Last week JJ Cooper and Mark Chiarelli on the Baseball America platform discussed the Pirates farm system. They started off mentioning the legit strength the Pirates have developing pitching, but also the lack of hitting development.
Here is a link to the conversation on Baseball America's YouTube channel Pirates 2025 MLB Prospects Deep Dive. If you have not listened to it yet, I highly recommend it.
They loved the accelerated growth of Bubba Chandler. They mention his fastball is one of the best if not the best fastball in the minors. They mention the Pirates manage his throwing ability much better recently. The raw ability is impressive and he may have not yet reached his ceiling. The Pirates did not have the same reputation a few ago with their pitching development. Jared Jones is evidence of the improvement. If the Bucs see another pitcher or two have great success in the majors with their upcoming prospects they may consider Pirates pitching development S-Tier. They also praised Thomas Harrington and the Pirates' rotation saying he is probably the number 5 starter in the Pirates rotation, but he is more of a number 3 starter all around. Based on pure stuff Braxton Ashcraft is near the top of the organization, but he's had injury issues and lack of a changeup.
Then the conversation moved to the bats, and it was less optimistic. They only top Pirates position player prospect who they feel comfortable who will contribute to the major league club in the next couple of years is Nick Yorke. They mentioned there are a lot of former top prospects who are still looking to cement themselves in the majors like Endy, Davis, Valdez, Suwinski, and Bae. Out of the bunch they have the most faith in Endy to make a major league impact. They are thinking Davis may end up getting his next opportunity at RF or 1B.
The Bucs have logjams in the field at Catcher and Second Base. The Pirates have depth, but are lacking star power. They keep adding depth. The conversation joked that before they were finished discussing the Pirates that they might sign another second baseman. They also mentioned at SS and CF they lack depth. They liked the Horwitz trade.
They called Termarr Johnson polarizing and interesting. They say Termarr is not the guy they expected after he was drafted. Sometimes he is too passive and rolls over pitches. He's got great bat speed and on-base skills. They want to see Termarr sacrifice power to put the ball in play more. That sounds familiar to the Pirates recent change in direction on hitting philosophy. They say some players bat .330 and has .390 OBP, they rely on making contact. Then there are some who bat .280 and has .390 OBP which have high walk rates and solid contact ability. Then there is Termarr who bats .240 and has a .390 OBP by walking what seems like all the time. They still say he looks like he can be a pure hitter, and he needs to be more aggressive. They think Johnson can stick at 2B, and Yorke may go to RF. They agree that 2025 is an important year for Termarr as do I.
They also have taken an interest in Billy Cook. They like his speed, arm, and power. As his numbers state they are concerned about his strikeouts. They love the athleticism and say he is trending in the right direction. They also like Konnor Griffin, but say the Pirates will need to develop the hit tool.
Ownership was discussed as well. Revenues across baseball has gone up. They Pirates payroll has not followed suit. The Bucs have the pitching and a solid offensive core. Why not go out and get another middle of the order type bat? Why not go and sign Ha-Seong Kim or Anthony Santander. The poor draft returns also doesn't help in this regard. The Bucs do spend when it comes to development and staff.
They like IKF better as a utility player than the everyday shortstop. Outside the Pirates top 10 prospects they like Jhonny Severino. They wanted to make him a top 10, but it ended up shaking out ranking him 11. He's a great fastball hitter, bat first prospect. There is still development needed to hit break. They also like Carlson Reed. They think he may be the next Pirates pitching prospect to break out. He may have the best sweeper in the Pirates minors and he pairs it with an improving changeup and two good fastballs.