Barco could have been a top-two round pick out of high school in 2019 had he been amenable to signing, but his commitment to pitch at the University of Florida was too strong. He only had one full season with the Gators (2021), sandwiched between the pandemic in '20 and Tommy John surgery in '22. His size, stuff and left-handedness still intrigued the Pirates enough to take him in the second round that summer. He came back in July 2023, and pitched his way from High-A Greensboro to Double-A Altoona in '24, with a stress response in his left shin ending his season in late July.
The Pirates were thrilled with how Barco, a physical 6-foot-4 left-hander, looked in 2024 further removed from elbow surgery, especially given that he spent most of it pitching in hitter-friendly Greensboro. His fastball now sits around 93 mph and touches 95-96, more like it did pre-TJ. It has good sink, getting ground-ball outs and missing a fair amount of bats, too. His low-80s slider is an out pitch, but perhaps his biggest development was the scrapping of his changeup for a splitter as his offspeed offering. It’s had inconsistent direction at times, but it’s an absolute spin-killer with RPMs under 1,000, giving him another bat-misser and worm-killer.
Overall, Barco has done a nice job of finding the strike zone, though improved command of that splitter would make that an even more effective arrow in his quiver. The gloves could come off more this year, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he’s knocking on the door to Pittsburgh by the end of it.
A strong commitment to the University of Florida priced Barco out of the early rounds of the 2019 Draft, so he went on to join the Gators rotation, beginning with the shortened 2020 season. He was off to a very strong start in his Draft year when he tore his UCL and had Tommy John surgery in May. He still landed in the second round, signing for a bit under slot to rehab with the Pirates. He returned to action in July of 2023, making nine total appearances between the Florida Complex League and full-season Bradenton.
Barco might have the chance to start thanks to his three-pitch mix and overall physicality. The 6-foot-4 left-hander wasn’t throwing as hard as he was pre-injury when he came back, but he was up to 92-93 mph with a ton of sink that elicited groundball outs. He has a low-80s slider that is death to lefties and he has good feel for his spin-killing changeup.
Dating back to his time in high school, Barco’s lower-slot, cross-body delivery created a ton of deception, but also was an injury concern, with the elbow surgery as Exhibit A. Without wanting to take what makes him unique away, the Pirates had Barco work with Minor League Pattern and Throwing Coordinator Vic Black to clean up some of his arm action to make him more efficient without giving up the funk that adds to his success.
Barco was an intriguing high school prospect in Florida as the 2019 Draft approached, but his price tag turned out to be too high to keep him from heading to the University of Florida. He was part of the Gators' rotation from the get-go and was rising up Draft boards with the start to his 2022 season, when his elbow sidelined him and required Tommy John surgery in May. The Pirates decided it was worth taking him in the second round of last summer’s Draft and letting him rehab under their watchful eye.
The 6-foot-4 left-hander does have a three-pitch mix that gives him the chance to start when he’s healthy. Coming from a lower-slot, cross-body delivery, his fastball tops out at 95 mph and usually sits in the low-90s, though it plays up at times because of the deception in his mechanics. He complements it well with an 80-mph slider that features good sweep, and he’s shown the ability to manipulate its shape for more of a curveball feel. His changeup can be an above-average offspeed pitch he sells well off of his fastball.
Despite the unorthodox delivery, Barco has done a good job of filling up the strike zone, with refinement of his command in the zone a good step toward allowing him to start long term. First and foremost is getting him back on the mound, with the Pirates not really going to see what he can do full-tilt until 2024.
Barco was the highest-ranked high school lefty in the 2019 Draft class, but wasn’t taken until Round 24 because of his very strong commitment to play at the University of Florida. The southpaw pitched very well during the shortened 2020 season, and while he wasn’t as dominant as a sophomore in 2021, he was a solid member of the Gators' weekend rotation. He was taking a large step forward performance-wise in 2022 when he was shut down with elbow discomfort. That led to an early May announcement that he had Tommy John surgery, ending his season, but the Pirates had seen enough to take him in the second round of the July Draft and sign him for just over $1.5 million.
When healthy, Barco has been very similar to the pitcher he was in high school, albeit with a track record of SEC success on his resume. The 6-foot-4 southpaw relies mostly on his fastball-slider combination. His fastball typically sits around 92 mph and touches 95. When he commands it well, that's plenty, given the life it has and the lower-slot, cross-body delivery that causes some deception. His 80-mph sweeping slider misses a ton of bats and he can manipulate the shape of it to give it more of a curveball look at times. He sells his changeup well with excellent arm speed.
Barco has done an excellent job of consistently finding the strike zone in college, though there’s improvement that can be made in terms of command within the zone with that funky delivery tough to repeat at times. Once he gets through rehabbing with Pirates staff, he could have a ceiling of being a No. 3 or 4 starter.
Barco was the highest-ranked high school lefty in the 2019 Draft class, but wasn’t taken until Round 24 because of his very strong commitment to play at the University of Florida. The southpaw pitched very well during the shortened 2020 season, and while he wasn’t as dominant as a sophomore in 2021, he was a solid member of the Gators' weekend rotation. He was making a large step forward performance-wise in 2022 when he was shut down with elbow discomfort. That led to an early May announcement that he had Tommy John surgery, ending his season.
When healthy, Barco has been very similar to the prospect he was back in high school, albeit now with a track record of SEC success. The 6-foot-4 southpaw relies mostly on his fastball-slider combination. His fastball typically sits around 92 mph and touches 95. When he commands it well, that's plenty, given the life it has and the lower-slot, cross-body delivery that causes some deception. His 80-mph sweeping slider misses a ton of bats and he can manipulate the shape of it to give it more of a curveball look at times. He sells his changeup well with excellent arm speed.
Barco has done an excellent job of consistently finding the strike zone in college, though there’s improvement that can be made in terms of command within the zone with that funky delivery tough to repeat at times. He has a ceiling of being a No. 3 or 4 starter.
How this works:
This section shows two different ways to evaluate pitch movement.
On the left, “Total Movement” shows the real-world movement of a pitch, including the forces of gravity, which affects every pitch thrown.
Since gravity requires time, and slower pitches aren't 'better' just because they have more time to move, a pitch's movement is compared to other pitches of the same pitch type, within +/- 2 MPH and +/- 0.5 feet of extension/release.
On the right, Induced Movement (or IVB) is reported without gravity, and attempts to isolate movement created by the pitcher's ability to spin and manipulate the ball.
These run values are leveraged, meaning the base/out situation at the time of the event does impact the run value (thus introducing context outside the batter's own contribution).
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift:
three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of
their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about
how positioning is defined here
