Florida Complex League Pirates: 2024 standout hitters and pitchers

Some standouts from the 2024 FCL Pirates team

The Florida Complex League is officially over after the Tigers defeated the Pirates 2-0 in the best-of-three championship series.

It was a fantastic season for the FCL Pirates, who finished with a 36-23 record and ending on a solid note—they won eight of their last 10 to close out the regular season.

They finished with a +39 run differential as a team, the sixth-best total in the FCL. They had several standout performances in the batters’ box and on the mound.

Pitching

The Pirates had two notable prospects play this year in the FCL: Zander Mueth and David Matoma.

Mueth was the 67th overall pick in the 2023 draft and played most of the season as an 18-year-old.

He posted a 6-1 record with a 1.58 ERA while striking out 56 batters in 51.1 innings pitched. There were some walk issues at the beginning of the year, but he was able to get those under control down the stretch, and he was able to rattle off six straight starts of completing five innings pitched.

Among FCL pitchers, Mueth finished third in innings pitched and sixth in strikeouts.

Matoma burst on the scene in 2023 for reaching triple-digits with his fastball in the DSL and not allowing an earned run in 16.2 innings pitched.

He followed that up with a nearly as impressive season in 2024, posting a sub-one ERA. In 22 innings, Matoma posted a 0.82 ERA (3.41 xFIP) while striking out 30.4% of the batters he faced, compared to walking just 9.8%.

The secondary pitches need work, as well as the consistency with his fastball—but the pieces are there to work with. He missed nearly a month of the season with an injury, and the Pirates did start to work him into some multi-inning outings.

Some other notable pitchers this past season in the Complex

Carlos Castillo—Another 18-year-old in his first year stateside, Castillo posted a 2.86 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched (plus six innings from the playoff game). The strikeout numbers weren’t anything to write home about (18.2%), but he has a slider that has shown promise and a fastball he works into the mid-90s from a lower arm slot.

He ended the season on a solid note, pitching six innings of one-run baseball in game one of the FCL Championship Series.

Inmer Lobo—Acquired in the Hoy Park trade, Lobo has since moved on to the Bradenton Marauders, but he was a fantastic lefty out of the bullpen for the Complex team when he was there.

In 13.2 innings pitched in the FCL, he didn’t allow a single walk while striking out 19. That’s a strikeout rate of nearly 40% without walking anybody.

Greiber Mendez—Another key reliever who has also played with the Marauders, Mendez posted a 3.53 ERA in 16 games and even made five saves. Not stuff that stood out, but came in and got some big outs for the team.

Hitting

The offense was among the best in the FCL, with contributions up and down the lineup, but it was led by two players: Yordany De Los Santos and Jhonny Severino.

Acquired in the Carlos Santana trade, Severino finished in a tie for the FCL lead in home runs, second in RBI, and seventh in doubles. De Los Santos led the FCL in hits, was second in triples, fifth in RBI, and sixth in average. He also had the 10th most stolen bases.

They were the offensive creators, as Yordany finished with a .344/.407/.505 line, slugging five home runs, stealing 24 bases, and driving in 34 runs while playing solid defense all around the infield.

Severino hit for a little more power, hitting 25 extra-base hits, 10 of which were home runs.

While the duo received most of the attention, for good reasons, they weren’t the only ones to put up some solid offensive numbers this season.

Richard Ramirez—The 18-year-old slugged .464 this year, hitting five home runs and posting a 127 wRC+. He was featured on Baseball America due to his exit velocity numbers, which were impressive for his age. He struggled with making contact and struck out 32.2% of the time, but he hit the ball with authority when he did connect.

The real standout tool for Ramirez is his arm, as it was a difference-maker from behind the plate. He threw out 47% of would-be base stealers, and there were multiple instances where he would make play after play for multiple innings.

Carlos Caro—A strong contact hitter, Caro hit a pair of home runs and added eight doubles and two triples. He walked (22) nearly as much as he struck out (24) and posted a wRC+ of 135 in 156 plate appearances.

Tony Blanco Jr.—After striking out nearly 40% of the time in the DSL last year, expectations were tempered coming stateside, but by all accounts, Blanco surpassed them all in 2024.

There was still some swing-and-miss, but he cut the strikeout rate by nearly 10% while jumping up a level. The power is legit: He hits a foul ball with an exit velocity of over 120 mph.

Quite a few home runs came from breaking balls, which is a good sign for someone with some concerns going into the year.

Miguel Sosa—His performance earned him a promotion to Single-A already, which seemed like a long time coming after also putting up solid numbers last year. The strikeouts shot up on him this year, but he also put up a 130 wRC+ and batted over .300 in his time in the Complex.

Luke Scherrer—An undrafted free agent prep signing, Scherrer put together a solid season in the Complex, batting .273/.406/.354 while walking (18), nearly as much as he struck out (21) in 139 plate appearances. The power didn’t show up on paper, only hitting eight doubles, but he put up some solid exit velocity numbers. There could be more power as he continues to develop, and learns to elevate more.

As the season went on, Scherrer became more versatile, getting work not only behind the plate but also at first and in right field. He threw out 23% of would-be base stealers.

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