Here, we’ll break down the Pirates’ minor league pitchers. A similar breakdown of the hitters can be found here.
Class AAA Indianapolis
As was the case with the hitters, Indianapolis was mostly home to a variety of fringe major league pitchers who oscillated between those two levels all season. Those who had success got into the majors for at least a bit. Those who struggled more were relegated to a full season in Indianapolis.
The numbers reflect that. Right-hander Shea Spitzbarth was named the team’s pitcher of the year with a 2.12 ERA in 46 2/3 innings. He was brought up and down several times to the Pirates’ active roster, making his MLB debut there. Right-handers Miguel Yajure and Max Kranick were among Indianapolis’ best starters, and they both got their shots in the majors, too.
Contrarily, right-handers James Marvel and Beau Sulser were the only two pitchers to hurl more than 100 innings for the Indians this season. Both had ERAs above 5.00, and neither received action with the Pirates the whole year, with their stocks sort of stalling out at the Class AAA level.
There is some encouragement to be had from those who reached Class AAA and didn’t go further this year, though. Reliever Hunter Stratton was called up from Class AA Altoona in July after dominating for the Curve. Once reaching Indianapolis, he pitched in 23 2/3 innings and allowed just nine earned runs with 26 strikeouts and 12 walks. Those are solid numbers, especially preliminarily, and the 24-year-old could factor into the Pirates’ bullpen plans next season.
The same could be said for 23-year-old right-hander Yerry De Los Santos. He was on the injured list with Altoona for much of the season but pitched 17 2/3 innings with a 2.04 ERA in Altoona, then pitched six shutout frames in four appearances with Indianapolis.
There was also the call-up of right-hander Roansy Contreras, which went very well. More on him in a bit.
Class AA Altoona
A mixed bag in Altoona. The good was very good. Contreras’ stock probably rose more this season than anybody else in the system. He was a top-20 prospect entering the year and exited as arguably the most promising pitching prospect the Pirates have.
In 54 1/3 innings with Altoona, Contreras had a 2.65 ERA with 76 strikeouts and just 12 walks. Those are outstanding numbers, and it fueled him to a late promotion to Indianapolis and his eventual MLB debut in the last week of the Pirates’ season.
Right-hander Trey McHough, a Johnstown native, led the team in innings, pitching 95 of them, and was also quite good with a 3.41 ERA. He also earns the distinction of pitching Altoona’s lone complete game, though it was a five-inning, rain-shortened effort. Left-hander Omar Cruz also pitched well with a 3.44 ERA in 70 2/3 frames. He was an offseason pick-up in the Joe Musgrove trade with the San Diego Padres.
Relievers Stratton and De Los Santos were very good, and they were joined by Cam Alldred, who limited opponents to a .176 batting average with a sub-3.00 ERA in 53 1/3 innings.
The rest of the crew was hit-and-miss. Starters Travis MacGregor, Osvaldo Bido and Jeffrey Passantino didn’t have very impressive numbers. Many of Altoona’s other relievers, like Noe Toribio, John O’Reilly, Shea Murray and Will Gardner, were all up and down, as well. Basically, the cream rose to the top, and many were rewarded with promotions to Indianapolis and beyond. The others kept grinding in Altoona and will likely see next season as a proving ground to facilitate their own hopeful moves up the ladder.
High-A Greensboro
This is where many of the Pirates’ best pitching prospects made their home. As mentioned in the hitters’ version of this series, that meant pitching in an extremely hitter-friendly ballpark. When Omar Cruz moved up to Altoona, he joked that it was tough to pitch in Greensboro’s home park.
In any case, four of the Pirates’ top-15 prospects started games for the Grasshoppers this season. Right-hander Quinn Priester, the No. 2-ranked prospect in the system, pitched the most. He threw a team-high 97 2/3 innings, and finished with a 3.04 ERA and 98 strikeouts. Opponents hit just .225 against him, and he was named the High-A East League pitcher of the year as a result.
Number 10 prospect Carmen Mlodzinski was injured for part of the season but still struck out 64 batters in 50 1/3 innings. He was not nearly as prolific post-shoulder injury, but that’s to be expected, as the Pirates eased him back into work. He will get a chance to impress again with an invite to the Arizona Fall League.
Number 14 prospect Michael Burrows was even more impressive in a smaller body of work. He, too, had an injury, but he had even more strikeouts (66) in fewer innings pitched (49) than Mlodzinski. He also limited opponents to a shockingly low .143 batting average and enjoyed a 2.20 ERA. It would have been great to see what he could do in a full season, but even in a limited sample size, that’s a needle-moving performance.
The one who struggled a bit was No. 13-ranked right-hander Tahnaj Thomas. He was put on the shelf to work on some mechanical changes in the middle of the season, and though he found some immediate success upon his return, it never quite clicked over the full season. Thomas ended 2021 with an ERA over 5.00 and walked the fourth-most batters (35) despite pitching in just 60 2/3 innings.
Those four made the headlines because of their high standings as prospects, but honorable mention here goes to Will Kobos and Enmanuel Mejia, who were wonderful in their 38 combined relief appearances.
Low-A Bradenton
Is it fair to say that everyone was good here? Pretty much, yes. Right-hander Adrian Florencio was named the Low-A East League pitcher of the year. He led the team in innings pitched with 95 and had a 2.46 ERA. Opponents hit under .200 against him, and his WHIP was barely above 1.00.
Right-hander Jared Jones, the No. 15 prospect, allowed more runs, but he had an astonishing 103 strikeouts in just 66 innings. That means that more than half of the outs he recorded were via strikeout. Logan Hofmann and Luis Ortiz had solid numbers with a hefty workload, both pitching over 80 innings with ERAs around 3.50. Right-hander Santiago Florez allowed a .165 opponent batting average in 10 appearances with the Marauders before a call-up to Greensboro.
If there are concerns, it would be with No. 30 prospect Eddy Yean. He finished with a 5.00-plus ERA but finished strong, allowing two earned runs or fewer in eight of his final nine appearances and each of his last six. Yean is just 20 years old, so he’ll have some time to improve there. There is also concern with the No. 21 prospect, right-hander Brennan Malone. He entered the year as a top-10 prospect but lasted just 3 2/3 innings in Bradenton before being demoted to the Florida Complex League, where he spent the rest of the season.
Some relievers performed well here, too. The aforementioned Mejia was promoted to Greensboro thanks to 26 1/3 innings of work in which he allowed no earned runs. That gave him the Low-A Southeast reliever of the year award. Tenth-round 2021 draft pick Justin Meis, a Bethel Park native, had a 2.04 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings after his introduction to professional ball, too.
Mike Persak: mpersak@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDPersak
First Published: October 8, 2021, 6:32 p.m.
