Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Prospects Who Could Climb End of Season Rankings

Jack Brannigan

Jack Brannigan was selected out of Notre Dame in the third round of the 2022 draft. There were some that believed Brannigan could be a two-way, infielder/relief pitcher. However, the Pirates have had Brannigan focus solely on his hitting. After all, while he did occasionally pitch in college, hitting was by far his primary role and the one he was the best at.

Brannigan started off the year at Bradenton where he batted .253/.398/.451 with a .403 wOBA, and 136 wRC+. Brannigan both hit for power and walked a lot. He had a .198 isolated slugging percentage while also drawing a walk in 15.9% of his plate appearances. Brannigan had an OPS over .990, and wRC+ approaching 200 in the final month he spent at Bradenton.

The only knock on Brannigan’s game was his sub-par 26.9% strikeout rate. Because of his blazing hot month, the Pirates moved him up to Greensboro where he’s continued to be a massive threat at the dish.

Through 60 plate appearances, Brannigan is batting .327/.400/.654. Brannigan has already teed off four times. The infielder has continued to walk at a solid pace of 11.7%, but he’s maintained relatively the same strikeout rate at 26.7%. It is a small sample size, but that’s an OPS over 1.000 (1.054), a wOBA well over .400 (.453), and wRC+ at 175.

Brannigan is primarily a third baseman, but the Pirates have gotten him work in at both second base and shortstop. Although speed wasn’t his calling card, he’s been aggressive on the basepaths, going 22-for-24 in stolen base attempts. As a pitcher who was firing 95+ MPH fastballs, there’s no question Brannigan has the arm to play on the left side of the infield.

The Pirates aren’t giving Brannigan time at second base or shortstop because they’re worried as to how he’ll handle the hot corner. If anything, it’s because they want to maximize his defensive value. He’s shown great instincts at third base, and good athleticism.

The one thing that’s holding Brannigan back from becoming a really good prospect is that he has some questions about his hit tool. Brannigan has run into some questions about his swing and miss this year. He’s been able to play more than good enough to outweigh said issues, though it’s easily his worst tool, and could possibly hinder his raw power in the long run.

Because of how well Brannigan has looked defensively, along with his bat coming along nicely, I don’t see how Brannigan doesn’t garner some more prospect attention. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the Bucs’ 28th best prospect, though FanGraphs is a little less bullish as they rank him as the team’s 35th best prospect.

Even though there are some concerns about how his hit tool will play, I definitely think that Brannigan has shown enough to at least be recognized for the work he’s done this year. This isn’t a Mason Martin situation, and there’s still a good chance given his athleticism that Brannigan can cut down on the strikeouts.

Lonnie White Jr.

Lonnie White Jr. was one of the Pirates’ multiple top high school draft picks from their 2021 draft class. Although White Jr. showed plenty of potential in both 2021 and 2022, he only stepped to the plate 40 times. But White Jr. has finally been able to get an extended look as a pro player, and he’s made the most of it.

White started out the year at the Florida Complex League, where he hit .317/.434/.444 with a .426 wOBA, and 136 wRC+ through 76 plate appearances. Although he didn’t hit for much power with a .126 isolated slugging percentage, he did walk at a 14.5% rate. Strikeouts were also an issue as he struck out at a 25% rate. Still, this was more than good enough for White Jr. to get the move to Low-A Bradenton.

The outfield prospect has now spent 106 plate appearances for the Marauders and has continued to hit well. He’s slashing .244/.377/.500, with a .404 wOBA, and 136 wRC+. White Jr. is hitting for much more power, already blasting five home runs and upping his ISO to .256. Although he’s increased his walk rate to 16%, his strikeout rate has also gone up to 27.4%.

White Jr. is probably the best defensive prospect the Pirates have who isn’t in the Majors (Jared Triolo and Alika Williams could probably challenge White Jr. for that title, but both are playing in the big leagues, and both are also infielders). Although he isn’t the second coming of Roberto Clemente, he has a good enough arm to play any of the three outfield spots, though center field is probably where it plays best. He’s also extremely fast, likely being the Pirates’ best runner throughout the minor leagues. He’s been able to use that speed, both on the basepaths and in the field.

In my opinion, White Jr. is one improvement away from being a five-tool prospect. He’s a very physical player with bat speed and raw strength. He’s fast with a glove that could potentially compete for Gold Gloves in the future, and an average arm. His hit tool, however, has come into question. So far in his brief minor league career, White has struck out nearly 30% of the time (29.3%). 

But at just 20 years old, he’ll have time to improve his hit tool. Even if he improves it to an average level, he could be a 20-30 home run threat. He has plenty of athleticism, which I think could help him eventually improve. With his current performance at Bradenton, I think White could find himself climbing a few rungs on Pirates prospect lists.

Tsung-Che Cheng

Tsung-Che Cheng already made some strides on prospect rankings from 2022 to 2023. MLB Pipeline didn’t even have him ranked and now he’s considered one of the Pirates’ top 30 prospects, per their listing. FanGraphs didn’t have him in their top 60, but now is within their top 40. Cheng could get another bump in rating after his outstanding 2023 campaign thus far.

Cheng opened the year at Greensboro where he hit for an absurd .308/.406/.575 with a .432 wOBA, and 162 wRC+. Cheng, who only hit six home runs in 2022, and had ten career home runs going into the season, crushed nine long balls for the Grasshoppers. He had an isolated slugging percentage well over .250 at .266. It’s not as if he was swinging for the fences either, with an 18.5% K-rate and 13.8% walk rate.

 That strong start earned Cheng a promotion to Altoona, but he wasn’t able to carry the fire from High-A to Double-A, initially at least. His first 44 plate appearances yielded just six hits, 13 strikeouts, and two walks. However, while it took Cheng a few games to get acclimated, it seems like he’s found his groove and is now hitting plenty good enough, possibly to earn a promotion to Triple-A before the end of the season.

Since July 7th, Cheng is slashing .349/.375/.506 with a .391 wOBA, and 139 wRC+. A decrease in power from a hitter friendly venue at Greensboro to Altoona was expected, but he’s still rocking a solid .157 mark, as well as a .270 ISO since July 28th. Although Cheng has lowered his strikeout rate to just 12.5%, he’s also seen his walk rate decrease to just 4.5%.

Cheng is all about making contact, getting on base, and stealing. He’s a plus runner who swiped 33 bases last year and already has 21 this season. Cheng’s hit tool will likely get moved into plus territory as well by graders. FanGraphs only has him at a 55 projected and MLB Pipeline places it at average with a 50 remark. Although Cheng has shown little raw power, the fact he’s been able to keep up respectable power going into Double-A, which is the real test in the minor leagues, could earn him more favorable grades in that department.

That doesn’t mean I think Cheng will all of a sudden become a top 100 prospect, but I definitely think he moves within the top 20 of Pirates prospects. The fact he’s been able to perform well at Double-A at just 21 means something. If he makes it to Triple-A by the end of the season, he'll have played at three minor league levels, which is also something to keep in mind.