Pirates Top 30 Prospects No. 10: What to Make of Thomas Harrington After Down Year
This is one in a series of stories breaking down PBN’s Top 30 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects.
In a year that consisted of so many young pitchers contributing in a big way to the Pirates, Thomas Harrington was the first to make his MLB debut.
The Pirates promoted Harrington for his first-career game on Apr. 1 on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander was the starting pitcher in that game and allowed six runs on seven hits with four walks and two strikeouts in four innings and took the loss.
Six days later, Harrington returned to the mound, this time out of the bullpen. He covered the final four innings in the Pirates’ 8-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park, thus earning the first save of his career.
After getting sent back down to Triple-A Indianapolis, Harrington made one more appearance with the Pirates. It came against the Rockies in Colorado, when he allowed six runs in two-thirds of an inning in Pittsburgh’s unfathomable 17-16 loss.
While Harrington’s 15.58 ERA through three appearances with the Pirates is an eyesore, it’s an extremely small sample. But Harrington’s 2025 struggles went beyond a couple outings in the big leagues.
Harrington made 21 appearances/20 starts with Indianapolis this season and went 7-9 with a career-worst 5.34 ERA. Prior to this year, he never finished a season with an ERA higher than 3.53.
The biggest issue for the 24-year-old was the home run ball. In 96 innings at Triple-A, Harrington yielded 20 home runs — in addition to three home runs in 8.1 innings with the Pirates. Additionally, his usual impeccable control wasn’t on display as much as it had been in the past. In 22 appearances across three levels last season, Harrington walked 1.5 batters per nine innings. This year, he walked 3.1 batters per nine.
A recurring groin injury cost Harrington most of August, so the idea of finishing the season on a high note was erased.
Instead, Harrington will have to wait until spring training and the start of next year’s regular season to try and bounce back from a year that resulted in a diminished status.
From watching Harrington pitch, there are some real concerns, none bigger than a lack of a put-away pitch to avoid long at-bats. But given his track record for much of his professional career, Harrington deserves a chance to show that his 2025 campaign was just a fluke.
More about: Pirates Farm System
When your fastball tops out at 92-93 mph, it better have character and you better locate it with pinpoint command. It can be done. Look, there was only ever one Greg Maddux, so he is the extreme example. But Kyle Hendricks has carved out a pretty good career being a similar profile pitcher.
Harrington has decent secondary stuff. He just has to command it all, especially the fastball. I think when he got called up a week into the season and got shelled a couple times, he lost his confidence and conviction, and that set the tone for his entire season. And who knows how long he battled the groin.
Hopefully, all he needs is a strong offseason and a reset. Ride him out. He’s untradeable right now. We may need the depth, especially if Keller and possibly another pitcher are flipped for bats.