Pirates Need to Prioritize Two Rookie Pitchers More
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have made a number of roster moves surrounding their bullpen, which work for them, but not necessarily for the pitchers.
The Pirates used rookie pitchers in right-hander Wilber Dotel and left-hander Hunter Barco in recent games, but then sent them down to Triple-A Indianapolis right after their respective outings.
Dotel came up on April 19, pitched in back-to-back games and then four scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in the series opener on April 27, before the Pirates optioned him.
Barco came up for his appearance vs. the Cardinals on April 28 and then after throwing 4.2 innings, the Pirates immediately sent him down the next day.
These moves have helped the Pirates have a rested bullpen, but at the cost of the development of two of their best arms for the future.
Pirates Must Do Right by Rookie Pitchers
Barco and Dotel have promise of becoming strong pitching options for the Pirates and each has shown that at times in 2026.
Dotel was excellent vs. the Cardinals and showed off his four-seam fastball, averaging 99.0 mph and posting three strikeouts on it.
Barco has struggled for the Pirates this season, including giving up five earned runs vs. the Cardinals, but he had difficult circumstances surrounding his outing.
He flew from Memphis, where Indianapolis was, that morning to Atlanta and then waited five-to-six hours before making it to Pittsburgh at 6:15 p.m., 25 minutes before first pitch, and then didn't get to PNC Park until 7:00 p.m.
There's no easy way for a rookie southpaw to deal with those kind of conditions and it's understandable as to why he struggled, despite helping the Pirates out with their bullpen, which had thrown 18.1 innings the past three games.
Despite Barco having some struggles, he's accepted all the challenges that the Pirates have given him and had to pitch in other tough scenarios, like in extra innings vs. the New York Mets at Citi Field in the second game of the season on March 28.
Why Development is More Important Than Filling Roles
Both pitchers are on the Pirates 40-man roster, so it's understandable from the front office's point of view that they have to bring these guys up and pitch, particularly when the bullpen gets overworked.
Dotel and Barco are also a part of the Pirates going forward and while they can help out in that respect, they need to spend more time in Triple-A and stretch out as starters.
Barco has improved over the past couple of seasons after having Tommy John surgery prior to the Pirates drafting him in the second round in 2022 out of Florida and has grown into his role over that time.
His 2025 season was his first full year without serious injury time, just two weeks on the injured list in May, and he excelled at Double-A Altoona and then stayed steady at Triple-A.
Barco made decisions towards adding to his pitch mix this offseason and having more time in Indianapolis to work on that and improve will be crucial for his development.
Dotel already has the fastball velocity the Pirates want, but he too needs more time in the minor leagues, especially with so little time in Triple-A.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and manager Don Kelly have praised Dotel as one of the hardest workers in the minor leagues and how he's progressed over the past few seasons.
Dotel will continue his development at Triple-A as a starting pitcher, working on building up to take on an even larger workload, while improving upon his cutter, slider and changeup to become more versatile.
If the Pirates can keep both pitchers as starters down in Triple-A, they'll continue to work towards becoming the players they envision and when they get back to the major leagues, they'll have the effective and long outings they are working towards.
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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.