Three Pirates Prospects Who Should Be Ranked Higher
The recent mid-season prospect updates should have given more consideration to three prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates' system.
Last weekend, I looked at the consensus top prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system.
After taking a year off from prospect reporting and evaluation to improve my education and skills in other areas, I’m not the best person to evaluate prospect rankings at the moment. I don’t have rankings of my own, and I’ve only been following the system from a statistical standpoint for a little over a month as I’ve been building the new PiratesProspects.com.
Despite being out of the ranking game, there were three players who stood out to me as not being rated higher when I was going through the top prospect lists.
Below, I’m going to detail each of those players, what stood out to me, and their positions in the top prospect rankings.
Lonnie White Jr.
Lonnie White Jr. has been one of the best stories in the Pirates’ minor league system so far this season. He entered this week with 13 homers between Greensboro and Altoona, along with a combined .296/.405/.571 line.
Unfortunately, he ends the week on the injured list in Altoona.
Signed out of high school in 2021, away from a commitment to be a two-sport athlete with Penn State, White’s career has been plagued by injuries. He hasn’t had more than 375 plate appearances in a season, and only the last two seasons have seen him go over the 300 PA mark each year.
Missing time at a young age has a negative impact on development. Consistent injuries will chase evaluators away, which might explain why White didn’t receive much consideration in the rankings. The stats from White, as recently as last year’s .220/.329/.394 line in Greensboro, represented his lack of development. He showed flashes of power, but nothing consistent.
This year, White has been showing consistent production, and some of the best power in the system. That started in a more hitter-friendly environment in Greensboro, but has continued in his jump to a more neutral environment in Altoona.
Despite this, White was left out of the prospect rankings. FanGraphs, which extends to a top 50, only had him as an afterthought for his power. Baseball America didn’t have him in their top 30. MLB Pipeline doesn’t update their top 30, but didn’t have him in during the pre-season creation, and he wasn’t added to replace graduations.
White’s omission was the biggest surprise to me. It would make sense if people were chased away by the injury history, which is still impacting him every season. You could justify it by raising concern with his 30.9% strikeout rate with Altoona. That high strikeout rate also comes with a 13.8% walk rate and a high average this season. That’s all in addition to his rare power, which is finally starting to translate consistently to games.
What stands out to me is the development of the overall game, and the more consistent power. Even through the injuries, White is finally developing in a positive direction, which wasn’t happening in the past.
Maybe he’s not a top ten prospect, but White is absolutely one of the top 30 prospects in the system, and arguably inside the top 20 if you discount the injury history.
Bralyn Brazoban
The Pirates paid $2 million to sign Bralyn Brazoban as the headline of their 2024 international signing class. His first two seasons in pro ball have been disappointing, with an OPS of .485 his rookie season, and a .586 OPS between the DSL and FCL last season.
Brazoban is still young, only in his age 19 season this year. He started this year in the FCL, and his numbers have done a complete 180, with a .300/.383/.571 line in 81 plate appearances. That was enough to get him promoted to Bradenton this week.
The most encouraging thing has been the emergence of power. Brazoban didn’t have a single home run the previous two seasons. He has two so far this season, in a league that is known as one of the most pitcher-friendly environments in the minors. Brazoban also has six triples, after putting up four combined over the last two seasons. In limited Statcast data, he’s averaging a 94.8 MPH exit velocity — among the best in the system — with a max velocity of 110.9 MPH.
There are some red flags. His strikeout rate is at 34.6%, which is a problem at the lowest levels. He’s also benefitting from a .463 BABIP, which probably isn’t sustainable.
What stands out to me is the emergence of power in his game at a young age. He’s far from a polished prospect, but Brazoban is starting to show positive development after two years of struggles. At worst, he’s a sleeper in the 30-50 range, and at best, he’s a sleeper inside the top 30.
Hyun Seung Lee
The Pirates signed Hyun Seung Lee out of Korea for $160,000 in 2025. I didn’t even know who he was entering this season, as his signing and career came during my off year. He has stood out to me simply for his performance over the last month while I’ve been following the system. That performance has also earned him a recent promotion to Bradenton.
Lee was batting .321/.426/.625 in the FCL, with three home runs, three triples, and two doubles. That’s a considerable boost in power output over his .776 OPS in the DSL last season. The 18-year-old shortstop has since moved up to A-ball, where he went 3-for-11 with a home run so far this week.
Baseball America actually had Lee as their number 30 prospect, so he did get some recognition. He wasn’t mentioned at all in the FanGraphs top 50, so that recognition isn’t universal. I’m writing about him here because his results in the FCL stood out.
The time spent in Bradenton will give a better indicator of how Lee fares as a top prospect. He’s very young for that level, and in a limited amount of 35 plate appearances there have been some red flags. One is a 37.1% strikeout rate. There’s also a reduction of power, with two extra base hits so far. I wouldn’t expect him to put it all together immediately. If he did at this age, he’d be ranked much higher than sneaking inside a top 30.
What stands out the most is his 92.8 MPH exit velocity and 107.1 MPH max velocity. He’s replicated those results in Bradenton, though his launch angle and contact rates have declined in the jump higher. Lee will be a guy to watch in Bradenton the rest of the season. Even if he goes back down and mashes the rest of the year in the FCL, his anticipated jump to Bradenton full-time next year at the age of 19 will be one of the better lower-level stories.
Until the next time I go live…
-Tim Williams