Young Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects With Top 100 Potential

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have some top prospects who are still fairly young and inexperienced who could become top 100 prospects in the future

Back in April, we looked at three Pittsburgh Pirates prospects who could potentially be on future top 100 prospect lists. However, that was before a draft, trade deadline, and nearly an entire minor league season played out. A lot has changed since I wrote that article, with the Pirates adding a handful more players and others gaining some prospect stock this season.

The main guys we will be looking at are teenage prospects. Sometimes, it takes two, maybe even three years for many high school picks or young international prospects to start making their way onto top 100 lists. Very few of that age start their pro career as a consensus top 100 talent. Only the very best get there within the first year of their pro careers.

That’s mainly because they haven’t played very much and are still raw talents. Once players start to face professional-level competition, refine their stuff, and start showing what they can do, focusing solely on professional baseball, you see them rise and appear on the top 100 lists. So, who are some of the prospects in the Pirates’ system who could get to that coveted status eventually?

Zander Mueth

The Pirates selected Zander Mueth in the 4th round of the 2023 draft. Mueth was barely 18 when they picked him; his birthday is June 22nd. That also made him one of the youngest players in the draft. However, although raw, Mueth has a lot of qualities that could make him a top-100 prospect in a few years.

Mueth is already throwing pretty hard. He is sitting 92-94 MPH and topping out at 97 already. He does that while throwing from a pretty low arm slot that MLB Pipeline compares to Tanner Houck, who receives comparisons to Chris Sale. Not only does his fastball have good velocity already, but sinking action, too, so it’s not just a straight-line pitch that will need improving.

Mueth’s slider has plus potential. It’s a sweeping that comes in the low 80s. Mueth throws his slider with so much movement he can have a hard time landing it in the strike zone. That could be a good or bad thing, depending on the viewpoint you want to take. Mueth does throw a changeup, but it will need some improvement. He throws it in the low-90s, though with a similar movement to his four-seamer.

The young righty has some projectability as well. He is 6’6”, 205 pounds. Going back to the Tanner Houck comparison, the Red Sox right-hander stands at a similar height at 6’5” but is heavier at 225 pounds. If Mueth can add some muscle, he might also be able to maintain a higher velocity. Maybe he sits closer to 93-95 MPH and tops out at 98.

Mueth is an improved change-up and command away from being a potential future starting pitcher. At his young age, it’s still very possible he can improve his change-up and improve his ability to locate more efficiently and effectively. Adding any velocity, which, again, because of his age, is still very likely, will only make his stuff better. Because of that, I think it’s quite possible that Mueth becomes a top 100 prospect.

Estuar Suero

The Pirates acquired Estuar Suero at this year’s deadline. Suero came over from the San Diego Padres along with fellow prospect Jackson Wolf and first baseman Alfonso Rivas for Ji-Man Choi and Rich Hill. Suero is one of the youngest top prospects in the Pirates’ system and is the only 17-year-old listed on either FanGraphs or MLB Pipeline’s top Pirates prospect list.

Suero hasn’t played much professionally. Between 2022 and this season, Suero has just 218 plate appearances to his name. He is batting just .216/.326/.341 with a .326 wOBA and 74 wRC+ in that short sample size. Suero is walking in 12.8% of his plate appearances but has struck out 28% of the time and has just a .124 isolated slugging percentage. Keep in mind that Suero is 17 and already at the Pirates’ Florida Complex League affiliate. Even though that’s the second lowest level in affiliated baseball, Suero is still nearly three years younger than the average pitcher age and about two years younger than his fellow average position players.

Given how young Suero is, there are a lot of possible outcomes for his future. The raw tools are there. Suero stands at 6’5”, 185-LBS. There’s a lot of physical projectability with Suero. He’s already shown off, plus raw power. Suero has plus speed as well, giving him the ever-so-sought-after speed/power combo. According to FanGraphs, he’s also showing a good feel for center field.

Suero might be one improvement away from being a five-tool prospect. His hit tool is really the only tool in his set that doesn’t project as average or better as of right now. Suero reminds me a lot of Oneil Cruz when the Pirates originally acquired him. He is a tall, young, teenage prospect with a whole lot of power/speed potential, but he has some questions about his hit tool in the long run. Suero is still so young that anything is possible. But if Suero can show even some minor improvements in the hit tool department, and after he gets to Bradenton, you might start to see him on top 100 lists.

Michael Kennedy

Michael Kennedy was the only high school pitcher the Pirates drafted and signed from their 2022 draft class. The southpaw is one of the many top high school pitchers the Pirates have taken over the last few years. Kennedy’s first handful of games at the Florida Complex League have gone great and put him on a good future trajectory.

Through the first 42.1 innings of his pro career, Kennedy is pitching to the tune of a 2.13 ERA, 3.43 FIP, and 1.04 WHIP. Kennedy has struck out nearly a third of his opponents faced with a 32.1% strikeout rate while also allowing a single home run. The only blemish on Kennedy’s report card thus far is his 11.1% walk rate. However, he has walked just six batters over his last 23.2 innings of work, and four of his last six outings have seen him walk zero opponents.

Kennedy isn’t a hard thrower, at least at this point in his career. He’s topping out in the low 90s, but because of his arm slot and spin, his fastball plays up. It has riding life as well as some deceptive qualities. His slider sits in the upper 70s and is the pitch he gets many of his swings and misses with. His third and final offering is his low 80s changeup.

The lefty projects to throw his stuff with above-average command and control. He’s an athletic pitch with an easy, repeatable delivery. Though Kennedy is a little short for a pitcher. He’s 6’1”, 205 pounds. While he is far from the most projectable prospect in the Pirates’ system, he should add some weight and maybe another inch of height because he’s still so young.

Kennedy doesn’t turn 19 until the very end of November. There are still a few years before we see him make a push for the Major Leagues. However, Kennedy does have three pitchers that project as average to above average, as well as above-average control/command. He does have the lowest possibility of becoming a top 100 prospect, in my unprofessional opinion. He has the least amount of physical projectability, and none of his stuff sticks out as plus or double-plus. But it’s still early in his career, and he has traits that could get him to the coveted top 100 status.

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