Pittsburgh Pirates' 2024 Minor League Previews: Bradenton

Lots of returnees opening the season with the Marauders

Michael Kennedy Photo Credit: WTM

Bradenton will open the 2024 season with a rather curious roster. It’ll be heavy on players returning to the Marauders from 2023; in fact, slow promotions seem to be a practice with the Pirates more and more. Especially disappointing is the absence of Yordany De Los Santos, Estuar Suero, or Jhonny Severino.

Few players from last year’s Florida Complex League team are getting promoted, at least for now. Most of the interest will be on the pitching staff and behind the plate.

Catchers

The Marauders will have two interesting catchers in Omar Alfonzo and Garret Forrester. Alfonzo spent part of last year with Bradenton, with most of his playing time coming in August and September.

When the Pirates signed him, he was thought to have good bat potential, but he didn’t start to hit until late last year. In September, he put up a 364/421/636 line. He also threw out 36% of base stealers.

Forrester was last year’s third-round pick and played just briefly for the Marauders before getting hurt. A third baseman in college, he has an excellent eye at the plate and very good contact skills, but it’s questionable whether he’ll hit for power, and his defense might force him to shift from third to first.

The Pirates’ solution seems to be catching, where his skills will play much better. He might still play in the infield this year, but he was mostly behind the plate in camp, so the Pirates seem to be serious about it.

The other catcher is Justin Miknis, a 16th-round pick from Kent State last year. He’s considered a defense-first catcher and batted .152 in 11 games with Bradenton after he signed.

Infield

The Bradenton infield will have many players trying to get it right at this level. Jesus Castillo, Juan Jerez, and Javier Rivas are all returning from 2023. Esmerlyn Valdez is also returning, although he was with the Marauders only briefly.

Castillo spent all of 2023 with the Marauders, playing well at second, third, and short. He led the league in walks, with only one player coming within 30 of him. He also stole 39 bases. He batted just .209, though, with no power. He makes good contact but doesn’t hit the ball with authority.

Jerez and Rivas are formerly well-regarded prospects who’ve struggled at the plate. Jerez has power potential and a very good arm, but swing-and-miss issues have done him in so far.

This will be his third try at Bradenton, although he missed most of last year with injuries. He mostly plays at the corners.

Rivas is an excellent defensive shortstop and also has power potential, but he struggles with anything but fastballs. He opened last year at Bradenton but got sent back to the FCL after striking out 40% of his plate appearances.

Valdez plays first and outfield and has good power. He spent two years in the FCL but just turned 20. He had a big year the second time around, posting a 312/377/518 line.

The one infielder who’ll be seeing his first action at Bradenton is Jeral Toledo. He’s similar to Castillo, although he’s shown more power. He plays second, third, and short capably and draws a lot of walks, just one fewer in his career than his strikeout total. He spent two years in the FCL, struggling the first year but putting up a 306/413/479 line.

Outfield

The Bradenton outfield will be much like the infield, which mainly consists of players trying to get it right. Two outfielders are out with injuries right now: Eddy Rodriguez, who’s on the 7-day IL and will probably be at Bradenton once he’s OK, and Enmanuel Terrero, who’s on the 60-day IL and should ultimately go to Greensboro.

The only Bradenton outfielder who can be called a prospect right now is Shalin Polanco. He got a $2.3M bonus to sign in 2021, one of the biggest the Pirates have given out. In each of his three years, he’s started slowly due to habitual chasing, but each time, he’s improved, not only as the season went along but from year to year.

In 2023, he finished tied for seventh in the Florida State League in home runs despite missing the last two months with an injury. He hit all of his homers in May and June.

Braylon Bishop and Sergio Campana will return after struggling so far in the low minors. They’re two of the fastest players in the system and good center fielders. Bishop was an above-slot signing in 2021, but he’s struggled through three tries at the FCL and went 3-for-27 in his one try at Bradenton.

Campana was a prominent signing in 2019, but this will be his fourth try at Bradenton. He was injured for most of last season.

Another returning outfielder is Jauri Custodio. He originally signed with Colorado, but the Rockies didn’t like his physical. He has some power and has usually hit well when he’s played, but he’s missed a lot of time with injuries.

Since his very first year, back in 2019, he’s never appeared in more than 41 games in a season. He’s had two brief stints in Bradenton, totaling just 20 games.

Finally, the Marauders’ roster includes Jack Herman. An over-slot prep signing way back in 2018, Herman has power and a good arm, but he’s had a difficult time staying healthy. He missed part of 2021 and most of 2022, when he struggled in 35 games with Greensboro, and all but four games in 2023.

Starting Pitchers

The starters to focus on for the Marauders will probably be Michael Kennedy, Carlson Reed, and Khristian Curtis. The lefty Kennedy was an over-slot signing in 2022 and debuted strongly in the FCL in 2023.

He’s a finesse pitcher with very good command for a prep draftee, but maybe not a lot of projection. He pitched well in a brief stint with Bradenton late in the season but issued a lot of walks as the higher-level hitters were less likely to chase pitches outside the zone.

Reed and Curtis were 2023 draftees in rounds four and 12, respectively. Both fit the standard Pirate pattern for college pitchers: good stuff that misses bats but weak control. Reed pitched briefly after signing, and Curtis has yet to make his pro debut, but both have impressed observers in spring training.

Other possibilities to start are Hung-Leng Chang, Hunter Furtado, and Carlos Jimenez. Chang signed for $500K out of Taiwan and can showed impressive stuff in the FCL, but after a mid-season promotion last year to Bradenton his fastball was too hittable.

The lefty Furtado, drafted last year in round six, has a track record of missing bats but hasn’t made his pro debut yet. Jimenez signed in 2018 but has managed only 156 innings in five years due to injuries.

He can throw in the mid-90s and has an excellent change, leading to many strikeouts, but his command has been an issue. This will be his third stint with Bradenton, but he got into only two games there last year as he was out nearly all season.

Owen Kellington should eventually start for Bradenton or Greensboro, but he’s not currently on a roster. Last year, he pitched well as a starter for the Marauders, improving as the season went along.

Relievers

I’ll just go through the remaining pitchers one at a time. The bullpen looks like it’ll have a lot of college pitchers from the 2023 draft.

Antwone Kelly pitched very well for two seasons in the FCL, but the Pirates were slowly bringing him along. He throws 90-93 and goes a lot with a slider.

Tyler Kennedy was a 19th-round pick out of junior college last year. He has good stuff but has had a difficult time throwing strikes, walking nine in just three innings in the FCL last year. It’s a little surprising to see him on the Marauders’ roster because he was still having trouble finding the plate in camp.

Magdiel Cotto is a big lefty whom the Pirates took in round 11 in 2023. He gets into the mid-90s with a slider and change but has had control problems at times. He pitched just briefly last year in the FCL and with Bradenton.

Luigi Hernandez signed in 2021. He throws 91-95 with a large pitch mix but has mostly pitched in relief. He struck out many batters in the FCL in 2022, but after opening at Bradenton, he was hurt most of last year. When he returned, he had many control problems.

Garrett McMillan, drafted last year in round 14, was a starter at Alabama but appears to be more of a control guy. He pitched once in the FCL last year and retired only one of the five batters he faced.

The Pirates drafted Peyton Stumbo in round 20 last year out of Nevada. After signing, he pitched briefly in the FCL.

Lefty Yoldin De La Paz will return to Bradenton, where he wasn’t very effective last year. He throws about 90 mph and relies a lot on a slider.

Landon Tomkins was a tenth-round pick last year. He relieved in 11 games for Bradenton last year and mostly struggled.

The Pirates drafted Mike Walsh in round nine in 2022. He meets two of the Pirates’ favorite criteria: a high spin rate and good summer ball performance. After pitching briefly in 2022, he started 2023 pitching well out of the Bradenton bullpen. He got hurt in mid-May, though, and didn’t return.