Three Pirates Players We Need to Start Talking About More
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The Pittsburgh Pirates, after an 0-2 start, have gone 6-2 in their last eight games and look about as well set-up as they ever have been in the 2020s to finally break through and make the playoffs.
While the likes of Ryan O'Hearn, Brandon Lowe, Oneil Cruz, Braxton Ashcraft and Mitch Keller have all shined for the Pirates so far this year, there are some other contributors who deserve more of the spotlight.
With that, here are three players that we need to start talking more about moving forward.
Nick Yorke
The early returns on the Pirates' trade with the Boston Red Sox at the 2024 deadline that landed them Yorke for Quinn Priester, who was later sent to the Milwaukee Brewers and had a stellar 2025 campaign, weren't great.
Yorke slashed .226/.272/.340 with three home runs in 33 games and 114 plate appearances for the Pirates between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but the tide has begun to turn.
The former first-round pick earned an Opening Day roster spot with Pittsburgh this year and has batted .286/.450/.357 while striking out just three times over 20 trips to the plate.
Yorke's underlying data, albeit over an incredibly small sample size, is promising as well, with his 58.3 percent hard-hit rate and .292 xwOBA both graded out as elite marks.
With the ability to play at first base, second base, third base and the corner outfield spots, Yorke could cement himself as a valuable utlityman for the Pirates moving forward if he keeps it up at the plate.
Henry Davis
Davis, who owns a career OPS of .556 over 687 plate appearances, may never grow into even an average hitter at the major league level.
Much like Yorke, though, there are some promising signs under the hood. Davis' bat speed is up to 75.9 mph, which ranks in the 94th percentile per Baseball Savant, and his average exit velocity (93.3 mph) places in the 87th percentile so far this season.
The 2021 No. 1 overall pick has also continued to excel defensively behind the plate with one Defensive Run Saved and a Statcast Fielding Run Value of two as well as two caught stealing above average.
Davis has largely disappointed throughout his career up to this point, but he is a key part of the equation for the Pirates as they look to break a decade-long playoff streak.
Carmen Mlodzinski
Mlodzinski's rotation audition didn't go swimmingly in 2025, as he pitched to a 4.99 ERA in 12 starts totalling 48 2/3 innings before returning to the bullpen, but it's gone better so far through two outings this year.
The right-hander has an unsightly WHIP of 1.56 with a 4.00 ERA in nine innings, but his 1.29 FIP suggests that he's gotten quite unlucky this year.
Mlodzinski's struck out an impressive 13 strikeouts while not giving up a single barrel with a ground ball rate of 52.0 percent.
The 27-year-old might not be long for the rotation given the amount of young pitching talent Pittsburgh has, but he could make the decision to remove him from that role tough for the organization.
Jack is a New Jersey native who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh as a Media & Professional Communications major in 2024 who is now covering the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Yankees for On SI.