Pirates Minor League Report: Top Hitter, Pitcher for Bradenton Marauders

September 7, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

The Bradenton Marauders, the Low-A affiliate of the Pirates, concluded their season with a 4-1 win over Lakeland on Sunday.

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The first affiliate to complete their season, the Marauders didn’t qualify for the postseason after finishing with an overall record of 55-72.

A number of Pirates prospects had impressive seasons with the affiliate. Emerging third base prospect Murf Gray set the Florida Stat League on fire buy hitting .359/.436/.606 with 11 doubles, eight home runs and 34 RBI in 38 games. Gray worked his way up to Double-A Altoona.

Outfielder Eddie King finished second in the league with 83 walks and third with a .409 on-base percentage. He also hit .261 with an .809 OPS, 15 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs and 53 RBI in 107 games.

Pirates top prospect Seth Hernandez burst onto the scene with the Marauders by going 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 28 innings across six starts to begin his professional career.

Right-hander Levi Sterling finished tied for fifth in the league with 112 strikeouts in 96 innings. He went 4-6 with a 4.31 ERA and one complete game in 21 starts.

After recognizing the efforts of those four prospects, it’s time to name the top hitter and top pitcher for the 2026 Bradenton Marauders.

Top Hitter: C Richard Ramirez

Ramirez appeared in 79 games with the Marauders and ranked first on the team and tied for fifth in the league with 17 home runs. He also led the team and finished tied for seventh in the league with 23 doubles.

The 21-year-old finished his stint with Bradenton with a .268/.329/.525 batting line before he was promoted to High-A Greensboro on Aug. 25.

During his time with the Marauders, Ramirez posted a healthy 41% caught stealing rate from behind the plate. He also owned a .994 fielding percentage in 22 games at first base.

The Pirates originally signed Ramirez as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 2022.

Top Pitcher: LHP Reinold Navarro

It’s hard to ignore what Navarro did across his 21 appearances/14 starts with Bradenton prior to his promotion to Greensboro on Aug. 18.

Despite only logging 69.1 innings, Navarro ranked third in the league with a whopping 117 strikeouts. He finished his time in Bradenton with a 5-2 record and a 2.60 ERA. Opponents batted just .157 against the left-hander, who allowed only 37 hits.

Walks were an issue for Navarro, who issued 60 free passes with the Marauders. But the 19-year-old showed enough to emerge as the No. 21 prospect in the organization, per MLB Pipeline.

The Pirates signed Navarro out of the Dominican Republic in 2024.

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