Five Emerging Pirates Prospects to Watch in 2024

November 1, 2023 Adam Greene General, MiLB, NL Central, Pirates 0

Jase Bowen, Bradenton Marauders. June 4, 2022. Photo credit Tom Hagerty/MiLB, lakelandlocal on Flickr
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On July 9th, the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted starting pitcher Paul Skenes 1st overall out of Louisiana State University in the MLB Draft. In doing so, they acquired an indisputable top-five prospect in baseball, solidifying their farm system as one of the best in the league. The organization now has far more depth than it has in years, as Ben Cherrington and his front office in Pittsburgh have done a fantastic job rebuilding their farm system over the last half-decade. The Pirates no longer rely on one or two major names to carry the minor league system. Instead, they now have five to six legitimate top 100 prospects. Deeper in Pittsburgh’s minor leagues are a few players with high potential who could make their case as top Pirates prospects in 2024.


Tsung-Che Cheng, SS
Last Pirates Top 50 rank – 11

The Taiwanese infield prospect signed for $380,000 in the 2019 International Signing Pool. Due to the pandemic and injuries, it took some time for Cheng to reach the level the organization desired, but it seems he’s now ready to take that step. Cheng had a promising year in which he already began to rise through the Pirates’ rankings. It began in 2022 when he led his team in the Colombia Caribbean Winter League to a championship. During the past year, he progressed through Greensboro (High-A) and Altoona (Double-A), easily being the best year of his professional career so far.

Cheng earned his promotion to Altoona after posting a 163 wRC+ in Greensboro, dominating pitchers and consistently getting on base. His speed played a significant role in his success this season, as he showcased it with 26 stolen bases, 13 with each team. Cheng can also switch-hit, adding versatility to his hitting and making him an even more challenging at-bat for pitchers. He has the invaluable ability to stretch hits into extra bases, no one player in MiLB had more triples than he did. Cheng’s ten triples were tied for the lead across the minors, and he also had a personal best of 13 home runs. By the end of the next year, Cheng could be on the verge of breaking through to the majors and one of the Pirates’ top 5 prospects.

Jase Bowen, OF
Last Pirates Top 50 rank – NR

Currently one of the hottest bats in the Arizona Fall League, Bowen was not always set on playing baseball. He attended Central Catholic HS in Toledo and was heavily recruited as a wide receiver, committing to play at Michigan State University. However, in 2019, the Pirates selected him in the 11th round of the draft and he chose to focus on baseball over football. Since that decision, he has progressed from the Gulf Coast League to Double-A Altoona. As mentioned before, he is having an incredible campaign in the Arizona Fall League with an OPS over .900.

Potentially the biggest draw for the Pirates when they drafted Bowen was his mix of power and athleticism. He finally reached the 20-home run mark in 2023, leading all Pirates minor league players with 23 home runs. With an isolated power clip of .212, Bowen has emerged as one of the better power hitters in Pittsburgh’s system. His agility and athleticism showed last year as well, with Bowen racking up six outfield assists and a career-high in stolen bases. The majority of his season was spent in Greensboro, where he led the team with 24 stolen bases and accumulated two more in his final week’s promotion to Altoona. While with the Salt River Rafters in Arizona, he primarily plays the outfield but has spent some time in the infield; Bowen was actually drafted as a second baseman. Next year will be a critical year for Bowen to continue his success from 2023.

Jun-Seok Shim, RHP
Last Pirates Top rank – 21

Going into the new year, Shim was poised to be one of the top picks in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). He had concluded high school with a 1.42 ERA and was touted as the pitcher with the highest upside in their draft. However, in January, he made the decision to withdraw from the KBO draft and declare himself eligible for MLB’s International Signing Pool. Shortly after, he signed with Pittsburgh for $750,000 and was introduced at PNC Park on January 26th.

Throughout the year, Shim had to deal with a few injuries and only pitched eight innings over four games in the Florida Complex League. However, his pro debut went as well as anyone could have wished when he pitched four perfect innings and struck out eight.

It’s easy to see why the Pirates were so eager to sign Shim and why he has the potential to be an elite top-of-the-rotation starter in the majors. At just 19 years old, his 6’4″ and 215 lb frame gives him room to continue adding more force to his pitches. His fastball can already reach triple digits, and his curveball displays a true 12-6 break. Since moving to the States, he has also begun developing a changeup and slider. If Shim can pitch a full season in 2024, it’s hard to imagine him not becoming one of the top prospects for the Pirates. If his stuff plays as it did in years past, he could be more than just a top Pirates prospect. Shim has the ability to be one of the best young arms in baseball.

Braxton Ashcraft, RHP
Last Pirates Top 50 rank – 28

No stranger to paying over slot money for pitchers drafted early, the Pirates did just that when they selected Ashcraft in the 2nd round of the 2018 Draft from Robinson HS in Texas. He has dealt with his fair share of injuries since then, suffering a shoulder dislocation in 2019 and needing Tommy John surgery soon after the 2021 season started, which also put him on the shelf for all of 2022. Of course, there were no minor league games in 2020 either. Where does this leave someone with so much upside but has missed so much time on the mound? Ashcraft finally had a relatively clean year, making 19 starts and looking like the pitcher the Pirates had hoped for when they drafted him.

Ashcraft put up really impressive numbers in Greensboro and moved up to Altoona in June. Not only did he continue his success from High-A, but he surpassed it and threw even better. Ashcraft was on an innings limit but still led Altoona’s pitchers in ERA with a 1.35, a 0.95 WHIP, 0.0 HR/9, and was second in BB/9 at 2.3. His fastball’s spin rate is remarkably high for someone coming off TJ surgery; it’s one of the best in Pittsburgh’s minor leagues. His slider sits in the mid to upper 80s, and the organization is working on adding more depth to his curve. If healthy, Ashcraft will most likely start next season with Indianapolis (Triple-A), and he has a good shot at pitching innings in Pittsburgh next year.

Charles McAdoo, 2B
Last Pirates Top 50 rank – NR

McAdoo was the Pirates’ 13th-round selection in the 2023 Draft, a five-tool infielder out of San Jose State University. McAdoo was also a wide receiver who played at De La Salle HS but signed with the Pirates because he wanted to play baseball professionally. In 2022, McAdoo was a Second-Team All-American, and he won First-Team Mountain West award that year and again in 2023. McAdoo finished his collegiate career with a .325/.396/.572/.968 slash line and continued to swing the bat well in his first professional stint in Bradenton (Single-A) with a .923 OPS.

Since McAdoo’s bat and glove were ready to go as soon as he signed, Pittsburgh had him skip the Complex League. This decision appears to have been productive, as McAdoo won the Florida State League Player of the Week award in just his first week’s worth of games. In fact, in his fourth game in Bradenton, he went 6-6 with two home runs and eight RBIs. Since being drafted, the Pirates have also experimented with playing him in the outfield, and he has maintained a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Next year will serve as McAdoo’s opportunity to play his first full pro season, and with ample time, he will be able to display his athleticism and plus hit-tool. At just 21, he has plenty of time to develop and for his prospect status to rise.

Adam Greene

Adam Greene is a Sport Management and Marketing double major at UMass Amherst's Isenberg School of Management. His main focus is sport marketing, where he's already had internships with the local Westfield Starfires and Springfield Thunderbirds. He now writes for the Cape Cod Baseball League. From Longmeadow, MA, Adam is a huge Red Sox fan and has been following the team his whole life. When Covid hit, he started paying a lot more attention to the Red Sox minor league teams, and now, follows them almost as much as the big league squad. Follow him on Twitter at @aj_greene1015 and Instagram at the same handle.

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