Pirates prospect Barco added THREE new pitches to arsenal

BRADENTON, Fla. -- When Hunter Barco left Pittsburgh and flew south for the winter, an encouraging MLB debut and strong Minor League season in the books, the young left-hander was hardly satisfied.

Wanting to take the next step in his career, the 2022 second-round pick and current MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospect (No. 96) believed he needed to make some changes to his pitch mix.

“Most big league starters have more than three pitches,” Barco, the Pirates' No. 5 prospect, said. “Definitely needed to add a few.”

Now 25 and challenging for a spot in the Pirates’ starting rotation, Barco didn’t exactly skimp when it came to offseason shopping and doubled his entire arsenal.

After using a four-seamer, splitter and slider when he broke into the big leagues in 2025, Barco added a changeup, sweeper and sinker this winter. It’s a huge adjustment and one that’s even more impressive considering that it comes while Barco is trying to make the Major League roster.

“Very, very impressive,” Pirates pitching coach Bill Murphy said. “He’s a person who works extremely hard. He wants to be elite. When you encounter somebody like that, you don’t try to hold them back. You want to give them as much as they can handle.”

This past season was certainly a productive one for Barco, who had a 2.81 ERA in 27 games (23 starts) for Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis before earning the promotion.

Barco’s funky delivery helped him register 116 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings, while he allowed just five home runs. If you’re going to nitpick -- and Barco probably will -- he did walk 49 for a walks-per-nine rate of 4.4

“Pitchers pride themselves on finding ways to get better,” Pirates catcher Henry Davis said. “He’s always looking for ways to be a harder at-bat against hitters. He really put some thought into it.”

The changes were made for a few reasons, one being to better equip Barco against same-sided hitters -- a rarity. While Barco handled righties fine (.527 OPS against), he did struggle against lefties (.724) in 2025.

Having a more diverse arsenal can only help, and each of the three new pitches has its own story.

The splitter has always been a weapon for Barco. He has large hands and doesn’t struggle to control a baseball when it’s wedged between his fingers. The grip kills spin and causes late sink. Barco can miss bats (42.9% whiff rate) when he starts the splitter in the strike zone and lets the bottom fall out.

The changeup gives Barco a different type of weapon. It’s actually a modified splitter known as a Vulcan change; imagine saluting like you’re on Star Trek and throwing a baseball with that grip.

If Barco can consistently land it for strikes, it should net weak contact early in counts, with hitters forced to respect his four-seamer and sinker.

“It’s been tough knowing when to throw what,” Barco said. “But that’s kind of what Spring Training is for. That’s been the biggest obstacle, finding the right pitches to throw while trying to go win a job.”

The sweeper was actually Barco’s primary focus going into the offseason, and it’s a little like a new toy, creating an uncomfortable look for lefties and righties given Barco’s arm slot.

After trying and failing to find something he liked for three-plus years, Barco picked up his grip from Pirates’ No. 14 prospect Thomas Harrington during the final week of the 2025 season. Something about it just felt natural.

Among his three spring offerings, the sweeper has made the most dramatic strides.

“It’s been really good,” Barco said.

So has the sinker, which arrived via suggestion from Murphy. The goal was to establish something that runs in on left-handed hitters as opposites to everything else moving away from them.

An unintended consequence has been Barco’s four-seamer playing up -- it generated seven of his 11 whiffs (on 44 pitches) in his last outing -- while the sinker induced an inning-ending double play hit by Nathan Church of the Cardinals on Sunday in Jupiter.

“I had never thought about throwing a sinker,” Barco said. “That’s one [Murphy] thought I needed, and I’m really glad that he did. It plays really well.”

Confidence and more strike-throwing also played a big part, Murphy added.

“The thought with the sinker was to give him some more comfort against lefties,” Murphy said. “We thought it would be a strike pitch for him, something other than the four-seamer or a breaking pitch that he could have a lot of confidence to rip in the strike zone and create some weak contact.”

The amount of experimenting Barco has done has been a lot. But it’s even more impressive because it’s come in the middle of a competition for the No. 5 starter job. José Urquidy, Mike Clevinger and Carmen Mlodzinski have been trying to state their cases, the same for Barco and Harrington.

Watching Barco early in Spring Training, he was definitely still trying to figure out his pitch mix. It’s still a work in progress, as nothing this drastic can be mastered in a matter of weeks.

But the good part for the Pirates is that Barco appears to be a quick study. He’s smart, confident and not far at all from calling himself a Major League starter.

Cementing that role could depend on a lot on his offseason makeover, which obviously was not small.

“All pitchers will create pitches, then once we have enough of a sample size, the game will tell us what the pitch will be,” Davis said. “Pitches can look good on video or Trackman. Seeing how hitters respond to it will dictate the plan.

“He didn’t have to [add three new pitches]. But as players, we’re always looking to get better. I think you have to go for the gap when you have the chance.”