8-23-24 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
After taking the first two games of the series, the Pirates are poised for their first winning streak since July 28-30. They’ll be facing off against Julian Aguiar, the MLB Pipeline’s 11th ranked prospect for the Reds making his second MLB start after going 4 innings of 4-hit, 2 run ball with one walk and 2 strikeouts.
A 12th round pick in the 2021 draft, Aguiar surged through the system and was named Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2023. His career line in the minors has a 23-17 record, a 3.38 ERA in 346.1 innings with 360 strikeouts to 93 walks.
The rookie righty features a mid-90s sinker, a low-80s changeup and both his slider and curve averaging high-70s.
His bread and butter is getting ground balls and staying low in the zone. Bucs hitters will want to stay on sinkers that don’t sink and drive them to gaps or further.
He’s not a big guy with big velocity so it’s all about hitting spots and mixing speeds. If the Pirates are able to get to him early, they can keep attacking the Reds recently beleaguered bullpen.
Let’s Go Bucs!
Steel City Pirates 