Ranking the 10 most valuable young players in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization

The Pittsburgh Pirates has some of baseball's youngest stars in the game, but struggle to build a winning team around them. They have multiple pieces of the future that could bring the organization success, but they need to execute better around them.

Here are the top 10 most valuable young players in the Pirates organization. The criteria here is that a "young player" is primarily classified below the age of 25, so the list includes mainly prospects - with a couple of big leaguers, of course.

Ranking the Pittsburgh Pirates' top 10 most valuable young players.

Jared Jones is an honorable mention because of his injury, as his value for both this season and 2026 have dropped to a depressing low point.

10. Mike Burrows

Mike Burrows comes in at 10th on this list, as he's emerged as one of the best starters in Triple-A this season, alongside four other prospects on this list. He is a right-hander who has the stuff to become a legitimate arm for the Pirates and could be utilized in either a rotation or bullpen role.

His stats to open up 2025 have been outstanding, posting a 2.51 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP and an 11.41 K/9 at the Triple-A level. These numbers greatly boost his future value, and got him a look in Pittsburgh as a starter this week.

His slider is actually one of the better pitches in the organization. In his last start, he saw his average vertical break on his slider go up 10 inches from last year. Last year it averaged 29 inches, and now it's up to 39 inches. Burrows' return to the Pirates is finally here and it was earned following this hot start.

9. Braxton Ashcraft

Braxton Ashcraft is an interesting one here, as he has not pitched much in his professional career, but he is still quite valuable to the organization with the stuff that he brings. Ashcraft has dealt with a lot of injuries in his career, but he is healthy now and has been a starter in the Indianapolis rotation.

Ashcraft is off to a slow start in 2025 with a 5.03 ERA, yet brings a decent 4.13 FIP to the table that hints at some upcoming correction. With his injury history, he projects more as a reliever, and his stuff could eventually peg him for a high-leverage role. He sports a mid-90s fastball that zips in even higher sometimes, alongside two great breaking balls and a revamped changeup.

He is quite valuable to the organization, and that value could increase with a role change. He is on the 40-man roster and his debut is likely to happen in 2025.