Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Underrated Prospects Who Could Debut In 2024

Some of the Pittsburgh Pirates best regarded and most popular prospects could debut in 2024, but they also have some that could reach the big leagues despite being relatively unknown

Paul Skenes will not just be one of the most hyped Pittsburgh Pirates' debuts but one of the most hyped debuts in all of baseball next season. Pirates fans will also look forward to others like Jared Jones and Anthony Solometo. Even Thomas Harrington and Bubba Chandler could conceivably at least make their debuts late into the season this year, especially if they pitch anything like they did last year.

But not every prospect that will debut is going to be as hyped up or as well known as them. Every prospect who debuted in 2023 wasn't Henry Davis or Endy Rodriguez. Plenty of more underrated Pirates prospects will definitely see the big leagues for at least one game next season. Not all of them will start 15 games or come to the plate 300+ times, but they have a chance to at least see their first game in the Majors in 2024.

Sean Sullivan

Sean Sullivan was an 8th-round pick by the Pirates in 2021. Taken out of the University of California Berkeley, Sullivan has steadily made his way up the Pirate system. After his quality season in 2023 with Double-A Altoona, Sullivan should start his age-23 season for Triple-A Indianapolis. If he pitches like he did for Altoona last year, especially in the second half, Sullivan could definitely find himself in the Pirates' rotation at some point.

Sullivan pitched 113.1 innings for the Curve while owning a 3.88 ERA, 4.16 FIP, and 1.27 WHIP. Although Sullivan's strikeout rate of just 20.7% was below average, he had an above-average walk rate of only 8%. After posting a HR/9 approaching 2.0 in 2022 for Greensboro, he cut that down significantly to just 1.03, which was also above average. Some of that is due to better flyball luck, as his HR/FB ratio dropped from an unsustainable 26.7% to 7.6%. Although Sullivan became more flyball-heavy, he did cut his line drive rate down from 28.9% to 13.5%.

As stated earlier, Sullivan was pretty good in the second half of the season. From the all-star break onward, the righty had a 3.53 ERA, 3.55 FIP, and 1.24 WHIP. While Sullivan still carried a similar 20.9% K-rate and 9% walk rate, he rarely allowed a home run. This was a stretch of 51 innings where just three batters were able to go yard off of him, leading to a HR/9 rate of 0.53.

Sullivan isn't a hard-throwing pitcher, only averaging out around 92-94. He also throws a slider, change-up, and curveball, but everything probably sits at a 45-50 grade level. While nothing in his pitch mix stands out, all his pitches are playable because of his ability to locate effectively and consistently.

Triple-A Indianapolis could have a very good rotation early on into the season, with Sullivan being a part of it. He's only 23, but I definitely think he could get at least one start by mid-season, so long as he continues to pitch like he has thus far in his pro career.

Tres Gonzalez

The 2022 draft saw the Bucs take outfielder Tres Gonzalez in the fourth round. Gonzalez made his debut late into the 2022 season, and while he looked good through his first 95 plate appearances, he would take another step forward in 2023. Now, he should start the 2024 season as part of Altoona's outfield.

Gonzalez received 531 plate appearances, most of which came at High-A Greensboro. He batted .289/.405/.402 with an outstanding 15.1% walk rate and 17.9% strikeout rate. Gonzalez isn't known for his power and only went yard nine times with an isolated slugging percentage of .113. But he used his speed to hustle out 22 doubles and steal 28 bases. All told, Gonzalez had a .381 wOBA and 128 wRC+. Gonzalez was just one of 21 batters in the minor leagues with at least 500 plate appearances and an OBP over .400.

Gonzalez takes a very contact and OBP-focused approach. Think of Adam Frazier but with more walks. There will be concern about how Gonzalez's power will play once he moves to the upper levels of the minor leagues next season. His exit velocity numbers were not good, though as long as he maintains a good walk rate and continues to hit the gaps, the approach could work.

An above-average defensive outfielder, Gonzalez saw time at all three outfield positions last year. He's plenty fast enough to cover ground in center field. That's also where his arm will likely play best at. A corner might expose his below-average arm strength, so putting him up the middle can hide that to a degree.

How Gonzalez plays at Altoona will determine if he could potentially make his debut. But his first extended look against pro pitching was very impressive. Should he continue to do this in Altoona, I wouldn't completely rule out a late-season cameo with the Pirates. At the very least, he has a chance to put himself into conversations for a role for the Major League team in 2025.