This is one in a series of stories breaking down PBN’s Top 30 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects.
The Pirates have no shortage of young pitchers in the upper levels of the minor leagues or fresh faces on the active roster. Wilber Dotel, though flying under the radar, is among them.
The Pirates signed Dotel as an international prospect from the Dominican Republic for $50,000 as an 18-year-old in the 2019-20 signing period.
Dotel first saw action in the Florida Complex League during the 2021 season, where he made 11 appearances/five starts. The right-hander finished his first season of professional baseball at 2-0 with a 3.34 ERA and struck out 34 batters in 29.2 innings.
Dotel spent most of the 2022 season back in the FCL and improved upon his initial showing. In 12 appearances/nine starts, he went 2-2 with a 2.62 ERA and held opponents to 24 hits while striking out 35 in 34.1 innings, prompting a promotion to the Bradenton Marauders late in the year.
Despite missing about a month early in the 2023 season due to an injury, Dotel went 7-2 with a 3.09 ERA in 18 appearances/15 starts with the Marauders. Though he only struck out 58 batters in 78.2 innings on the year, Dotel held opponents to a .222 batting average.
Dotel spent the entire 2024 season with the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers, where he struggled in the hitter-friendly South Atlantic League but saw on uptick in strikeouts. In 25 starts, he went 9-5 despite a 5.33 ERA and struck out 109 batters in a career-high 109.1 innings.
But Dotel rebounded this past season with the Altoona Curve in Double-A. The 23-year-old set career-highs in starts (27) innings (125.2) and strikeouts (131). Some control issues that were present the last two seasons subsided, and he finished the year with 3.1 walks per nine innings and a 4.15 ERA.
Dotel, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 178 pounds, has two versions of a fastball that MLB Pipeline grades a ’60’ on the 20-to-80 scouting scale. His four-seamer can touch the upper-90s and he also possesses a two-seamer with arm-side run. Dotel also has a slider and a changeup.
Ultimately, what will determine if Dotel winds up in the starting rotation or the bullpen is whether or not he can show improvement with his changeup, and if he can continue to find more consistency in the strike zone as he inches closer to the big leagues.
Mentioned in this article: Pittsburgh Pirates Wilber Dotel
More about: Pirates Farm System