Pirates Prospect Khristian Curtis Injured After Taking Line Drive
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates saw one of their better pitchers in the farm system leave his most recent game after a scary incident.
Pirates right-handed pitcher Khristian Curtis took a line drive off his right arm in the second inning for Triple-A Indianapolis against Scranton-Wilkes Barre (New York Yankees) at Victory Field on June 24, which saw him leave the game, with fellow right-handed pitcher Thomas Harrington come in for him.
Curtis took an 88 mph ball from Scranton-Wilkes Barre right fielder Kenedy Corona, appearing to hit his elbow, which Curtis immediately grabbed and received medical attention before departing.
Khristian Curtis hit in the arm (elbow?) on a comebacker and his day is done just like that
— Christian ✞ (@CWolfPGH) June 24, 2026
Was off to a solid start in AAA Indy pic.twitter.com/MvWUIC4VWO
It's a tough break for Curtis and the Pirates, who have high hopes for their 24-year old pitching prospect.
Curtis Recently Receives Promotion Before Injury
The Pirates moved Curtis up to Indianapolis on June 9 after he started the season with Double-A Altoona.
Curtis didn't put up the best numbers in Altoona, with an 0-7 record in 12 starts, a 4.73 ERA over 53.1 innings pitched, but got himself a new opportunity to prove himself at a higher level.
His Triple-A debut was impressive, tying his career-high of 10 strikeouts, while giving up just one hit and two walks over 5.2 innings pitched in a 6-1 win over Columbus (Cleveland Guardians) back on June 12.
Curtis had one start prior to this for Indianapolis against Iowa (Chicago Cubs) on June 18, giving up four earned runs over 5.1 innings pitched, which included six hits, three walks and two earned runs, while posting three strikeouts in the 11-8 road win.
Indianapolis had right-handed pitcher Derek Diamond throw the first inning, then had Curtis come in the second inning, facing just two batters before departing after taking the line drive.
Overview of Curtis' Tenure With the Pirates
The Pirates took Curtis in the 12th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Arizona State and he eventually made his professional debut with Single-A Bradenton in 2024.
He spent most of last season with Greensboro and put up a good strikeout rate, 9.61 K/9, which he's improved upon in 2026, with an 11.19 K/9.
Curtis pitching in the minor leagues is an impressive feat in and of itself, which a few surgeries in college, that slowed down his development and the pitcher he could've been when he turned professional.
He's shown off a strong pitch mix, with his higher velocity pitches in a four-seam fastball and a cutter, plus his offspeed pitches in the slider, changeup and curveball, having success with it early in his career.
Curtis is one of the Pirates better pitching prospects, with Baseball American ranking him 11th and MLB Pipeline ranking him 21st on their respective top 30 prospect lists for the team.
The Pirates will hope that this is nothing serious for Curtis and that he's back on the mound soon enough.
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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.