The Pittsburgh Pirates have a myriad of talented pitchers in their minor league system. They’ve become known for their ability to develop hurlers. However, one noteworthy pitcher you won’t find on any top 30 Pirates prospect lists is Alessandro Ercolani. The right-hander from San Marino has some impressive stuff as a starter, but moving to the bullpen may be in his future. If the Pirates move Ercolani to the bullpen, he could become an underrated bullpen ace.
On the surface, Ercolani’s numbers in 2025 do not stand out. He pitched 100.1 innings in 25 games, 21 of which were starts. Erocolani only worked to a 4.04 ERA, 4.92 FIP, and 1.23 WHIP. He walked 9% of opponents and had a 1.09 HR/9 ratio. He struggled the most at getting strikeouts. His strikeout rate clocked in at 15.7%. His 6.7% K-BB% was the fourth lowest of any Double-A pitcher who tallied at least 100 innings of work in 2025.
While Ercolani’s performance may not turn heads, his stuff definitely did. He was among the top 150 qualified pitchers in Stuff+ according to Baseball America. Ercolani clocked in at 113. This led all Pirates minor league pitchers. We’re talking about surpassing highly talented hurlers like Wilber Dotel, Bubba Chandler, and Antwone Kelly, who were also among the top 150. His normalized Stuff+ (which adjusts for breaking pitches, such as sliders grading out at 110 in terms of Stuff+) also loved his pitch quality. It came in at 113 as well. This was as a starter too. Ercolani’s stuff could gain another tick if he moved to the bullpen fulltime.
It also helps that Ercolani’s best season was primarily working out of the bullpen. In 2024, the right-hander pitched 76.2 innings across 24 games. Nine of those appearances were as a starter. Ercolani owned a strong 3.29 ERA, 3.50 FIP, and 1.08 WHIP at High-A Greensboro. He had a much better 29.7% strikeout rate while having a similar 9% walk rate and 0.94 HR/9 ratio.
Most of Ercolani’s starts in 2024 came during the start of the season. From June onward, Ercolani only made two more starts, and was outright dominant. He owned a 1.75 ERA with a 32.6% strikeout rate, and 6.2% walk rate over his last 46.1 innings of 2024. That also included a sub-1.00 WHIP, clocking in at 0.84. After allowing six home runs through the first 30.1 innings of the season, Ercolani would only allow two more long balls the rest of the way.
The biggest argument against moving Ercolani to the bullpen is that he is still young. He was the second youngest pitcher at Double-A to make at least 20 starts, and the youngest to tally at least 100 innings of work. His stuff may play up out of the bullpen, but a 113 Stuff+ as a starter is impressive. That was higher than the likes of Payton Tolle, Noah Schultz, and Andrew Painter.
His stuff is already outstanding. A move to the bullpen would make it play up even more. His pitch quality as a reliever would be one of the best on the Pirates. Plus, he could be fast tracked to the Major Leagues as a bullpen hurler. With how well the Pirates have done at developing pitchers, he easily has the potential to be a shutdown reliever.
