat speed. He has a quick swing that includes a short leg kick. His swing isn’t built for big home run pop, but he showed an outstanding ability to drive the gaps to all fields in 2023.

Forrester is a corner infielder with experience at first and third base. The Pirates drafted him for the hot corner, but most of his college games were across the diamond. Forrester can play third but lacks good range. That could make him a candidate for the Pirates’ next first baseman.

Forrester’s pure hitting ability could help him move through the system with some authority. He will likely start the year at Low-A Bradenton once again but could move to High-A Greensboro if he gets off to a good start, akin to Tres Gonzalez last year.

Patrick Reilly

Carlson wasn’t the only relief prospect that the Pirates selected in the 2023 draft. They also selected Patrick Reilly. Reilly was taken out of Vanderbilt in the 5th round. Reilly wasn’t as dominant as Carlson in college. In 48.1 innings, Reilly had a 5.77 ERA and 1.53 WHIP while walking 13.3% of the batters he faced. On the plus side, he did have a 28.9% strikeout rate and a respectable 1.12 HR/9. Reilly started the year in Vandy’s rotation but was moved to the bullpen.

In Reilly’s defense, he was much more effective out of the bullpen, where he had a 3.89 ERA in 37 innings. But that didn’t fully translate into the professional levels, at least not yet. He only pitched 10.2 innings but allowed seven earned runs, two homers, and eight walks. He kept striking out a lot of batters as 19 went down on strike three.

Reilly has a great fastball. He sits mid-90s and tops out around 99, but with good life because he averages out above 2500 RPM. His most used secondary offering as a pro was his cutter, a low-90s pitch with around 2200 RPM. He’ll also tinker with a two-seam/sinker, but his command might benefit from honing in on just his four-seamer and cutter.

He may also benefit from working just one or two innings at a time. Despite getting moved to the bullpen, Reilly was used as a long reliever more than anything else. His five longest outings of the season were as a relief pitcher with only one of his four starts going longer than three innings.

Reilly could quickly make his way through the Pirate farm system and make his MLB debut within a year for the same reasons Carlson could. He’s a power reliever with good stuff. Moving him into a one or two-inning role and focusing on just his best pitches could improve his overall ability.