Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League First Team All-Stars
The top performers in the Pirates' minor leagues this season
This week, we have unveiled the Pirates minor league system's top hitter, pitcher, and breakout player this season.
Today and tomorrow, we will give out more recognition, putting together a first and second-team All-Stars.
Each team will have one catcher, four infielders, three outfield, a utility player, three starting pitchers, and two relievers. WTM, NolaJeffy, and I each submitted two teams, and I compiled the teams.
First Team Hitters
C - Omar Alfonzo
INF - Jhonny Severino
INF - Jack Brannigan
INF - Yordany De Los Santos
INF - Termarr Johnson
OF - Matt Gorski
OF - Esmerlyn Valdez
OF - Edward Florentino
UT - Nick Yorke
The hitting was notably down this year, with one of their better-performing position prospects getting traded at the deadline (Charles McAdoo). There were still plenty of strong performances this year regarding the hitters.
Omar Alfonzo was among the more consistent hitters throughout the season. This eventually earned him a promotion to Greensboro, where he continued to hit well and showed a better ability to elevate the ball.
He jumped from five home runs in 2023 to 13 this year, all while playing catcher and first base.
Jhonny Severino was out Hitter of the Year after reaching double-digit home runs and stolen bases as a 19-year-old after splitting time between the FCL and Single-A Bradenton.
While he struggled again in Bradenton, Yordany De Los Santos was once again one of the better players in the FCL before the promotion. He topped 30 stolen bases this year, and while the overall numbers weren’t pretty, he cut the strikeouts down in his second go-around at Bradenton.
Jack Brannigan missed a good chunk of time with an injury but still managed to hit 18 home runs and steal another 12 bases. Termarr Johnson showed some strong strides at the end of the season in Altoona, and he hit 15 home runs and stole 22 bases overall. He also drew 85 walks in 124 games played.
Spending another year in Triple-A, Matt Gorski finished his third straight season of at least 20 home runs. Esmerlyn Valdez led the Florida State League in home runs with 22 at 20 years old.
If you are looking for players who may jump stateside next year and make some noise, Edward Florentino had a good enough season to land himself on the first-team list as a 17-year-old in the DSL.
In 49 games, he hit .260/.432/.459 with five home runs, eight stolen bases, 40 runs scored, while driving in another 28 and finished with more walks (38) than strikeouts (36).
He wasn’t in the minors long, but Nick Yorke made a quick impact with Triple-A Indianapolis after being traded. In 40 games before being promoted to Pittsburgh, Yorke picked up 54 hits, 19 of which went for extra bases.
SP - Bubba Chandler
SP - Thomas Harrington
SP - Carlson Reed
RP - Alessandro Ercolani
RP - Garrett McMillan
Bubba Chandler was our Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the Pirates after dominating Double and Triple-A. He led the Pirates minors in strikeouts and took huge strides in his control after a week-long IL stint.
Despite missing the first month of the season and then having to ramp back up, Thomas Harrington finished with 117.1 innings pitched. He was one of the most efficient and better strike throwers in the system, only walking 19 batters.
Carlson Reed went from college reliever to professional start and made that transition look easy. He threw 108.1 innings and struck out 130 batters, earning our ‘Breakout Player of the Year’ honors.
Although he began the year as a starter, a switch to the bullpen unleashed the arsenal of Alessandro Ercolani. He struck out 93 batters in 76.2 innings as one of the youngest pitchers in High-A.
Perhaps the biggest surprise here, Garrett McMillan went from a regular reliever in the Bradenton bullpen to one of the go-to pitchers down the stretch during Greensboro’s playoff run. After posting a 2.92 ERA in 49.1 innings with the Marauders, McMillan put up an insane 0.43 mark in 21 High-A innings.
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Glad to see Matt Gorski getting a little recognition.