Pirates Farm System
Top 30 Pirates Prospects No. 12: Can Anthony Solometo Bounce Back?
This is one in a series of stories breaking down PBN’s Top 30 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects.
At this time last year, Anthony Solometo occupied the No. 5 spot in Pittsburgh Baseball Now‘s Top 30 Pirates prospects list.
Back then, the lanky lefty posted a 2.30 ERA across 58.2 innings in hitter-friendly Greensboro, receiving a promotion to Altoona by mid June. It was a rapid ascent for the then-20 year old, drafted out of high school in the second round of the 2021 MLB Entry Draft.
Solometo’s development has hit a snag since then. The jump to Double-A proved challenging, as his ERA fell to 4.35 in 51.2 innings for the Curve. During the second half of the 2023 season, Solometo discussed his need to continue developing secondary offerings like his changeup: he relies heavily on his slider, and although his unorthodox delivery helps his low-90s four-seamer play faster than it actually is, if he isn’t able to find the strike zone with either of those pitches, it’s critical to have another way to test hitters.
Tapering Off
Command issues indeed began to plague Solometo in 2024. His strikeouts per nine innings dipped from 9.63 to 6.78, while his walk rate jumped from 3.18 per nine innings to 4.99. Unsurprisingly, his ERA skyrocketed to 5.98 in 58.2 innings for the Curve, eventually spurring the Pirates to put him on the Development List in June. After a month off from game action he got back in the swing of things in the Pirates’ rookie ball and Single-A lineups, returning to Altoona on August 8.
From there, Solometo’s season adopted the ‘one step forward, two steps back’ mantra. He allowed just three hits in six scoreless innings on August 31, then got shelled to the tune of six runs in one inning his following start, finally finishing the season with five innings of one-run ball. It looks like a trend in the right direction—before landing on the Development List, his longest start of the season was just four innings—but Solometo still has a ways to go to recapture his early-career magic.
Left-handed pitchers development are often times not linear. Just like he may have been over hyped last year there is no need to feel doom and gloom after this season. Being a lefty with a funky delivery could play as a mid to bottom of the rotation starter or more likely a good mid inning reliever to get the team out of a jam. Either is valuable.
He’ll be fine once he hits the reset button and comes back out next March. I look for him to rebound well. He’s very young, and he’s one of those weird lefties…like me.
Or he can be used as bait to help reel in a Tommy Edman type player for our roster.