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What to Expect from Pirates Pitcher Hunter Barco

Originally posted on New Baseball Media
By Chris Studley | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 6:45 PM ET

With the Triple-A regular season done, the Pirates are promoting prized pitching prospect Hunter Barco for the final week of 2025. Barco was a second-round pick several years ago who steadily moved up the Pirates’ system, thanks to a power two-seamer/slider/splitter combo.

A Look at Barco

The Pirates drafted Hunter Barco with the 44th pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Pittsburgh’s third pick that year. Pittsburgh selected Termarr Johnson (4th) and Thomas Harrington (36th), the latter of whom made his debut earlier this year, before Barco.

Barco was a first-round caliber talent heading into 2022. However, he needed Tommy John surgery before he was drafted, which meant he only threw 50 innings in his draft year. Barco pitched very well before going down, as he struck out 69 and conceded more ground balls than fly-balls.

The now-24-year-old didn’t make his pro debut until July 2023. He struck out 28 over 18.1 IP in brief action that season. Barco then pitched well overall between High-A and Double-A in 2024, striking out 83 batters over 66 innings pitched, while issuing 22 walks.

Barco received a promotion to Triple-A in May after a dominant first month with Altoona (AA) this year. The left-hander didn’t concede a run over 25.2 IP and struck out 34 over that span. He continued steady production with Indianapolis (AAA), with 82 strikeouts and a .215 opponents’ average across 73.2 IP.

The former Florida Gator worked into the sixth inning several times during the middle of the 2025 season. But over the last few weeks, dating back to August 19, the Pirates limited Barco to outings of three innings maximum.

When I went over Barco back in July for our fantasy coverage, I noted several aspects about Barco’s game that make him a unique arm. One is the sinker, which is more of a running two-seamer, compared to a true sinker with downward action. His sinker has higher-than-usual (12.6” IVB) induced vertical action.

Hunter Barco 2025 AAA Pitch Movement 2 Note the action on the two-seamer and the action on the slider. (via New Baseball Media)

Barco’s two-seamer hit as high as 96 MPH with the Indians. But overall, he hit 94-95 MPH with consistency.

His Whiff%, overall, was 29.4% down in Triple-A. Barco showcased a very good gyro slider that, on average, had almost four inches more of induced vertical action downward. That pitch had close to a 50% Whiff% rate back in July. It came down to 38.7% per Statcast, still not a bad total.

Barco can also go soft with a mid-80s changeup, one that doesn’t look like a splitter on paper. His splitter tends to cut more than just drop down.

The 24-year-old is not a comfortable arm to face. He throws from a low arm slot, and it’s hard to pick it up. Barco hides the ball well to his side in the delivery.

Per reports, the Pirates will have Hunter Barco join the team this week.

Analysis

Since Barco was drafted in 2022, the Pirates had to put him on the 40-man roster before December anyway. By doing it now, the Pirates can have him pitch in the Majors, protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and not have to burn an option.

For Barco, he’ll be a very important piece for a Pirates pitching staff that’s poised to be very good on paper. Paul Skenes may very well come into 2026 with a Cy Young Award on his resume. Bubba Chandler, promoted last month, has been exceptional at times since his promotion. Plus, the Pirates will have Mitch Keller and Johan Oviedo, provided neither is traded.

Jared Jones, another one of their high-end arms, had elbow surgery this past year and won’t be available at the start of 2026.

Barco is a different pitcher compared to Chandler and Skenes, both of whom are power pitchers. However, he’s the kind of arm who can be a very good #2/#3 for a competitive team.

This article first appeared on New Baseball Media and was syndicated with permission.

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