Pirates' 2024 Minor League Previews: FCL Pirates, Part Two
A look at the pitchers for the FCL Pirates
Pitchers at the rookie level tend to be a crap shoot, so it’s not always easy to pick out ones to follow closely. This year’s FCL team has some candidates, though. Unfortunately, at least for now one of them isn’t Jun-Seok Shim.
He’s on the 60-day IL again. His stuff gives him the potential to join the top pitching prospects in the organization, which is saying a lot, but he doesn’t seem to be holding up well to pitching in pro ball.
The most prominent pitcher on the roster is probably Zander Mueth. A prep draftee, he signed for above slot as the 67th overall pick in 2023. He didn’t make his pro debut until Saturday. Mueth can reach the mid-90s or a little higher, and his slider and change have good potential.
The FCL Bucs will have several promising international signees making their US debuts, most notably David Matoma. He’s from Uganda and saw a velocity jump after he signed, sitting in the mid-90s and reaching triple digits despite not being a big guy. He reportedly has three good secondary pitches. Matoma made his stateside debut on Saturday after allowing no runs in 16.2 IP last year in the DSL.
Carlos Mateo got the biggest bonus the Pirates gave to a pitcher from Latin America last year. He also reportedly reaches triple digits, but he had a terrible time throwing strikes last year in the DSL, walking 30 with 16 wild pitches in just a dozen innings. It’s surprising the Pirates are promoting him, but maybe he made some strides after the season.
Probably the best pitcher the Pirates had in the DSL last year was Carlos Castillo, another 2023 signee, although not as prominent as Mateo. Castillo’s stuff isn’t on the same level, but he’s much more advanced, and had good walk and K rates.
The Pirates are promoting more pitchers than position players from the DSL, so there are another seven players debuting in the States. They include the only two lefties on the FCL roster. One, Inmer Lobo, already got into three games for Bradenton. He came from the Red Sox for Hoy Park.
He’s put up very good numbers in two DSL seasons, but his fastball sits at only 86-87. The other, Jose Regalado, signed at the end of the 2022-23 signing period in June 2023. He throws in the mid-90s and fanned 31 batters in 22.1 IP in his one DSL season, but he also walked 26.
The righties moving up from the DSL:
Pitterson Rosa: One of the Pirates’ top signings in the 2021-22 signing period, with the highest bonus for a pitcher, Rosa is a converted outfielder who was already throwing 94 mph when he signed. He had a good 2022 season, but returned to the DSL in 2023 and had control problems. He did strike out 12.7 per nine innings.
Greiber Mendez: Mendez signed back in 2021. He got into only one game that year, pitched OK in 2022, and then had a good season pitching in relief in 2023.
Alexis Torres: Torres signed at 18 and spent two seasons in the DSL. He got hit pretty hard in 2022, then had a 0.95 ERA, and fanned 24 in 19 innings in 2023.
Dioris Martinez: Martinez throws pretty hard with a slider and probably profiles as a reliever. He spent only one year in the DSL and walked ten in 13 innings.
Clevari Tejada: One of the Pirates’ last international signings a year ago, Tejada got into only four games in the DSL due to an injury. It probably says something that the Pirates are promoting him anyway. He pitched very well in the four games.
Of the pitchers returning from last year’s FCL team, the most interesting is probably Kevison Hernandez. He throws in the mid-90s with a lot of movement, but control has been an issue. Last year he struck out 38 in 27.2 IP. He almost certainly projects as a reliever.
Other pitchers are also trying to take that step forward. Jose Garces has a good arm, but walks have him trying the FCL for the third time. Joaquin Tejada came from Seattle in the Tyler Anderson trade, which hasn’t worked out. He’s put up mostly good numbers in two FCL seasons, but walks have held back, too. Gilberto Alcala was a fairly prominent signing back in 2019, but between the pandemic and injuries he didn’t debut until 2022. His first three games in the FCL in 2023 went badly, but he pitched very well over the last two months of the season. It’s a little surprising he’s returning.
Finally, the Pirates signed Noah Takacs as a non-drafted free agent after last year’s draft, but he missed the whole season with an injury. He was probably injured when the Pirates signed him, as he made only three starts as a junior at Sacramento State.
ADDENDUM: Right after I finished this, Kevison Hernandez, Gilberto Alcala and Joaquin Tejada all went on the seven-day IL. Jun-Seok Shim, Jackson Grounds and Andres Silvera were already on the 60-day IL. Ronaldo Gallo is on the full-season IL. He signed as an NDFA last July and has yet to appear. Pitching is hazardous to your health.
Support the site by becoming a paid member, and get access to all of our premium content, including our Top 25 list with complete player write-ups and my video breakdowns, which come out weekly.
It will also give access to my player feature articles from on-site trips.
We have monthly and yearly plans available, with the latter coming out to an average of $4.16/month.
It was suggested by someone that one reason Shim chose to play in the USA was because he was over used by his Korean manager. It's a shame he has been injured so often.
Zander Meuth gonna be a PROBLEM. Holy smokes.