Here are the Pirates' 2024 Top 30 prospects
Jonathan Mayo
@JonathanMayoThe Pirates have at least one thing that every other team covets: pitching.
No other team in baseball has four arms in this year’s Top 100 Prospects list (the Reds and Padres have three each). And there’s depth behind that quartet. Six of Pittsburgh’s top seven and 10 of the top 15 all hope to toe the rubber at PNC Park one day.
The one Buccos faithful are most excited for, of course, is the guy who will mostly likely sit atop this list very briefly. Paul Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the Draft, is already showing this spring how close his stuff is to being big league ready. Barring something unforeseen, it should happen at some point fairly early this season. And he may not be alone. Both Jared Jones and Anthony Solometo could come in to support Skenes in the rotation in 2024, with many of the other arms not that far behind.
Here’s a look at the Pirates' top prospects:
1. Paul Skenes, RHP (MLB No. 3)
2. Termarr Johnson, 2B (MLB No. 44)
3. Jared Jones, RHP (MLB No. 62)
4. Anthony Solometo, LHP (MLB No. 82)
5. Bubba Chandler, RHP (MLB No. 93)
Complete Top 30 list »
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2023 preseason list to the 2024 preseason list:
Jump: Braxton Ashcraft, RHP (2023: NR | 2024: 7)
There were high expectations when the Pirates drafted Ashcraft back in 2018 and went over slot to sign him. But injuries kept him off the mound often, including a non-throwing shoulder dislocation in 2019 and Tommy John surgery in 2021. While his usage was watched carefully in his return in 2023, he threw very well in making it to Double-A for the first time and was added to the 40-man roster during the offseason.
Fall: Malcolm Nuñez, 1B/3B (2023: 16 | 2024: NR)
Nuñez broke out, especially in the power department in 2022, beginning the year in the Cardinals organization and ending it with the Pirates via the José Quintana deal. Though he finished with 23 homers and reached Triple-A, he wasn’t protected on the 40-man roster and wasn’t taken in the Rule 5 Draft. His performance dropped considerably last year, as he lost more than 100 points off his OPS from the year prior and hitting only eight home runs while missing considerable time with a right shoulder impingement.
Best tools
Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools – 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.
Hit: 60 – Mitch Jebb
Power: 55 – Termarr Johnson
Run: 70 – Lonnie White
Arm: 70 – Jack Brannigan
Defense: 60 – Tsung-Che Cheng (Lonnie White, Jesus Castillo)
Fastball: 80 – Paul Skenes
Curveball: 55 -- Jared Jones (Michael Burrows, Jun-Seok Shim, Jackson Wolf)
Slider: 70 -- Paul Skenes
Changeup: 55 -- Thomas Harrington (Paul Skenes, Michael Burrows, Hunter Barco)
Control: 60 – Paul Skenes
How they were built
Draft: 18 | International: 8 | Trade: 4
Breakdown by ETA
2024: 6 | 2025: 8 | 2026: 10 | 2027: 5 | 2029: 1
Breakdown by position
C: 1 | 1B: 1 | 2B: 2 | SS: 5 | OF: 7 | LHP: 4 | RHP: 10