Hunter

Barco

Barco heads back to the minors after being called up to spare Pittsburgh’s bullpen during Tuesday’s contest against the Cardinals. The 25-year-old southpaw did his job, but had to wear it, allowing five runs over 4 2/3 innings of relief.

Barco provides Pittsburgh with some additional length out in relief following Monday’s bullpen game against the Cardinals. The 25-year-old southpaw was hit hard in four relief outings earlier this season, but continues to dominate at the Triple-A level. He’s an interesting prospect to keep on radar screens, but he he can safely ignored in all fantasy formats for now.

Barco looks good this spring, but has had a rough go as a long reliever to open the season, allowing seven runs (five earned) on eight hits in seven innings with a 5/7 K/BB ratio. It makes sense for him to go back down to the minors and get stretched out to work as a starter again.

Barco, MLB’s 95th-ranked prospect, made his MLB debut last season with just three innings out of the bullpen. He will presumably start this season in the bullpen as well, with Carmen Mlodzinski already named the team’s fifth starter. That means Barco will be the presumed sixth starter and long reliever and should get a chance to start if Mlodzinski falters. Barco looked good this spring, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits in 9 1/3 innings while striking out 12 and walking six. He might not be worth adding right now in his current role, but fantasy managers should watch Mlodzinski’s early starts closely to see if Barco will get a shot.

The two walks are not ideal, and Barco had just a 57 percent strike rate overall in this one, but his stuff was electric. He induced 11 whiffs on 20 swings, including posting a 47 percent whiff rate on his four-seam fastball. The 25-year-old is a long shot to make the Pirates out of spring training, but he did post a 2.81 ERA and a 116/49 K/BB in 99 1/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A last year and is one of the top prospects in the Pirates organization. He should pitch MLB innings this season.

Since the news came down of Barco’s arrival yesterday, there’s been no indication that he’ll be lined up to start a game. He’ll probably just make one or two appearances in middle relief this week. Barco, 24, had a 2.81 ERA and a 116/49 K/BB in 99 1/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A this season.

It’s unclear if he’ll get a start or finish the season in the pen. As with the surprise Rafael Flores callup last week, Barco needed to be added to the 40-man roster this winter anyway, so there’s little harm in promoting him now. The 24-year-old had a 2.81 ERA and a 116/49 K/BB in 99 1/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A. MLB Pipeline has him as the Pirates’ No. 4 prospect.

Barco set a franchise record with 25 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings over six starts this season at Double-A Altoona to earn a promotion to the doorstep of the majors. The 24-year-old southpaw, who was a second-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, recorded a 34/7 K/BB ratio during that span. He’s not a highly-touted pitching prospect from a scouting standpoint, but the impressive results are impossible to ignore. He profiles as a strong back-end rotation starter for the Pirates once he’s ready to ascend to PNC Park.