How Did Pirates’ Prospect Hunter Barco Fare In Debut?

The Pittsburgh Pirates promoted Hunter Barco to the major leagues on Tuesday, giving him a chance to make his debut before the end of the season. They’re limiting his innings as he returns from injury, so the lefty came on in relief against the Cincinnati Reds.

Barco pitched a scoreless inning, allowing two hits and inducing two ground balls in his first career inning. Of course, the box score doesn’t always back up the performance, especially in a one-inning sample.

Overall, Barco looked sharp despite allowing two hits. His sinker command was excellent, landing it on the arm side away from right-handed hitters with precision. He left one sinker up in the zone that was punched to right field for a base hit, but otherwise hit his spots for a 77% strike rate.

Barco kept his secondary pitches down in the strike zone, generating one whiff with his slider. He used his slider and splitter five times each, with the splitter getting hit once for a base hit. While he only had the one swing and miss, he generally commanded the pitches well and stayed away from danger zones.

The lefty only faced right-handed hitters and lived on the outside part of the plate. Going forward, Barco needs to show the ability to pitch inside to righties. The addition of a cut fastball might be something the Pirates explore this offseason. He might also look to throw his sinker towards the front hip of right-handed hitters for called strikes.

With five games remaining in the regular season, Barco will probably get one more shot to make an impression. While it won’t be enough to draw meaningful conclusions, it will be interesting to see how he adjusts in his next opportunity.

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