Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Unranked Prospects Fan Should Know About

The Pittsburgh Pirates have plenty of prospects who are appearing on rankings and lists, but here are some unranked names you should know about

Pittsburgh Pirates fans likely know about Paul Skenes, Termarr Johnson, Anthony Solometo, and Jared Jones. Not only are they the best prospects in the Pirates’ system, but rank as some of the best prospects in baseball. All four are now seen on most top 100 lists. Even then, you’ve been living under a rock if you are a Pirates fan and haven’t heard of Thomas Harrington, Bubba Chandler, or Malcolm Nuñez.

FanGraphs currently has 45 prospects ranked on their Pirates’ top prospect list. MLB Pipeline has their typical top 30 for every team. But there are still other players outside both lists that deserve some recognition. Today, I want to look at a few Pirates prospects who are unranked, but fans should know about.

Derek Diamond

Derek Diamond wasn’t drafted as late as McAdoo. Diamond was drafted in the 6th round but in the 2022 draft. Diamond was fresh off a college World Series victory but wasn’t as dominant as McAdoo. Diamond struggled in his final season, with an ERA approaching 7.00 (6.89), allowed nearly two home runs per-9 innings (1.9 HR/9), and only had a 21.2% strikeout rate.

While Diamond struggled in his final college season, that didn’t stop him from coming out of the 2023 gates red hot. Diamond opened the season at Bradenton and pitched well. Through the first 74.2 innings of the season, Diamond worked to a 3.98 ERA, 3.74 FIP, and 1.23 WHIP. While Diamond only had a 20.4% strikeout rate, he also had an outstanding 4.9% walk rate and 0.60 HR/9. Diamond also had a 53.3% ground ball rate.

Diamond was then promoted to Greensboro, and he’s been pretty decent through his first few outings. He’s only allowed six earned runs in 17 innings, walking six, and striking out 16. The only major downturn is his home run rate and ground ball rate. Diamond’s ground ball rate has dipped to 41.3%, and his HR/9 has jumped to 1.59. But his HR/FB ratio has also gone from 7.9% to 20%. Given that Greensboro’s park is a lot more hitter friendly than Bradenton’s a large uptick in HR/FB ratio was expected. Plus, once adjusting for it, his xFIP has only gone from 3.91 to 4.16, which isn’t a major change.

Diamond topped out in the mid-90s during college, but he only averages out around the low-90s. He also throws with an above-average spin. His slider also sits around 2300-2400 RPM. While his fastball and slider have above-average spin, he can take off a lot on his change-up. Diamond’s change only has around 1600-1700 RPM.

Diamond showed off some excellent command at Bradenton. Even his control at Greensboro hasn’t been terrible, despite an uptick in walk rate. Half of his walks have come in his most recent game (he has pitched four games). Diamond is only 22, but if he keeps pitching well this season he has a good chance of starting 2024 out at Double-A Altoona.

Patrick Reilly

The Pirates added a relief pitching prospect in the fifth round with Patrick Reilly. The Vanderbilt right-hander is a risky prospect, given his proclivity to hand out free passes. But he’s a pitcher who, if he figures out how to harness his powerful stuff, could be a real threat out of the bullpen.

Reilly’s last season at Vandy did not go well. He pitched 48.1 innings split between the bullpen and starting rotation. Reilly allowed 31 earned runs, resulting in an ERA of 5.77. He also walked 13.3% of opponents and allowed six home runs for a 1.12 HR/9 rate. Of the few positives, Reilly had a strong 28.8% strikeout rate.

Reilly’s stuff is not in question. He is mostly a fastball-only pitcher. Though his four-seamer is a good pitch. He already averages out in the mid-90s with 2400-2500 RPM. His second pitch he’ll throw is a cutter/slider in the mid-upper-80s. Those make up two above-average to plus offerings in his arsenal. It will all come down to if he can sharpen his command up enough to be an effective pitcher.

Now sure, this is a story people have heard hundreds of times over: the kid with a lightning arm, but no idea how to use it. It's a tale as old as baseball. So why do I believe the Pirates can all of a sudden turn Reilly around? Well, they have done well with some other prospects who came out of the draft with control or command issues.

J.P. Massey has looked a lot better this season after walking 13.4% of opponents in his college career. Jared Jones has also seen a significant improvement in his ability to hit the strike zone. Tyler Samaniego is also a relief pitching prospect who greatly improved his walk rate from 2022-2023.  The Pirates aren't as incompetent as some would like to believe when it comes to improving a pitcher.

Of course, three examples of Pirates pitching prospects making improvements doesn’t automatically mean that Patrick Reilly will do the same. However, Reilly has such good stuff it would be hard not to keep tabs on his development. 2024 will only be his age-22 campaign, so it’s not as if he’s an older college pick. We’ll see if he can improve his ability to locate, but if he does, at least to an average level, he could be a future set-up man or even a potential closing pitcher.