Baseball America recently released their top 30 prospect lists for all 30 MLB teams. There aren’t very many surprises on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ list. However, not every top performer made the top 30 prospect list. Some, like these three Pirates prospects, had outstanding 2025 seasons, but were left off of Baseball America’s top 30 list for one reason or another. Should they continue to perform anything like they did last year, we may find them on this list come mid-season.
Callan Moss
One of the prospects the Pirates acquired at the trade deadline was Callan Moss, who came from the Kansas City Royals in the Bailey Falter swap. At the time, Moss was posting some solid numbers, with a .270/.372/.418 line, .372 wOBA, and 126 wRC+ over 393 plate appearances at High-A. He drew his fair share of free passes with a 13.5% BB%, while having a 22.1% K%. The only downside was that he didn’t hit for very much power, with an .148 isolated slugging percentage.
While Moss performed well for the Royals’ High-A affiliate, he would smoke the same level of competition after the Pirates acquired him. It may have only been a 128 plate appearance sample size, but you can’t help but be impressed by the .339/.422/.571, .460 wOBA, and 184 wRC+. It took Moss nearly 400 plate appearances to hit seven home runs in Quad Cities, but less than 150 to go yard six times for Greensboro. His walk rate may have dipped to 9.4%, but his K% remained about the same at 22.7%.
Moss was one of only two prospects at High-A who were 21 or younger to have a wRC+ of 140 or greater. Only LA Dodgers’ top prospect Josue De Paula was ahead of him in this department at 142. Moss also surpassed fellow Dodgers’ top outfield prospect Zyhir Hope, who came in at 132 wRC+. Both Hope and De Paula are top 25 prospects on Baseball America’s top 100 list, and Moss was sandwiched in between them on the wRC+ leaderboard for 21-and-under High-A prospects.
Moss was an undrafted free agent and is limited to just first base and designated hitter. While that may limit his ceiling, you couldn’t have asked for a better first extended look in pro baseball than what Moss had in 2025. Moss is only going into his age-22 season, and if he hits anything like he did last year but at Double-A Altoona, he may start getting some more notoriety.
Connor Witegrefe
The Pirates took Connor Witegrefe with their seventh-round pick during the 2024 draft. The southpaw finished out his college career with a 2.77 ERA, 21.5% K%, and 7.6% BB%, while only allowing one home run during his junior campaign at the University of Minnesota. While Witegrefe made a brief cameo at Bradenton in 2024, he would take a massive step forward in 2025.
Wietegrefe tallied 116 innings pitched, mostly at High-A Greensboro, where he pitched to the tune of a 3.10 ERA, 3.81 FIP, and 1.00 WHIP. He displayed outstanding control, with a walk rate of just 5.5%. The left-hander also carried a respectable 22.2% K%. Wietegrefe’s 1.01 HR/9 was arguably the most significant blemish to his campaign, but a 10.7% HR:FB ratio, 44.2% GB%, and 3.49 xFIP suggest he may have been struck with some bad flyball luck.
Wietgrefe caught fire in the second half of the season. He owned just a 1.76 ERA, with a 21.6% strikeout percentage, and a microscopic 3.6% walk rate throughout his final ten starts and 51 innings of the 2025 campaign. His final start of the season was his Altoona debut, where he fired off five innings, not allowing a single walk, just one earned run, and striking out four.
Wietgrefe is a soft-tosser, as he comes in around the low-90s with his four-seamer and sinker. But for what he lacks in elite velocity, he makes up for in his ability to locate. Despite not making Baseball America’s top 30 Pirates prospects list, they still have him as having the best control in their system. If he continues to pitch well in his biggest test thus far as a pro ball player at Double-A, and adds just another tick or two of velocity in 2026, he may also start appearing on top Pirates prospect lists mid-season.
Will Taylor
Another 2024 draft pick who you won’t find on the Pirates’ top 30 prospect list despite a promising season is outfielder Will Taylor. Taylor was selected in the fifth round of the draft out of Clemson, where he played both baseball and football. While Taylor showed a lot of promise during his final year of college ball, he suffered some bad luck and a wrist injury that limited him to 145 plate appearances. Like Wietegrefe, he made a brief appearance at Bradenton but took off in 2025.
Taylor turned in a .262/.373/.458 triple-slash over 398 trips to the dish. His 26.6% K% may not wow anyone, but he walked at a healthy 12.3% rate. Taylor also flashed good power, with 14 home runs and a .196 isolated slugging percentage. The outfielder was also a threat to steal, with 23 swipes, however he was also caught 13 times. That all comes to a .393 wOBA and a 138 wRC+. While Taylor did see a dip in production going from Bradenton to Greensboro, he still managed a quality 123 wRC+ at High-A.
Most of Taylor’s playing time in 2025 came in center field, where he projects as an above-average defender. He also has an average arm that will be playable in the corners if he has to move to left or right field. Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline stated that Taylor is a solid runner, but has lost a step since tearing his ACL in 2021 while on the gridiron. While Taylor came out of college as a hit-over-power archetype, his below-average K% and plus power output, he may have more pop than initially thought.
Taylor had the 17th-best wRC+ of any minor league outfielder who was 22 or younger in 2025 with 350 or more plate appearances. While Taylor hasn’t gotten tested at Double-A yet, he’ll likely get his first shot at doing so in 2026. With only three outfield prospects among the Pirates’ top 30 list on BA, Taylor’s development could be important for the Bucs in the near future.
