With the Pirates season ending last week, we saw some top prospects making their major league debuts and some top prospects making big leaps in the minors, but there are some prospects who aren’t so well known who did well this year, and some well known prospects that disappointed.

Jase Bowen

Jase Bowen is the first prospect to name. Bowen, 23, was the 11th round pick in the 2019 draft for the Pirates. Bowen started this year in A+ Greensboro but tore it up and got promoted to AA late this year. In Greensboro, Bowen hit .258 with 23 home runs and a .802 OPS. In AA, he didn’t do as well, but with limited at bats he hit .219 with 0 home runs and a .680 OPS. At the beginning of the season, Bowen was not a ranked prospect but now he is ranked 27th in the Pirates organization.

Travis Swaggerty

To follow a surprising player, a disappointing player was Travis Swaggerty. Swaggerty, 26, was the 1st round pick for the Pirates in 2018. Swaggerty made his major league debut with the Pirates in 2022 but only had 9 at bats before getting sent back down to the minors. This season, Swaggerty was in AAA but then got released in the middle of the season. Swaggerty was then picked up by the White Sox, but did not play a game with them this season.

Josiah Sightler

Another surprising prospect the Pirates had was Josiah Sightler. Sightler, 23, was the 15th round pick in 2022. Sightler didn’t play a single game in the Pirates organization last year but this year through three levels he hit .311 with 14 home runs and a .909 OPS. Sightler was unranked to start the season, but now is ranked 26th in the organization and looks to be our future first baseman in years to come.

Matt Fraizer

A former top prospect Matt Fraizer was also disappointing this year. Fraizer, 25, who is in his third year in AA, hit .252 with eight home runs and a .683 OPS. Last season Fraizer was ranked 10th in the Pirates system and he is now unranked. His fall from grace has been arguably one of the more disappointing ones of recent memory, as he looked to be one of the more encouraging prospects the Pirates had during his 2021 season. Instead, Frazier will now be lucky if he’s given more opportunities with the Pirates.

Tsung-Che Cheng

Infielder Tsung-Che Cheng was also surprising. Cheng, 22, started the season in A+ but got promoted to AA in the middle of the season. Cheng hit .278 with 13 home runs and a .808 OPS this season. Cheng might start the season in AA next year but he has a chance to make his MLB debut in 2024. Cheng was also unranked last season and now is the 18th ranked prospect in the Pirates organization.

Maikol Escotto

The last player to talk about is Maikol Escotto. Escotto, 21, played the whole season with A+ Greensboro. Even though he only played 89 games he did not perform well in them. He hit .213 with 8 home runs and a .619 OPS. The good thing for Escotto is that he is still young and has time to develop but he won’t be in the majors any time soon.