PITTSBURGH – The Pirates are planning to pick out the contract of left-hander Hunter Barco forward of their collection in opposition to the Reds that begins Tuesday night time at Nice American Ball Park, a supply instructed MLB.com. The Pirates have but to substantiate the transfer.
Barco, 24, is the workforce’s No. 4 prospect and the 82nd-ranked prospect within the recreation, in response to MLB Pipeline. He was because of be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this offseason, so the Pirates would have wanted so as to add him to the 40-man roster anyway to guard him.
This fashion, Barco will get a possibility to get his ft moist within the Majors and achieve precious expertise forward of subsequent 12 months, when he’s anticipated to compete for begins.
Barco began his season in excellent trend with Double-A Altoona, making six begins with out permitting a run. That warranted a promotion to Triple-A Indianapolis in Might, the place he struck out 25.4% of his batters confronted. His stroll price elevated on the larger degree (5.1 per 9 innings, from 2.5 with Altoona), however he nonetheless posted a 3.79 ERA over 21 appearances (17 begins) with Indianapolis.
Between his two stops within the Minors, Barco posted a 4-1 document with a 2.81 ERA and 10.5 strikeouts per 9 innings over 99 1/3 frames.
Barco pitches off his sinker, which has averaged 93 mph with Indianapolis and held hitters to a .194 batting common in opposition to. His slider and splitter are swing-and-miss choices, getting whiff charges of 38.7% and 39.3%, respectively. The splitter is usually used in opposition to right-handers, and he’ll additionally pepper in a cutter, largely to lefty swingers.
Barco is the most recent in what has been a listing of extremely rated pitching prospects who’ve been promoted by the Pirates this season. Bubba Chandler, the No. 7 prospect within the recreation, has the very best profile of the group, however rookies Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows have been contributors within the rotation and bullpen for many of the season. Thomas Harrington additionally debuted earlier this 12 months, when he was nonetheless on the High 100 listing.
The Pirates are concluding their season with a six-game street journey beginning Tuesday. The primary three are in Cincinnati, and so they’ll wrap the season in Atlanta in opposition to the Braves.
