Pirates' Spring NRIs -- Pitching Prospects

More than the usual level of interest for NRIs

Thomas Harrington Photo Credit: WTM

For NRIs, this is where the most interest lies. With one rotation spot open, as well as the ever-present risk of injuries, there are a couple of prospects who are near-term possibilities and a couple of others who are middle-term.

Hunter Barco: It’s good to see Barco with an NRI. His 2024 season got cut short by a knee injury after he made it to AA in late July, getting to throw just four innings for Altoona. The lefty has made very rapid progress since returning from Tommy John surgery in late July 2023. After doing mainly rehab work that year, he made 16 strong outings for Greensboro in 2024, posting a 1.10 WHIP and 11.2 K/9. The big thing he’ll need to do in 2025 is get his workload up and show some durability. If the season goes well, he could conceivably become a major league option, although workload concerns are liable to intrude by then.

Chance of making the team: None.

Bubba Chandler: Apart from Paul Skenes, Chandler will probably draw more attention than anybody in camp. His fastball may be the best anywhere in the minors, and in other areas, he’s progressed very rapidly, including an above-average change and command. A year ago, it would have been easy to assume that he’d go back to AAA for a bit, but after Jared Jones’ sudden emergence last year, Chandler may be the favorite to capture the open rotation spot. If he has the sort of spring Jones had, you can probably bet on it.

Chance of making the team: High.

Thomas Harrington: If it weren’t for Chandler, Harrington would be the pitching prospect to watch this spring. In two years, he’s zipped through four levels in spite of missing the first month of 2024. He doesn’t overpower anybody, but he has five pitches that are average or a little above. What sets him apart is command that Baseball America rates a 70. Between Altoona and Indianapolis in 2024, he walked just 18 in 114.1 IP. Harrington had a good stretch of eight starts in AAA. His K/9 did drop to 7.4, but he had a 0.94 WHIP. He shouldn’t be automatically ruled out of the rotation competition.

Chance of making the team: Low.

Anthony Solometo: Solometo’s another guy it’s good to see on the NRI list. He’s the one notable pitching prospect in the system who took a major step backward in 2024. After dominating the two class A levels in 2022-23, he had a very bad time in AA. Among other things, his velocity dropped from the low-90s to upper-80s, and his control went south. The Pirates sent him to the development list during the summer, and his velocity supposedly bounced back when he returned, but he didn’t really pitch much better. Hopefully, he’ll show some progress with the velocity and control when he appears during the spring.

Chance of making the team: None.

Sean Sullivan: Sullivan’s flown mostly under the radar so far, so it’s interesting to see him get an NRI. He had a solid 2023 season in AA, then went back there and posted a 2.66 ERA through May 22 in 2024. After that, he started struggling, then went on the injured list with an unknown injury for the rest of the season. The NRI should mean he’s healthy and possibly also that the Pirates think his performance over the first couple months of 2025 was promising. Sullivan isn’t overpowering and has had low K rates in AA, but he doesn’t walk many. Indianapolis will be a good test for him and, with a good season, he could be an option late in the year.

Chance of making the team: None.