Rum Bunter's top 10 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects: Where does Konnor Griffin debut?

Number Four: Thomas Harrington

Prior to the Pirates selecting Hunter Barco in the 2022 draft, they took right-hander Thomas Harrington out of Campbell with the 36th overall selection. Harrington made his mark in 2023 between A-Ball Bradenton and High-A Greensboro. Although he missed the first month of the 2024 campaign, Harrington has come back stronger than ever and was recently promoted to Triple-A Indy.

Prior to that promotion, however, Harrington owned a 2.14 ERA, 2.56 FIP, and 0.98 WHIP through his first 71.1 IP. He maintained a strong strikeout rate of 27.6%, almost identical to last season, but he impressively cut his walk rate to just 3.9% (compared to 7.8% last season). Harrington also made improvements in the home run prevention department, going from an 0.99 HR/9 last season to just 0.50 prior to his call to Indy.

Harrington has already made his Triple-A debut, but it didn't go smoothly. While he pitched 5.2 innings, striking out four and only walking a single batter, he also allowed a home run and five earned runs total. Of course, it's a one-game sample size in a much more hitter-friendly environment, so take it with a grain of salt.

Harrington threw five different pitches at least 10% of the time in his first game with Indianapolis. His low-90s four-seamer may not have elite velocity, but its movement and Harrington's arm angle help it play up. Harrington's best secondary is his low-80s slider. This was a pitch he improved as he got into pro ball, going for more of a sweeping slider compared to what he was throwing in college. So far, it's worked tremendously well for him.

Harrington's next breaking ball is a curve that sits in the upper 70s. His changeup averages out to around 1,000 RPM. Harrington's sinker has similar velo to his fastball, but with more downward action. Harrington projects to have plus command, and given his sub-5% walk rate this season, he's had no trouble locating so far in his career.

Now that Harrington is at Triple-A, he could be on the verge of making his big league debut. The Pirates could definitely be in a good position to utilize him as another reinforcement late into the season.