This trade for a blocked MLB-ready outfielder makes too much sense for the Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates should consider making a trade for an MLB-ready prospect this offseason. Such a deal would give them a young player they can use right now and for years to come. Plus, with a handful of new faces on the MLB coaching staff and player development side of things, it might not be a bad idea to put them to the test with players that haven't been in the organization yet. 

The Pirates aren’t unfamiliar with these sorts of trades, either. The Bucs sent pitching prospect Patrick Reilly to the Baltimore Orioles for outfield/first base prospect Billy Cook at last year's trade deadline. They also sent former first-round pick Quinn Priester to the Boston Red Sox for utility prospect Nick Yorke. Given their previous hustles, the most obvious MLB-ready top prospect the Pirates should go after right now is Heston Kjerstad of the Baltimore Orioles.

Kjerstad is ranked as the Orioles’ third-best prospect on Baseball America. The young outfielder has some limited MLB work, but has done well in the small sample size he's been given. He only has 147 plate appearances over the past two seasons, batting .248/.336/.411 with a .325 wOBA and 113 wRC+. His walk rate comes in around league average at 8.2%, but he has struck out in 29.3% of his plate appearances thus far.

Kjerstad’s numbers at Triple-A in 2023 and 2024 were strong. He hit .299/.382/.541 while going yard 26 times in 595 plate appearances across both campaigns. Kjerstad has walked at a 9.9% rate at the level, with a K% that sits at 22.9%. His wOBA clocks in at .400, while his OPS is at .924, and his wRC+ is 132. His wRC+ nearly matches that of fellow Orioles youngster Jackson Holliday, who had a 136 wRC+ in Triple-A duty and was considered the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball entering this year.

One Heston Kjerstad tool that could play up if Pirates acquire him from Orioles

One thing about Kjerstad’s game is certain, and that’s his raw power, which could make him a consistent 30+ home run hitter at the MLB level. Kjerstad has a 90.7 MPH average exit velocity and a 9.2% barrel rate so far throughout his brief major-league playing time. At Triple-A Norfolk, Kjerstad had an identical exit velo, but a 12.5% barrel percentage. There is a catch to his game, and that’s his hit tool. Kjerstad swung and missed 27.7% of the time with a 26.6% K% at Triple-A. His whiff rate in the big leagues is 32.1%. Still, his hit tool projects as fringe-average, which is plenty good enough to make his power worthwhile.

Kjerstad has shown off a powerful arm that plays anywhere in the outfield. His throws averaged 91.4 MPH, which ranked in the top 91st percentile of position players this year. Overall defensively, he projects as an average glove. Kjerstad has also logged nearly 400 innings at first base. Although Kjerstad is a 6’3”, 205-pound corner outfielder who projects to have average speed, he was in the 81st percentile of sprint speed this past season.

If the Pirates were to make a trade for an MLB-ready prospect, Kjerstad should be their top option. The Orioles have a ton of young outfielders besides Kjerstad. Colton Cowser was a Rookie of the Year finalist, they still have Cedric Mullins under control for another year, they just added Tyler O’Neill via free agency, and five of their top ten prospects on Baseball America are outfield prospects (including Kjerstad). They need some young pitching, too, which is something the Pirates have a boatload of. A trade where the Pirates get Kjerstad from the O's for a young pitcher fits like a puzzle piece.