Chandler heads talented pitching group in Bucs' Spring Breakout
Alex Stumpf
@AlexJStumpfBRADENTON, Fla. -- This winter, some of the Pirates' top pitching prospects joined Paul Skenes and Jared Jones in Athens, Ga., to work out with the young duo and Skenes¡¯ former college pitching coach, Wes Johnson. There was golf, comradery, and of course, the mission at hand: Growing as a group of pitchers, regardless of what level of pro ball they¡¯re expected to start the season with.
¡°There¡¯s one common goal,¡± Hunter Barco, the club¡¯s No. 7 prospect according to MLB Pipeline said earlier this spring. ¡°We all may be at different levels, but in the end, there¡¯s one common goal -- and that¡¯s to win baseball games and get to the big leagues.¡±
The Pirates have one the best collections of Minor League pitching throughout baseball, even without Skenes and Jones. On Friday, those top Minor League arms are going to team up for the Spring Breakout game, offering a peek at what the Pirates¡¯ pitching staff might look like for years to come.
Spring Breakout is a showcase of baseball¡¯s future where teams build rosters of their top prospects to play against each other. The Pirates will take on the Phillies¡¯ top prospects on Friday at BayCare BallPark, with first pitch slated for 1:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on MLB.TV, MLB.com, MLB App, NBCSP+, MLB Network and you can follow along on Gameday. More information on what you need to know about the game can be found here.
And when you look at the Pirates¡¯ roster, it¡¯s the pitching that stands out.
Six of the Pirates¡¯ top 10 prospects are pitchers, three of whom are in this game: Bubba Chandler (the Pirates¡¯ No. 1 prospect and No. 15 overall), Zander Mueth (Pirates¡¯ No. 10 prospect) and Barco. Anthony Solometo (No. 14) and David Matoma (No. 30) are also on the roster. Thomas Harrington (No. 3) is still in Major League camp, as were Braxton Ashcraft (No. 6) and Mike Burrows (No. 15) until they were optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday. Even without them, it¡¯s a good sample of what the organization has to offer. The Pirates are fielding one of the best Spring Breakout rosters this year, and the pitching is a big reason why.
Looking at that group of pitchers, there is some commonality, but they¡¯re also unique. None of those pitchers listed was a first-round pick, but 2022 and 2024 first-round picks Termarr Johnson and Konnor Griffin, both infielders, will be playing. Matoma was a lower-profile international signing in 2023 out of Uganda who is starting to blossom into a legitimate flamethrower out of the bullpen. Solometo and Barco are the two southpaws, but Barco can get up to the upper-90s with his fastball, while Solometo relies more on funkiness and deception in his delivery. Mueth pitches from a lower arm slot and creates deception too, while Chandler can overwhelm hitters with his stuff.
But the defining trait of this group of five pitchers is that they represent just about every level of the farm system. Chandler is going to start the season with Triple-A Indianapolis, but is on the cusp of the Major Leagues. Solometo and Barco finished last year with Double-A Altoona. Mueth finished last season with Single-A Bradenton. Matoma turned 19 years old last month and pitched in the Florida Complex League. There¡¯s a chance that at some point midseason, the Pirates will have one of each of these prospects at the five main levels of pro ball, from the Majors to Single-A.
But first, they get to share a field and uniform for a day in the Spring Breakout game.