The Pittsburgh Pirates today named Yonleg Gaetano the organization’s Rookie-Level Pitcher of the Year. The announcement was made by Director of Coaching and Player Development Michael Chernow.
The 20-year-old Gaetano went 2-2 with five saves, a 0.93 ERA (29.0ip/3er), 39 strikeouts, a .168 batting average against and a 0.90 WHIP in 13 appearances (three starts) with the Dominican Summer League Pirates Gold team in 2025. He struck out five batters in 5.0 scoreless innings while also not allowing a hit in his lone start for the Gold team in the DSL Cup.
Gaetano, who was named to the Dominican Summer League’s post-season All-Star team, was signed by the Pirates as a non-drafted free agent on April 11. He allowed an earned run in only two of his 13 regular-season appearances.
Pittsburgh’s DSL Gold team went 31-25, finishing in a tie with the DSL Cleveland Goryl team for first place in the Central Division. They advanced to the semifinal round of the DSL Cup, where they were defeated, 2-0, in a best-of-three series vs. the DSL Padres Gold team. The pitching staff’s 3.91 ERA ranked second in the league, trailing the DSL Athletics (3.64).