North Shore Nine

Welcome to the weekly Scouting Prospects; The Top 30 series. Each week we will take a look at a different one of the Pirates Top 30 prospects, with a few bonus “double drop” weeks. The format of these articles will highlight and discuss the following.

• Scouting Score
• Performance
• Expectations
• Projected Debut
  
  When it comes to scouting grades, the scale used is 20-80. So, a 20-30 grade would be considered well below average. A 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average (Also called Plus) and 70-80 is well above average (or Plus Plus). For prospects the overall grade is where scouts expect the player to perform once in the majors. For example, a 65 grade would be an All-Star caliber standout player, whereas a 50 would be an everyday player and a 40 would be a bench player.

Thomas Harrington:

Thomas Harrington was selected 36th overall in the 2022 MLB Amateur Draft. This was the Pirates competitive balance pick sandwiched between Rounds 1 and 2, those picks being Termarr Johnson and Hunter Barco. At the start of the 2024 season Harrington was ranked as the Pirates 6th best prospect and likely will move up for 4th when Jared Jones and Paul Skenes lose their prospect status.

What stands out for Harrington is the three good pitches in a five-pitch repertoire. Having a fastball, slider and changeup that all rank as near plus pitches with a average cutter and below average curveball is ideal. Add the fact he can throw all five for strikes is part of the reason he rates so highly in the Pirates system. He has a similar make up, pitch selection, and raking to Shane Baz had when he entered the Pirates systems before the infamous Chirs Archer trade. Harrington stands 6’2″ his fastball sits in the mid 90’s and tops out around 95 MPH. His change-up has good tumble to it and sits in the mid 80’s. His wipeout pitch in a sweeping slider that also sits in the 80’s. With the cutter and the curveball also at his disposal he is able to mix pitches effectively to get baters out. Scouts, all view him as a high floor guy, and mentioned if he can add velocity, he could become a very dangerous player. He spent the first bit of the 2024 season in extended spring dealing with some injuries. He has returned to the mound however and his performances have been good.

The results this year have been good for Harrington. He made one start in Bradenton where he went three innings of one hit ball. After that he went to Altoona where he has made four starts to date. In those four starts he has pitched 16.2 innings given up 12 hits 5 earned runs walked 1 and struck out 17. This is roughly on par with what he had managed in 2023 in Greensboro. Every level he has been at he has limited walked pumped strikeouts and done relatively well to limit runs allowed. If he can continue to pitch like he has in Altoona there is a change he could get a quick promotion to Indianapolis. Though there is a good change with the others that are already pitching in Altoona he might get additional time there while others are promoted. However, things are looking good for Harrington and his outlook is bright.

MLB Debut, the question that most fans become morbidly curious about with top prospects. MLB.com pundits believe he could have a 2025 ETA, which is possible, though would be very dependent on a number of factors. If Harrington continues to pitch as he has then he could see Indy the back half of the 2024 season. This would make a potential call up to the majors in 2025 much more likely. Though it could also be only if there are injures to those above him if he sees Pittsburgh in 2025. Skenes, Jones, Keller and Oviedo already in Pittsburgh there is a limited spots (hopefully) in the big-league rotation. Especially with Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows and potentially Domingo German battling for that last spot in the rotation. Regardless, with his arsenal and how he has pitched he should remain a starter and not be turned into a reliever as many pitchers have been. The future of the Pirate rotation is very bright, and Thomas Harrington should be a big part of it.