Barco could be on Major League radar in '25

This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PITTSBURGH -- There was an implied understanding that the Pirates were going to need to be patient to see what they had in Hunter Barco. They obviously liked the lefty out of the University of Florida, hence why they took him in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft, but after undergoing Tommy John surgery that season, they knew he would not be able to pitch in a game for about a year from when they selected him.

Now in his first full season back on the mound, Barco showed what made him such an intriguing prospect. He is 4-2 with a 3.27 ERA and 83 strikeouts over 66 innings in 18 games (16 starts) across High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona. A stress response in his left leg cut his season short on July 30. But the overall body of work was enough for MLB Pipeline to place him as the Pirates’ No. 8 prospect, one of the top pitchers in an organization that they ranked as having the best pitching prospect pool.

"I feel great now,” Barco said at People’s Natural Gas Field in Altoona, Pa., this week. “[I] had a really good year. Fun first season back. [I] had a little hiccup with the leg, which obviously sucked. But, we're getting through that and should be good to go for next year."

They caught his leg injury before any serious damage was done, and Barco said he and the team discussed his options afterwards, but came to the conclusion he had thrown a satisfactory amount of innings this season. So he will not be going to the Arizona Fall League to make up those extra frames. Barco showed plenty in those 66 frames he threw this season: A fastball that can ramp up to the mid-90s, a slider that can get whiffs, a splitter that he’s thrown for years -- his offspeed pitch of choice -- and a changeup that he picked up from former Pirates Spring Training non-roster invite Tyler Chatwood.

“I was like, 'Hey, you throw a changeup?' and he was like, 'Yeah, I do,’” Barco said, describing the origins of his newest offering. “He showed me a grip and that's worked really well for me so far. So, still trying to get that pitch a little bit better. But I'm definitely glad that I've added it to the arsenal."

That stuff has played up this year, but just as important, Barco has been able to maintain the deceptiveness in his delivery. He does a great job hiding the ball during his delivery, not giving hitters a visual until he’s about to fire the pitch. At the same time, he and the coaching staff took a dive into what the “deficiencies” in his motion were, and they worked on maximizing the energy he was creating while protecting that left arm.

When paired with good stuff -- MLB Pipeline grades each of his pitches as a 50 (MLB average) or better -- and some good new weight since being drafted, he looks very similar to the guy the Pirates drafted two years ago, but a more idealized version.

“[I] still have all the funkiness [in my delivery] that I've always had,” Barco said. “But in terms of moving better and direction down the mound, [I've] definitely gotten better. My body's in a much better place than it was beforehand. I've put on good weight. And, just in terms of my full-on mobility, a whole lot better."

Barco certainly had time to dive into those mechanics after not pitching in a game his first year with the organization. That first year back from his surgery was definitely a positive one that makes him another young arm to monitor, especially since he could be on the Major League radar as soon as next year.

“Hopefully I'll never have another year and a half of not playing baseball to work on things,” Barco said. “Having that time, being able to really hone my craft [helped].”