The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the best minor league systems in baseball. Their farm system is stacked. Konnor Griffin, Bubba Chandler, Edward Florentino, and Seth Hernandez all rank as top 50 prospects by most sites. Most of them began their pro careers as top-100 prospects but had to earn the coveted title. Every year is an opportunity for prospects to make top 100 lists. When mid-season updates roll around for prospect lists, the Pirates may see these names become top 100 prospects.
Khristian Curtis
Arizona State University pitcher Khristian Curtis (5) reacts after giving up a home run to Jake Sapien (39) of Stanford at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on May 6, 2023.
It’s not often you see a late-round pick become one of the best prospects in baseball. The Pirates have a chance for that to happen this season. Khristian Curtis was the Bucs’ 12th-round pick in 2023 out of Arizona State University. The right-hander followed up his promising 2024 campaign with an even better 2025 season.
Curtis pitched a total of 110.2 innings between High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona. He worked to the tune of a 3.90 ERA, 4.09 FIP, and 1.24 WHIP. Curtis cut his walk rate down from 12.2% in 2024 to 9.7% last season. He also maintained a strikeout rate over 25%. In 2024, Curtis had a 25.4% K%, and in 2025, a 25.1% K%.
Have a day, Khristian Curtis! 🫡
The @Pirates‘ No. 24 prospect punched out a career-high 10 batters across six PERFECT innings and passed the torch to a High-A @GSOHoppers perfect game: https://t.co/x9sXYqNzA7 pic.twitter.com/szDF6SBZRY
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 5, 2025
Curtis’ performance was solid, and his wide variety of pitches makes him an even more intriguing prospect. According to Baseball America, he throws five different offerings. His mid-90s fastball is his best pitch, grading it out at a 60. His slider, cutter, and change-up all project as above-average, 55-grade offerings. The right-hander’s curveball is his worst pitch, but even that still comes out at an average 50-grade. Both his curveball and slider got upgrades from last year, as the former recieved a 45-grade, and the latter recieved a 50-grade by BA. His control leaves some questions, but he succeeded in limiting walks during the second half of the season.
Curtis’ final 14 outings/63.1 innings saw him put up a 2.70 ERA, 27% strikeout rate, and 6.9% walk rate. If Curtis looks anything like that at Altoona in 2026, combined with his impressive pitch mix and overall high-quality stuff, it’s hard to imagine him not appearing on any top 100 prospect lists by the mid-way point of 2026.
Darell Morel
Last year, the Pirates had a young, power-first international prospect make a great first impression in the Dominican Summer League in just his age-17 season. Now, a year later, he’s one of baseball’s best prospects. That prospect is outfielder Edward Florentino. The next Pirates prospect that could take a similar leap is infielder Darell Morel.
Morel was signed out of the Dominican Republic in January 2025. The Pirates swiped him away from the LA Dodgers. The young infielder spent his entire season at the DSL, where he hit .287/.425/.414 with a .425 wOBA and 135 wRC+. Morel only hit one home run in 202 plate appearances, but had nine doubles and four triples. He also swiped 26 bags in 33 attempts. Morel walked plenty, with an 18.3% free pass percentage, but had a 22.3% strikeout rate. His 67.5% contact rate won’t wow anyone either.
While Morel’s power didn’t always show up in games, his raw power is certainly worth noting. He stands at 6’4”, 180-LBS with the potential to add more strength and size as he matures. The left-handed hitter generates plus bat speed as well, which helps him knock the ball out of the yard. He’ll need to make more frequent contact, though, for the DSL; his contact rate wasn’t horrible. Florentino had a sub-60% contact rate at the same level in 2024, then upped that to 85.7% at A-Ball in 2025.
Morel could stick at shortstop long term. He has enough speed and an above-average arm. But if he has to move off of a middle infield position, he’ll work fine at the hot corner or an outfield corner. Morel certainly has the potential to take an Edward Florentino-esque leap in 2026. If he does, he’ll become yet another interesting middle infield prospect in the Bucs’ system.
Jesus Travieso
Teenage pitchers who throw 100 MPH and have a sub-10% walk rate are prime candidates to make a top 100 prospect list in the near future. Jesus Travieso showed he can do both in a small sample size at A-Ball last year. Acquired alongside The Password, Jhostynxon Garcia from the Boston Red Sox, Travieso is one of the Pirates’ most interesting prospects.
Last year, Travieso posted a 3.06 ERA, 3.15 FIP, and 1.44 WHIP over 64.2 innings between the Florida Complex League and A-Ball. The right-hander struck out 31.8% of batters while allowing all of three home runs. Travieso did struggle with walks, with a 12.7% BB%. However, there is hope he can improve on that. Travieso saw his BB% go from 15.3% at the FCL to only 9.2% at A-Ball. That also didn’t come at the cost of his strikeout rate. His K% only went from 31.9% to 31.7%. He had a sub-3.00 FIP (2.91) and xFIP (2.49) at A-Ball.
I believe that Jesus Travieso could be one of the sneakiest players moved this offseason
Fastball has been up to triple digits with a sharp slider and clean mechanics. Struck out 31.7% of batters in Low-A as an 18 y/o
Now with the Pirates’ pitching dev, he’ll be a name to watch pic.twitter.com/Q6K0fL9DVN
— Jay Staph (@jmstaph24) December 30, 2025
Travieso turns 19 on March 22nd, and already averages out in the upper-90s. Despite his smaller stature, listed at 5’11”, 140-LBS, he is already hitting 100 MPH on the radar gun. Travieso utilizes both a gyro slider and a sweeper. He rounds out his pitch arsenal with a change-up. Travieso primarily used this offering to get left-handed opponents to swing and miss.
So what does Travieso need to do to make a top 100 prospect list? For one, he needs to maintain his velocity as a starter. This is one question Baseball America raises in their scouting report on Travieso, given his smaller frame for a pitcher. The other thing is to keep a walk rate below 10%. Travieso is certainly young enough to add more strength and sharpen up his strike throwing at the same time. If he does that as a starter at A-Ball, expect to see him make serious gains in prospect rankings.
(Top Image Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)