Post-shoulder ailment, Pirates prospect Thomas Harrington finding groove at Double-A Altoona

Just as he had advanced up a level in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ farm system this past spring, pitching prospect Thomas Harrington made an unfortunate acquaintance with the injury bug.

An issue with his right (throwing) shoulder ended up shutting Harrington down for roughly a month, delaying his Double-A Altoona debut until May 7.

“It was really my first time ever being hurt in my career, so it was definitely a challenge mentally for me,” said Harrington, the Pirates’ No. 4 overall prospect, per MLB Pipeline. “I just tried to get better at one thing each day, take it day by day and look forward to the next. That’s the best way to get past it.”

Harrington, 22, looked to be on an upward trajectory before his shoulder ailment entered the mix, as he effectively navigated both Low-A and High-A last year, his first as a professional after the Pirates drafted him 36th overall out of Campbell in 2022.

Harrington went 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA with the Bradenton Marauders. After being promoted to the Greensboro Grasshoppers in early June, he produced a 3.87 ERA over 18 starts, going 3-5 with 106 strikeouts and 29 walks.

Now, post-shoulder injury, Harrington has eight starts at Double-A under his belt with the Curve.

Most recently, he pitched five innings Friday against the Akron RubberDucks, allowing two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and a walk.

So far, results have been largely positive, with Harrington producing a 3.16 ERA over 42 2/3 innings.

Harrington has displayed elite command, walking only four batters compared to 42 strikeouts.

Still, new challenges presented by the increased competition level at Double-A have been plain for him to see.

“It’s definitely an adjustment going up each level,” he said. “The biggest thing is just guys swing and miss less. It’s tougher to get strikeouts, so you’ve got to pitch to contact sometimes when you need to. Not that you can’t pitch for strikeouts, but guys swing and miss a bit less.”

Harrington complements a four-seam fastball that can reach 95 mph with a slider, curveball and cutter.

This season, he’s done some tweaking to his changeup, particularly in how he grips the ball.

While he still refers to the pitch as his changeup, it’s now more of a splitter hybrid, thrown slightly slower than previously.

“It’s had great results so far and I was super excited to get it out of the bag and start throwing it this year,” Harrington said. “The shoulder setback set it back a little while, but it’s had great results so far and has been a really good pitch for me.

“It’s staying in that 85-86 (mph) range. It’s a good separation from my fastball, which is what I was really looking for. Last year, I felt like my changeup was a little bit too close in velocity to my fastball.”

As far as battling hitters on a nightly basis is concerned, Harrington is under no illusions that opposing teams aren’t dialed in to their scouting reports of him.

But that has not prevented him from being aggressive on the mound and attacking the strike zone.

“There’s so much technology out there now,” Harrington said. “Guys know what you’re going to throw before you throw it. It’s just trusting your stuff and attacking with all my pitches. That’s my game plan going into an outing. If they beat me, they beat me. But they’re going to beat me with my best stuff.”

The one performance-related road bump Harrington has run into this season came on June 5, when he was tasked to pitch in relief against the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

In five innings, he gave up eight hits and five earned runs, striking out six with no walks.

But aside from that, he hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any other appearance.

“I’m really just trying to combine everything, trying to outsmart hitters, command the baseball and throw heaters past people when I need to,” he said.