Rebounding Pirates prospect further redeems JT Brubaker trade with historic feat

Trading JT Brubaker at the beginning of the 2024 season came out of the blue. Even while Brubaker was recovering from Tommy John surgery, the Pirates still managed to get a ranked prospect in Keiner Delgado out of him. Coming off a rough 2024, Delgado is bouncing back nicely and just saved an historic streak for Greensboro.

Last night, Delgado belted three home runs to cap off a 4-for-6 night. Those three home runs mark the sixth straight season that Greensboro has had a player hit that many in a game.

The 21-year-old middle infielder is the 26th-ranked prospect in the organization, according to MLB Pipeline. He put together great numbers in rookie ball with the Yankees, but he struggled once the Pirates acquired him.

In 2024, Delgado batted .234 with nine home runs and stole 27 bases. His OPS reached .676, along with a 21.5% strikeout rate and a 96 wRC+. Even with an average year, Delgado earned a promotion to High-A, where he is starting to break out.

Pirates trade piece from JT Brubaker deal is rebounding with the Greensboro Grasshoppers

To begin 2025, Delgado is batting .264 with seven home runs and 22 RBI. He adds nine doubles, nine stolen bases, and an .820 OPS. His wRC+ has soared to 124, but so has his strikeout rate to 27.2%.

This start to the season is great for Delgado and the Pirates' overall depth in the farm system. This organization lacks offense from top to bottom, and getting this switch-hitting prospect hot to begin 2025 is a plus.

Greensboro's home field is considered a hitters ballpark, so that may be a factor in this success from Delgado. Given his young age and logjam in the middle infield above Delgado, he will likely spend the majority of this season in High-A, so we may not get to see if he made significant adjustments or if this ballpark is benefitting him. Maybe it's a mixture of both, but the true test for him will be when he joins Altoona.

Pittsburgh needs this surge to not be a hitter's ballpark fluke. Delgado has a lot of tools that he has displayed already, and needs to find consistency using all of them. Konnor Griffin, Termarr Johnson, Nick Yorke, and Jack Brannigan are four other notable middle infielders ranked higher than him in MLB Pipeline's rankings. There are a lot of prospects ahead of him, so he desperately needs success to earn a chance over some of these other guys.

Last night's three homer game was big for Greensboro's franchise and Delgado himself. The Pirates need him to continue to develop so they can win the Brubaker trade. Ben Cherington has not won many trades in his Pirates tenure, and he is undoubtedly hoping that this one can work out.