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Hunter Barco making case for Pirates call-up

Hunter Barco, MiLB’s No. 71 prospect and Pittsburgh Pirates No. 3-ranked prospect, has put together a solid 2025 season for the Triple-A affiliate, Indianapolis Indians.

So far this season with two teams, Barco has posted a 2.70 ERA, a 3-1 record, has recorded 96 strikeouts and a 1.15 WHIP. Prior to the Pirates promoting him to Triple-A in May, Barco did not surrender any runs in six starts with Double-A Altoona Curve. He also set the Curve franchise record of 25 2/3 scoreless innings.

Last week, Michael Avallone of MLB.com recognized Barco as a top minor league performer from the previous week. After struggling in his past couple of starts, Barco found his groove by allowing one hit and striking out four in four scoreless innings. He also retired nine consecutive batters to start the game against the Kansas City Royals Triple-A affiliate Omaha Storm Chasers.

The 6-foot-4, former Florida Gator was drafted by the Pirates in the 2022 MLB draft in the second round with the 44th overall pick. Before receiving Tommy John Surgery in 2022, Barco’s draft stock fell, which is what allowed him to fall to the second round. Although the start to his professional baseball career wasn’t ideal, Barco now sits behind only Bubba Chandler and Konnor Griffin in the Pirates’ prospect rankings.

As a left-handed pitcher, Barco’s biggest strength is his ability to hide the ball with his unorthodox delivery. This past offseason, Barco and the Pirates organization established how to utilize it to their advantage.

“[I] still have all the funkiness [in my delivery] that I’ve always had,” Barco said. “But in terms of moving better and direction down the mound, [I’ve] definitely gotten better. My body’s in a much better place than it was beforehand. I’ve put on good weight. And, just in terms of my full-on mobility, a whole lot better.”

With his overpowering, mid-90s fastball, a slider that causes many swings and misses, and his splitter (offspeed pitch of choice), Barco causes many swings and misses. Last Spring Training, he added a changeup to his repertoire from former Pirates Spring Training non-roster invite Tyler Chatwood. With these tools, it is all coming together for Barco.

After not starting his career on the top 100 prospects list, the Pirates’ farm system has done him and others justice by developing them into promising prospects. Because of this, Barco has moved quickly through the farm system throughout the past year and could find himself wearing the black, gold, and white sooner rather than later. 

Dedrick Hendrix
Dedrick Hendrix
Dedrick Hendrix is a minor league baseball contributor for Baseball Prospect Journal. He also writes for Fansided. In the past, he wrote for Call To The Pen, Sodo Mojo (Mariners website) and Inside Pitch. He once hosted a podcast called The Midwest Swing that covered the Midwest League in MiLB. He works as a producer/co-host for 1380 The Fan (Fox Sports) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. You can follow him on X @dchendrix and on Instagram @officialdchendrix.

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