Don’t sleep on the other prospect the Pittsburgh Pirates got for Johan Oviedo
When the Pittsburgh Pirates traded Johan Oviedo and two prospects to the Boston Red Sox, the main headliner of the deal was outfielder Jhosnxton Garcia. Afterall, Garcia did well between Double-A and Triple-A this season, made his MLB debut, and is a consensus top 100 prospect. However, they also got right-handed pitching prospect Jesus Travieso. While Garcia may have gotten most of the attention from this swap, Travieso shouldn’t be overlooked—he’s a legitimate pitching prospect.
2025 was only Garcia’s age-18 season, and he owned a 3.06 ERA, 3.15 FIP, and 1.44 WHIP over 64.1 innings between the Florida Complex League and A-Ball. His 12.7% walk rate is about the only blemish from his campaign, as he struck out over 30% of batters he faced with a 31.8% K%, and only allowed three home runs, for a HR/9 ratio clocking in at 0.70.
It’s not the greatest sample size, as it was less than 100 innings between the FCL and A-Ball when he was 18 for the entire year, but there are a handful of green flags that could lead to a promising future. One is Travieso’s walk rate decreasing. His BB% came in at 15.3% at the FCL. Then, when he got to A-Ball, he was able to cut that below 10% to 9.2%. His 22.5% K%-BB% at A-Ball was the 27th best among A-Ball hurlers who made at least five starts (Travieso made six in seven appearances).
That’s far from the only thing Travieso has going for him. Despite his young age and small frame (listed at 5 '11”), the right-hander has already been clocked at 100 MPH and normally sits mid-90s. His go-to secondary pitches are his gyro-slider, and a change-up. He also has a sweeper, but it’s currently a work-in-progress. Of his four-pitch mix, his mid-80s slider is his best offering. The only downside is his control, but considering his age, it’s far from a red flag, especially considering his improved walk rate at A-Ball last year.
Stuff alone is good enough for the Pirates’ pitching development to work with. Over the last handful of years, we’ve seen the Pirates refine many young pitchers’ skills, helping them break out, and in some cases, make the Major Leagues. Jared Jones is an example of an under-sized right-hander with high-octane stuff who came out of high school with control issues, and made a sizable impact in 2024. Antwone Kelly is another hard-throwing pitcher that is under 6’0” who took a massive step forward in 2025, and is now one of the Pirates’ best pitching prospects.
Garcia was the true headliner of the Oviedo swap, but the Pirates got a very interesting prospect in Travieso. It’s hard to deny that there is some serious potential here. The Pirates have done well in developing young power arms in the 2020s. It’s very possible that Travieso becomes the Pirates’ next big pitching success story over the next few seasons.
