Marauders’ Sterling Shining As Pirates Pitching Prospect

At the ripe young age of 19, now in his second professional season in Bradenton, Levi Sterling is growing as a person and as a pitcher.

Wednesday wasn’t particularly successful for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Florida State League affiliate, the Bradenton Marauders. The second game of a six-game homestand with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Marauders came up short, 4-1. The mid-week crowd was lively, and the baseball atmosphere in the purist sense was obvious. Fans exiting LECOM Park, for the most part, will be coming back for more of what they experienced – hopefully on Sunday.

The early start (12 p.m.) on Sunday, the final home game before the Marauders hit the road next week six games in Tampa, has Sterling penciled in (1-1 5.28) to face the Flying Tigers.

Sterling is as likable as he can expertly spin a baseball. Even at this stage of his career, the six-foot-five, right-handed hurler is worth the price of a Marauders ticket on Sunday. Put aside his statistics. Ignore, for a minute, that the Southern Californian was a first-round draft selection (37th overall). The person Sterling projects will help him become the major leaguer many expect him to be.

Last season, his first in the Pirates’ system, Sterling split his time between the Florida Coast League and the Marauders. That initiation to how pro ball is continues to be invaluable for his second season in Bradenton. As a Pirate-in-waiting, still a teenager and living across the country, this takes both courage and determination to experience growth.

Sterling tells of a challenging adjustment, going from Southern California to Southwest Florida, but one that he is constantly working on.

“You have to grow up really fast. Most of your friends are older guys. So, you definitely need to take the time and learn what you can from them,” says Sterling, who in 2024 was taken in the same round that also produced Konnor Griffin, Nick Kurtz, and JJ Wetherholt. “My parents have been a huge support to me. Just helping me with what I need, or just to talk with them, or if I need help on how to do things on my own.”

With some uncles living in Florida who come out to see him pitch when they can, and his dad visiting Bradenton three times a season, Sterling’s comfort zone only tightens with their company. He expects his dad to be on hand for some games this week in Bradenton.

With the many demands of professional athletes, it’s easy for some to dismiss the ages of those directly involved in the process. For Sterling, excelling at the rookie level in 2025 (11 games, 31.2 innings, 30 strikeouts) before making his one appearance for the Marauders last season was valuable progress for the then-18-year-old.

This past spring training, Sterling’s second go-around in the Pirates system, familiarity went a long way in developing his pitching skills.

“I was definitely more comfortable with everyone around me. I knew who to talk to when I needed certain things, who to go for to get my treatments done, and how to go about my workouts.”

Going from a rookie 18-year-old to a second-year pro at 19 (Sterling will turn 20 on September2 when the Marauders will be hosting the Flying Tigers), to hear Sterling tell it, is speeding up the maturation of his career.

“It’s a lot different, just how I go day to day. Last year, I learned a lot about myself. This year I have learned everything goes better for me how I handle the ups and downs. I just focus on what I have to accomplish that day, instead of looking too far into the future.”

The Pirates have two highly ranked 19-year-old pitching prospects from Los Angeles County. From Pomona, in eastern Los Angeles County, is Seth Hernandez – last year’s Pirates’ No. 1 draft pick. Just north of downtown Los Angeles is the area where Sterling grew up as a Dodgers fan.

His memories of being “10 minutes” from Dodger Stadium are vivid. Aside from being in attendance for Shohei Ohtani’s first game in a Dodgers uniform, an experience with another Dodger is Sterling’s most memorable moment at his ballpark.

“I must have been 12 years old at the time,” Sterling recalls. “Cody Bellinger flipped me a ball.”

This is a memory-maker that Sterling hopes to duplicate one day, when he makes it to Pittsburgh. The fandom is obvious in the pitching prodigy. There is a Konnor Griffin-like innocence to Sterling that makes him instantly a favorable subject to learn more about.

Deciding to play high school ball at Notre Dame in Sherman Oaks, California, certainly helped Sterling’s growth as a pitcher. The Knights have enjoyed decades of success in producing MLB draft selections and a handful of MLB players. Hunter Greene, Giancarlo Stanton, Jack McDowell, and even former Pirates infielder Tim Foli of the 1979 World Series championship club are all Notre Dame alumni.

“Being in LA you get to play all year long. The alumni that have come through the school was part of the reason why I went there,” Sterling explains. “They’ve shown to be good year in and year out.”

Coach Thomas Dill is currently leading the Knights’ baseball program and receives the highest praise from Sterling for helping develop his skills enough to make him a top draft selection.

Growing on and off the confines of LECOM Park or Pirate City is of the utmost importance to all developing players in Pittsburgh’s system. For Sterling, the signs are obvious. He’s already a noticeably better pitcher because he’s a young man receiving proper instruction from an organization with a track record of developing future pitching sensations.

Bring on the Flying Tigers. Sterling will be on the mound come Sunday.