Bland Bats Burn Bucs, Drop Rubber Match 3-1 (1-2)

4/2/23 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on Twitter

Graham Ashcraft had the Pirates number, twirling 7 innings of 4-hit, 1-run ball with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. His mound opponent, Vince Velasquez, looked good early but ran out of gas, allowing 3 runs off 5 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts and 2 home runs, neither of which was hit very far.

Big story was the Pirates bats, which threatened a handful of times, but were mostly quiet, managing just 7 base-runners in the game. The Pirates were aggressive early in counts, leading to quick at-bats and short innings for Ashcraft, who was reaching high-90s with his fastball and mid-to-high-80s on his slider.

News & Notes

  • Velasquez hung a slider up and in to Jason Vosler that ended up in the seats (365 feet).
  • Velasquez was mixing speeds/locations fairly well but throwing mostly fastball/slider.
  • Pitch clock violation in the 3rd to Jake Frahley, who eventually walked
  • Seemed rattled overall and eventually gave up a hard grounder to short that scored Jonathan India for the Reds second run
  • Bryan Reynolds led off the 4th with a big home run to center (410 feet)
  • Velasquez got bailed out in the bottom of the 4th with Reds bats trying to expand the zone and generated weak contact but he was missing badly. Couldn’t get out of the 5th after a solo shot to TJ Friedl (392 feet)
  • Rob Zastryzny came in, gave up double, IBB and struck out Vosler
  • Andrew McCutchen doubled but was stranded in the 6th
  • Bloop single by Connor Joe w/2 outs, stranded in the 7th
  • Defensive gems by Joe and Cutch
  • https://twitter.com/Pirates/status/1642611159726538754
  • https://twitter.com/Pirates/status/1642614186101317633
  • Pirates managed to get runners on first and third with 1 out in the 8th but were unable to push anything across
  • With his two-bagger today, Cutch moves 7 away from 400 career doubles.
  • Pirates will travel to Boston to take on the Red Sox tomorrow at 7:10 PM with Johan Oviedo facing Kutter Crawford

When You Have Options, Excuses Die Quickly

4-2-23 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

Look folks, we’re 2 games into a new season. I say this because the nature of fandom is to call for immediate changes every time a pitcher gives up a homerun or a hitter goes 0 for 4.

Not everyone of course, but in general it’s super easy to feel it’s time for a change, especially if that 0 for 4 looked like a Jomboy compilation of ghosted hitters or the pitcher laid a fatty on an 0-2 count.

Here’s the thing though, these typical quick reactions, well, when you have real options they tend to stop looking so crazy.

For instance, the Pirates can really only get away with being patient with Jack Suwinski so long. He has competition on the roster for playing time already, and the Pirates have a rookie named Travis Swaggerty who’s too old to really care about the Super 2 crap and looked great this Spring.

Jack having poor results isn’t that big of a deal at least not from one game. Jack having poor results and looking like a lost puppy at the plate well, he’s not going to keep getting opportunities doing that.

This isn’t 2021 anymore, hell, it’s not 2022 anymore either. The time for endless patience knowing any other options are probably inferior, not ready or flat out wouldn’t matter for more than the moment if they did out play the underperformer.

The pressure having options creates is an element that’s been missing since 2018 at least. In fact creating this pressure is exactly why the Pirates brought in so many veteran options. They could have easily just fielded another roster full of kids and let the record just be whatever it would be, but creating that environment of competition, that feeling that getting a shot is earned and keeping it is too, well, that doesn’t happen unless the opportunity is rather scarce.

So the spots where opportunity could come start to show themselves rather quickly.

Let’s play out a position as a good for instance of what I’m talking about, Second Base.

Right now, on the 26 man roster the Pirates have Ji Hwan Bae, and Rodolfo Castro. Castro can back up SS and 3B, and Bae can back up SS and CF. Bae has played in both games, one at second, one in CF, while Castro has only played one at 2B.

Defensively, Bae had one notable miscue at 2B, aside from that, pretty solid, in fact in CF he straight up looked good, making a strong throw to 3B to almost nab a runner and coming out of nowhere to nearly make a great diving catch. Castro looked fine at 2B, but the most important thing he does there is make Oneil Cruz comfortable.

Both are young, both have upside. Castro has more power, Bae has much better contact. Bae will struggle against a lefty with a really good slider but generally hits them well, Castro is far superior against lefties but struggles mightily against righties.

Sounds like a platoon right?

Well what if Bae takes CF straight up from Jack Suwinski? Then you have Castro holding down 2B and the conversation shifts. Now it’s not about those two competing as much as can they hold off Mark Mathias or Travis Swaggerty? Even at that, Castro’s ability to cover 3B makes him extremely hard to send down, unless the Pirates go back to exploring Connor Joe picking the position back up or Mathias who has limited experience over there.

People love to dumb this stuff down to statements like so and so deserves to be here. Or this guy is better than that guy. Those statements aren’t false, they just don’t go deep enough.

There’s also the simple fact that baseball is very poorly ingested in a game to game evaluation. You need real data to make informed decisions, especially when they’re permanent choices.

For instance, Chase De Jong looked pretty bad yesterday in his first outing. To send him down, he’d have to be DFA’d, and a very quick look at his stats for 2022, yes, he’d be picked up immediately. In other words, if you choose to look at one bad performance and give it more weight than his 71.2 innings pitched in 2022 where he posted a 2.64 ERA with a 1.144 WHIP, well, you better be right, cause he gone. That’s not to say his 2022 outweighs everything or it lasts all of 2023, but it does mean he gets a leash, and to get replaced, it has to be for someone who matters.

Everything they’ve done. All the talent they’ve brought in to the system, all the vets they’ve signed, all the options they’ve given themselves, it all boils down to these decisions. Make poor decisions and waste talent, make smart decisions and this team has every chance to improve as the season goes on and into next year too.

So much that is and has been wrong with the Pirates is about money, but right now, it’s about decision making. They can’t be afraid to make a change, but they also don’t want to be too rash and take the possibility of success off the table for a player they genuinely see as talented.

It’s really all about how long you let a guy try to get blood out of a rock before you realize it’s not coming. The team by there own construction have created fewer excuses for themselves, and a more pressure filled environment for them to live in.

Three Bombs By The Reds, Sink The Pirates 6 to 2: (1-1)

4/1/23- By Craig W. Toth – @BucsBasement on Twitter

As soon as Pirates Fans saw their old friend Kevin Newman in the lineup for Cincinnati in the 5-hole, they had to know he was going to do some damage against his former Ball Club. Especially after numerous comments were made in jest concerning him being used as the Designated Hitter.

Newman wasted no time by following up a Jonathan India homer, with a two-run homer of his own in the bottom of the first; off Pittsburgh starter Rich Hill, in his Regular Season Debut in a Pirates Uniform.

This would be all the Reds would need on the day, but took the opportunity to tag on 3 more runs, as pinch hitter Jake Fraley took Pirates Reliever Chase DeJong deep in the Bottom of the 6th.

News & Notes

  • After surrendering 3 runs on 3 hits in the first inning, Dick Mountain settled down over the next four innings. His final line on the day: 5IP/3H/3ER/2BB/7K/2HR.
  • Oneil Cruz definitely has a different/more patient approach at the plate this season; often taking what pitchers give him. In the Opener it was punching the ball to the outfield for a sacrifice fly. In this one it was pulling a pitch for a seeing eye single to get the Pirates within in one, back in the Top of the 3rd.
  • Rodolfo Castro and Ji-hwan Bae combined for an 0 for 7 day, with 5 strikeouts. In Spring Training these guys were in battle for 2nd Base…today they both struggled badly.
  • Ke’Bryan Hayes got his first hit of the season. A well struck opposite field double off Reds Starter, Nick Lodolo.
  • Lodolo picked up the win for the Red Stockings on 109 pitches, with a line of 5IP/7H/2R/2ER/2BB/9K.

The Pirates and the Reds will run things back tomorrow, Sunday April 2nd at 1:40 PM from Great American Ballpark, in a series rubber-match. For Pittsburgh Vince Velasquez will toe the rubber, against Graham Ashcraft for Cincinnati.

Triple-A Opening Day

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-6a5ub-13cfad8

Craig is joined by Taylor Perri (@ShopYinzz) to discuss their takeaways from the Pirates Opening Day, and the Indianapolis Indians Roster Announcement; as the Triple-A Season Gets underway. 

Craig Toth covers the Pirates for Inside The Bucs Basement, and is a huge Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Fan; especially when it comes to the Farm System. Listen. Subscribe. Share. We are “For Fans, By Fans & All Pirates Talk.” THE Pirates Fan Minor League Podcast found EVERYWHERE podcasts can be found and always at BucsInTheBasement.com!

Aces Wild

3-31-23 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on Twitter

Some teams have multiple Aces. Some have one. Some have none. It can be a rarity but also a hard thing to define. If a guy is a team’s quote-unquote “Number One,” that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re an Ace. On the other hand, there’s been times where a 3 or even arguably 4 has been an Ace (looking at you, 2011 Phillies rotation). 

In recent memory, the Pirates have had some fine pitchers, even some very good ones, but it’s hard to say they’ve had an “Ace” or even received Ace-level production consistently. Gerrit Cole had some very good years in Pittsburgh and is certainly an Ace now. Was he then? 

Maybe going back a bit farther. Doug Drabek? He won a Cy Young in 1990 and had a number of other very good seasons. 

John Candelaria? He had an amazing stretch with the Pirates where he only posted an ERA above 3.54 once in his first ten seasons – all with Pittsburgh – which included a 1977 season with a mind-boggling 169 ERA+ to go along with a 2.34 ERA and a 20-5 record. I think you could definitely argue that he was an Ace of the staff at that time.

But the purpose of this isn’t looking back to the days of old. The Pirates have a number of young pitchers – both currently on the team and also rising through the prospect ranks – who could potentially rise to that “Ace” title. The question is: Will any of them do it? And, if so, who?

There’s no hard and fast line defining who is or isn’t an Ace. The Oakland Athletics sent Kyle Muller out to pitch Opening Day against Los Angeles Angels starter Shohei Ohtani. One of those guys is definitely in the Ace conversation, and it’s likely not the one you’ve never heard of before. 

Young Veteran

Do the Pirates have an Ace now? It’s hard to say.

Our top pitcher on the team currently is Mitch Keller, who has a career 5.00 ERA and a WHIP of 1.57 over his first 70 games in MLB. Not very Ace-like, right?

The thing people tend to forget about Ace-types like Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and (going back a bit farther) Roy Halladay, is that many of them struggle the same as anyone when they first come up. They are facing the best competition baseball has to offer and it’s a much more challenging adjustment than they’ve ever faced before.

But if you’re looking at a guy who potentially puts it all together to reach that top-tier, Keller seems most likely.

The big news coming into last season was the video of him working out with Driveline, hitting 100 on the radar gun, putting hope in the hearts of weary Pirates fans that he might put it all together. He stumbled out of the gates with a 6.61 ERA in his first 7 starts but he looked much better the rest of the way as, from May 25th, he posted a 3.20 ERA through the rest of the season.

He also has an INSANE array of pitches. 

He still needs to put up those results consistently. We saw a glimpse of it yesterday, as he managed 8 strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work. He did give up 4 runs and walked 4 though did not allow a lot of hard contact. Not a sure thing but it’s far more believable now than it was even a year ago.

Digging Deep with Burrows

What makes an “Ace?”

Control?

Velocity?

Pitch arsenal?

Some combination of these options?

You could have a guy like Nolan Ryan back in the 70’s and 80’s throwing heat with no clue where it was going and with nothing else to lean on, but these days, most pitchers have at least 2 of those 3. Maybe a reliever can get by with just a strong fastball but even solid relievers are diversifying to have 2-3 pitches at their disposal.

An Ace needs to be ELITE with multiple pitches and the next name on my list has the potential to be in that conversation.

Mike Burrows is one of the Pirates top pitching prospects – per MLB Pipeline – and for good reason. As I mentioned in my previous article, Burrows has added a slider this past off-season after adding a change up last year. This is paired with both a high-90s fastball and a devastating curve ball that has serious spin and drop, but the key point is his command and ability to tunnel those pitches effectively. 

Another key aspect – in addition to the aforementioned attributes – is demonstrating prolonged success. Burrows has that in spades (pun slightly intended) as he is currently sporting a 3.36 ERA across 201 minor league innings where opponents are batting just .213 against him. His control, arsenal and velocity have catapulted him up the prospect ranks for the Bucs and on the brink of debuting in Pittsburgh.

Changing Things Up

Perhaps the marker of an “Ace” is not so much the fastball as it is the off-speed aspect. Think Adam Wainwright and Clayton Kershaw with the curve balls or Tom Glavine and his filthy change up. Well, there’s a pitcher in the Pirates organization whose change up has become a lethal weapon for him.

Carlos Jimenez Change-Up

With the pitch drawing comps to Devin Williams, his change up is his best pitch with monster deception and ride. He also has a fastball that reaches 97 and an advanced curve with a strong break. Carlos Jimenez was signed as an international free agent in July 2018, so he has been in the organization a long time but, at only 20, he’s still very young despite his advanced repertoire with room to continue growing as he rises through the prospect ranks.

Korean Superstar

It is also possible that having overall versatility with pitches, as opposed to specializing in certain pitches, is what makes an Ace. For example: Pedro Martinez had a tailing fastball, diving change up and a hard curve ball. He could come out throwing any of them in any count. Having multiple options in your arsenal to use at your disposal is invaluable. Enter: Jun-Seok Shim.

One of the newest members of the organization, Shim was signed just a few months ago as an international free agent from out of Korea, and it could end up being an absolute steal for the Bucs .

Shim boasts a four pitch mix (fastball, slider, curve, change up) which all rank average or above average, with the added benefit of also having plus command. His fastball sits mid-90s but can touch 100. He has a hard breaking slider, a true 12-6 curve and a change up with late life down in the zone.

He’ll be facing a different level of competition here in the States but seems more than ready for the challenge ahead. With his advanced mix of pitches, ability to control them and already mind-boggling velocity, he should be a name for fans to watch in the coming seasons.

What Does It All Mean?

So if there is a clear definition of what makes an “Ace,” do all of these names qualify? Or any? Or maybe none? Does it even matter? Perhaps the title of Ace will have gone by the wayside soon enough as starting pitchers go fewer and fewer innings each start. In that case, will we be looking for starting pitchers to be glorified openers, simply pushing 3-4 clean innings before relievers enter to pass the baton? Who knows. But if there is a future Ace in this organization, don’t be surprised if one of these names pushes to take that title.

Hump Day Pirates Q&A, Friday Special!

3-31-23 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

Craig and I were so busy on Wednesday finishing up the Season Preview, I had to skip this piece so now that we have a game to digest, I figured lets open it up and see if we can’t whip one together for ya.

Let’s go.

Question 1

After yesterday’s performance, has the debate of who will be the primary 2B intensified?
I like Castro and feel there is a place on this team, same with Bae and I feel they both have enough versatility to carve out regular playing time – But the question of who is the starter remains, especially when given the matchup quote we were fed yesterday. – J.w. Sanders

Phil was thinking the same thing…

After yesterdays show, it’s hard not to get excited about Ji-Hwan Bae and his role in this Pirates future. What happens to Castro if Bae steals the show (see what I did there?)?? – Phil Chaplin

To be fair, this one has been tough for a while fellas.

Both need at bats to show what they can do. Both have skills the other doesn’t possess. Both have weaknesses the other doesn’t.

That’s what makes this really tough. So when we do this, perhaps we’d be best doing a side by side compare and contrast.

Speed – Both are plenty fast, but Bae has game changing speed. Agitating and game pushing speed. He won’t be at his best until he learns to become a good base stealer as opposed to just a fast player though. Probably put this in the Bae win column.

Power – Inarguably this one goes to Castro. He has prodigious and easy power, you know, when he hits the baseball. Bae has some power but it’s a lot more like Adam Fraizer power. Enough to pop one every now and again, but not someone you want up when you need that 2 run shot to tie a game.

Fielding – I can honestly say Castro has become a pretty solid 2B, not flashy, but solid. Possibly more important, Oneil Cruz likes playing with him and they have a good chemistry for double plays and responsibilities. Bae has more range, less arm and seems to struggle a bit with understanding who’s ball is who’s out there. That said, Bae simply hasn’t played the position consistently, and surely not at the MLB level. Now, Bae can ably play CF and Castro can ably play 3B. All in all, for right now, I’m going to call defensive ability a wash.

Contact – Bae for sure has the upper hand here. He gets on base, and doesn’t strike out much. With his speed, just not striking out makes him a threat to get something started. Rodolfo is far superior hitter from the right side, but still not a contact hitter.

Now, what do they do? For one thing, I expect them to share this spot and not in an exclusive “platoon” fashion. Castro is too young to decide he’s just going to stink as a left handed hitter, but I’ll tell you what, as long as power comes from elsewhere in the lineup, to me that skill will take a back seat to everything Bae does bring.

The best solution may very well be to let Bae slowly take over CF. He can handle the position, his arm isn’t superb but he makes the right decisions and has a strong enough arm to not be an obvious weak spot.

Either way, I think it’s too early to suggest Bae playing or earning playing time will render Castro useless. In all sincerity, by next year it’s very possible neither will be the starting 2B.

Clear as mud right? Here’s how I really see this. When we wrap up 2023, I want to see Castro has had about 450+ at bats. If his power is going to play, in that number of at bats he should have around 17-20. If not, I don’t believe he has the alternative skills to make him more than a bench piece. So on Castro, answer the question this year and be done with it. Bae needs to get into the 350-400 range at least and his position versatility might be how they have to go get it. For me, he needs to show an OBA of over .350 and I’d like to see 25+ stolen bases. And don’t get me wrong, while I do think they’ll both get pushed out of 2B at some point, both could carve a spot on this club for years to come.

What I think we’ll see, is an offense that sputters a bit without Bae stirring shiz up and ultimately it’ll be why he gets more opportunity as the season progresses.

Question 2

Questions for Q&A: how much bigger of a dataset do we need on jack ? He seems the same. He’s gonna get a nickname like swing and miss – Wilbert Matthews

This question was made to follow that last one with my supposition that Bae could steal some ABs from CF. Wilbert, I’m quite sure Jack was given a shot to come North because they wanted to show him that they believed in him after last year. I agree with that thinking, but I also see the face of a guy who doesn’t look like he’s having fun, the same look of the same guy who wound up being sent back to AAA last year.

Before I get into this too much farther, let me take a quick detour to explain why this team and so many people like me who think they know stuff were so willing to ignore the weird splits, the strikeouts, the crappy Spring, the lost puppy face, all of it.

19 homeruns in 372 plate appearances. With a .709 OPS and 114 strikeouts. This is Jack Suwinski’s line from last year. Give him a full suite of plate appearances and the hope is he’d hit 35-40 homeruns, but the reality is, you can’t have that come with 200 strikeouts. Either way, this is why they want so desperately to try.

62 homeruns in 696 plate appearances. With a 1.750 OPS and 175 strikeouts. This is Arron Judge, and I’m in no way trying to pretend this is what Jack will be or even could be, but I will say 175 strikeouts sure hasn’t made him look less impressive has it?

If you want a real differentiator here, beside one guy having actually produced for quite some time now, its the walks. With Judge, if you give him something to hit, he probably will so guys stay out of the zone. He either swings at stuff outside the zone, hits a mistake or takes his walk.

Jack hasn’t forced pitchers to think this way. He misses in the zone and because of it, doesn’t get the walks needed to get that OPS to a level where you can ignore the K’s.

In fact, their K rates are identical. 30-31%. Walk percentage though, Judge walked 15.9% and Jack 11%.

Point is, the power is alluring and relatively rare.

Let’s do one more that’s probably more fair and he’s also considered a star. Kyle Schwarber last year had 669 plate appearances and hit 46 homeruns. His OPS was .827 and he struck out 200 times while walking 86 times. Silly thing is his K rate of 29.9 is right there, his walk percentage is in line too at 12.9.

Again, am I saying Jack Suwinski is Kyle Schwarber or Arron Judge, no I am not. Am I saying this is why he gets a chance? Yes.

ALL of that being said, the kid doesn’t look like he could hit a piñata without a blindfold right now and the Pirates patience, and lack of viable options in 2022 gave him an opportunity to push through some punishing gaps in production, a luxury I don’t believe he’ll receive in 2023. Give this a couple weeks and if he hasn’t started to at least look like he’s finding it, I think they’ll have to make a change and bluntly, who it’s for might not even matter. Could just as easily be Mathias as it would be Swaggerty, especially if Bae forces them to give him ABs in CF.

Sometimes, these decisions come down to is what this guy can do good enough to ignore what he can’t.

Just don’t sit here and tell me you would kick Schwarber out of bed for eating crackers ya know?

Question 3

Keller did not look confident. Do you think he’s ready to be a number one or is he better at three or four? – Wilbert Matthews

My man Wilbert is always quick on the trigger with questions. I despise numbering pitchers brother, always have. That said, is he a top of the rotation type? Yeah, he is. I’d agree he didn’t look confident early on, but he found himself, he had just done too much damage to himself in the first innings to ever get deep.

You’re last question was about how much data we needed for Jack, and I’ll use that in this question too, cause the answer with any starter is for sure more than 1 game.

The stuff is there, the pitch mix is there. He’s learning himself and Hedges is learning him at the same time. I actually think Derek Shelton was a bit too desperate to try to let him get a win yesterday leaving him in too long. 100 pitches on opening day isn’t insane, but it is when he’s stressed most of the day and not looking himself.

I’d also remind everyone, there were quite a few “aces” who got smacked in the mouth yesterday. Big names, much more established than Mitch mind you. By the end of this season, Mitch will have himself in the driver’s seat for leading this staff, but c’mon, you’ve watched him for a long time, he’s not going to do it seamlessly.

All in all, he fought through some things that would have seen him crumble in the past. He teetered in the first, even had that signature “come get me” look on his face for a pitch or two, and then he centered himself, got the Reds best hitter to ground into a double play and settled in.

One thing all the Pirates pitchers who’ve been here are going to have to learn, they don’t have to try to win 1-0 every time out anymore, and Keller showed maturity in the first hunting contact instead of chasing a strike out with the bases loaded and compounding the issues that were developing around him.

So all in all, 1 game is never going to answer this question, but if I had to tell you right now who is the Pirates “ace” it’s Mitch Keller, in 2023 anyway.

Question 4

Is J.T. Brubaker done for the year? – Randy Diffendal

Well Randy, I don’t know to be 100% candid.

Here’s what I can tell you, I have 3 contacts who’ve told me yes he will very likely miss all of 2023. Jason Mackey (a real reporter unlike me) has heard it isn’t good, coupled with the official on the record answers he’s gotten that refuse to say they are ready to make any determination here.

The team put him on the 15-day IL to open the season which leads you to believe they aren’t sold that it’s a lock he’ll miss even 60 days as of right now, and if this decision didn’t cause them to have to DFA a player (Ryan Vilade so maybe they just wanted to anyway) I could probably ignore that supposition that they think he could be back.

Truth is though, we just don’t know. I do know he will be getting a second opinion, even as we haven’t heard the first one.

Wish I knew more, but either way, I wouldn’t expect to see him in April.

Question 5

I know early yet, but will Mason Martin ever play in the big leagues as a pirate( I know unfair question, and I realize he has to show he cam reduce his strikeouts. I feel like this is a make or break year for him in the organization, although he is or will be 24 years young. If you want to table this or have Craig talk about this in depth down the road, that’s fine). – Billy Tissue

Timely Billy.

Mason Martin will not be starting the season in AAA, instead being pushed back to AA. A demotion isn’t always about performance mind you, John Baker the Pirates Director of Player Development warned all of us back in December there were going to be some surprising player placements between AA and AAA, and it was going to be more about playing time than anything else. That said, Mason has more than a full season of AAA under his belt and here he is.

The problem with Mason is almost the same thing that plagues Jack Suwinski. Problem is, Jack has that 30%K rate in MLB, and Mason has close to 35% in AAA. Ouch.

The reason that’s significant, it’s firmly believed whatever you do poorly in AAA, great chance you do it worse in MLB It’s usually worth a good 5% bump or hit depending on the stat.

Mason looks like a left handed Pedro Cerrano and even the first base prospect desperate Pirates know that won’t play at this level. The power is simply sick, arguably has as much as Cruz. Even this Spring we saw Mason launch one over the batter’s eye and almost over it entirely at LECOM. But you have to be able to do it a lot more than he has shown to get a chance in Pittsburgh.

Bottom line, never say never, but it sure doesn’t look good. I will say, the power is so special, he’s the type who will get a chance somewhere even if the Pirates do give up, but being a guy who was available via the Rule 5 two years running now it should be clear at the very least no MLB teams think he can stick on a roster all year. Meaning every team in this league thinks that sexy power is so rarely going to crop up over a strikeout that they won’t even let him ride the pine and pinch hit.

Pirates Win Opening Day Matchup Over Rival Reds 5-4 (1-0)

03/30/2023 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_EtHaN on Twitter

The start of a new season always comes with a ton of optimism and the Pittsburgh Pirates offered some more juice to the optimism drink with a 5-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.

Oneil Cruz started the scoring for Pittsburgh with a 111.1 mph home run off of Hunter Greene in the top of the third to tie the game at one.

Greene was pumping 100-plus mph fastball’s without breaking a sweat, including a 105 mph fastball against Andrew McCutchen, who also saw a 105 mph pitch against then Cincinnati Red Aroldis Chapman in his previous Pirates tenure.

Greene, a young staple in the Reds rotation, started hot, but once the Pirates became patient his his delivery, trouble would find him. Greene would finish with 83 pitches, 3 1/3 IP, 3 BB, 8 SO, 5 H, 1 ER, but trouble would find reliever Fernando Cruz, who would walk in two runs and allow another via a wild pitch to create a 4-1 Pirates lead.

Mitch Keller was Greene’s opposite and looked relatively good in his first Opening Day start, posting a respectable 4.2 IP, 8 SO, 4 BB, 4 ER and 6 H. Leaving the game tied 4-4 after hitting the century mark on pitches, Keller extended a Pirates streak of starting pitchers not recording an Opening Day victory that dates back to 2016, last done by Francisco Liriano.

In what came as a surprise to me, the bullpen appearances of Dauri Moreta, Rob Zastryzny, Colin Holderman and David Bednar would keep the Reds scoreless after Keller’s departure, leading to an Oneil Cruz sacrifice-fly in the eighth that would score Ji-hwan Bae to come to the final of 5-4.

Ji-hwan Bae impressed in this one, recording two hits, two runs, two stolen bases as well as some nifty work at 2B outside of a rushed error. Andrew McCutchen impressed in his return to Pittsburgh as well, recording three walks and a base hit to his credit.

As a team, in large part to their victory, the Pirates recored nine free passes on the game, showing a willingness to be patient at the plate with Greene’s lack of experience and a lackluster bullpen, giving themselves and other teams a blueprint on how to attack Cincinnati offensively.

This game had a lot, pitch clock violations, walks, blown leads and ultimately a Pirates victory. It’s game one of a long 162 game season, but the Pirates start the campaign on a high note in front of a recording breaking Great American Ballpark crowd.

The Pirates will face the Reds in game two of the series on Saturday with Rich Hill slated to face off with another youthful staple of the Reds rotation, Nick Lodolo.

Ethan Smith Recap Record: 1-0

News & Notes

  • Oneil Cruz 111.1 mph HR in the top of the third for first HR of the season
  • Mitch Keller: 4.2 IP, 8 SO, 4 BB, 4 ER, 6 H(continues streak since 2016 of Pirates starters without a win on Opening Day) / Dauri Moreta: 1.0 IP, 3 SO, 2 BB, 0 ER /
  • Hunter Greene pitch clock violation in the top of the third
  • Hunter Greene clocks a 105 mph pitch
  • Hunter Greene: 83 pitches, 3 1/3 IP, 3 BB, 8 SO, 5 H, 1 ER / Fernando Cruz: 0.1 IP, 3 BB, 1 ER, 2 unearned runs in the top of the fourth
  • Pirates have three run fourth inning
  • Fun fact, McCutchen has now seen the two fastest recorded pitches in MLB history from Aroldis Chapman and Hunter Greene, both at 105 mph
  • Oneil Cruz first leadoff hitter since Nate McLouth on Opening Day to homer since 2008

Through The Prospect Porthole: Key Developmental Year For The Pirates Farm System

3-30-23 By Craig W. Toth (aka @BucsBasement on Twitter)

From the moment Ben Cherington and Company took over the day-to-day Baseball Operations of the Pittsburgh Pirates, one overarching mantra has been promoted throughout the organization. And no, I’m not talking about tank narrative that has saturated social media for the past three years.

Since being hired, Cherington has instituted the goal to Identify, Acquire, Develop and Deploy throughout the Pirates organization.

[Insert pause for continuous laughter.]

Obviously this process has not shown up at the Major League Level as much as fans have wanted it to; which is technically where it matters most.

Over the past three years the Pirates have taken to snagging up countless DFAs off of the waiver wire, drafting near-or at-the top of the board, signing high touted international prospects, trading multiple players on the 26-Man Roster for Minor Leaguers-most with high ceilings-and signing guys to 1-year deals, in order to flip them at the deadline.

The result thus far has been a system filled with depth at nearly every position; as only a select few have made it all the way to PNC.

Clearly we all know it’s a rebuild; and honestly that’s how these things usually go. Just look at the recent examples of how the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros have gone about assembling their organizations.

For a while now I have equated what Ben Cherington and Company are doing to how a newly hired college coach goes about building a football program; recently talking about it during an appearance on Locked On Pirates.

If a general manager-like Cherington-comes on the scene, it’s most likely due to failures in the previous regime’s philosophy; which has ultimately led to a less than successful record in the Majors, as well as somewhat depleted Farm System.

The same would go for a head coach that takes over a team with a losing record, and inferior recruits.

Would you expect him to turn the whole thing around in a season or two?

Sure this analogy is not the apples to apples comparison that it used to be with the transfer portal and NIL deals at their disposal. However, neither are the attempts to make direct correlations between other teams’ rebuilds and the Pirates; or previous ones that have gone on in Pittsburgh.

Different organizations may spend more, some could give out additional extensions, and a few might sign high profile free agents; as a part of their process.

At the moment the closest equivalence that can be made is how the Tampa Bay Rays operate; and even that’s not identical to what the Pirates and Ben Cherington are doing.

Still. there is one thing that has been a constant in each of these builds, rebuilds or retools…the ability to develop talent.

Inevitably the identifying and acquiring is important as well; but, if you can’t develop players, bring them up through your system and ultimately deploy them on your Major League roster-and have them be success I might add-what are we even doing here.

To me, that’s the point the Pirates have reached in Cherington’s rebuild; as “his” players-and ones that have spent most of their professional careers under his regime-start to make their way to Altoona or Indianapolis, and start to press for playing time in Pittsburgh.

Now suppose more prospects backslide or flame out before they reach this point; that’s when-I believe-we can truly start to question the process.

Yet, think about what happens if the bulk of them start to take a step forward. Would we still be able to question the process in the same manner?

I would tend to think not; but, it shouldn’t also lead to us assume that it is mission accomplished.

Maybe objective accomplished, or box checked; but definitely not mission accomplished.

2023 Pirates Season Preview

3/29/23– By Gary Morgan and Craig W. Toth – @garymo2007 & @bucsbasement on Twitter

It’s that time of year again folks, a brand new baseball season here in Pittsburgh and for the first time since probably 2019 a bit of an air of optimism can at least be smelled in the wind. What this team is this season and what they have coming, well, safe to say both world will collide a bit this season as it looks to be the biggest migration of talent from the system to the Bigs we’ve seen since easily 2010.

Craig and I secretly love writing this piece together. For one thing, we use it all year to hold each other accountable and reading back through the previous two preparing for this one, it’s a really nice snapshot of how we’ve felt entering every season before it played out.

Walk through the roster with us today, bookmark it for all our horrible guesses and takes but most of all, have fun with it, we sure do.

The Pitching Staff

The Starters: Mitch Keller, Roansy Contreras, Johan Oviedo, Rich Hill, Vince Velasquez

Gary: (C) I was probably at a C+ before the Brubaker injury news. No matter what you think of him, he’s a work horse, and losing him early is not ideal, especially since he looked to be stretched and hitting on most of his pitches. If this is long term, I could even switch to C-, but I’ll settle here not knowing.

Now, I do think Keller is poised to be in the top 5 starters in this division in 2023, and that’s not nothing. Having a guy who can stop losing streaks or start winning steaks depending on how you look at it is something this team hasn’t had in quite some time. Roansy is expected to be great, but to me he’s still a bit of an unknown. We have to see what he looks like with the restraints removed and his trip to WBC prevented him from fully stretching out. Rich Hill is consistent if nothing else and probably offers more as a mentor than top line pitcher anymore. The AAA rotation gives hope that underperformance won’t be sat on too long.

Johan Oviedo was going to be a tough reassignment, so if there is an upside to the injury to JT, it might be that he gets to stay and develop.

Craig: (C+) As the off-season started, my own personal goal for the Pirates was that they would sign two starting pitchers; which I guess technically they did. However, part of that goal-an objective if you will-should have been to get a more reliable, Major League proven arm and ink him to a two-year deal. This is something that Ben Cherington talked about, but never followed through on.

Instead, they went the reclamation route with Vince Velasquez, and a likely flip candidate in Rich Hill. Now, Hill I am fine with, as a veteran leader on the mound. Velasquez on the other hand, likely provides little value. And this is coming from a guy who has actually tried at times to defend his place in the rotation. I still hold out some hope, but I definitely would have preferred the alternative; that probably would’ve turned my grade into a solid B.

At the top they hopefully have an interchangeable one-two punch of Mitch Keller and Roansy Contreras, Hill slotting in at three, JT Brubaker was their four and Velasquez rounding it out at five.

Now with JT likely starting the season on the IL, the Pirates can call on something that has been absent during previous seasons…legitimate options; starting with Johan Oviedo, and followed by Luis Ortiz, Mike Burrows, Kyle Nicolas and Quinn Priester.

This recent development had me considering a bump to a C as well. Prior to the Brubaker development, I really liked the idea of Oviedo being the go as long reliever once a week to save the bullpen over the long stretches in April.

Overall I feel the starting rotation contains less ifs than it did last season, as we didn’t really know what to expect from the likes of Keller, Bryse Wilson and Zach Thompson.

The Relievers: David Bednar, Colin Holderman, Wil Crowe, Chase De Jong, Duane Underwood Jr., Dauri Moreta, Jose Hernandez, Rob Zastryzny

Gary: (C+) I really like the bullpen, mostly because I like the options they have almost as much if not more than what they’re starting with in certain places. Cody Bolton, Carmen Mlodzinski, Colin Selby, Yerry De Los Santos, heck even Yohan Ramirez showed the ability to have a real nice stretch in 2022. I could see members of the rotation winding up there too. Now, if I know Craig, he’ll have numbers here and I have more of a shear number of options, but in baseball, having options is often more important than 8 guys you think are going to shove and stay healthy all year.

If I have a big concern, it’s that they don’t have a long man really in this opening day alignment, and with the compressed schedule the Pirates have in April and starters not being fully stretched, that’s a concern to me. I worry about it because it causes them to make poor choices with guys like Underwood and Crowe. They’ve thrown their arms off for 2 years running now, and this setup says they’ll probably do it again.

Craig: (C-) Outside of Bednar, I am not super high on any other member of the bullpen; and I even take caution with Bednar because of the re-occurring back issues. Holderman was solid for the Mets-posting a 2.04 ERA and a 1.019 WHIP; yet, it was only in 17.2 innings. Also he ended up on the IL with the Pirates, so I’m not sure what to expect. Same goes for De Los Santos, who’s season ended in the same fashion, and was just sent to Triple-A.

To his credit DeJong had his best season in the Majors last year, with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP; but the advanced metrics showed he might have just been lucky. Underwood, Jr. has been an innings eater out of the pen the last two season; still his results have been mediocre.

Then you move on to Wil Crowe, who has been downright awful this Spring, and ended the year on downward slide.

Wrapping things up you find the Rule 5 Guy in Hernandez. Truth be told, I’m not sure how he makes the team, considering how he’s looked.

Plain and simple, it doesn’t look good. Especially when you consider the one pitcher they brought in to make the situation a little bit better-Jarlin Garcia-is currently on the shelf, since he can’t grip a ball.

Hopefully, these relievers can hold it together; because if they don’t, things could get out of control really fast.

The Position Players

Catcher: Austin Hedges (Starter), Jason Delay

Gary: (D) Listen, I like Jason Delay, and part of me hopes this was about keeping Bryan Reynold’s best friend on the team to get this damn deal done. I’m kidding of course, but truthfully, he just doesn’t add much to the team. Austin Hedges is an easy guy to like, talks a very good game, reportedly teaches the catching position with passion and pride, but he can’t hit.

Both of them will handle the pitching staff well, and we know the future behind the dish is not on this roster to start. Whether people want to admit it or not, Endy really does have quite a long way to go to even equal Delay defensively. So if you’re thinking his call up will raise this rating, I think the offensive upswing will be eroded to a degree defensively.

That doesn’t mean I think Endy will always be an underwhelming defender, it just means I personally think most catching prospects are when they first reach the league. It’s arguably the hardest position in baseball to master aside from pitcher, and to expect perfection or seasoned MLB defender from call up on is a bridge to far for me.

Craig: (C) Man I feel like I’m giving out a lot of C’s; but it feels like they are deserved.

In this case it is all about offense, or lack thereof, when it comes to who will crouch behind the dish. Offense is an F, defense is an A for Hedges; and Delay can hold his own.

The goal for Hedges is to develop this young staff, and mentor Endy once he comes up. There’s no doubt he can do just that; all while batting around the Mendoza line.

Third Base: Ke’Bryan Hayes (Starter), Rodolfo Castro

Gary: (B+) I like starter and backup here. Hayes is Hayes defensively so I won’t bore you with his ability, but Castro, well, 3B might just be his best position on the field. I like this as a position group. Hayes has just been stinging the baseball all Spring long, and it looks a lot more like he’ll wield a dangerous bat in 2023 than the singles hitter he had become dealing with injuries.

I’ll go ahead and say it, I think Hayes hits enough to finally get the required votes to get the Gold Glove he has already deserved.

Craig: (B) Based on defense alone Hayes will live up to his 8 year/$70 million contract. Last season he produced 4.3 WAR and 3.0 fWAR, in spite of batting just .244 with a OPS+ of 87.

Obviously this needs to improve; which many think it will, based on him bulking up this offseason.

However, the issue with Hayes has never been about being able to hit the ball hard. In 2021, was in the 71st percentile for Average Exit Velocity, and 75th for Hard Hit Rate. Then this past season he bumped up to 85th and 84th respectively; yet, he continued to struggle with the bat.

For Hayes, it’s all about launch angle, as Michael wrote about just last week. When you have an average launch angle of 5.2, versus the league average of 12.1, those hard hits naturally matter less.

Now, as far as the back-up plan goes, if Hayes would go down for an extended period of time. Well, that took a slight blow with Jared Triolo having surgery on his hamate bone; although it seems like Castro would probably get a shot at it first, and actually has the ability to play the position at a decent level.

But just in case, maybe Connor Joe should start taking reps at 3rd base again.

Short Stop: Oneil Cruz (Castro, Bae)

Gary: (B) Have to start with offense here. Cruz is going to hit, and he’ll lead this team in just about all the sexy offensive numbers. Defensively, according to everyone on the staff, and the beat guys, nobody on the team has put in more extra time practicing fielding. That doesn’t mean he’ll turn into a gold glover, it doesn’t even mean he’ll become “good” but it does mean he wants it bad enough to fight for it and there’s something to be said for that.

I’ll say this, the footwork is better, he’s controlling the arm strength, he’s leading his DP partner to the bag, and he’s under control when he makes the second throw on DPs himself. Range for days too. Let’s take a month or two and stop trying to stick him in the outfield, especially as you’re finally seeing outfielders emerge.

Craig: (B) Cruz has 30-30 potential; and could honestly run into those 30 homers, even if the other numbers-Average, OBP (On Base Percentage) and K%-don’t necessarily follow suit, as much as the Pirates want them to.

Now, as far as his defense is concerned, I think he will be just fine; plus he has more range than nearly anyone at the position.

So, far this Spring it seems that his work with Mendy Lopez-the new Infield Coordinator-has paid off. His footwork looks better, and he isn’t rushing his throws; which ends up causing the majority of his errors.

The only thing that worries me is that if he struggles, or god forbid gets injured, Pittsburgh doesn’t have a legit backup option waiting in the wings.

Second Base: Rodolfo Castro (Bae)

Gary: (B) Between the two of them, I love this position. Both can handle 2B admirably, but having both of them should mitigate some of the longer slumps we’ve seen from Castro. It’s an energy position and from this one spot, the entire feel of the lineup could change. Castro creates more of a power threat, Bae creates more of a speed and on base annoyance threat. One can change the game by running into one, the other can change the game by setting the table for the expected boppers.

Craig: (C) Castro did enough in his last 200 plate appearances of last season to make the Pirates want to give him an extended look to begin 2023.

During that time he slashed .247/.310/.478 with 10 homers, 19 total extra base hits and a 119 wRC+.

At this time my biggest concern is his lopsided platoon splits; that have followed him through the Minors, and into his time with Pirates. As a lefty, Castro’s OPS in the Minors has been about 200 points lower than when he bats right handed; a number that has grown to nearly 300 points in MLB.

Bae on the other hand has a much more well-round approach at the plate; with less power of course. He also has additional position flexibility, as he can slide to the outfield when called upon.

Seen by many as the most advanced hitter in Indianapolis last year-as evidenced by his .297/.364/.450 slash line through the first four months of the season-Bae was delayed in being promoted to the Majors due to an oblique injury that sidelined him for almost a full month.

First Base: Carlos Santana (Ji-man Choi)

Gary: (C) Two veterans. Two proven MLB fielders. Two experienced and proven leaders. I don’t really know what to say here. I’m not excited about the position, but I’m certainly not down about it.

The Pirates haven’t had a really quality first baseman defensively in quite some time, and now they have two. They certainly haven’t had one who could do both, and now they have 2 who are capable of exactly that.

This is really vanilla, but I’m sorry, I just don’t have any issues with how they filled this spot for 2023, and I’m not super jazzed about it either.

Craig: (P): I couldn’t view this as more than it was. In the end it became a simple Pass/Fail, grading wise. Last year was atrocious, so it honestly could get much worse.

Heading into the offseason, the Pirates didn’t have any options for first base on the roster; so, Cherington made it his mission to solve the position.

First he traded for Ji-Man Choi, then he acquired Carlos Santana and finally he added he added Connor Joe; who could move in from the outfield, if needed.

Nevertheless, they really don’t have a solution beyond this year; which might make an Incomplete the best option at the moment.

Outfield Starters: Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski, Connor Joe (McCutchen, Smith-Njigba)

Craig: (B) Reynolds looks primed to put together his third strong season in a row following what was the 2020-small sample size-debacle. Last year, his overall numbers took a slight hit due to the struggles he experienced patrolling centerfield; although, it looks like the Pirates may have rectified this by moving him to left field more regularly.

As far as Suwinki is concerned, his K-rate will likely tell the tale of how 2023 turns out for him. We all know he possesses the power necessary to stick in the Big Leagues. All you have to do is look at his 19 homers from last season. Still, there is really no way to overlook him striking out at a 30.6% clip.

In Joe the Pirates have hopefully found stability in an eventual 4th outfielder, with some Major League success. Although, it will be interesting to see how he performs on a consistent basis outside of that Mile High air.

Gary: (B) It’s the best it’s been since 2019. The outfield has been a barren wasteland for so long it’s hard to not feel hopeful watching the fan base lose their minds because one option didn’t make it.

I trust Reynolds to perform, and I’ll leave it there. I think no matter what they do to start, Canaan Smith-Njigba will force them to play him more. Connor Joe will wind up being a bench bat and utility guy before too long.

Now my big concern is Jack Suwinski. He looked awful this Spring, but we’ve seen things like this not matter come regular season just as often as it’s predicted the performance. The K rate is alarming, the new stance isn’t helping, and pressure is building not only on the MLB roster but AAA as well.

Cutch will play occasionally out there, and he’s still capable of playing a “good” outfield.

Outfield Reserves: Andrew McCutchen, Canaan Smith-Njigba (Bae)

Craig: (C+) This is not the same Andrew McCutchen we saw patrolling the grass at PNC in the early 2010’s. He will likely be limited in the role, and see a majority of playing time at DH. This doesn’t mean he won’t be able to contribute in a meaningful way, and hopefully reach all of his career milestones by the end of the season.

With a very impressive Spring, Smith-Njigba put all of the memories-and more importantly any concerns-surrounding his season ending wrist fracture to rest.

Smith-Njigba possesses an advanced approach at the plate to go along with some untapped power potential. In his Minor League Career Canaan posted a .387 OBP, but has only hit 26 homers, in spite of his 60-grade raw power; although, I am not really worried about it, as he hasn’t even turned 24 yet.

Gary: (C) I just don’t see Cutch playing out there much and if I’m honest, I see CSN and Bae pushing for more playing time, potentially to the point they aren’t in this role anymore.

I will say everyone they kept can defensively handle the outfield, but they’ve only got one who has the potential to be defensively spectacular and that’s Reynolds IF they primarily leave him in Left Field.

I firmly believe Cutch will DH 80% of his starts, and I think that’s directly why they felt they had room for 5 OF on the 26.

Next Man Up: Prospect Watch

Craig: (A) The easy answer here is Endy Rodriguez, so I will quickly pivot to Carmen Mlodzinski. With the recent decision to have the former Gamecock appear out of the bullpen, I could see him called up sooner, rather than for a cup of coffee at the end of the season.

Under Ben Cherington’s supervision, the Pirates relievers have gone through a revolving door, more times than Buddy The Elf on spaghetti and Maple Syrup; which could continue with potential injuries and/or inconsistencies.

Gary: (A) I didn’t even have to read Craig’s entry to know Rodriguez would be brought up. Like him I’m going to skip him because first, I kinda talked about him in the catcher position part already, and there is another I can’t wait to see.

I think Cody Bolton being moved to the bullpen for the season was sneaky smart by the organization, and I truly believe he will thrive there. The stuff plays and the guy has way more polish than most potential rookie pitchers. I could see him being an option as early as May and he might help fill that traditional long man spot I already said was missing.

Playing Their Last Year as a Pirate

Gary: First things first. I’m not taking the easy way out and naming one of the rentals they signed. I’ll say Duane Underwood Jr.

I’m not an Underwood hater, but I’ve hated his usage, and think the team has asked too much from the guy and by the end of this year I think it will be obvious they’ve used him up.

Craig: Even though I don’t actually want this to happen, I am going to go with JT Brubaker. Both Brubaker and Mitch Keller entered their first year of arbitration this season. Realistically they can only sign one. Clearly they could let JT finish out his controlled years and walk, but that really doesn’t make much sense if he is a somewhat half-way decent starter; that profiles as a bullpen arm.

Obviously this is now dependent on health, as Brubaker is now facing the same health concerns he did back in 2019. Since that time he has accumulated the most innings by a Pirates Pitcher; 315.2 to be exact..

As a safety net, I’ll go with David Bednar. Yes, I understand this is probably an unpopular opinion, but let’s recognize that he hasn’t been able to stay healthy over the last two seasons, and more than likely won’t be saving games if and when this team is competitive.

Crazy Prediction

Gary: Oh man…Let’s go with Mitch Keller as a Cy Young Finalist

I think Mitch has finally, really and truly, figured it out. He’s confident, even starting to get a bit cocky about what he can do and has one of the rarest of abilities, he can change the shape of every single one of his pitches while maintaining his tunneling.

He can be unhittable when he’s on, but what’s most important, he’s more quickly recognizing what he does and doesn’t have on a given night. Coupled with Hedges who is a known Cy Young maker, I like his chances.

Craig: Connor Joe leads the team in stolen bases.

Everyone-including myself-has mentioned Hayes swiping 20 bags last season, or Cruz aiming for 30-30; yet I can’t help, but think about Joe taking advantage of the new rules this Spring.

Last season Joe sat in the 90th Percentile of BB%, so he definitely has the ability to get on base; and take second base in the process.

Division Standings

Craig: 1) St. Louis 2) Milwaukee 3) Chicago 4) Pittsburgh 5) Cincinnati

Gary: 1) St. Louis 2) Milwaukee 3) Pittsburgh 4) Chicago 5) Cincinnati

Pirates Record

Gary: 76-86

I said way back in 2020 they’d flirt with .500, and as I look at this team and what is pushing from behind, I think that’s what I see.

Now listen, I know this would be a huge improvement over what they’ve done last season, and I know that’s not easy to do. I also know they have more talent by leaps and bounds than they had on those teams.

Also, it’s just a prediction, being wrong is fine, I have been the last couple years while trying to be conservative with my guess, so why not be bold this time?

Craig: 70-92

I went in between 68 and 72 wins for at least the past month. The easiest way to deal with this was to split it down the middle.

After two 100 loss season in a row, with a near guaranteed third if 2020 played out, avoiding another one would be ideal, to say the least.

For some it appears that this level of underachieving is almost guaranteed to continue. Nevertheless, I think they might not fully understand just how hard it is to lose 100 games.

Over the past two seasons there has been a downslide after the trade deadline, however this year I believe there is enough padding/depth to allow the team to be competitive during last couple months of the year.

Of course, much of this will depend on the youth movement that is set to take over PNC Park in 2023. Most times rookies will struggle when they first arrive in the Majors, so there is always the possibility that more of them fall flat to start; rather than hitting the ground running. However, I would look for them to bounce back quickly, in order to right the ship heading into 2024.

In Conclusion

Craig: Last year Dennis Eckersley branded the Pirates as a Hodgepodge Of Nothingness. I could disagree with him then, but it’s just not what I see now; although I am pretty sure we will continue to see this label used by detractors for years to come, even if the team starts winning. Hell, we still hear about the 5 Year Plan nearly 30 years after Cam Bonifay first uttered the words.

This team has made positive adjustments since last season, and looks better on paper to start the year. Now we just have to wait for the results; as veterans take the field, soon to be replaced by wide-eyed rookies-in some cases-in natural progression.

When this whole thing started during the 2019-2020 Off-season, I had 2023 pegged as the potential step in the right direction year; which to me basically means things should become a lot clearer in October…For better, or for worse.

Gary: All in all, the Pirates have improved the on field product at the MLB level, but it’s built with guys who are expected to be pushed aside. That my friends is the real story this year, how seamlessly do they handle the drip drip drip of introducing rookies into this roster?

I’ve always had this long range prediction of how this thing would loosely flow through 2023, and folks, I stopped there for a reason. Because after this year, this whole thing turns from trying to win a bit more to trying to win. That will require things I simply couldn’t say they’d do. They’ll have to spend, they’ll have to push even when they think they might have an internal option.

I can’t tell you they will, and that’s why I’ve never gone beyond this year that I always knew could come, because of the simple fact I knew it wouldn’t require money.

The way they manage this season will show us how capable they are at maximizing what is developed internally, and for that reason, I’m really excited to see it play out. Fun season I think all in all.

Pirates Opening Day and Outlook For The Season

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-p55tj-13cb43d

Craig and Chris talk about the Opening Day Roster Additions, some players you could see throughout the year and specific statistics for a few guys, that could let you know whether or not the Pirates had a successful season. 

Brought to you by ShopYinzz.com! Craig Toth covers the Pirates for Inside The Bucs Basement, and joins his buddy Chris at a 9-foot homemade oak bar to talk Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball. Listen. Subscribe. Share. We are “For Fans, By Fans & All Pirates Talk.” THE Pirates Fan Podcast found EVERYWHERE podcasts can be found and always at BucsInTheBasement.com!