In The System: This summer's breakout prospects

ALTOONA, Pa. -- With August beginning, the minor league season is at the mid-way point and what better time than now to look at some of the breakout prospects this summer. 

Those breakouts are beginning to push those players toward promotions and coupled with the 2021 draft picks beginning their professional careers, the quality of play these breakout prospects have shown will need to be maintained. 

This week, we're going to take a look at some of the prospects who've broken out at the plate and on the mound within the Pirates' organization so far this summer. Alex Stumpf has the hitters, and I'm taking the pitchers.

PITCHERS

• Roansy Contreras, Altoona

No prospect list is complete without Roansy Contreras, who until landing on the injured list July 6 was having one of the most dominant summers in recent memory in the the Pirates organization. 

Contreras has a 3-1 record with four of his nine starts being quality starts, but that's not where the dominance lies. The dominance is his sheer power and command over hitters in Class AA. Opponents are hitting a paltry .186 against him with 65 strikeouts in 46 innings of work. Contreras has allowed only 12 earned runs on the season with five coming in the same game.

Despite being on the injured list, Contreras should be able to return by the end of August. It's expected he will make one to two starts in Altoona once he is off the injured list before heading to Indianapolis to finish the season.

• Michael Burrows, Greensboro

Coming into the 2021 season, Michael Burrows' name was nowhere to be found on prospect reports or rankings. In fact he wasn't invited to the alternate training site in 2020 either. Instead, Burrows spent the 2020 season working on increasing his spin rate and spin efficiency, and that's paid huge dividends thus far.

In 2019, Burrows started 11 games much like he has so far in 2021, but the difference in results has been staggering. This season Burrows has allowed 11 earned runs compared to 21 in 2019 while K/9 has skyrocketed to 12.89, over four points higher than what it was in 2019.

Should Burrows continue this form when he returns from his stint on the injured list, he could find himself in Altoona before the season ends and ultimately on the backend of some prospect lists moving forward.

• Jared Jones, Bradenton

The Pirates selected Jones in the second round in 2020 and in his first year with Bradenton, he's lived up to the hype and then some. 

Anytime a team is able to get that out of a starter it's a good sign of what's to come. Statistically speaking, Jones has allowed only 17 earned runs in 12 games and hasn't allowed more than four runs in any of his appearances this year. He's got a 13.70 K/9 ratio thus far and has amassed 70 strikeouts in only 46 innings of action. And in terms of stuff, he's throwing in the upper-90s with a slider that can make hitters look foolish.

Jones has proved his stuff can play and standout among a deep pitching staff in Bradenton.

HITTERS

• Rodolfo Castro, Pirates

This was a no-brainer. Coming into this year, the Pirates thought this was going to be Castro’s Class AA season. Instead, he bypassed Indianapolis and has become a regular at second base late in the season. His first two promotions were born out of necessity since he was already on the 40-man roster, but he’s shown that he can compete against the toughest level of pitchers in pro ball.

“It’s a great feeling,” Castro said about his opportunity in the majors. “It motivates. It inspires. It ignites something in the dugout that helps everyone else on the team. I’m just grateful, grateful that it was me.”

After hitting .300 with an .876 OPS in Altoona, Castro has produced a .207/.270/.483 slash line in the majors with five home runs. Even if he does miss out on playing time down the stretch, just getting a real look in the majors is a big win for him and the organization.

The Pirates have a wealth of middle infield prospects, but Castro’s breakout campaign makes him the first one to reach the show.

• Matthew Fraizer, Altoona

Of all the players who were hurt by last season’s cancellation, the 2019 draft picks were probably hit the hardest. That goes extra for someone like Fraizer. He was selected in the third round but struggled in his first taste of pro ball. Without a season, he was in a position where he easily could have been lost in the shuffle this year.

That definitely wasn’t the case. He spent the shutdown working on his swing, and the results have shown. In 350 plate appearances, he slashed .314/.401/.578 with 20 home runs. The Pirates pushed him by starting him in Class High-A Greensboro, and he was arguably the best hitter in the farm system. Now, he’s finally gotten his call to Altoona.

With the exception of Bryan Reynolds, the Pirates’ outfield is pretty wide open for the next couple years. Fraizer is on a trajectory that could get him to the majors. Not bad for someone who wasn’t really considered a prospect four months ago.

• Maikol Escotto, Bradenton

For hitters, there were two slam-dunk breakout players to pick for the top spots. The third is a little tougher to choose, especially if we exclude players like Hoy Park who came to the Pirates over the trade deadline. Same goes for the draft picks. While players like Hudson Head, Nick Gonzales and Liover Peguero have all had solid seasons, they’re top 10 prospects and really haven’t taken that next step quite yet. Catcher Endy Rodriguez has had a good season, but he’s also 21 years old and in Class Low-A. I had a hard time choosing him just for that reason.

Instead, I’m going with Escotto, who would probably be better off suited for next year’s list, assuming he taps into his raw power more in game situations. Despite just ok power results, he’s shown a good feel for the strike zone and is getting on base at a .382 clip. The 15 errors at shortstop are a bit of a red flag, but the book on him is that he can stick in the middle infield.

This is Escotto’s first year playing pro ball stateside and has fit in very well. If he starts slugging more, he could flirt with top 100 status.

OFFICIAL LINKS

• Affiliate scores
• Indianapolis
• Altoona
• Greensboro
• Bradenton

YOUR TURN: We'd love to hear from you, too, especially if you make it out to see any of these prospects and affiliates play. Feel free to file your own original scouting reports and other observations in comments. 

And if you want to check out our midseason top prospect update, be sure to listen to the most recent episode of Young Bucs: