Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Hitting Prospects that Must be Better in 2024

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have been undergoing a major rebuild over the last few years, stocking their farm system with young talent. They hope these prospects can help lead them back to contention in the coming seasons. Three players who have garnered attention are infielder Malcom Nunez, outfielder Matt Gorski, and catcher Abrahan Gutierrez.

However, each has faced adversity in their development during the 2023 season which has raised questions about their futures. So they need to bounce back in 2024 and prove they deserve spots on the 40-man roster. It will be interesting to see as the offseason plays out if any end up being let go after injuries and struggles pushed their timelines back.

Nunez, Gorski, and Gutierrez all entered the year with optimism after promising 2022 campaigns. All three saw themselves move up the Pittsburgh Pirates prospect rankings. Nunez is the highest ranked of the group at #23 on MLB Pipeline. There were a lot of eyes watching to see if the prospects could take the next steps and get closer to the majors. But injuries and/or poor performance have created some doubt about whether these three can reach their upside and become core pieces of Pittsburgh's next contending club. Their development will be crucial storylines to watch for the rest of this season and into 2024.

Nunez was specifically acquired by the Pirates from the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022 with the hope that he could take over as their first baseman of the future. After a breakout 2021 minor league season, Nunez seemed ready to push his way to Pittsburgh after the trade. However, after batting just .237 this campaign between Double-A and Triple-A, significant injury time and lack of power output have put his prospect stock into question.

Nunez possesses immense raw power potential as a corner infielder, which is why the Pirates aggressively traded for him. But so far, he has yet to show that he can consistently harness that ability against advanced upper-level pitching. There were expectations within the organization that the 22-year-old would be much further along in his development by this point. Now, the Pirates will want to see marked improvement from Nunez over the rest of 2023 and into next season.

With his power ceiling, Nunez still has ample opportunity to rebound and tap into his potential before he even turns 23 next March. However, this year's setbacks, including missed time due to injury and unproductive results when healthy, mean he faces a crucial developmental stretch ahead. For Nunez to become the middle-of-the-order force Pittsburgh envisioned, he must quickly bounce back and prove capable of handling Triple-A and MLB pitching. After a lost 2023 season, the pressure is on Nunez to regain his trajectory as one of the Pirates' most promising young hitters.

Similarly, Gorski was a second-round pick by the Pirates in 2019 after a strong college career at Indiana University. He seemed poised to push for a major league role relatively quickly given his well-rounded toolkit. Gorski brings good speed, athleticism, and defensive ability as a potential starting center fielder.

The Pirates hoped he could match that with impact potential at the plate. However, through 108 games this season divided between Double-A and Triple-A, Gorski has struggled to consistently produce, batting just .231 with a .291 on-base percentage. He has flashed some of his power and speed tools, hitting 16 home runs and stealing 18 bases. But Gorski has not shown the plate discipline and contact ability the Pirates were hoping to see. With his athletic profile, Gorski still has time at age 25 to put everything together before he hits his peak. But his lackluster 2023 offensive performance has raised legitimate concerns about his hit tool and ability to translate physical gifts into production.

For Gorski to become the starting player that Pittsburgh envisioned with his growth in 2022, he needs to take major steps forward as a hitter and table-setter at the top of the order. The rest of this season and 2024 will be critical developmental periods for Gorski to make strides at the plate, improve his pitch recognition, and prove himself ready for an everyday role in the major leagues.

Lastly, Gutierrez is a catcher that the Pittsburgh Pirates would like to see work out.

With catcher being a position of need in their farm system, the Pirates were known to be looking for catching prospects ahead of the 2021 trade deadline. They got a potential impact backstop in Gutierrez when they acquired him from Philadelphia in a trade that sent minor league left-hander Braeden Ogle the other way.

Gutierrez has the raw tools to potentially become an impact catcher at the major league level, including power potential from the right side and a strong arm behind the plate. The Pirates hoped he could quickly develop into a core piece of their rebuilding efforts. However, Gutierrez landed on the 60-day IL in June after just 53 games at Double-A this season. Between the limited action and a disappointing .240 average in 2023, Gutierrez has not taken the steps forward Pittsburgh was hoping to see, especially with the bat.

Now at 23 years old, he is running out of developmental time to fully tap into his natural talent. Recurring injuries have prevented Gutierrez from getting into a consistent rhythm or reaching even 80 games in a minor league season yet. The Pirates knew they needed to be patient with him, but Gutierrez needs to prove he can stay healthy and be productive over a full season. If he cannot put it all together soon, he risks getting passed up by other prospects in Pittsburgh's farm system. The organization wants to see major improvements from Gutierrez over the remainder of 2023 and into next season as they determine whether he can be their catcher of the future.

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Lastly, Gutierrez is a catcher that the Pittsburgh Pirates would like to see work out.

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