Prospect Watch: Khristian Curtis, Sammy Stafura, Jacob Gonzalez

Khristian Curtis made his MLB debut, while Sammy Stafura and Jacob Gonzalez are experiencing breakouts in the power department.

Saturday night’s action across the Pittsburgh Pirates system produced a lot of positives.

The full recap, including system leaders and Statcast standouts, can be found on the scores page at Pirates Prospects. You can check out the top plays throughout the organization in the Pirates Prospects Plays of the Day below.

I had some thoughts on the results, and decided to dust off an old feature.

Khristian Curtis Debut

I’ve been highlighting for awhile that Khristian Curtis could be a sleeper option for the MLB bullpen this season. On Saturday night, he took that a step further.

The Pirates went with a bullpen game in game two of their double header with Cleveland. Mason Montgomery got the start, throwing a scoreless first inning. Curtis, who was called up before the game, took over in the second for his MLB debut.

Curtis pitched five shutout innings, striking out four batters. He had eight whiffs on the night, with three from the slider, two from the fastball, and three from the slider.

His fastball averaged 95.3 MPH, touching 97.3. The slider sat around 85.4 MPH. The cutter was thrown 22 times, and averaged 92 MPH. He threw a changeup in the 85.2 MPH range, and threw three curveballs in the 76-78 MPH range.

Curtis has some of the best stuff in the system. He’s dealt with control problems in the minors, but he limited Cleveland to two walks on the night. It was a great debut for the right-hander, who has certainly earned another look this season if the Pirates need relief help again, or even a spot start.

Sammy Stafura’s Power Surge

Sammy Stafura has ten home runs in the last three weeks.

The shortstop, who was acquired for Ke’Bryan Hayes at last year’s trade deadline, has been heating up this month. He homered four games in a row to start the month. A week later, he homered four games in a row once again.

A bit of a disclaimer about those home runs: They all came in Greensboro, which is a power-friendly park. Some of the home runs were no-doubters, but the power surge happening at home does raise some cause for discernment.

Stafura not only continued hitting homers on the road on Saturday night, but he continued hitting no doubters. Both of his home runs traveled beyond 400 foot signs near the deepest parts of the park.

His previous high was eight home runs in 2024 between rookie and A-ball. Stafura hit six last year between two levels of A-ball. He’s never seen power like this, and this surge is something to take seriously. The 21-year-old looks like he’s in the midst of a breakout in the power department.

Buying Early on Jacob Gonzalez?

When the Pirates sent the 34th overall pick for Jacob Gonzalez and Brandon Eisert, they managed to patch up two long-term holes. Eisert replaced Evan Sisk in the bullpen, while Gonzalez could fill in for the long-term injury to Konnor Griffin.

In the case of Gonzalez, the Pirates might have been buying early on a recent power surge. The infielder had 19 home runs in Triple-A with the White Sox before the trade. This was a huge breakout, more than doubling his previous season high totals of eight home runs.

Like the case with Stafura, a hitter-friendly home park raised some questions. Gonzalez played in Charlotte, which is one of the more offensive friendly parks in the International League. The fact that he suddenly became a power hitter who put up a 1.097 OPS at that level, after maxing out in the .650 OPS range in previous seasons, does lead to skepticism.

On Saturday night, Gonzalez launched a long 428 foot home run for his first shot with the Pirates. He also hit two homers in 97 plate appearances in his brief time with the White Sox.

If the power from Gonzalez is legit, he could be more than a short-term fill-in. Drafted in the first round in 2023, this could be the start of a breakout that sees Gonzalez finally putting things together.

Did the Pirates buy early on this breakout? Last night’s home run was a vote in the positive.

Other Home Runs

Aside from the two home runs from Stafura, below is a recap of the other minor league home run hitters last night:

• Jhonny Severino hit his 23rd homer of the year. This was his fourth homer in the last six games, and sixth homer in his last 11. Severino was acquired at the deadline in 2023 for his power potential at a young age. He’s shown power in the past, but he’s taking it up a notch this year.

• Edward Florentino hit his 14th home run for Greensboro. After a slow start at the level, Florentino has been heating up lately. Last night’s home run was his seventh in his last nine games, accounting for half of his homers at the level. He’s showing why he’s considered one of the top prospects in the game.

• I like the speed from Antonio Pimentel in Bradenton. He has 23 stolen bases on the season, after 18 last year in the DSL. He also launched a home run on Saturday, his fourth of the season. What’s impressive about Pimentel is he’s handled skipping over the FCL this season while showing good plate patience, speed, and some power.

• Shawn Ross and Nick Cimillo both crushed some baseballs for Indianapolis. Cimillo’s shot went 437 feet, while Ross sent one 408 feet. Ross had the highest exit velocity on the night at 109.5 MPH, while Cimillo’s shot was 106.9 MPH. Both hitters have some of the best power in the system, even if they both struggle to hit for average.

• Derek Berg hit his seventh homer of the year for Altoona. He also had four hits on the day. Berg is a good defensive catcher and has a bit of power. He also hit one homer in Triple-A this year, so last night’s home run gives him a new career-high eight homers on the season.

• Termarr Johnson wasn’t in the home run department, but he also had four hits on Saturday night. Johnson’s numbers in Triple-A have not been good, but he’s also only 22-years-old, which is young for the level. The only knock against him is that he’s not handling the aggressive promotion well, which is only to say that he’s not a top prospect in the system, but still has time and shows flashes of being a legitimate prospect with time to develop.

Pirates Transactions

To make room for Curtis on the 40-man roster, the Pirates transferred Oneil Cruz from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.

There was some talk about Cruz returning after the All-Star Break. I’m not sure this alters the timeline much. The new designation means Cruz can’t return until after the first week of August. He would likely need a rehab appearance before he returns. At worst, this pushes his return back a few days, and allows a full rehab assignment.

Hunter Barco was activated from the 7-day IL for Indianapolis. The lefty had been out since June 20th.

Isaias Uribe was sent on a rehab assignment to the FCL. Uribe, who was an international free agent in 2019, has been out since June 18th last season. He also missed the entire 2024 season with an injury. Uribe was pitching in the Bradenton bullpen before the last stretch on the IL.

Until the next time I go live…

-Tim Williams