Pirates’ Zander Mueth Could Be Worth The Wait
The Pirates drafted Illinois high school righthander Zander Mueth in the supplemental second round in 2023. The organization is no stranger to developing top pitching prospects from the prep ranks, and Mueth is already standing out.
During his pro debut in the Florida Complex League this year, Mueth excelled with a 1.58 ERA in 51.1 innings, while striking out 56 batters.
“First impression has been great,” Pirates farm director John Baker said. “He’s maturing in professional baseball and has been a front-line contributor on a winning FCL club.”
The FCL Pirates recently wrapped their season by losing to the FCL Tigers in the championship series. Mueth’s performance was part of what got them so far, highlighted by an impressive six-game stretch from June 13 to July 19. He went five innings each start, allowing a combined two earned runs.
Mueth’s success comes from a 92-95 mph fastball, which tops out at 97, thrown from a low three-quarters arm slot. The lower slot from his 6-foot-6, 205-pound frame adds movement to his pitches.
The 19-year-old throws a four-seam fastball and a two-seamer, but his movement led to him throwing the four-seamer more often this year.
“The four-seamer has two-seam-like action and has been a good pitch for him,” Baker said.
Mueth throws a mid-80s sweeping slider that gets swings and misses, along with a low-80s changeup with a lot of drop. Both pitches show the potential to develop into above-average offerings with more time and consistency.
He showed improvements with his control as the season progressed, with just nine walks in 30 innings during that impressive six-start stretch.
The Pirates could continue extending Mueth’s workload over the final two months of the minor league season. He could go to Low-A Bradenton, or could pitch at instructional league.
“Depending on innings and health, he could pitch in Bradenton this year,” said Baker. “We won’t rush or be foolish with him.”
Nor should they. Still 19 years old and in Rookie ball, Mueth has shown a lot of promise. In a system stocked with pitching talent, the Pirates don’t need to rush his development.
BURIED TREASURE
— The Pirates sent shortstop Yordany De Los Santos to Low-A Bradenton last year, and the assignment didn’t go well. After putting up a .578 OPS, he was sent down to the Florida Complex League, where he hit for an .860 OPS. The 19-year-old De Los Santos returned to the FCL this year and had one of the best offensive seasons in the system. He hit .344/.407/.505, stole 24 bases and showed great defense at the middle-infield positions. He also added some power, hitting eight doubles, four triples and five home runs. Signed in January 2022, De Los Santos is one of the Pirates’ top hitting prospects at the lowest levels.
— Mitch Jebb is starting to show why the Pirates invested a second-round pick to take him in 2023. The middle infielder is batting .324/.451/.500 in July, while using his speed for 12 stolen bases. Jebb has 28 steals in 32 attempts this year in High-A Greensboro. The speed has been there all year, but he had a slow start offensively. He’s been improved at getting on base the last two months, with a combined .415 OBP in June and July. He has more walks than strikeouts during this time, and is recently starting to hit for a higher average, including batting .378 since the all-star break. Jebb has the potential to be a speedy shortstop with gap power and is starting to show that profile on the field.
