Three more international prospects to watch in the Pirates’ system for 2024

Emmanuel Chapman

One of the last deals the Pirates made during the most recent international signing deadline was for right-hander Emmanuel Chapman. Chapman, a former Cuban National Series pitcher, struggled greatly during his playing career prior to signing with the Pirates. He had an ERA over 9.00 and walked more batters than he struck out.

But the Pirates took the risk on Chapman, signing him to a $200K signing bonus, and he has been good so far for Greensboro. It’s only been five innings, but the right-handed pitcher has allowed just one earned run via a home run, and striking out six. While Chapman has walked two batters, both cases saw him throw ball four in the strike zone, yet still walk the batter due to some shoddy umpiring.

There’s not much on Chapman regarding scouting data I can find, but here is what I did discover. Chapman is built at a strong 6’6”, 255 pounds. He has a big fastball that sits mid-90s and touches 98 MPH on his four-seamer that has some arm-side run. The right-hander had trouble locating in Cuba, as indicated with more walks than K’s. There also isn’t much regarding any secondary offerings.

But Chapman has made a nice first impression. He’s throwing hard, and while his command might need some polishing, his control hasn’t looked bad. Chapman was an older international signee, as he’s currently in his age-25 season. If he continues to perform well at Greensboro, he could soon get a bump to Double-A Altoona, where his skills will be fully put to the test. He is definitely an interesting relief prospect to keep an eye on.