Highly Touted Pirates Pitching Prospect Suffers Apparent Injury In Latest Start

Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Hunter Barco on Thursday looked to build off a strong debut performance with Triple-A Indianapolis.

But the 24-year-old left-hander didn’t make it out of the first inning.

Barco sustained an apparent injury as he was lifted just 23 pitches into his outing. Barco winced in pain after one of his throws, signaling an ailment that the team certainly didn’t want him to push through, especially at this point in the season. Barco walked off the field under his own power. There was no update on Barco’s status after the game.

Barco, who the Pirates selected in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft, made a name for himself already this season as a fast riser in Pittsburgh’s farm system.

The Pirates promoted Barco from Double-A Altoona to Indianapolis just last week after he didn’t allow a single run through six starts (25 2/3 innings) while striking out 34, posting a 0.70 WHIP and holding opponents to a .131 batting average.

Barco wasn’t spectacular in his first start with Indianapolis. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound lefty had command issues, walking three in 4 1/3 innings. He also saw his scoreless streak snapped by allowing a run on just two hits while fanning five.

The Pirates will hope it’s nothing serious with Barco, but since he’s one of the top pitching prospects in the organization, they are likely to be careful with him.

MLB Pipeline ranks Barco as Pittsburgh’s fifth-best prospect and third-best pitching prospect, behind Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington.

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