Nine Pirates Prospects on Arizona Fall League Roster
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates will have nine prospects play in the Arizona Fall League, with the preliminary rosters coming out for the developmental league.
The Arizona Fall League has six teams with five franchises each having their prospects on one of them to cover the 30 teams in the MLB. The Pirates will have their prospects on the Surprise Saguaros, along with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers.
Pittsburgh has eight players going to the Arizona Fall League in second baseman Termarr Johnson, catcher Geovanny Planchart, infielder Kervin Pichardo, outfielder Sammy Siani and right-handed pitchers in Mike Burrows, Khristian Curtis, Derek Diamond, Eddy Yean and Brandon Bidois.
Johnson is the top prospect on this list, with MLB Pipeline ranking him No. 3 on the Pirates and No. 78 prospect in the minor leagues.
The Pirates took Johnson No. 4 overall in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Benjamin Elijah Mayes High School in Atlanta. Johnson chose a $7,219,000 signing bonus with the Pirates over his commitment to Arizona State.
He spent most of 2024 with the Greensboro Grasshoppers at High Single-A, slashing .238/.372/.712, along with 17 doubles, a triple, 13 home runs, 46 RBIs,20 stolen bases and 78 walks to 105 strikeouts.
The Pirates promoted the 20-year old to Double-A on Aug. 27 and he played in 14 games for them, slashing .229/.316/.396, with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs and seven walks to 11 strikeouts.
Burrows is the No. 16 prospect in the Pirates system and had a solid season with the Indianapolis Indians at Triple-A. He had nine starts in 10 appearances, a 4.06 ERA in 37.2 innings pitched, allowing 38 hits, 17 earned runs, 15 walks to 45 strikeouts, a .253 opposing batting average and a 1.41 WHIP.
He had Tommy John surgery following two starts in 2023 and will have a chance in 2025 to make the Pirates roster for the first time. The Pirates drafted Burrows in the 11th Round in 2018 out of Waterford High School in Waterford, Conn. and will come into 2025 as a 25-year old.
Curtis is the No. 27 ranked prospect in the Pirates system and pitched this last season for the Bradenton Marauders at Single-A. He started 16 of 18 games pitched, with a 4.06 ERA in 75.1 innings pitched, with 39 walks to 81 strikeouts and a .227 opposing batting average.
The Pirates took the 22-year old with in the 12th Round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Arizona State, so he'll have some familiarity with his surroundings.
Planchart hails from Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela and signed a minor league contract with the Pirates in March 2019.
He spent most of 2024 at Greensboro, slashing .223/.350/.325, with 37 hits in 166 at-bats, plus six doubles, a triple, three home runs, 24 walks and 31 walk to 50 strikeouts in 52 games. The 23-year old also played three games for Altoona late in the season.
Diamond pitched this season for Greensboro, with 19 starts in 23 appearances, a 5-6 record, a 4.80 ERA in 95.2 innings of work, 19 walks to 83 strikeouts, a .277 opposing batting average and a 1.32 WHIP.
The Pirates took Diamond out of Ole Miss in the Sixth Round of the 2022 MLB Draft, singing a bonus of $311,760, his full slot value.
Pichardo came to the Pirates in a trade with the San Diego Padres on April 2, who received left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf in return. He slashed .252/.306/.373 with 106 hits in 421 at-bats, 14 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 49 RBIs and 27 walks to 128 strikeouts.
Pittsburgh acquired Yean in a trade that senf first baseman Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals on Dec. 24, 2020.
Yeah pitched this past season for Altoona, with a 7-5 record, a 3.45 ERA in 73.0 innings pitched and 46 games out of the bullpen, 21 walks to 65 strikeouts, a .269 opposing batting average and a 1.33 WHIP.
The Pirates took Siani with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft out of William Penn Charter High School in Philadelphia.
Siani spent from May 7 onwards with Altoona, slashing .254/.325/.368 with 89 hits in 351 at-bats, 13 doubles, six triples, five home runs, 36 RBIs, 35 walks to 81 stirkeouts and a .693 OPS.
Bidois signed with the Pirates to a minor league contract on Sept. 21, 2019, hailing from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
The 23-year old pitched 26 games out of the bullpen for Greensboro, with an 0-5 record, a 4.25 ERA in 29.2 innings, a .179 opposing batting average, 1.21 WHIP and 17 walks to 43 strikeouts.
DOMINIC CAMPBELL