Three Pirates Prospects Make Baseball America's Top 100
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The Pittsburgh Pirates had three players ranked in Baseball America's top 100 prospects.
Right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler headlined the list, as he was ranked as the No. 7 prospect in baseball. He was joined by shortstop Konnor Griffin, who was ranked No. 57 and right-handed pitcher Thomas Harrington who was No. 74 in Baseball America's top 100 prospects.
Chandler's rise was largely due to his growth as a pitcher and the success he found at Triple-A Indianapolis in 2024.
"Throughout the year, he showed development of the arsenal," Baseball America's Geoff Pontes said. "He showed development of the pitch ability, and not having to blow it by everybody every single time to get the outs. And credit to the Pirates as well. We've seen even beyond [Paul] Skenes some solid pitching development within that organization, which gives us maybe a little bit more optimism around a Pirates pitching prospect."
Chandler was 10-7 with a 3.08 ERA in 26 appearances, 23 of which were starts. The Pirates' top prospect made seven starts in Triple-A and went 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA over seven starts and in 39.1 innings pitched, he struck out 54 batters. Chandler held opposing hitters to a .189 batting average in 2024.
Griffin, who was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, has yet to play a single game for the Pirates but enters the pro ranks as one of the most highly touted prospects in his class. He was the first high school player taken in the draft after stringing together one of the best seasons in the country, as Griffin made the Golden Spikes Award watchlist and set school records in runs scored and stolen bases at Jackson Prep.
In his final high school season, Griffin batted .559 with 9 home runs, 39 RBIs and 87 stolen bases on 88 attempts en route to winning the Gatorade National Player of the Year.
Harrington had a similar rise to Chandler's, as he went from Single-A Bradenton to Triple-A Indianapolis. The Pirates' right-handed pitching prospect went 5-1 with a 3.33 ERA in eight starts in Indianapolis and overall, he was 7-3 with a 2.61 ERA in 22 appearances, 21 of which were starts.
