Hunter Barco Fantasy Stats

Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Hunter Barco is on his way back to the big leagues, per Jason Mackey of MLB.com. Barco made Pittsburgh's Opening Day roster in a bulk relief role, but he struggled to a 7.71 ERA and 1.97 WHIP across 11 2/3 innings (five games) and has been in the minors since late April. The young left-hander has worked as both a starter and a reliever this year at Triple-A, recording a 3-6 record with a 4.87 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, and 49 strikeouts across 44 1/3 innings (13 games). Barco seems likely to fill a spot in the Pirates' bullpen, which has been an area of weakness for Pittsburgh this season. While command has been an issue for the 25-year-old, he's shown the ability to generate swing-and-miss in the minor leagues. In a true one-inning role, Barco's stuff could play up. Deep league managers hunting for saves upside may want to consider stashing Barco off the waiver wire.

According to DK Pittsburgh Sports, Pittsburgh Pirates left-handed pitching prospect Hunter Barco has made the Opening Day roster. However, the team has yet to decide on Barco's role for the start of the season. In the minor leagues, he developed as a starter, but during his first taste of MLB action last summer, he came out of the bullpen. In spring training, Barco logged 9 1/3 innings to the tune of a 2.89 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP. In 2025, Barco logged only three innings in the majors but did not allow a run and struck out three hitters. In the minor leagues, he logged 99 1/3 innings with an impressive 2.81 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Managers should continue to monitor his usage, as he could have some streaming upside if given spot starts throughout the summer.

Pittsburgh Pirates left-handed pitching prospect Hunter Barco appears to be on the outside of the team's initial five-man starting rotation. The southpaw is expected to be in the mix for the final rotation spot but appears to be trending toward opening the season as a reliever or back at Triple-A. With Paul Skenes, Bubba Chandler, Mitch Keller, and Braxton Ashcraft locked into the top-4 spots, Barco will have to compete for the No. 5 job alongside Jose Urquidy. While Urquidy spent all of the 2024 season and the majority of 2025 on the shelf working his way back from Tommy John, he has much more MLB experience than that young left-hander. From 2020 through 2022, Urquidy held a 3.71 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP across 301 innings. While Barco could make a strong case in camp, given his lack of experience, the Pirates may turn to the veteran. However, if Urquidy stumbles out of the gate, Barco would emerge as a sneaky stash candidate in deeper formats. Last summer, Barco logged just three innings with the Pirates but did not allow a run while posting a 3:0 K:BB.

Pittsburgh Pirates left-handed prospect pitcher Hunter Barco is expected to compete for a role in the starting rotation during spring training. Last season, the southpaw was promoted in September for his MLB debut. Across three innings of work (all out of the bullpen), the lefty did not allow a run and struck out three hitters. He began 2025 with Double-A but needed only 25 2/3 innings to prove he was ready to join Triple-A. During this brief stint at Double-A, the left-hander did not allow a run and held a dominant 0.70 WHIP. At Triple-A Indianapolis, Barco logged 73 2/3 innings with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He tallied 82 strikeouts and 42 walks. Managers in deeper leagues should keep an eye on his progress in camp, as he will likely be competing for a starting role alongside Thomas Harrington. If he can crack the rotation, he would have sleeper appeal in deeper 12+ team formats, given his strikeout potential.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Hunter Barco is getting called up to the majors from Triple-A Indianapolis for what will be his big league debut. The Pirates' fourth-ranked prospect (MLB No. 82) had a great season, which began at Double-A, where he did not allow a single earned run in six starts (25 2/3 innings pitched) before getting promoted to Triple-A. The 24-year-old made 21 appearances at Indianapolis (17 starts), where he posted a 3.79 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and struck out 82 batters in 73 2/3 IP. The walk rate jumped to 13.0 percent at Triple-A after not reaching more than 8.7 percent at any prior stop, so it's something to keep an eye on, although he could have just been working on some things, too. The southpaw worked in relief in four of his last five appearances, so that could be where Pittsburgh deploys him over the final week of the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Hunter Barco spun another gem for Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday, allowing one earned run on one hit (a home run), one hit batsman, and no walks while striking out seven batters. This comes after six shutout innings last week in which he walked just one and struck out six. After not allowing a single run in his first six starts at Double-A, the former second-round draft pick was promoted to Triple-A, now with a 3.69 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and a 16.1 percent K-BB% for the Indians. With a few more starts like the last two, Barco could earn himself a major league debut this season, however, the southpaw isn't a stash candidate at this time.

Pittsburgh Pirates left-handed pitching prospect Hunter Barco tossed six shutout innings en route to picking up the win over Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday evening. In this outing, the left-hander struck out six batters and allowed just five hits and one walk. This was a nice bounce-back for the lefty as he allowed four runs to Columbus in his previous outing. Since earning the call to Triple-A Indianapolis earlier this season, Barco has posted a 4.21 ERA with a 1.60 WHIP across 25 2/3 innings of work. During this stint, Barco has struck out 33 batters but served up a high 18 walks. Earlier in the campaign, the former second-round pick out of Florida held an elite 0.70 WHIP across 25 2/3 shutout frames with Double-A. Barco could be in the mix to earn a late-season taste of the majors.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have promoted right-handed pitching prospect Hunter Barco to Triple-A. Barco has enjoyed an incredible start to the 2025 campaign at the Double-A level and is being rewarded with an early-season promotion. Through 25 2/3 innings of work, Barco has not allowed a run and posted a stellar 0.70 WHIP. During this stretch, he has struck out 34 batters and served up just seven free passes. Last summer, Barco spent most of his time at High-A before earning a brief taste of Double-A. At High-A, the No. 7-ranked prospect in the system held a 3.34 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP. Fantasy managers should keep a close eye on his progression at Triple-A, as Barco could eventually push for a second-half MLB debut if he is able to adjust well.

Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Hunter Barco is a talented pitcher who throws a mid-90s fastball but deploys a lethal slider as his best offering, too. He rounds out his repertoire with a changeup and splitter. The starter has shown improved command throughout the first few months of this season and could certainly be a mid-rotation option for the big league club down the road. Last week, Barco struck out nine batters over the course of five innings in a single game. He allowed just one walk and zero hits while keeping his opponent scoreless. He has now gone 10 innings in a row without allowing a run, perhaps putting him on the shortlist for a promotion to High-A.