Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45 

It's inevitable that scouts compare Mueth to Tanner Houck. They're both low-slot right-handers from southwestern Illinois outside of St. Louis, and Mueth's build and stuff are extremely similar to Houck's at the same stage of their careers. After attending college at Missouri, Houck became a first-round pick and a big leaguer with the Red Sox, and Mueth has the same upside. 

Operating out of a low three-quarters arm slot, Mueth creates a lot of horizontal action and deception with his pitches. His fastball sits at 92-94 mph and peaks at 97 with heavy sink and run. His 80-82 mph slider sweeps in the opposite direction from his heater and breaks so much that he sometimes struggles to land it for strikes. 

Mueth's mid-80s changeup can become a solid third offering if he can achieve more sink and more velocity separation from his fastball on a consistent basis. While he doesn't come with a traditional delivery, he has a whippy arm action and throws without effort. The Mississippi recruit fashions difficult angle and shape to his pitches but needs to improve his control after battling the strike zone throughout his senior season. 

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 40 | Overall: 40

Paul Skenes was not the only 6-foot-6 right-hander the Pirates took in the early rounds of the 2023 Draft. They also selected Mueth out of the Illinois high school ranks No. 67 overall, going over slot to sign him for $1.8 million. Starting him out cautiously, Mueth pitched very well in his debut in 2024, making his way from the Florida Complex League to Single-A Bradenton. A return to the level in 2025 was disastrous, both in terms of production and staying healthy, as he missed a good chunk of the season with shoulder and abdominal strains.

With his size, home state and low arm slot, Mueth gets compared to big league right-hander Tanner Houck. That low three-quarters slot delivers a three-pitch mix with movement and deception. His fastball sits around 94 mph and will touch 97-98 mph at times, often with so much horizontal movement he has trouble landing it for strikes. He backs it up with a hard gyro slider that has the chance to be an out pitch, and while his mid-80s changeup is his third offering, it features sink and can also miss bats.

Mueth had worked to clean up his arm stroke, cutting down what had been a long, loopy action in back in the hopes that a shorter arm circle would create a more repeatable delivery. He missed too much time to really get in sync last year and carries a career 7.1 BB/9 rate into the 2026 season. In the rare times he finds the zone, he can be dominant and a full, healthy season is important to get the reps he sorely needs.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

As a huge right-hander from the Illinois high school ranks (not to mention a lower arm slot), Mueth has drawn comps to big leaguer Tanner Houck. Houck went on to college before embarking on his pro career, but the Pirates stepped in with an over-slot bonus in Competitive Balance Round B of the 2023 Draft to lure Mueth away from heading to Mississippi. The Pirates often start their high school arms slowly, with time in the complex league in their first full season, and Mueth made a very strong first impression there, pitching his way to full-season Bradenton before the end of the summer.

With a low three-quarters arm slot, Mueth’s stuff offers a ton of movement and deception. His fastball sat around 94 mph and was up to 97. It’s a four-seamer, but has two-seam characteristics, often with 8-9 inches of vertical break, along with up to 20 inches of horizontal. HIs mid-80s slider has a chance to be a true out pitch, a gyro-like breaker that misses a ton of bats, and his mid-80s changeup has a chance to be a solid third pitch with sink.

There will be work ahead to add more depth on his slider and to make sure the changeup remains a viable option against left-handed hitters, but the biggest step Mueth needs to take in his development to remain a starter is to land his stuff in the strike zone more consistently. All of it moves so much that it will take time for him to harness it, but the Pirates are excited to see how he builds off his strong 2024 campaign.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

Tanner Houck was a tall right-hander with a low slot from an Illinois high school not far out of St. Louis who decided to go on to Missouri for college ball, an eventual first-round selection and the big leagues. Naturally, Mueth drew comparisons to Houck as a 6-foot-6 right-hander from 20 minutes south of where Houck was a prepster. Rather than follow in Houck’s footsteps and head to college, in this case Mississippi, he joined the Pirates organization as the No. 67 overall pick in the 2023 Draft, getting an over-slot bonus of $1.8 million. He focused on training and preparation rather than game action after signing to hopefully set him up for a solid first year of pro ball.

Mueth’s unusual low three-quarters slot leads to a ton of deception and horizontal action. His fastball has topped out at 97 mph and sits 92-94 mph, playing up because of its sink and run. His low-80s slider has huge break, a sweeper that can miss bats, though commanding it has been an issue at times. He has a mid-80s changeup that he’ll need to keep working on to separate velocity-wise from his fastball and add more sink to, but it has the chance to be a third at least average offering.

There isn’t a ton of effort in Mueth’s unusual delivery and whippy arm action, but like with many pitchers his size, it can be difficult to sync everything up. The metrics on his stuff are very good and he physically has starting pitcher traits if he can improve that third pitch and find the strike zone consistently.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45 

As a low-slot right-hander from southwestern Illinois outside of St. Louis, Mueth drew obvious comparisons to Tanner Houck, with similar builds and stuff. Houck went on to become a first-round pick after attending Missouri, and some thought Mueth might go the same route by heading to Mississippi. The Pirates had other ideas, using their pick in the Competitive Balance Round B to take him and give him an over-slot bonus of $1.8 million to sign him away from Ole Miss.

Operating out of a low three-quarters arm slot, Mueth creates a lot of horizontal action and deception with his pitches. His fastball sits at 92-94 mph and peaks at 97 with heavy sink and run. His 80-82 mph slider sweeps in the opposite direction from his heater and breaks so much that he sometimes struggles to land it for strikes. 

Mueth's mid-80s changeup can become a solid third offering if he can achieve more sink and more velocity separation from his fastball on a consistent basis. While he doesn't come with a traditional delivery, he has a whippy arm action and throws without effort. He fashions difficult angle and shape to his pitches but needs to improve his control.

Awards

Baseball America Rookie All-Star

Year	Team
2024

FCL Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2024

FCL Pitcher of the Year

Year	Team
2024

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	03/05/2026	RHP Zander Mueth assigned to Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects.
	09/24/2025	Bradenton Marauders activated RHP Zander Mueth from the 7-day injured list.
	08/14/2025	Bradenton Marauders placed RHP Zander Mueth on the 7-day injured list retroactive to August 13, 2025.
	06/25/2025	Bradenton Marauders placed RHP Zander Mueth on the 7-day injured list.
	06/12/2025	Bradenton Marauders sent RHP Zander Mueth on a rehab assignment to FCL Pirates.
	04/13/2025	Bradenton Marauders placed RHP Zander Mueth on the 7-day injured list.
	03/06/2025	activated RHP Zander Mueth.
	07/30/2024	RHP Zander Mueth assigned to Bradenton Marauders from FCL Pirates.
	04/30/2024	FCL Pirates activated RHP Zander Mueth.
	08/10/2023	RHP Zander Mueth roster status changed by FCL Pirates.
	07/20/2023	Pittsburgh Pirates signed RHP Zander Mueth.
	06/15/2023	RHP Zander Mueth assigned to College Workout.
	07/01/2022	High School Workout activated RHP Zander Mueth.
	07/01/2022	High School Workout activated RHP Zander Mueth.
	07/01/2022	RHP Zander Mueth assigned to High School Workout.