The Pittsburgh Pirates farm system is filled with talented pitching prospects.
The Pirates are quickly becoming known for their ability to develop young pitchers. This season, they graduated Paul Skenes and Jared Jones to the majors, both of whom immediately made an impact for the organization. Skenes was named an All-Star and National League Rookie of the Year while Jones had a solid rookie season.
Even with Skenes and Jones moving to the big leagues, Pittsburgh still has many talented pitchers in its farm system. The Pirates have three top-100 pitching prospects with Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft, and Thomas Harrington.
In and MLB Pipeline’s listing of one potential breakout candidate in every team’s farm system, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Sam Dykstra listed a different pitching prospect for the Pirates, right-hander Levi Sterling.
“The Pirates seem to have a pretty good feel for scouting, drafting, signing and developing pitching and Sterling could be next in that pipeline to pop,” they wrote. “He’s 6-foot-5 and super-athletic and will be focusing on pitching only for the first time (he was a solid infield prospect in high school). He has the chance to have four at least above-average pitches in the future and he’ll put them to the test for the first time in 2025.”
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Sterling is the Pirates’ No. 11 prospect and was taken with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. The Pirates called up Skenes last May after drafting him in the 2023 draft, so there is potential Sterling could move up through the Pirates farm system quickly.
More MLB: Second-Year Pirates Pitcher Poised For Breakout Season In 2025
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