Pirates Minor League Report: Solometo, Dotel Start Strong

The minor league season is officially underway for each of the Pirates’ four affiliates, and a pair of pitchers who struggled at times last season started their 2025 campaigns off strong.

Anthony Solometo fell out of the Pirates’ top ten prospects after a brutal 2024, spending time on the development list and getting sent back to rookie ball to regain his form, while Wilber Dotel racked up plenty of strikeouts in High-A but also pitched to an ugly 5.33 ERA in the friendly confines of the Greensboro Grasshoppers’ home stadium.

Both pitched five scoreless innings for the Altoona Curve to kick off the season, with Dotel racking up four batters. Neither logged more than sixty pitches — a common theme throughout the system as the Pirates keep the kid gloves on, easing their prospects into the slog of a season that lasts more than 130 games — but still managed to chew through their innings efficiently.

Bubba Chandler and Mike Burrows followed a similar trajectory in Triple-A, while Matt Gorski has a 1.162 OPS after hitting a homer and three doubles in the first two weeks of the season. 2024 trade deadline pickup Nick Yorke enjoyed a standout performance on Thursday, April 3, doubling twice, but landed on the injured list the following day with shoulder soreness.

Greensboro Grasshoppers Pour it On

The Grasshoppers, meanwhile, partied at the plate during their first week at home.

Esmerlyn Valdez, Omar Alfonzo and Keiner Delgado all reached base three times in the season opener, including a double and a walk apiece.
Valdez repeated the feat the following day, while Javier Rivas and Maikol Escotto logged three hits and a homer apiece. 2023 14th round pick Garrett McMillan punched out eight batters in five innings in his season debut, doing so on an economical 68 pitches.

Valdez homered and Escotto hit a pair of doubles on Sunday, each notching three hits once again, while Escotto swiped four bases.

Rounding out the list, 19-year-old pitching prospect Zander Mueth struggled in his season debut with Bradenton, allowing five runs in four innings despite fanning five batters.