Pittsburgh Pirates Breakout MLB Prospects For 2025

Entering 2025, we’re projecting a number of Pirates prospects to have the potential for a breakout season.

To qualify, a player must rank outside the organization’s Top 10 prospects entering the year. All scouting reports are from Baseball America’s 2025 Prospect handbook, which you can purchase here.

You can find Top 10 prospect rankings for all teams here and all breakout candidates here.

Jhonny Severino, SS/3B

Preseason Rank: 11
BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme

Track Record: The Pirates plucked Severino, one of the Brewers’ top 2022 international signings, away at the 2023 trade deadline in exchange for first baseman Carlos Santana. A hamate injury ended his 2023 season after just three games. Severino returned to the Florida Complex League and broke out in 2024. He hit .291/.373/.545 over 56 games, tying for the league lead with 10 homers. He continued to slug once he moved on to Low-A, where he also struck out 30.1% of the time.

Scouting Report: The athletic, physical Severino has the building blocks for future above-average impact. A switch-hitter as an amateur, Severino now hits exclusively righthanded. He takes dynamic swings and produces an above-average 90th percentile exit velocity (101.3 mph) for his age, showing evaluators impressive bat speed and solid bat-to-ball ability. He especially excelled against fastballs and has already shown a propensity to lift and pull his best contact. Severino needs to improve his approach and swing decisions, particularly against spin. He’s a hard-strider, impacting his ability to adjust to varying velocities, and the Pirates worked with him to improve his bat path and adjustability. Severino is a decent runner. While he split his time between shortstop and third base and has plus arm strength, most evaluators feel he’s better suited as an offensive-oriented third baseman as he continues to fill out.

The Future: Plenty of seasoning remains, but Severino represents an emerging dynamic offensive threat at the lower levels in a system yearning for more impact hitters.

Scouting Grades: HIT: 50. POW: 55. RUN: 50. FLD: 45. ARM: 60.

Carlson Reed, RHP

Preseason Rank: 16
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

Track Record: Reed primarily closed games out of West Virginia’s bullpen in 2023, where he enticed the Pirates to sign him for $597,500 in the fourth round that year. They then set out to convert him into a starter, and the early returns were quite promising. Reed posted a 1.99 ERA across 108.2 innings with the second-most strikeouts (130) in Pittsburgh’s system. He reached High-A Greensboro by the end of the season, where he allowed just three earned runs in 31 innings and benefited from a .165 batting average on balls in play.

Scouting Report: The gangly 6-foot-5 righthander throws two 92-93 mph fastballs, leveraging impressive extension on the two-seamer to create considerable downhill angle and rack up grounders. Reed more frequently leans on the two-seamer, and the Pirates worked with him to create better distinction from the four-seamer. They also helped Reed reduce some of the crossfire action that plagued his strike-throwing in college. The delivery work helped his potentially plus 83 mph slider—which he throws with a foot of gloveside sweep—take another step forward. Reed also has above-average shape on his 83 mph changeup, and both secondaries generated whiffs more than half the time. Reed’s inconsistent command improved throughout the season. Pittsburgh may consider adding another pitch to Reed’s arsenal to help coax hitters into swinging more frequently, as well.

The Future: Entering his age-22 season, Reed now has a better shot of sticking in the back of a rotation, especially if he continues to firm up his strike-throwing.

Scouting Grades: FB: 55. SL: 60. CH: 55. CTL: 45.

Khristian Curtis, RHP

Preseason Rank: 20
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme

Track Record: Curtis underwent a pair of elbow surgeries while at Texas A&M then transferred to Arizona State in 2023, where he posted a 7.03 ERA in 64 innings. Still, scouts coveted his combination of stuff and size, and the Pirates signed him for $497,500 in the 12th round that year. He pitched to a 4.06 ERA in 75.1 innings with Low-A Bradenton until a hamstring injury halted his season. Curtis returned to recoup innings in the Arizona Fall League.

Scouting Report: Curtis oozes power from a starter’s frame with a varied pitch mix. His mid-90s fastball touched 99 and showed both better velocity and carry in 2024 after he tweaked his grip in the offseason. His 88-92 mph cutter may become his most effective secondary and has above-average potential. Curtis’ mid-80s changeup has nearly 18 inches of armside fade, and he’ll also mix in both a mid-80s slider and upper-70s curveball. Curtis walked 12.2% of Low-A batters and has inconsistent feel for his arsenal, which he told MLB.com is a byproduct of nerve damage as he regains feeling in his right hand following elbow surgeries in college.

The Future: Curtis’ loud pitch mix provides the ceiling for a No. 4 starter, even if his path to achieving it is more fraught given the injury history and strike-throwing concerns.

Scouting Grades: FB: 60. CUT: 55. CB: 45. SL: 50. CH: 55. CTL: 40.