Pirates Prospect Suffers Career Blow: How It Changes His MLB Path
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have many promising prospects in their farm system, but one of them hasn't reached their potential, despite a solid start to his career.
Pirates left-handed pitching prospect Anthony Solometo is currently undergoing surgery on his labrum in his throwing shoulder, according to Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk.
“He actually saw Dr. Keith Meister and the recommendation confirmed our initial findings of continued damage to the labrum, injury to the labrum," Tomczyk said. "So ultimately, we feel, he felt, everybody felt that he’s exhausted all conservative measures, so surgery is recommended."
Tomcyzk also said that their pre-op plan is to do a labral repair of the left shoulder, which will keep Solometo out for the next 12 months through to May 2027.
Injuries Continue Hampering Solometo's Career
Solometo has dealt with this shoulder problem for some time now, which has kept him from developing into the Pirates envisioned he would become.
He spent time on the 7-day injured list due to this injury and then missed a month in the middle of the 2024 campaign on the development list, which also included a rehab assignment.
Solometo struggled from the mound in 2024 with Double-A Altoona, with a 1-7 record over 17 starts and 20 outings, a 5.98 ERA over 58.2 innings pitched, 45 strikeouts to 36 walks, a .269 batting average allowed and a 1.62 WHIP.
He has pitched in just five games combined over the past two seasons, with three starts in 2025 before going on the injured list and then the 60-day injured list in May and two starts in 2026 before going on the 7-day injured list on April 10 then transitioning to the 60-day injured list on April 22.
It's a rough time for Solometo and him missing more games is something he definitely did not envision when he started Spring Training.
What This Means for Solometo's MLB Future
The Pirates took Solometo 37th overall in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of high school and then signed him for an overslot value of $2.8 million.
What the Pirates liked out of Solometo was his funky delivery, which includes a lower arm slot and a high kick that drew comparisons to different southpaws, including former San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner.
Solometo dealing with this labrum injury is a serious matter, as it stops him from improving upon his pitch mix and developing into a valuable left-handed pitcher for the Pirates.
He already had issues with a drop in velocity, which saw his four-seam fastball go from 95 mph in 2023 to 90 mph in 2024.
Solometo turns 24 years old in December and having a poor season in 2024 and then two lost campaigns the past two years has seen him go from a highly touted prospect after strong showings in 2022 to 2023 to an almost forgotten player in the Pirates farm system.
There's always a chance that this surgery is exactly what Solometo needs to get back and return to the pitcher he was early on as a professional, but it's still a setback for the once promising southpaw.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.