The Pittsburgh Pirates farm system is still regarded as one of the better ones in the league despite losing major pieces who graduated to the majors.
Going into the regular season, Bleacher Report ranked the Pirates farm system fifth in the league. This was before Pittsburgh called up their top two pitching prospects, Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. The Pirates drafted Skenes and Jones, who rose through their farm system.
Skenes has set the league ablaze since being called up in May. The young flamethrower was selected as an All-Star and became the first rookie pitcher to start the All-Star game in almost thirty years. He is 11-3 with 167 strikeouts and an insane 1.99 ERA. Jones has been a great piece to the rotation as well going 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA.
Pittsburgh’s farm system still ranked in the upper half of the league despite their losses in Bleacher Report’s most recent ranking at 14 according to Joel Reuter.
“It’s a testament to the depth of the Pittsburgh system and the continued development of their in-house talent that the Pirates graduated Paul Skenes and Jared Jones to the majors and still slot into the top half of these rankings,” Reuter said. “Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington, and Braxton Ashcraft should all be ready for the majors in 2025.”
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Chandler, Harrington, and Konnor Griffin are Pittsburgh’s three top-tier prospects. The Pirates took Chandler in the third round of the 2021 draft, and he is currently playing with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate.
He should be ready for the majors in 2025 which will give Pittsburgh another high-end starter in the rotation. The Pirates have taken great strides in their farm system and are developing a young core to propel the team soon.
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