Hunter Barco: Teased strong three-pitch mix in professional debut

Tommy John delayed start to professional debut.

Photo Credit: WTM

The Pittsburgh Pirates pivoted after selecting prep player Termarr Johnson, as the next three picks were all from college.

One of them was Hunter Barco, a left-handed pitcher out of the SEC (surprise, surprise) working his way into first-round consideration before having his season end early due to needing Tommy John surgery.

Due to surgery and recovery, Barco missed most of the 2023 season, finally pitching in a complex league game on July 20th.

After three outings in the FCL, Barco was promoted to Single-A Bradenton, where he made six more starts on a strict pitch count before finishing up the season on September 7 against Palm Beach.

Returning from Tommy John, it is expected that maybe he won’t be the sharpest on the mound, either seeing a lapse in control, velocity may not be built up, or the pitches may not be as strong as they usually would be - so what we saw from Barco may not be the final product.

Still, the fact that the Pirates got one of the better college arms in the class - in the second round, no less - Barco may be one of the more monitored prospects in the system come 2024.

The sample size was small, but there was enough to get a general idea of what Barco throws and how he incorporates everything together.

Fastball/Sinker

Trackman registered it as a sinker, which, with the amount of horizontal break, would make sense.

Barco threw it mostly around 90-91, getting as high as 92 on video with Bradenton. During Instructionals, he got as high as 95, it looks like in one of his outings, but that was early in the outing and was 91-92 most of the way out.