Over the last few years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have molded themselves into one of the best organizations in baseball at pitching development. Seemingly every single season, there’s another pitcher in the minor leagues who breaks out and becomes a household top prospect by the end of the year.
This happened again in 2025 with numerous prospects, including Hunter Barco, Antwone Kelly, Brandon Bidois, and others. However, due to the heights that these breakout stars soared to, some more players with impressive showings fell under the radar.
Khristian Curtis was one of these players, as he took his game to new heights during the 2026 season, yet he still has plenty of room to grow. The Pirates have liked Curtis a ton ever since they selected him with the 12th round of the 2023 MLB Draft, and it’s for good reason.
The 23-year-old righty has some of the most electric stuff in the system, and he still hasn’t hit his full potential just yet. As he continues to grow into a more refined version of himself, the ceiling is seemingly there to be a middle of the rotation arm later in his career.
Now on the horizon of his third full minor league season, Curtis will be a key name to watch in the Pirates’ system in 2026. Let’s dive in and take a closer look at why he’s such an interesting potential breakout candidate next season.
A Deeper Look at Curtis’ 2025 Season
This season, Curtis spent the majority of his innings pitching for the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers, consistently being a force at the top of the rotation. Finishing with a record of 88-43, the Grasshoppers couldn’t have reached this level without his dominance.
Curtis threw 108.2 innings across his 26 starts for the club, posting an ERA of 3.98 in the process. He also racked up 119 strikeouts in this same span while maintaining a WHIP under 1.30. He looked phenomenal during this span, regularly attacking hitters with his deep pitch mix.
Arguably, the most impressive ability Curtis showcased was his ability to limit the home run ball, something that’s quite challenging for most Greensboro arms.
For those unfamiliar, First National Bank Field, the home of the Grasshoppers, is one of the most offensive-friendly environments in the minor leagues. Calling it a hitter’s park truly doesn’t do it justice, as balls leave this field regularly with relative ease.
Curtis allowed just 12 home runs during this span, which really speaks to how good a job he did at limiting homers. He also kept the ball on the ground quite often, a recipe for success with most arms in professional baseball.
Curtis was also a part of baseball history earlier this season, when he started the first of the club’s two combined perfect games. In this start, he racked up ten strikeouts across six innings, which eventually allowed the bullpen to finish off his historic outing.
After dominating in High-A Greensboro, Curtis eventually earned a promotion to Double-A Altoona near the end of the season. Although he only appeared in two innings of work, he didn’t allow a single run and racked up three strikeouts for the team.
Not only this, but one of these strikeouts was Kevin McGonigle, arguably the best pure hitter in the minor leagues. He’s currently ranked as Just Baseball’s number two prospect in the sport, ranking only behind Pirates’ teenage superstar Konnor Griffin.
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All things considered, this season was just what Curtis had been hoping for. The right-hander broke out, soaring to new heights with seemingly every single start he made. 2026 will be the real test, as Curtis will get a shot to begin the year in Double-A Altoona.
Breaking Down the Arsenal
Now that we’ve taken a closer look at Curtis’ numbers during the 2025 season, we can break down his arsenal and see which of his pitches make him great. Spoiler alert, Curtis has multiple plus pitches that he uses to dominate hitters, constantly using them to keep hitters off balance.
The first of these pitches is his four-seam fastball, which has been a very good offering at the top of his mix. As of 2024, the last time we had publicly available Statcast metrics on the pitch, it sat above 95 MPH, generating impressive vertical movement.
Curtis’ heater averaged over 17 inches of vertical break, while also getting a decent amount of armside run in the process. He’s reportedly been working to add more vertical movement to the pitch as well, and as of this season, he was successful. It’ll play well at the top of the zone, as hitters will struggle to barrel it up.
In addition to this, Curtis’ changeup is another standout potential plus-pitch at the next level. It’s already generated some impressive results, which have led many to label it as one of the best changeups in the organization. His changeup has over 17.5 inches of armside run, allowing it to duck and dive away from lefties.
It’s consistently graded out as Curtis’ best pitch on multiple different stuff+ models, often receiving impressive scouting grades as well.
Curtis’ arsenal doesn’t end there, as his curveball has become one of the more underrated pieces of his mix. His curveball has often been used to get big whiffs at the bottom of the zone, with hitters swinging far over top of it. The pitch has some serious 12-6 movement as well.
Curtis mixes in a slider, too, which has been more of a cutter offering for him at times. It’s a firm offering with a late, sharp bite and the ability to miss bats. While it still has a lot of room to grow, this is certainly a pitch to keep an eye on moving forward.
Curtis’ raw stuff is very, very good, but control has been a concern earlier in his career. His walk rate nearly reached 10% in 2025, a mark that’s unsustainable at best. However, if he can get this in check, he has the makings of a very good starting pitcher moving forward with a high-leverage reliever fallback.
What Could the Future Look Like for Curtis?
As I mentioned in the introduction, the Pirates have quickly become one of the league’s premier pitching development organizations. As a result of this, they have an extensive number of elite arms throughout the system, which could make it harder for Curtis to crack a big league rotation in the future.
While it’s far from impossible, the more likely outcome is that Curtis ends up moving to the bullpen and becoming a high-leverage arm for the Bucs. This would be a fantastic outcome for him if it all goes to plan, as his four-pitch mix should carry him through some tough situations.
While this is one outcome, the Pirates could choose to use Curtis as a trade piece, as he’d make for an intriguing return for any team that acquires him. With the Pirates pursuing bats heavily this offseason, Curtis is a name I’d keep a close eye on in these discussions.
Whatever the future holds for Curtis, he has the potential to be a very good big league arm in the near future. As we inch closer to Opening Day of the 2026 campaign, Curtis will be a name to keep a close eye on, as he could become the team’s next breakout arm.
