Pirates Pitching Prospect Back On Injured List With Shoulder Issue
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have a pitching prospect that had great promise when they drafted him, but injuries have stunted his development.
Pirates left-handed pitching prospect Anthony Solometo went on the 7-day injured list back on April 9, after two relief appearances with Double-A Altoona.
Solometo posted a 18.00 ERA, giving up four earned runs over two innings on April 2 vs. Harrisburg and April 7 vs. Richmond.
Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said on April 16 that Solometo has more pain in his throwing shoulder, that he wasn't pitching and that they have to see what the best way to proceed with his injury moving forward.
“Yes unfortunately, Anthony has some recurring left shoulder pain," Tomczyk said. 'We are gathering another opinion from Dr. Keith Meister at the present moment. Unfortunately he’s not pitching right now. We’ll have an update on him sometime next week officially.”
Injuries Slowing Solometo's Development
The left shoulder injury Solometo is dealing with is something that hampered him last season.
Solometo pitched just twice for Altoona in April 2025, went on the 7-day injured list then transferred to the 60-day injured list on May 7. He then went on rehab assignment with Single-A Bradenton, but only pitched two-third of an inning before he got pulled from a game on June 18.
He also had a left shoulder injury in the 2024 season, which saw him miss about a month, as he rehabbed from it and went on the developmental list and then on a rehab assignment.
Solometo struggled throughout that campaign, with a 1-7 record in 17 starts and 20 appearances, a 5.98 ERA over 58.2 innings pitched, 46 strikeouts to 35 walks, a .259 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 1.52 WHIP.
One of the biggest concerns with Solometo was his drop in velocity, as he went from 95 mph on his four-seam fastball in 2023 and fell to around 90 mph in 2024.
There was hope Solometo would come back healthy for 2026, but continue pain in his left shoulder may mean that he's due for a serious surgery that will take a long time before he's fully healthy and pitching in the minor leagues again.
Why Pirates Have Confidence in Solometo Turning it Around
The Pirates selected Solometo with the 37th overall pick in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft. Solometo would forgo his commitment to UNC and signed for an overslot value of $2.8 million with the Pirates.
Solometo had good showings his first two seasons, posting a 2.64 ERA with Bradenton in 2022 and a 3.26 ERA with High-A Greensboro in 2023.
He has an interesting delivery, with a lower arm slot and a big kick that had some fans comparing him to former San Francisco Giants World Series-winning southpaw Madison Bumgarner.
Solometo still has good offspeed pitches in his slider and changeup, so if he can find a way to ramp his velocity back up, then he'll be in a good spot to continue his progression.
He is 23 years old now and it's time for Solometo to make that next step, but it's looking more likely he'll need a serious operation.
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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.