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

The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t had a good player they developed from the international market in quite a while. But there’s definitely a chance they could find one in the near future. Some of their top prospects, including Yordany De Los Santos, Shalin Polanco, Tony Blanco Jr., and Jun-Seok Shim, were signed out of the international market, and while all are still fairly young, could make an impact in the future.

Estuar Suero and Jhonny Severino were both acquired via trade but were recent international signees by the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers, respectively. Both of those players were among their former team's top signings from recent signing periods. The Pirates clearly are looking to bring in a wave of talent through the International signings over the last 2-3 years. This also shows that these were two players that the team likely wanted to sign, but with universal restrictions on international amateur free-agent signings, it becomes hard to bring in multiple top names.

But these are far from the young international prospects currently in the system. A few months ago, I covered three under-the-radar international prospects that are worth keeping an eye on in 2024 and beyond. But there are more young prospects that you should know about currently in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization.

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.

Pirates Prospect: Carlos Jimenez

The Pirates signed Carlos Jimenez back during the summer of 2018. Jimenez has looked good at times, but has yet to piece together a full, healthy season. In 2023, he pitched just 13 frames. But he’s returned healthy this year and is off to a solid start to the year and might receive longer outings as he continues to get stretched out after returning from a shortened 2023 campaign.

So far, he only has tossed 4.2 innings with two earned runs, and seven K’s. Jimenez has struggled with command issues in the past and has walked five through his first few innings of the season. But at just 21 years old, there’s time for him to sharpen up this part of his game. 

Despite being a young gun, Jimenez can run his fastball up into the mid-90s, topping out at 97.5 MPH this year. Along with good velocity, his four-seamer has good ride through the strikezone with only 13.8 inches of drop. But it lacks significant horizontal movement with just four inches of arm-side break. Trent Thorton is one Major League comparison based on velo and movement, but the closest in terms of just movement are Mitchell Parker and Aaron Civale.

Jimenez’s primary breaking pitch is a curveball. This pitch sits around 80 MPH with 52 inches of drop and 11.5 inches of horizontal break. The best Major League comparisons include Carlos Carrasco and Zach Eflin, both of whom have almost identical movement and velocity profiles with their curve compared to Jimenez. 

Arguably, the best pitch in his arsenal is his hard change-up. His change sits in the upper-80s and touches 90 MPH. Batters have an extremely hard time making contact against this pitch. Right now, he’s gotten a swing and miss 50% of the time with his change. 

Jimenez’s control could land him in the bullpen long term. But the Pirates will probably give him every chance possible to remain as a starting pitcher. Jimenez is at A-Ball Bradenton, and could pitch his first full season in an extended role.