Bucs on Deck Top 25: Who missed the list, but is gaining momentum?

Who could be some of the next few names on our Top 25 list?

Photo Credit: WTM

By doing just a Top 25, I knew we’d leave a few more well-known names off our midseason update. We could have gone further to get more names on the list, but in the end, it was just a crapshoot once we reached a certain point.

Some names were left off that have already been brought up in the comments, so I wanted to go through some prospects that haven’t been on either list but are starting to pick up steam (received some votes).

We have a few names picked out in case of graduations (Paul Skenes) who will join the list afterward. This won’t be a direct continuation of what we finished, but some names seem to be working their way up to potentially making the list.

Tony Blanco Jr.

I try not to think too hard about any prospect until they come stateside. Blanco might be an excellent example of why.

With basically just the box score to go by, the thing that stood out the most was the near 40% strikeout rate in the Dominican Summer League. It's not exactly something that will instill confidence when discussing how it will translate here in the States.

So, I think I got into a certain mindset about Blanco, and my expectations were low for him in 2024. I just wanted to see him get some playing time, and I thought it’d be limited, with a focus more on backfield work than anything.

Maybe because I set the bar so low, that’s why he has impressed me to the extent he has, but he’s certainly looked a lot more capable at the plate than I expected. He’s laid off some close pitches. He’s hit some breaking balls for home runs.

And the ball explodes off his bat. There have been triple-digit exit velocity readings that have genuinely shocked me that he’s been able to make that kind of contact.

There will always be added pressure on the bat because the profile is so limited, he’s way ahead of where I thought he’d be.

Sean Sullivan

I’m sure there’s been some list I’ve done that has had him up there previously, but Sullivan went from not getting any votes going into the season to gaining steam once again.

There seems to be a certain uncertainty in many prospects in the Pirates’ system.

Sullivan isn’t one of them. We know what we will get from him, and that’s ok, even if the upside isn’t high. He’s repeating Double-A, and while that’s unlikely, prospects can only control so many things, where they are assigned isn’t one of them.

Even if the strikeouts aren’t exactly showing it, the stuff does look better this year, and he’s still really good at filling the strike zone up with his fastball, which helps the secondaries play up even more.

Many are questioning how best to boost the bullpen, given their struggles. I think he’s a deep-sleeper candidate to do so. They invited him to Spring Training, so they clearly wanted to get a closer look at him.

Khristian Curtis

The more I read about Curtis and then briefly saw him during Instructs last fall, the higher I got on him going into 2024, but I held out till I could see more of him.

There is no doubting the stuff, the fastball plays up, and he works in several pitches behind it. It's hard to hit stuff when he’s in the strike zone consistently.

He’s doing that now and learning what works and what doesn’t. The walks have been down, and the success has followed. That’s also led to him pitching deeper into games, a great sign for someone I was leaning toward being a long-term reliever.

Curtis began the year on my radar and has caught the eyes of many, not just some here at the site. He actually got votes from two of us here at the site, as our list was our top 30 to give us a buffer for graduations and any potential trade they make.

I feel like there’s still more potential out there from him, and now he’s heading in that direction.

David Matoma

Buying box score numbers in the DSL is a dangerous game to play. Still, Matoma not allowing an earned run as a 17-year-old was quite impressive. Add in the fact that he hit triple-digits with his fastball, he was another guy on everyone’s radar.

He’s proven to be human, barely, by allowing a whole one earned run in his first 14.1 innings pitched in the Complex this year. The fastball has been up to 99 mph (that we’ve been able to confirm) and has had some good, although inconsistent, readings early on.

Now, the Pirates have begun stretching him out to work multi-innings. The next step is to develop his secondary pitches further, which feature a cutter/slider.

With the success the Pirates have had with pitching, it will feel a lot safer to get excited about prospects on the mound who flash some of the stuff that Matoma has.

I had Matoma in my Top 25, and I think he can continue to climb as he shows the proper adjustments.

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Bucs on Deck Top 25: Midseason updated list

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