The New Pirates Prospects
There's no better site to follow the Pittsburgh Pirates than PiratesProspects.com.
One week ago, I announced that Pirates Prospects was back, with a completely new approach.
I’ve been busy in the last week adding a few new features to the site, and fixing a few issues that were bound to happen with the launch.
It feels appropriate to give a rundown of everything on the new site again, now that there are new features added.
Pirates Prospects Features
Homepage - The main hub of the site gives a one-stop sample of all the information you need. Here you can find the latest articles at Pittsburgh Baseball Live, the live-updating Daily Top Performers, the line scores for each game in the Pirates’ system, along with system stat leaders, records and standings, and the latest transactions.
Scores - One of the longest running features on the old site was the Pirates Prospect Watch, giving a nightly recap of everything happening in the minor league system. The scores page takes that to the next level, with live updates throughout each game in the system, along with a top performers section and a section for Statcast leaders.
Stats - The stats page shows the system leaders at every level, or throughout the organization. It also has a sortable and filterable 2026 section for batters, pitchers, and Statcast leaders. I’ve personally been using this for research for recent articles on this Substack, and have a few expansion ideas coming for the near future.
Rosters - The organizational depth chart, updated anytime there’s a move made throughout the system. Each player includes a link to their player pages, which I’ll get to next.
Player Pages - Each page includes bio information, including draft/international transactions and available signing bonuses. There’s a contract status section, giving 2026 contract information, service time, options remaining, and eligible Rule 5 and free agency dates. The stats include a summary, the last 10 games, and a full stats table with career numbers, game logs, splits, and Statcast data. Pitchers also have a Statcast section showing their pitch arsenal, while batters feature key Statcast metrics. The link above shows the player page for top prospect Seth Hernandez.
Schedule - The weekly organizational schedule, showing you every game, and available probable starters, all on a single page.
Standings - The divisional standings for every team in the Pirates’ system, from the Majors to the DSL, along with the NL Wild Card race.
Transactions - The full transaction log, sortable by month and level, dating all the way back to the 2007 season. This is updated frequently throughout the day in an attempt to always catch the latest moves.
Resources
This is the area I’ve worked on the most over the last week.
Daily Fantasy Baseball Research - This provides Batter vs Pitcher data for the next Pirates game, bullpen usage pitch totals, and a Hot/Cold section for Pirates hitters. Designed to help with your start/sit decisions for your fantasy teams.
Prospect Hotsheet - A recap of the top performers and Statcast leaders in the minor league system from the previous day, along with a Hotsheet for batters and pitchers, which can each be filtered by 7/14/30 day timeframes, and by individual levels.
Payroll Tracker - The 2026 payroll estimates, along with future payroll commitments. This was one of the first features to ever launch on Pirates Prospects in 2009, and it has returned with daily automated updates.
Draft Pick Signing Tracker - Another day-one feature on the site, this shows every draft pick since 2012 (the first year of the current draft system), along with yearly bonus pool information. There’s an All section to sort information from every draft during the timeframe. When the 2026 draft starts, this will be the place to find the latest updates as they happen.
International Signing Tracker - Full international signing details dating back to 2021 (the first year MLB moved to a January 15th opening), along with available bonus information. There is an All section to sort information from every year in the timeframe. The 2026 signing period is currently ongoing, so this page will receive an update anytime there’s a new addition to the organization.
@pirateprospects on X - The Pirates Prospects Twitter/X account is set up to automatically tweet transactions, home runs, and game results as they happen. Follow for the absolute latest updates
The Goal and Future Updates
The best part about the site is that everything is set to automatically update.
I could be knocked out with a migraine for a week, and you’d still be getting live updates on the scores pages, along with daily updates throughout the site.
This means Pirates Prospects is automatically set to provide more information each day than any single human or group of writers could possibly keep up with.
Pirates Prospects has more information available than any point since it launched in 2009. My only role is to keep upgrading the site with new features, while also observing.
I find myself watching the @pirateprospects feed each night for the latest events. I always have the Scores page open, including as I write this. The Stats page is specifically designed to make my article writing easier.
Since I took a year off last year, and scaled back my writing in 2024, I’m a little rusty on the system. Every day, I learn something new from following the site, and find myself diving into a different player page to get reaclimated.
For example, yesterday I noticed Carlos Mateo was hitting 100 MPH in the FCL. I didn’t know much about the 20-year-old. A quick look at his player page shows he signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2023 for $800,000, has struggled his first three seasons, led by serious control issues, but has a lively arm and the ability to get swing and miss. I doubt he’s going to show up on top prospect lists with the control issues, but he is who I learned about on my own site yesterday.
In a way, the site has become it’s own living entity, and I’m just another observer following along.
That’s why my job becomes simple. What else do I want to see on the site?
I have a few things in mind, beginning with an expansion to the Statcast data. I will also be working throughout the year on a Prospect Ranking system.
Right now, I’m happy that the site has so many informative features. I might be biased as the owner, but as an observer like everyone else, there’s no better site to follow the Pirates.
And that’s before I continue making it better.
Until the next time I go live…
-Tim Williams