Thomas

Harrington

Harrington was demoted by the Pirates on Aug. 2, gave up two runs in 4 2/3 innings for Indianapolis six days later and then went on the IL with an undisclosed injury. Given that he threw just 14 pitches Thursday, it seems like he might only be an option in relief for the Pirates next month.

Harrington returns to the minors after recording only two outs and getting obliterated for six runs in relief on Friday night against the Rockies. He’ll get another chance at some point, but his fantasy stock has taken a considerable hit over the last few months.

Harrington was summoned prior to Friday’s series opener against the Rockies. He’ll likely occupy a bullpen role for the final two months of the season, but could be moved into the rotation at some point.

The 23-year-old now has a 6.87 ERA on the season at Triple-A and seems to have been passed by both Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows in terms of potential options for the Pirates’ rotation. With Bubba Chandler also in the mix, it seems highly unlikely we’ll see Harrington in the big leagues again this season, and he’ll need to turn the ship around fast if he wants to have a chance to compete for a 2026 rotation spot.

The Pirates will likely announce a corresponding transaction before Friday’s game. Harrington is one of the top pitching prospects in the system and could be brought back up as either a multi-inning bullpen arm or possibly to make starts. There’s some long-term upside here, but Harrington is best left on the waiver wire for now.

Harrington entered up 4-1 after five, and he got the chance to finish the game after the Pirates expanded their lead to 8-2 in the seventh. He did give up two homers along the way, but a save it was. Harrington, who gave up six runs as a starter in his major league debut last Tuesday, might head back to the minors now in exchange for the fresh arm, but he gave a weary pen a nice lift tonight.

Harrington got off to a rocky start as the Rays tagged him for three runs on three hits, including run-scoring knocks by rookies Jake Magum and Kameron Misner, and a pair of walks during a 30-pitch opening frame. Things didn’t get any better from there as he continued to struggle uncharacteristically with his control and gave up three additional runs on four hits, including a two-run homer by Brandon Lowe. The 23-year-old top pitching prospect projects as a high-floor starter with the command and control to outperform expectations, but he’s going to need some time to acclimate to the big leagues. It’s unclear whether he’ll get another start for the Pirates, but he’s in line to face the Cardinals on Monday at PNC Park.

Harrington, the 36th overall pick in the 2022 draft, will make his major league debut against the Rays on Tuesday. The 23-year-old had a 2.61 ERA and a 115/19 K/BB in 117 1/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A last year.

The Pirates decided last week to keep Cameron Mlodzinski over Harrington for the final spot in the rotation, but Mlodzinski allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings, and it appears the Pirates will now turn to Harrington, who will start on Tuesday against the Rays. The 23-year-old has yet to make a start in the minors this season, but he posted a 2.61 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 115/19 K/BB ratio in 117 1/3 innings last year split between Double-A and Triple-A. Harrington does not have the swing-and-miss upside of Paul Skenes or Jared Jones, but he has elite command and a deep five-pitch mix. His four-seam fastball is just around 92 mph, so he will need to rely on that command and sequencing to help him against MLB hitters, but he should be added in deeper formats and can be treated as a streamer right now in shallower leagues.

No real surprises here as the Pirates announced earlier on Monday that Carmen Mlodzinski would break camp as the club’s fifth starter over Harrington. The 23-year-old top pitching prospect figures to break into the majors at some point later this year.