What the Pirates Get in Hunter Barco

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are bringing up one of their best pitching prospects in left-hander Hunter Barco, who will get the MLB opportunity he's worked for his entire life.

The Pirates are reportedly selecting the contract of Barco from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of the series opener vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Sept. 23. He will then spend the final six games with the team, as they close out their series with the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park, Sept. 26-28.

Pittsburgh makes the smart decision of putting Barco on their 40-man roster, protecting him ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, and giving him a chance to pitch in the MLB, following the conclusion of the Triple-A season.

MLB Pipeline ranks Barco as 82nd best prospect in baseball, the fourth best prospect in the Pirates system, the third best pitching prospect behind right-hander Bubba Chandler, who is at the MLB level, and Seth Hernandez, who the Pirates took sixth overall in the 2025 MLB Draft.

The Journey to the Pirates for Hunter Barco

Barco started out this season with Double-A Altoona, where he had an historic start, with a 1-0 record in five starts, while allowing no runs, nine hits, three hit batters and four walks and posting both 30 strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .132 in the month of April.

He set a franchise record with the longest scoreless inning streak to start a season at 25.2 innings pitched. He also earned Eastern League Pitcher of the Month Award in April.

Barco earned promotion to Indianapolis on May 6, finishing his time in Double-A with a 0.00 ERA over 25.2 innings pitched with Altoona, 34 strikeouts to seven walks, a .131 opposing batting average and a 0.70 WHIP.

He didn't pitch quite as well at Triple-A, but still finished with a 3-1 record over 21 outings and seven starts, a 3.79 ERA over 73.2 innings pitched, 82 strikeouts to 42 walks, a .215 opposing batting average and a 1.37 WHIP.

Barco hails from Jacksonville, Fla. and played for The Bolles School, a college preparatory and boarding school in the city.

He excelled in high school and Perfect Game rated him as the 14th best player and the best left-handed pitcher in the Class of 2019. He had a 5-0 record as a senior in 2019, with a 1.84 ERA over 38.0 innings and posted 67 strikeouts.

Barco, despite his high ranking, fell to the 24th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, with the New York Mets taking him, as he had a strong desire to go pitch at Florida, which he ended up doing.

His college career started off well as a freshman, with a 2-0 record over four starts and five outings, a 1.40 ERA over 19.1 innings pitched, 26 strikeouts to six walks, and a .162 opposing batting average, but it came to an end due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down NCAA baseball.

Barco had his most productive year as a sophomore with the Gators in 2021, finishing with a 10-3 record over 16 starts, a 4.01 ERA over 83.0 innings pitched, 94 strikeouts to 26 walks and a .239 opposing batting average.

He had a great first two months to his junior campaign with Florida in 2022, with a 5-2 record over nine starts, a 2.50 ERA over 50.1 innings pitched, 69 strikeouts to 11 walks and a .187 opposing batting average.