Pirates Prospect Watch: Young Bucs Make Their MLB Roster Case

The Pirates’ roster continues to take shape ahead of the 2024 MLB season, with just 45 players remaining in big league camp as of Sunday, March 17. Pirates prospects continue to make their closing arguments as members of the 40-man roster, with pitcher Jared Jones one of the biggest names among the Young Bucs still vying for a big league spot.

• Tsung-Che Cheng got four plate appearances during the week, reaching base three times with two walks and a single.
• Termarr Johnson went 1-for-6 with three strikeouts, dropping his spring slash line to a still-excellent .348/.400/.652.
• Matt Gorski went 1-for-5 with a home run in Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay.
• Outfielder Billy McKinney racked up five hits in 15 at-bats, including two home runs and five RBI.
• Jack Brannigan went 2-for-4 with a walk and a home run.
• Jase Bowen went 2-for-3 in the Pirates prospects’ Spring Breakout game against the Baltimore Orioles’ farmhands.

Pitching Prospects

• Paul Skenes struck out a pair of batters, including MLB’s top prospect Jackson Holliday, during the Spring Breakout game.
• Jared Jones continues to improve his chances of making the Opening Day roster, as he survived the most recent round of minor league assignments… and pitched four scoreless innings against Atlanta, striking out a quartet of batters.
• Bubba Chandler got the save in the Spring Breakout game, putting the Pirates’ seven inning one-hitter on ice.
• Kyle Nicolas managed 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out and walking two batters apiece.
• Quinn Priester allowed one run in 4.2 innings against the Yankees, coming on a home run from Gleyber Torres.