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Sep 28, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Hunter Barco (45) walks to the dugout after pitching against the Atlanta Braves during the seventh inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Pirates' Hunter Barco Deserves His Opening Day Spot

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI
By Dominic Campbell | Last updated Mar 23, 2026 2:00 PM ET

PITTSBURGH — Hunter Barco has had a great deal of patience in his baseball career, but the Pittsburgh Pirates are finally giving him the chance to show his talents long-term.

Barco has made the Opening Day roster for the first time and will have a bulk role to start out in the Pirates bullpen, taking on more innings or piggy-backing another pitcher when needed. He'll also get some looks as a starter as well in the future.

It's been a long road for Barco, who joined the Pirates out of Florida in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft and had already undergone Tommy John surgery, delaying his professional debut until late 2023.

Barco now gets to show why he belongs on the Opening Day roster and continue his solid performances from Spring Training into the regular season.

An Expanded Pitch Mix Benefits Barco

One of the biggest moves Barco made this offseason was expanding his pitch mix from just three options to now six.

He added a sweeper, a changeup and a true sinker, which compliments his older pitches he previously had, a four-seam fastball, a split-finger fastball and a slider.

Barco has mostly relied on his four-seam fastball in Spring Training, but his slider, sinker and changeup are his next most-used pitches, showing trust in his new arsenal.

Pitch	Usage	Average Pitch Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball	86/178 (48%)	93.9 mph
Slider	30/178 (17%)	83.2 mph
Sinker	27/178 (15%)	93.1 mph
Changeup	19/178 (11%)	86.0 mph
Sweeper	10/178 (5%)	83.8 mph
Splitter	6/178 (4%)	83.9 mph

Barco, if he wants a starting role for the future, has to have a strong pitch mix and by adding this trio, he's shown the desire for that workload and responsibility.

Strong Spring Training Showings for Barco

Barco still has one final Spring Training outing in the finale on March 23, but has pitched well so far for the Pirates in the Grapefruit League.

He's pitched four times and made two starts for the Pirates, posting a 2.89 ERA over 9.1 innings pitched, 12 strikeouts to six walks, a .156 batting average allowed and a 1.18 WHIP.

Barco had a great first start vs. the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. on March 1, throwing three scoreless innings and posting three strikeouts, while allowing just two walks.

His second start didn't go as well, again throwing three innings, but giving up three runs off of three hits and a walk against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Merchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla. on March 7.

Barco most recently threw two scoreless innings of relief vs. the Baltimore Orioles on March 19 at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla. and added three strikeouts with just two hits allowed.

These outings show that he's getting more acclimated to MLB-hitting, which he only saw twice last season, and ready for the level going forward.

Barco Fills Important Role on Pirates Roster

The Pirates need more left-handed options, as the other two Opening Day roster southpaws in Mason Montgomery, acquired via trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, and Gregory Soto, signed on a one-year, $7.75 million deal, are both high-leverage options.

Barco will provide the Pirates a longer-outing pitcher and a left-handed arm too. He can take on starts when needed, piggy-back off of another starter that had a bad outing or is on an innings-restriction and just take on more inning when needed if the bullpen is overworked.

The Pirates had great success building up pitchers like Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler from the bullpen, before they started earning starting opportunities and both had excellent performances at the major league level in 2025.

Ashcraft's success is important for Barco, as he has an even more extensive injury history and managed his biggest workload of his professional career and then pitched well on top of that.

Barco also pitched the most he's done so as a professional last season, with 23 starts in 27 outings in the minors and 99.1 innings pitched. He threw six innings in three outings and at least five innings in four other starts, showing he can go long if needed.

The Pirates now have a top 100 prospect on their roster and if he can follow in the way of Ashcraft and Chandler, they will have an even better starting rotation going forward.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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