Pirates A to Z: Acquired at trade deadline, LHP Jackson Wolf a top-10 prospect with potential
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During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical, player-by-player look at the 40-man roster.
Player: Jackson Wolf
Position: Pitcher
Throws: Left
Age: 24
Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 205 pounds
2023 MLB statistics: Went 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in five innings over one start for the San Diego Padres.
Contract: Not eligible for arbitration until 2027.
Acquired: From the San Diego Padres, along with outfielder Estuar Suero, in exchange for pitcher Rich Hill and first baseman Ji-Man Choi on Aug. 1.
This past season: Ranked their No. 16 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 20 by Baseball America, Wolf was amid a breakthrough season at Double-A San Antonio when promoted to the Padres.
Wolf was 8-8 with a 3.39 ERA and 104 strikeouts against 20 walks in 85 innings over 17 starts in the Texas League. With Michael Wacha on the injured list and Ryan Weathers demoted after a poor outing, the Padres turned to the lefty for a spot start at Detroit on July 22.
His major league debut was unusual. He got through the first inning on four pitches, getting Matt Vierling to fly out and Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene to ground out.
Wolf’s second inning lasted 90 minutes, interrupted by a 1-hour, 24-minute rain delay. He allowed a walk, a single and an RBI double before the game was stopped, then gave up a two-run single when play resumed.
Despite allowing three earned runs on six hits and one walk, Wolf finished strong. He got Torkelson looking at a 76.5-mph slider low and away for his first career strikeout and earned the victory in a 14-3 win.
Jackson Wolf is a 2021 4th Round pick from WVU:
• 24 y.o. SP
• Padres 16th ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline
• Made MLB debut on 7/22
– 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K
• 4.03 ERA, 1.09 WHIP in AA this season
– 105 K, 22 BB in 88.1 IP pic.twitter.com/OOuywjYb9V— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) August 1, 2023
“I had a moment there for a second where I was like, ‘All right, this will be a cool story. I get to say during my debut there was a rain delay,’” Wolf said, per the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I’m very glad it turned into a five-inning outing and not one-point-something and three runs,” he said after a long night was over and he had been showered in beer by his new teammates. “I feel very happy. I learned a lot about myself and the game and the team. Still taking it all in, to be honest.”
It didn’t last long, nor did Wolf’s tenure with the Padres.
On Aug. 1, he was traded to the Pirates, along with outfielder Estuar Suero, for veteran pitcher Rich Hill and first baseman Ji-Man Choi as the Padres made a push for the playoffs. The Pirates were familiar with Wolf from his days at West Virginia University, before San Diego selected him in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB Draft.
“We certainly saw a lot at West Virginia,” said Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, who noted the unique deception in Wolf’s low-slot delivery. “We think he’s got pitches for both righties and lefties. We’re looking forward to working with him, getting him into our pitching program. … He’s an upper-level, left-handed starting pitcher, another guy to add to our starting pitching depth.”
Also getting another look at Jackson Wolf. Deception and tough angles make him tough, especially against LHH. #padres pic.twitter.com/KWaJhgWm4r
— Nathan Graham (@nathangraham3) September 2, 2022
Despite his long frame and tremendous extension, Wolf doesn’t overpower hitters with his fastball, which sits in the low 90s. Instead, he relies on a sweeping slider and curveball as plus pitches that are complemented by a split-changeup.
The Pirates assigned Wolf to Double-A Altoona, where he went 0-4 with a 4.25 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, 30 strikeouts and 10 walks in 36 innings over eight starts as opponents batted .232 against him.
“He’s working really hard to find command of his pitches,” Curve manager Callix Crabbe said in early September. “His velocity was down a little bit comparative to where it was at the first of the year. We know that’s going to come back at some point. What I think has been fun to watch is having lesser velocity right now and still putting guys away. The race to two strikes, he still gets there. He gets to two strikes very quickly. It’s just the inability to finish them. But for him to battle through that and give us quality innings, that’s another good sign.
“As a major league pitcher, there are going to be moments where you don’t put all the hitters away easily. The ability to grind it out and battle through and find ways to eat innings is going to be important for any pitcher. He has unique stuff. The arm slot. The slider that he uses. The changeup is a developing pitch. When he gets that velocity back, the extension and that pull-cut to it, is gonna play. But I’ve been impressed with him, truly. I can see him being a very valuable piece at some point when he works out some of the kinks.”
The Wolf is Howlin'!
2 K's in a 1-2-3 third inning for Jackson Wolf! pic.twitter.com/WFzOemJHFu
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) August 6, 2023
Jackson Wolf is through 5 very efficient innings.
Just 1 hit, and 5 strikeouts, including this well placed fastball
Take my word for it: his pitch placement has been beautiful. pic.twitter.com/UaJjOgdpW4
— Christian✞ (@CWolfPGH) August 24, 2023
The future: Wolf is ranked the Pirates’ No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, and is one of seven pitchers regarded as a top-10 prospect for the Pirates. He will have competition from right-handers Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington and Braxton Ashcraft and lefty Anthony Solmeto next season.
If Wolf has an edge, it’s that he already has one game of major league experience.