Pirates Pitching Prospect Sets High Expectations For Career
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a few pitching prospects waiting in the wings to make their big league debuts in 2025.
One who's on the cusp is right-handed pitcher Thomas Harrington. With fellow top 100 prospects Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft also on the verge of making an appearance in Pittsburgh, Harrington is excited to make the trek to the big leagues alongside them to join Paul Skenes and Jared Jones in the rotation.
"I think the city is great [and] the fan base is great," Harrington said h/t Young Bucs on Twitter. "I think, really, just getting to be around those guys up there, it's going to be a lot of fun. And then obviously creating a winning culture and just being a part of this young group that's coming up is going to be really exciting."
Between the trio of right-handed pitching prospects, Chandler is No. 1, Ashcraft is No.4 and Harrington is No. 5 in the Pirates' system according to MLB Pipeline. In their top 100 prospect rankings for the entire league, Chandler is No. 15, Ashcraft comes in at No. 85 and Harrington is No. 91. Pittsburgh is the only team in baseball to have three pitchers on that list.
Harrington is coming off of a strong season in the minor leagues that saw him ascend from Single-A Bradenton to Triple-A Indianapolis. He went 7-3 with a 2.61 ERA in 22 appearances and struck out 115 batters over 117 1/3 innings. He also had a 0.96 WHIP and walked just 19 batters.
With Harrington's rapid ascension through the farm system, his debut with the Pirates may not be far off. Once he does step on a major league mound, though, he doesn't plan on making another appearance in the minors.
"The biggest goal for me is just when I get the call [is] to not come back down to Triple-A," Harrington said. "That's the biggest thing for me. I'm just going out there to compete every single time. I've always been a strike thrower, and being able to throw a lot of pitches in the strike zone has been really the biggest key for me on the mound. After it's all said and done, I just want to be known as one of the best that's ever pitched in the game."
