The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Major League bullpen has become hard to watch. They have just 0.2 fWAR since the start of May, which is the eighth-lowest total in baseball in that time. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait a few more weeks until the relief pitcher trade market begins to form. That means the Pirates will have to look in their own system for some help. The Pirates certainly have some interesting relievers in the upper levels of their minor league system, some of which are definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Pirates Minor League Relievers to Keep Tabs On
Noah Murdock
The Pirates signed Noah Murdock in November to a minor league contract. The right-hander struggled in 17 Major League innings last year with the Athletics after they selected him from the Kansas City Royals in the Rule 5 Draft. He allowed 25 earned runs and 26 hits. Although Murdock struggled badly in his brief time in 2025, he is off to a promising start in 2026.
It has only been 22 innings, but the hard-throwing reliever has a 3.27 ERA, 0.91 WHIP between three levels of the minor leagues. Murdock is striking out nearly 30% of opponents with a 29.4% K%. The right-hander has a called swinging strike rate approaching 30% at 28.5%. His 66.7% ground ball rate is the eighth-highest mark among any minor league pitcher with at least 20 IP. However, the most encouraging part of his game this year has been his 7.1% walk rate. Last year, Murdock walked 20.4% of the batters he walked in his first look against MLB hitters. The A’s eventually returned him to the Royals, and he put up a 13.1% BB% over 21 innings for their Triple-A affiliate.
Noah Murdock has been promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis!
The 6’8” right-hander is an intriguing option for the Pirates with his deceptiveness.
This season, Murdock has posted a 4.00 ERA with 18 strikeouts and a 1.00 WHIP. An interesting arm to watch 👀 pic.twitter.com/lrvPRBNuWg
— Behind the Bucs (@BehindTheBucs) June 2, 2026
Murdock throws three pitches. His sinker sits mid-90s and has added about three inches of arm-side break to the pitch this year. Murdock’s secondaries include a low-90s cutter and a mid-80s sweeper. Both his above-average extension and low arm slot add some deceptiveness to his stuff. Murdock’s stuff was never much of a question. It was always a question of whether he had enough control to harness it. Based on the early returns, he’s wrangled in his control to at least some degree.
Derek Diamond
Derek Diamond was a 2022 draft pick by the Bucs. He was selected in the sixth round and began his pro career as a starting pitcher. However, the right-hander struggled as he went from A-Ball to High-A. While Diamond moved to the bullpen full-time in 2025, injuries derailed his campaign. Injuries also caused him to start 2026 on the IL, but he returned in mid-May and has pitched well since.
It has only been 15 innings of work split between Bradenton and Altoona, but Diamond has allowed just one earned run in that time. He has struck out over a third of batters, with a 34% K%. His walk rate comes in at just 1.9%. Diamond has induced a called+swinging strike rate of 35.4% so far in his small sample size of work.
Whew, 2 nasty frames from Derek Diamond in relief pic.twitter.com/bGioaRu6UU
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) May 28, 2026
FanGraphs is bullish on Diamond’s potential. They recently ranked him as the Pirates’ 28th-best prospect. The right-hander is primarily a fastball/slider reliever. He sits mid-90s with his four-seamer, and his slider also looks very good. Both projects are 60-grade offerings by FanGraphs. They also praise his adjusted arm angle and delivery to add some deception to his motion on the mound. Diamond is 25, so if he can stay healthy, the Pirates may see what he can do later this year.
Jaden Woods
A year after the Pirates drafted Diamond in the sixth round of the draft, they would take left-hander Jaden Woods in the seventh round. Woods spent all of 2025 at Double-A Altoona last season with plenty of ups and downs. Because of that, he started the 2026 campaign off at Altoona once again and was only recently promoted to Triple-A.
Woods certainly earned the promotion to Triple-A. His first 25.2 innings of the season yielded a 3.16 ERA, 2.69 FIP, and 1.17 WHIP. While he walked 11.5% of batters he faced, he also induced a strikeout a whopping 35.6% of the time. Woods induced an impressive 52.5% ground ball rate and allowed just one home run. His first impression at Triple-A Indianapolis didn’t go very well. He allowed three earned runs, including a home run, while pitching just 0.2 innings.
2 scoreless innings for Jaden Woods thanks to his own nifty glove work! pic.twitter.com/vKv9pNlSiw
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) June 27, 2025
Woods is another relief prospect FanGraphs likes from the Pirates’ system. They place him as the organization’s 34th best prospect. He has a smooth, athletic delivery that lets him sit around 92-95 MPH with his fastball. His low-80s slider has 10-5 movement and is his best offering. Now that Woods is at Triple-A, he is just one step away from the Major Leagues.
Main Photo Credits: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
