The Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitching pipeline is as long as it is difficult to say out loud. This season alone, they’ve had debuts from Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft, as well as a full season in the big leagues from Mike Burrows. Now, they’re reportedly adding another debut to the list.
According to Brent Martineau, the Pirates are calling up prospect Hunter Barco to the major league roster. Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also reported the news. The left-hander is the Pirates’ number four-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, and sixth-ranked by Baseball America.
In 99 1/3 innings between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, Barco registered a 2.81 ERA. He struck hitters out at a high clip (27.8% strikeout rate), but also handed out a high rate of free passes (11.8% walk rate). He throws a mid-90s sinker from a low release point that creates a unique look for left-handed hitters. In terms of secondaries, he uses a slider and splitter. Each has returned huge swing and miss numbers, though there is room for him to throw more strikes with the splitter.
Barco last pitched on Wednesday, throwing two innings for Indianapolis out of the bullpen. He hasn’t thrown more than five innings in a game since July 11, as the Pirates managed his workload in his return from various injuries. His debut will likely follow suit, seeing Barco throw no more than two or three innings.
Barco is Rule-5 Draft eligible this winter, so Pittsburgh needed to add him to the 40-man roster to avoid another team selecting him. Rather than making the move in the off-season, they’ll take an early look at Barco and give him his first taste of the major leagues.
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