Pirates Infield Prospect Named Breakout Player to Watch
Finding balance in their farm system is among the Pittsburgh Pirates' top needs in 2025.
Pittsburgh's pitching in the minor leagues has proven to be much further along than the hitting. Right-handed pitchers Bubba Chandler (No. 15), Braxton Ashcraft (No. 85) and Thomas Harrington (No. 91) are each ranked in MLB pipeline's top 100 prospects and of Pittsburgh's top eight prospects, five are pitchers.
One potential option who could emerge at the plate in the minor leagues is Pirates right-handed hitting third base and shortstop prospect Jack Brannigan. MLB.com's Alex Stumpf broke down Pittsburgh's top prospects heading into the 2025 season and listed Brannigan as a potential breakout candidate.
"Brannigan had a solid cameo with Greensboro late in 2023, and he continued to build on it this season, hitting 18 home runs with 12 stolen bases in 77 games," Stumpf wrote. "A left shoulder injury sidelined him for most of the second half of the season, but his strikeout rate dipped from 2023 (33.5% to 26.1%) and he elevated the ball more (a 35.2% ground-ball rate with Bradenton in '23; 25.6% in '24 with Greensboro). A third-round Draft pick in '22, Brannigan always had raw power, and it’s starting to translate more into games."
Brannigan, 23, spent the 2024 season in High-A Greensboro, hitting 18 home runs and driving in 53 runs while slashing .238/.244/.490 in 77 games. In 2023, the third base prospect slashed .275/.390/.524, hit 19 home runs and drove in 54 runs across 87 games in Single-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro.
Defensively, Brannigan played 40 games at shortstop, 26 at third base and 10 at second base last season. Brannigan made nine errors at shortstop, two at third base and didn't register a single error at second base.
In a farm system littered with solid pitching, the Pirates need a few bats to emerge and eventually make their way to the big leagues to improve an offense that ranked in the bottom 10 in nearly every major category in 2024. If Brannigan can continue his upward trajectory, he could be a potential answer to the Pirates' pressing problems at the plate.
