Pirates' 2025 Minor League Previews: FCL Pirates

Some position prospects, with the pitching possibly a bit thin.

May 02, 2025

The FCL Pirates should have some legit position player prospects. That’s helped by the team’s so-far unique focus on prep hitters in the most recent draft.

The pitching may turn out to be pretty thin. The Pirates have already had to push some pitchers of dubious readiness to Bradenton to fill out the very thin staff there. The pitching situation is an illustration in particular of the failure of the team’s Latin American scouting under Ben Cherington.

Catchers

Two of the catchers will be returning from last year, which is more a reflection of the Pirates’ habit of getting their catchers jammed up at the lower levels. Richard Ramirez is probably the team’s best catching prospect apart from Omar Alfonzo. Ramirez hit .288/.374/.464 last year and, according to Baseball America, showed progress with his swing-and-miss tendencies in spring training. He does still need work on his defense, apart from his very strong arm. Luke Scherrer was very solid last year on offense and defense, including a .751 OPS. He also seems quite ready to move up, but he won’t for now.

Jonathan Rivero and Samuel Escudero will be moving up from the DSL. Rivero got the biggest bonus of any the Pirates gave out on the international front in January 2023. He’s supposed to be an offense-oriented catcher, but he struggled badly at the plate in 2023. He hit a lot better, although still with little power, in 2024, but served strictly as DH due to injuries. Rivero was catching in camp in March.

Escudero originally signed with the Brewers but never played for them, as he went to the Pirates in an obscure deal. (Remember Troy Stokes, Jr., and Jandel Gustave? Yeah, me neither.) The Pirates left Escudero in the DSL for four seasons, even though he hit well in 2022 and 2023, and very well (.889 OPS) in 2024. He’s also done well with the running game.

All the catchers are likely to see time at first and as DH.

Infielders

The FCL Bucs will have several prospects to watch in the infield: Wyatt Sanford, Eddie Rynders, and Kendrick Herrera. The other infielders, as far as is known at this point, will be returning players. Most of the first base time will probably go to catchers and Edward Florentino, when he’s not in the outfield.

Sanford was a second-round prep pick last year and got considerably above the slot bonus. Some scouts considered him the best defensive player in the entire draft, so he figures to stay at short, although he’ll no doubt see some time at second. He’s shown reasonably good contact skills with the bat, but profiles as a gap-to-gap hitter who may not have much over-the-fence power. He was driving the ball at times during the preseason, so he could get stronger.

Rynders was a fourth-round prep pick. He profiles as a potential left-handed power hitter who must show he can make good contact. A shortstop in school, he’ll be a third baseman as a pro.

Herrera was one of the Pirates’ bigger bonus signings in the international market in January 2024. A glove-oriented infielder, he drew strong reviews for his defense last year in the DSL, the majority of it at short. His bat is further behind. Herrera hit for a decent average last year and walked more than he struck out, but he appeared overmatched in preseason games. With Sanford around, Herrera could see a lot of time at second or third.

Returning from last year will be Carlos Tirado and Roinny Aguiar. Tirado has shown some contact skills, but hasn’t hit for the power needed for a 1B/DH-only player. This will be his fourth season in rookie-level ball. Aguiar hit well in his second DSL season in 2023, then hit for a decent average but no power last year in the FCL while also striking out a lot. He’s solid defensively, mainly at second.

Outfielders

The FCL outfield situation looks quite crowded. It should be an interesting situation, because the team has three outfielders who ought to be playing as much as possible: Florentino, who, of course, can also play first; Cristian Jauregui; and returnee Estuar Suero.

Florentino could be the best hitting prospect at this level. He put up a 260/432/459 line last year in the DSL, his first pro season. He also had more walks than strikeouts and a manageable K rate. A left-handed hitter, Florentino looked perfectly at home facing more experienced players in exhibition games this past March. In the outfield, he’ll probably play a corner, although he’s had some time in center so far.

Signed out of Cuba, Jauregui is a center fielder with good speed. He put up solid numbers, with little power, in his first DSL season in 2023, then returned last year with a .274/.407/.393 line. Formerly a switch hitter, he now bats only left-handed.

Suero came from the Padres, along with two other players who are already gone, in exchange for Rich Hill and the unlamented Ji-Man Choi. He’s 6’5” with good speed and a lean frame, along with center field ability. Scouts are excited by the apparent tools, but so far, the switch-hitting Suero hasn’t hit much. He needs to get stronger, in particular. This will be his third season at this level. Last year, Suero missed part of the season due to a hamate injury, then struggled to hit afterward, including a 35% K rate. The injury may have been part of the issue, but there’s no way to say how much.

The other most interesting outfielder, at least to me, is Carl Calixte. Signed out of Haiti in January 2024, he didn’t play at all that year, and there’s no information available on him. I do, however, have positive proof he exists. He’ll be skipping the DSL.

The other outfielders are trying to get on the map. Two were late-round, power-hitting college players from the 2024 draft. Andrew Patrick played a little for Bradenton last year, then opened the season there this year. He was sent down after a few weeks and has had significant trouble making contact. He does have good speed and appears to be a legitimate center fielder. Ian Farrow has yet to make his pro debut. I saw him in exhibition games last August and this March, so he hasn’t been hurt. Finally, Eduardo Oviedo was one of the Pirates’ top international signings in January 2022. He hit very well in his second DSL season in 2023, including good power, but was badly overmatched in the FCL in 2024. He had only a .501 OPS and fanned 41 times in 78 plate appearances. He finished the season on the injured list.

Pitchers

The pitching staff on this team is going to have to go through some changes. Currently, there are only 16 pitchers assigned to the level, and several may be hurt. That includes last year’s eighth-round draft pick, Gavin Adams. He missed all of the 2024 college season due to Tommy John surgery. It’s unclear whether he’ll be available to open the season, although he’s not currently on the injured list. He’s reached triple digits, so he’s somebody to watch.

A couple of other pitchers trying to return from injury are Andres Silvera and Jackson Grounds. Silvera had a lot of success in the DSL in 2022, but he missed much of 2023 and all of 2024 and is currently on the 60-day injured list. Grounds, who signed out of Australia, showed good stuff in the FCL in 2023, but he missed all of 2024. He’ll also start the season on the 60-day IL.

The two principal pitching prospects to watch on this team are Levi Sterling and Reinold Navarro. Sterling was the 37th overall pick in last year’s draft and won’t even turn 19 until September. His strength is good command of four potentially good pitches. At 6’5”, the Pirates are no doubt hoping he brings some projection.

The lefty Navarro was probably the top international pitcher the Pirates signed in January 2024. He’s a month and a half younger than Sterling, and he’s the opposite kind of pitcher. He already reaches the mid-90s and has a good slider, but his control isn’t good yet. He was very hard to hit in the DSL last year — 37 strikeouts and just 13 hits in 24 innings, but 21 walks.

The FCL team will have several other pitchers moving up from the DSL. Specifically, those are Irwin Ramirez, Bladimir Pichardo, Cesar Aquino and lefty Ronaldys Jimenez.

Ramirez was one of the Pirates’ top international signings in January 2024. He pitched well for a 17-year-old last year in the DSL, except for walks, as he gave up 29 in 34 innings. He allowed only 25 hits and fanned 32. Ramirez improved sharply month-to-month, allowing just a .459 opponents’ OPS in August. He’s reached the mid-90s and has a change with potential.

Pichardo was a big signing in January 2023. He was getting as high as 94 mph then and, at 6’6”, hopefully has good projection. In 2023 in the DSL, Pichardo was very hard to hit but had control issues. Last year he made a lot of progress on the control issues but got hit harder.

Aquino was 19 when he signed and had a strong season in his DSL debut last year. He had an ERA of 0.98 and a WHIP of 0.76, while starting off in relief but moving to the rotation. I don’t know much more about him as he wasn’t a prominent signing.

The Pirates acquired Jimenez from San Diego for Martin Perez and cash; the Pirates were willing to include the latter because their scouts liked Jimenez a good bit. He’s only 5’11”, but FanGraphs says he’s reached 95 mph. He didn’t pitch a great deal last year, fanning a lot of hitters but also walking a lot. In 13.1 IP he walked 14 and fanned 19.

Among returning pitchers, Dioris Martinez and Carlos Mateo are pretty interesting righties. The Pirates were pushing Martinez pretty aggressively. He can throw 96-97 mph and has good spin on his slider. His performance so far has been uneven, in one season each in the DSL and FCL. He had a very low ERA last year in the FCL, but he’s always had poor walk and K rates. Mateo got the second-largest international bonus the Pirates gave out in 2023. He can reach triple digits, but so far, in one season each in the DSL and FCL, he’s had severe control problems, to the tune of 65 walks in 35 total professional innings.

Two other pitchers with good arms are lefty Jose Regalado and righty Pitterson Rosa. Regalado throws 94-96 mph, with a slider and change that need work. He had a rough time in his 2023 DSL debut, but improved last year in the FCL. He fanned 37 and allowed only 19 hits in 27.2 IP, but he walked 26. Rosa got one of the Pirates’ biggest international bonuses in January 2022. He spent two seasons in the DSL and pitched better in the first one than the second. Rosa moved up to the FCL in 2024, but he had injury problems and was able to log only 8.2 IP. He’s had control problems the last two years.

The last two international pitchers as of now are Alexis Torres and Joaquin Tejada, both righties. Torres throws about 90, with a potentially good curve. He had a rough season in the DSL in 2022, made a lot of progress there in 2023, and struggled in the FCL in 2024 due to control problems. Tejada came way back in the Tyler Anderson trade. This will be his fourth stint in the FCL, although he was injured for most of 2024. Tejada throws from the low-to-mid-90s and gets swings and misses with a slider and curve, but his control isn’t good. He opened this season with Bradenton, but was sent back to the complex after he walked eight in three innings.

The remaining pitcher is Ronaldo Gallo. The Pirates signed him as a non-drafted free agent from the University of Miami. Gallo has been on the injured list ever since the Pirates signed him. Given the timeline, Tommy John seems like a reasonable guess, but a guess is all it is. Gallo was pitching in an exhibition in March, so presumably he’s ready now. He’s a lean 6’6” and reportedly gets his fastball up to 94 mph, with a good change.

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