Pirates Top 30 Prospects No. 10: Zander Mueth’s Natural Talent

This is one in a series of stories breaking down PBN’s Top 30 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects.

Selected out of high school with the 67th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Entry Draft, Pirates’ right-handed pitching prospect Zander Mueth breezed through his first season of professional baseball this past year.

Starting in May when the Pirates’ rookie ball team began its season, Mueth pitched to a 1.58 ERA across 13 appearances (12 starts), striking out 56 batters in 51.1 innings. That prompted the Pirates to promote him to Bradenton in late July.

Batters at Single-A proved more of a challenge for Mueth than their rookie ball counterparts, as he made it past the fourth inning just once in seven starts for the Marauders to end the year, seeing his ERA jump to 3.97 in 22.2 innings. His strikeout rate stayed about the same, with 23, but his walk rate more than doubled after the promotion from 4.56 per nine innings to 9.53.

Nevertheless, it’s a promising start for a pitcher so young, especially after other Pirates’ prep pitchers like Bubba Chandler, Jared Jones and Anthony Solometo have surged through the system in recent years.

Mueth stands 6-foot-6 and is already fairly bulky for a lanky 19 year old athlete, tipping the scale at 205 pounds. He’s a traditional power pitcher, with his fastball clocking in the mid to upper 90s, and his low arm slot can help it play even faster.

Both his fastball and slider currently rank as plus offerings, but he’ll need to flesh out his pitch mix as he continues to develop: it could end up the difference between a spot in a big league rotation or a move to the bullpen. Similarly, his issues with walks in Bradenton are something to keep an eye on.