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Yhonathan Barrios Promoted to Indianapolis

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The Pirates have promoted right-handed pitcher Yhonathan Barrios to Indianapolis, Pirates Prospects has learned. Barrios had a 1.46 ERA in 24.2 innings, with a 12:9 K/BB ratio in Altoona this year. He was working as their closer, converting 10 of 11 save opportunities.

The back story with Barrios is interesting. He was signed for $250,000 in 2008, which was the first year Neal Huntington took over, and thus, the first year the Pirates really started investing in Latin America. As a result, he was one of the biggest bonuses in Pirates’ history at the time. The interesting thing is that he was signed as a shortstop with a lot of raw power potential. That never worked out, and he was completely overmatched at the plate, so the Pirates converted him to the mound in 2013.

I saw him in the GCL that season, and he was sitting mid-90s and hitting 98-99 with ease. He was impressive enough that he broke into our top 50 solely on his stuff that year. He has carried that velocity over to both levels of A-ball last year, and now Double-A. He also showed some potential with a slider, although it’s not a great out pitch at the moment. He also has a good feel for a changeup, which is his best off-speed offering. If he can develop a good out pitch, he could be a late inning reliever in the majors one day.

No word on a corresponding move from Indianapolis. Yesterday we announced that Brett McKinney was moved up to Altoona, so that’s likely going to be the move there.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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