Pirates Walk-off Phillies 4-3 on Wild Pitch: (9-13)

3/21/23 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

This year on Inside the Bucs Basement @ITdoubleB we’re listening to you. Craig Toth and I thought we could slide by not doing game stories last year and resoundingly, you all didn’t agree.

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This is just a Spring training game, but I wanted to get one put together and tell you all to expect them when the season gets rolling, plus, I just straight up felt like covering a game.

Now, onto the game.

When you get to this point in a Spring Training, you start to feel a lot more normal about games. Starters are trying to go 5 innings or so, the player mix at least at home tend to be more regulars and you turn your attention to how those regulars look more than hoping that prospect shows something.

Brubaker had a solid line and I’ve detailed it in the notes below, but seeing him today was more eye opening. He absolutely wants to throw strikes this season, and while he got hit hard early, he was fortuitous to have many of them right at his defenders.

The only pitch in his arsenal that really concerns me is also one of his most promising. His sinker generated 11 called strikes today, but most of his hard contact also came from the pitch bleeding into the middle of the plate after starting on the inside corner. Typical for someone throwing a lot of sinkers, but something he’ll have to work on.

Stephenson knocked the rust off today and surrendered a run to make it 3-0 until Andrew McCutchen stepped up to the plate…

The Pirates started subbing and so did the Phils with nothing really of note happening before the bottom of the 9th, where mic’d up left fielder Canaan Smith-Njigba led off with a walk followed by Owings getting on board. CSN was driven in by Drew Maggi.

Rodolfo Castro bunted to sacrifice but wound up reaching on a single and a wild pitch to Bae sealed the deal for the Buccos.

They’ve now won 5 of their last 6 ST games and are off tomorrow before facing the Red Sox at 1:05 on Thursday.

News & Notes

  • Robert Stephenson was listed as “available” for today’s game. He’s been on the shelf with a sore elbow. Entered in the 6th of this contest and didn’t look sharp, understandably. After the game, Derek Shelton said he expects Robert to start the season on the IL. 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 ER. Rusty.
  • In the first inning, JT Brubaker threw 8 pitches, 1 of which was a ball. This produced 3 line drives right at fielders. Great Box score results, in real life though, 3 probable hits.
    JT Brubaker’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB 6 K’s, 1 HR, 63 pitches (47 strikes)
  • Andrew McCutchen returned to action in this contest. Cutch was dealing with a sore elbow. In his first at bat he drilled a single to center, and drilled an opposite field homerun in the 6th with Reynolds on first.
  • Might mean nothing, but Rodolfo Castro was a late inning replacement in this one for Tucupita Marcano at 2B.
  • Dauri Moreta pitched another scoreless inning today. That’s now 8 appearances with 1 ER, and he is very much so on the bubble for making this team. You can look at this as a negative, or be encouraged by the kind of depth the Pirates are stockpiling.
  • There should be another round of cuts today or tomorrow with the off day. Expect this one to be more extensive than most have been.

Five Pirates Thoughts at Five – Last Full Week of Spring Training

3-20-23 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

It’s the last full week of Spring Training, and some of the roster is really starting to take shape. Today, I’m going to run through some of the biggest questions remaining, where we are, and where I see it going.

This isn’t going to be all sunshine and roses folks, it just isn’t, some holes are still rather apparent.

Let’s Go!!!

1. Does Anyone Want to Win Second Base?

Oh, this was a competition. Sure.

Ji-Hwan Bae certainly had a chance to earn the starting nod here, Tucupita Marcano too for that matter, but make no mistake this was also Rodolfo Castro’s position to lose.

Here’s the thing, he’s just about done exactly that.

Problem is, his expected competition, well, they haven’t taken advantage.

Enter Mark Mathias whom the Pirates just traded for. He’s not done much either, but he’s barely been given a chance since his acquisition, and folks, if this team is as worried about Castro’s performance as I am, I think we’ll see Mathias get that opportunity this week.

The reality is, the Pirates best performing second baseman this Spring has been Nick Gonzales, and while I’m sure many wonder why he wasn’t really IN this competition, I’ll simply tell you, he was, but he was never going to escape the same thing most prospects deal with, the 40-man, service time, and the very real wish to make sure they’ve squeezed the talent out of what they have at this level or right there on the outskirts first.

Castro is a hard guy to give up on. A switch hitter with 20-25 HR power, the Pirates only real MLB level 3B backup option and he’ll be entering his 3rd year of MLB action if/when he makes the club.

So how does he make his standing on the club this precarious? I mean everyone and their mother will tell you how hard it is to take Spring Stats at face value right? Certainly true, but lets just say, the less established you are, the more important your Spring Stats become and if you strike out as often as Rodolfo has, there aren’t going to be many peripherals that analytics wonks can point to that paint a rosier picture. If Bryan Reynolds strikes out 16 times in 38 plate appearances, you probably shrug. I mean it’s not good, but it’s Bryan Reynolds, he’ll be fine and what are you gonna do, send him to AAA?

Well, when Rodolfo Castro does that exact same thing and puts up half his Spring offensive numbers up with one grand slam swing of the bat, it hits different. He doesn’t have that MLB consistency in his back pocket, he doesn’t have the receipts to prove this is just Spring and he’s just dealing with getting his timing back like everyone else. He’s not facing the AA and Single A arms that some other prospects are facing as they enter games in the 5th or 6th.

I still think Castro is likely to make the team out of camp. For one thing, there isn’t much to be learned for a guy like him in AAA at this point, for another thing, he’s really all they have to backup Ke’Bryan Hayes when he needs a day.

Mathias can play all over the field, but he’s really more of a 2B, corner OF type. Bae has just looked like he was pressing all Spring. Trying to look spectacular in the field and in the process looking horrible. He’s much better when he just makes the plays he’s supposed to, and now that I’ve seen it all Spring, I understand entirely why the Pirates dedicated him to the infield this year.

Marcano is probably the best fielder of the group but he hasn’t hit at all and 3B isn’t even a consideration for him in fact with his arm strength, SS isn’t preferable.

Castro might win this spot simply because nobody else made him pay for how he performed. Look, sometimes this stuff works out anyhow and Rudy is said to be working on the side fields tirelessly to improve his plate recognition.

If someone doesn’t grab this spot come June, I for one won’t be shocked if Liover Peguero or Nick Gonzales get a shot, maybe even Jared Triolo could sneak in there.

2. OK, So What the Hell Does the Outfield Look Like?

A mess? Too many dogs for one bone? Where do they play Reynolds?

OK, let’s slow down here.

The Bucs have a few considerations here that play a role and a few locks for the roster too.

Bryan Reynolds, Andrew McCutchen and Connor Joe are all going to make this club. Out of those 3, only Reynolds is a true starter, meaning he’s the only one I can see playing 150+ games in the outfield.

That’s not great. Cutch and Joe both will have significant roles, and both could play there but they clearly need more.

I’m sure the team will want 2 more dedicated outfielders brought north.

The contestants for those spots as I see them are Jack Suwinski, Travis Swaggerty, and Canaan Smith-Njigba from the pure outfielder pool. Mark Mathias is probably the only utility guy I can see here and as we just discussed, he could wind up being the 2B starter.

As I see this right now, Jack has really lost what should have been a lock on heading North. I still think he will, if only because when sent down to AAA last year he was called up and most of the bad habits remained. 19 homeruns as a rookie in a partial season is nothing to sneeze at, super weird splits aside, it’s still impressive. Nobody else can make that claim in this battle but his leash isn’t as long as it would have been 3 years ago, now they have options.

CSN and Swaggerty have been hitting, they’ve been fielding too, in fact if I had to pick two young position players who actually looked like they were trying to win a spot on this team in 2023, it might be those 2.

I think Cutch will DH more than he plays in the field, and I think Joe is fine off the bench. So that means the Pirates could have not only two spots available, but two spots that get starting opportunities pretty regularly. Maybe 3 depending on how that 2B situation plays out.

A big part of me would want to bring all three of Jack, Swaggerty and CSN North. Pair them with Reynolds, Cutch and Joe and I think you have a strong bench along with one of Santana or Choi and whomever the utility guy happens to be, but therein lies the rub, they HAVE to have a utility guy. The at bats will be there via injury and just the typical Shelton lineup philosophy that seemingly demands a new lineup nightly. I’m not sure what you get out of any of those 3 going to AAA but I think they’ll have to do it anyway.

3. OK, Lets Try Listing the 13 Position Players

C Austin Hedges
C Tyler Heineman
1B/DH Carlos Santana
1B/DH Ji-man Choi
DH/RF Andrew McCutchen
CF/LF Bryan Reynolds
3B Ke’Bryan Hayes
SS Oneil Cruz
LF/CF Jack Suwinski
OF/1B Connor Joe
CF/OF Travis Swaggerty
2B/SS/3B Rodolfo Castro
OF/2B Mark Mathias

This kills me. I think CSN has earned a look, but I can’t see penalizing Connor Joe or Travis Swaggerty as a result. I believe CSN is a better bat than a couple of names I put on that list too, but being left handed, a rookie, and limited to corner outfield spots to me makes him the odd man out to start the season. In my mind if he’s to make it, he’ll have to convince the team he is a better option than Jack Suwinski, and folks, another week of striking out and looking frustrated might just produce that result.

In my mind, that’s the battle right there. Jack vs CSN.

I guess Mathias is probably in a battle with Bae and Marcano, and it’s probably not fair to just pick him because he hasn’t had a chance to look bad yet. That said, if I were picking it today, I’d go Mathias, let’s see where this goes as the week goes on.

I also should mention Catcher. To me Tyler Heineman is the backup and if there is competition in my mind it’s Carter Bins, not Kevin Plawecki. Bluntly though, I could see the Pirates not agreeing with me here, in fact I wouldn’t rule out the team still looking for a better option.

4. Oh Hell, Lets Do Lineups Too!

It’s only fair to point out, Derek Shelton is not likely to do what I think is best, so I’ll give you what I think side by side with what I think Shelton will do. And these are everyday type lineups, obviously for tough lefties or righties you’ll see variations.

My Lineup

3B Ke’Bryan Hayes
CF Bryan Reynolds
SS Oneil Cruz
1B Carlos Santana
DH Andrew McCutchen
LF Jack Suwinski
RF Connor Joe
C Austin Hedges
2B Rodolfo Castro

Shelton’s Lineup

SS Oneil Cruz
3B Ke’Bryan Hayes
CF Bryan Reynolds
1B Carlos Santana
DH Andrew McCutchen
LF Jack Suwinski
RF Connor Joe
C Austin Hedges
2B Rodolfo Castro

Now, I see Cutch playing the field and getting both Choi and Santana in there together on occasion. Joe is a bench guy I think we’ll find as the season goes on, but at the beginning of the season, I think he’ll get heavy use.

This would leave on the bench…
Choi, Mathias, Swaggerty, Heineman. A good mix that at times will feature Joe, Castro, Jack, even Cutch and Santana.

As a starting point for 2023, this is where I see things.

5. Short Leashes?

We took considerable time today talking through some positions that were less won, and more given by default since nobody stepped up. Well, first of all, fans aren’t going to like that, and to some the wrong decision will have been made from the jump. Totally fair, totally expected of course, but what you should know from that is one simple thing, those “winners” well, they aren’t going to get carte blanche to just keep underperforming.

There is very real pressure building, maybe not enough to build up and matter before Spring ends, but enough to fully expect someone to hit or pitch their way into the conversation as the season goes on.

You know all the names, Nick Gonzales, Endy Rodriguez, CSN or Swaggerty, Bae, Marcano, Burrows, Ortiz, Oviedo, my goodness there are so many more who COULD push their way into this conversation during 2023. Some will get a shot because of poor performance from someone who made it out of camp, some will get their shot because someone was injured.

No matter how you crack the egg, it’s going break is the point. In fact, the way this system lays out right now, having nobody graduate from AAA to MLB would cause problems all up and down the system. As it stands right now, some guys will start in AA that truly belong in AAA. Some will start in High A and really should be in AA Altoona. No teams like cutting ties with AAA players they think have some ability but haven’t had the chance to get them in MLB yet.

On top of that, many of the opening day roster choices themselves have options, meaning the team could send them down and not lose them as depth. Joe, Mathias, Castro, Jack, and more, this team is truly set up for an unusual situation. We could see this club have a very short leash with guys.

Talk about a tight rope to walk.

Have too short a leash and you probably don’t learn anything about anyone. Have too long a leash and miss the opportunity to see someone, and give them ample opportunity to be less of a question the next season.

As I see it, there are the danger spots on the roster. Meaning, these guys might want to install rear view mirrors on their ballcaps.

Do this too often and the roster feels turbulent. Don’t do it enough and you’re settling for stagnation.

I’d like to think we’re at the point where Derek Shelton gets some say here as opposed to how things used to be his entire tenure here. The last 3 seasons were essentially open tryouts, but the GM outlined how much of a shot guys were going to get and whom got the shot. It’s my hope that at this stage, Shelton is capable of saying hey Ben, Rodolfo is really struggling, I need to get him sent down and from what I’ve seen this guy should get a shot.

Now, there will still be GM decisions there to come into play, but so long as he isn’t asking for some dude from Greensboro he just read about from Craig Toth, my guess is the GM would be open to these conversations.

I know, I know, you don’t trust Shelton, and I get that entirely. I don’t either, but this process is part of coaching, and if he’s going to prove himself worthy of an extension, man I’d be pressing him to be big with me about his opinions. Show you understand the game beyond putting a lineup together based on an analytics packet.

Handle the delicate nature of player movement with guys who potentially matter, not just some waiver you were handed to deal with. Find a way to send that number one pick down and have him hungry to improve and get back instead of hang his head and wonder if he has a future. You know, coaching.

Oh 2023 is going to tell us a ton about a whole lot of members of this organization, and this one component and how its handled is arguably going to be the easiest to see as it happens.

Minor League News and Brews: Altoona Curve Preview

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-yjjwp-13b641b

Craig is joined by Altoona Curve Play-By-Play Man, Jon Mozes (@spelledwithaZ) to break down the possible roster for the Pirates Double-A Affiliate, as well as to talk about some players he is excited to watch.

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!

Pirates Options in the Outfield

3-17-23 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on Twitter

There comes a time in the course of a rebuild where prospects need to put up or shut up. Many Pirates fans, myself included, have long beat the drum of the forthcoming youth movement pushing this team into contention once more. 

Well, those players are here – or close to it – and a long list of candidates are vying for playing time; looking to prove they should be part of that starting nine for when this team is playing meaningful games in the fall. A deluge of those prospects currently have ‘OF’ listed as one of their positions so let’s start by looking at current options who could spend time in the grass at PNC Park this season and beyond:

Tier 1: Starters/4th Outfielder

Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski, Andrew McCutchen, Connor Joe, Travis Swaggerty

There’s some obvious names here but let’s quickly talk through them. Bryan Reynolds, as of today, March 17th, is a Pirate. He likely will be a Pirate for the foreseeable future. I don’t get into the speculation of him potentially being traded and expect he will be starting in either center or left field on Opening Day. Emotions may not be his thing but hitting most definitely is. Even with a “down year” last season, he still posted a 125 wRC+ with a 2.9 WAR and career-best 27 home runs. His defense regressed considerably in center but his bat more than makes up for it. And if he’s moved back to left – which is where he started with the Bucs in 2019 – he should be at least average there defensively.

Suwinski had an intriguing rookie season (19 home runs in 372 plate appearances) but he struck out 30.6% of the time and his home/away splits were almost comical in difference (.982 OPS at home vs. .395 away from Pittsburgh). He also struggled against left-handed pitching, which is not uncommon for a young lefty. He changed up his stance this off-season with a more open and upright approach, seemingly hoping to find more consistency at the plate. He has a strong arm, good glove and is playing some center field this spring. It remains to be seen how this will play out in the season away from the warm winds of Bradenton as he is trudging the vast terrain of PNC Park.

Cutch being back is wonderful. There is no disputing that. What is debatable is how much he plays in the outfield. His initial impression was that he will primarily DH. The team insisted that he would be a corner outfielder. For what it’s worth, he played 53 games in the outfield last season with Milwaukee and 82 games at DH; however, the previous season in Philly, he spent 135 out of 136 games in left field. He’s not a plus defender by any means, but he can hold his own out there. Right field is the likely spot for him in Pittsburgh with some DH as well. He’s still very good against LHP (.738 OPS over 145 at-bats in 2022) so play him in those instances, sprinkle in occasional starts outside of that, help him have a fun return to Pittsburgh and maybe reach a few career milestones. He is 52 hits from 2,000, 8 doubles from 400 and 13 home runs from 300. It won’t break any records when it happens, but it’ll be fun to see it happen in a Pirates uniform.

When the Pirates traded Nick Garcia to Colorado to bring Connor Joe back to the organization, it made sense. Team needed outfield options at the time. It’s become less needed with the addition of Cutch but there’s a lot more that Joe brings to the team. He has a career walk rate of 11.8%, which should be a boost to all-or-nothing aspects of the lineup. He’s had a good amount of at-bats this spring and has shown some speed with a couple stolen bases. Most likely, he’s a platoon-type player as he’s performed better against lefties than righties (.759 OPS vs LHP/.715 vs RHP), likely sliding in for Suwinski against tough lefties. 

If there’s one guy who seemed most on-the-bubble this off-season and stayed on the 40-man, it’s former 1st rounder Travis Swaggerty. And if you’ve seen him play at all this spring, you would be baffled that it was ever a discussion among fans. Craig Toth wrote about his development recently. As of this writing, Swaggerty has a .391/.417/.652 triple slash so far this spring with two home runs. He is hitting the ball with conviction, he’s capable of gold glove-level defense in center field and has above-average speed which will play on the bases. And, given the injuries and personal issues he’s had to deal with over the years, he’s a really easy guy to root for to succeed.

Tier 2: Next Man Up

Canaan Smith-Njigba, Ji-hwan Bae, Cal Mitchell, Tucupita Marcano, Mark Mathias, Ryan Vilade

This 40-man roster is LOADED with outfielders! All of them have experience playing outfield in MLB but who can take the next step to become an everyday guy?

Smith-Njigba is one of the guys I am highest on. He has untapped power potential, which we have seen show up a bit this spring with two balls hit out of the park (one of which counting for a home run). His plate discipline is extremely advanced for his age and experience level. A fun fact about CSN is his minor league triple slash almost exactly mirrors that of Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo’s minor league numbers – CSN: .276/.387/.414 vs Nimmo: .277/.387/.414. Does that mean his career trajectory is assured? Obviously not. But if you want an interesting comp who has been successful in the pros, this is a pretty cool one.

Bae has a few positional options for playing time with the Bucs. He’s been strictly playing middle infield this spring but played 6 of his 10 games at the end of last season in Pittsburgh in the outfield. He’s a speedy player who had a strong stint with 11 hits in 33 at-bats while also going 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts. He hasn’t hit for a ton of power in the minors (16 home runs across 1,203 MiLB at-bats) but he can use his speed to bunt for hits, steal bases and be a general menace on the base paths. Defensively, he has been iffy in the infield so it’s very possible they start giving him more reps out in center, where his speed can be put to better use.

If there were a 2nd DH spot or a back-up DH of some sort, maybe Mitchell fits in there. His bat can play. He had some struggles at the plate early on last season but looked much better down the stretch. Exit velo was up. Walks were up. Strikeouts were down. All positives for a guy who has hit at every level coming up through the system. The big knock on him is that he is not a great defensive outfielder. His arm is well below average and he looks very uncomfortable in the field. If the offense continues to develop, more power shows up and maybe he walks a bit more, I could see him being more serviceable as a DH but the bat could play for a corner outfielder, even if that’s all that will play.

Tucupita Marcano was the headliner of the 2021 trade with the Padres, which sent Adam Frazier to San Diego and also brought Suwinski to Pittsburgh. Marcano is a great example for why you don’t promote players to the major leagues before they’re ready. Padres had him debut in April 2021 when he was only 21, after he missed all of the 2020 season due to Covid and had only logged 925 plate appearances of professional ball up to that point. His numbers in the minors have been promising. His performance in the majors, maybe less so. That said, he is extremely athletic and everyone whom I have talked to with contacts within the organization has said that the team is still very high on him. They expect that the skill set is going to play, either in the infield or outfield. There will be growing pains and things won’t click all at once (if they click at all) but if they do, there’s a lot of talent which could potentially be unlocked.

A recent acquisition from the Rangers, Mathias has some positional flexibility, mostly bouncing around the infield, but he could be an option in the outfield as well. His offensive potential is surprisingly good for a spring training DFA. He only played 46 total games in MLB across two seasons but has a respectable .769 OPS (including an .825 OPS in 2022 with 6 home runs over just 30 games). He has some strikeout issues but this is partially a result from long at-bats as his pitches/plate appearance of 4.299 is well above average. For reference: Max Muncy of the Dodgers had the highest P/PA for all qualified hitters in 2022 with 4.31. Mathias? 4.44. Now, this is a small sample size but his minor league numbers of 3.937 across over 2,100 plate appearances is also very impressive. Guys who see more pitches at the dish have become somewhat of the modus operandi for Cherington as of late, and Mathias is definitely in a league of his own in that regard.

Vilade has been a name that casual fans probably still don’t know and whom yinzers have been waiting/calling for to be cut from the 40-man since the day he was added. Picked up off waivers from Colorado, Vilade has already been optioned after a disappointing spring, where he batted .167 over 19 plate appearances. He has a very advanced feel at the plate (12.1% walk rate vs. 16% K rate in AAA in 2022) but it’s an uphill battle if he can’t make other parts work. He doesn’t hit for a ton of power and his defense isn’t outstanding. If he doesn’t find a way to hit more, he’ll definitely be hitting less for this organization.

Tier 3: Who’s On Deck?

Matt Gorski, Chavez Young, Josh Palacios, Miguel Andujar

Gorski was rising quickly last season before some injury issues derailed his momentum. He has some strikeout problems, yes, but he managed to notch 23 home runs and 20 stolen bases in only 307 plate appearances across 3 levels in 2022. This was heavily boosted by Greensboro, granted, but he’s an exciting guy to watch. He was Rule 5 eligible this off-season and wasn’t selected but that’s more likely due to injury concerns than merit. A full season at Indianapolis will be a big test for him and finding out how legit the bat really is.

Young was acquired as part of the Zach Thompson trade with Toronto this past off-season. The switch-hitter didn’t really generate much ink when he came over but, in seeing him in Bradenton, and more recently on the bigger stage as an outfielder for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic (.856 OPS), he’s been fun to watch. The bat is middling but he has excellent speed, a strong arm and tracks the ball well in the field. He likely ends up in a 4th OF role with potential for more if he can push some of that extra power.

Taken in the 2nd round of the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft, Palacios has some major league experience, having played for both the Blue Jays and Nationals. He has struggled at the top level (posting a .499 OPS over 82 at-bats) but had a solid season at AAA in 2022, sporting an .818 OPS with 21 stolen bases across 296 at-bats with 35 walks to 55 strikeouts. Above average speed and a strong arm makes him a decent depth piece, even if that’s all we see from him.

Andujar burst into the league in a big way in 2018, finishing second for AL Rookie of the Year, voting beyond Shohei Ohtani, while establishing himself as a potential cornerstone in a strong Yankees lineup. That 2018 season was the high point of his career as injuries and inconsistency has led to him being designated first from the Yankees last year and then from the Pirates this off-season following the McCutchen signing. He still has some pop – mostly in the form of doubles – and provides a veteran depth option in Indy to start the season.

Tier 4: A Little Ways Down the Road

Lolo Sanchez, Matt Frazier, Sammy Siani, Hudson Head, Connor Scott, 

We’ve seen glimpses this spring for some of these guys. Lolo hit a big home run right before he was sent to minor league camp. Frazier had a break-out year in 2021 before slumping last season; however, he has looked good this spring with two hits in five plate appearances to-date. Siani was a top draft pick a few years back out of high school and, despite some struggles in the minors, has some good tools and is still only 22. Head and Scott each came over in trades the past few seasons and have some upside in their own rights, despite some inconsistency last year.

Wrap-Up

This is a big group of players, and it isn’t even including Endy Rodriguez – who could potentially be used in outfield – or names like Chris Owings and Drew Maggi, who are more likely to play infield but certainly have the capability to man outfield spots. 

The hope is that some of these players push the envelope and we get a few standouts. It’s put up or shut up time and there’s a lot of players who could be making a lot of noise very, very soon.

Through The Prospect Porthole: Travis Swaggerty’s Last Stand

3-16-23 By Craig W. Toth (aka @BucsBasement on Twitter)

Following the 2020 Pandemic Cancelled Minor League Season, the former 1st Round Draft Pick from was given an extremely aggressive assignment by skipping Greensboro and Altoona altogether; landing in Indianapolis to begin 2021.

Clearly he he impressed Ben Cherington and Company at the Alternate Site during the shutdown; ultimately making the most of his promotion for the first 12 games of the year. In 48 plate appearances Swaggerty launched 3 homers, had an OPS of .747, swiped 3 bags and walked 6 times and only had 8 strikeouts.

Then on May 18th, as he made a routine dive back into first base-to avoid a pickoff attempt, his season came to an abrupt end.

Ultimately he would undergo season ending right shoulder surgery due to what was described at the time as recurrent instability.

While rehabbing, Swaggerty would return home from Pirate City for the birth of his daughter on September 12th; who arrived six weeks ahead of schedule, and weighed only 4 pounds, 14 ounces.

A little over two months later the new dad would be added to the Pirates 40-Man in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft; setting up him up to have a chance to make an impact on the Big League Club.

Unfortunately, as Spring Training began Swaggerty was still dealing with some soreness in his shoulder, and struggled for the first 17 games of the season, before ending up on the 7-Day IL in early May with a concussion after colliding with Oneil Cruz.

At the time he was slashing .194/.286/.258 with only 1 homer and a 31.0% K-rate in 71 plate appearances; however-when he returned-proceeded to slash .357/.430/.600 with 3 homers and a slightly more reasonable/manageable 25.3% over 79 plate appearances.

By showing such improvement, and consistency, Swaggerty finally forced the Pirates hand into promoting him Pittsburgh.

But, then something curious happened; leaving people to question why he had been promoted in the first place.

In 5 game across 6 days of play, Swaggerty received just 9 plate appearances; recording only one hit, before being unceremoniously sent back down to Triple-A for the remainder of the season.

Over the final 72 games of the Indians season he would slash .241/.341/.380 with 5 homers, 21 total extra base hits and a 24.4% K to 13% BB-rate.

For Swaggerty the end of 2021, and all of 2022, were filled with challenges off the field as well. Starting with the previously mentioned premature birth of his daughter, and ending with health scares for both his wife-who had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after he was drafted-and and his daughter-who was bitten by a raccoon.

Both are doing well now. Still I can’t even imagine the toll this could take on me at 43, let alone at 24/25 years-old; with a career on the line.

During the off-season Swaggerty was constantly mentioned as a potential DFA candidate with every acquisition Ben Cherington would make.

From the beginning it was apparent that this wasn’t something that bothered him; but, was more than likely used as a motivator.

Then, a couple of weeks ago on his show, Gary discussed how he was starting to talk himself into Travis Swaggerty making the Opening Day Roster.

At that point he was batting .333 with a homer; all while playing consistently strong defense.

Although, let’s be honest, his defense has never been something that anyone has ever questioned.

Since that episode, Swaggerty has simply continued to hit; which is why I feel like I am trying to talk his spot on the 26-Man into existence.

At the moment he is slashing .400/.429/.700 with two homers.

Yes, I understand it is only 20 at bats. Nevertheless, something feels different this time around.

And for Swaggerty’s sake it kind of has to be; as the outfield competition has only continued to get more crowded, with the additions of Conner Joe, Andrew McCutchen, Ryan Vilade, Chavez Young and Mark Mathias. Not to mention Canaan Smith-Njigba, Cal Mitchell, Tucupita Marcano, Ji-hwan Bae and Lolo Sanchez, who are all still hanging around.

This could truly be Travis Swaggerty’s Last Stand.

What’s the Plan for Endy Rodriguez?

3-16-23 – By Gary Morgan @garymo2007 on Twitter

I got a great question on this subject from my buddy Jim Maruca on Facebook and it got me thinking about how many angles there are to this subject that I’d probably be better off making the answer a standalone piece as opposed to a portion of next week’s Q&A.

Here is the question in full, it’s probably stuff you’ve been thinking about too. “Do you have an idea what the Pirates plan is for Endy Rodriguez? Putting super 2 aside, do they see him as more of a bat who happens to be a catcher/utility or do they want to develop his catching skills to the point that he catches 40-50 games as a backup? I’m assuming it’s backup catcher that they find 500 at bats for through DH etc. Either way, it sure will be nice to see his bat in the lineup at some point this season.”

Let me start with an assumption here, if Henry Davis wasn’t the Pirates pick in 2021, this isn’t a conversation. While Jim doesn’t specifically mention Henry, truth is, there’d be no reason to assume Endy was headed toward any other thing if Davis wasn’t looming.

Endy had already started to emerge when the Bucs drafted Henry, so it’s not like they did this in the dark, they knew they were about to have two really good shots at developing a starting catcher, and what that might look like.

All that said, these are separate prospects, with differing paths and skillsets.

Endy is capable of playing outfield, second base, first base and catcher, but when he is brought up to MLB, I believe the intention will be for him to be primarily a catcher. It’s an area of need, he is capable of doing it, and his measurables show it shouldn’t be a stretch to expect him to do it well.

Even a number one pick isn’t going to effect this decision. The reason they’ll train Endy as a catcher and deploy him as such primarily is simply put because they can’t just assume Henry will stay healthy, or develop as quickly as they’d like him to.

Let’s say everything goes great in 2023. Endy comes up in anywhere from May to early July and he catches. He’ll likely still be sprinkled in with Hedges, and if he performs, and isn’t a detriment to the pitching staff, which we have no reason to believe he would be, he’ll earn more and more time until he eventually flips the script and takes the majority of starts from Austin.

Henry stays healthy and being that he probably could have started in AAA already, he does well after getting promoted following Endy’s call up. By September Henry is on the short list for a call up himself, even if just a 2-3 game reward call. He catches, or hits DH, while Endy keeps doing his thing.

Come 2024 Spring, Henry is “fighting for a spot” but in reality preparing for going back to AAA to secure the extra year of control and Super 2 if they so choose to be that way about it. Sometime roughly around when Endy made his trip up, so too would Henry.

All of that assumes health, performance, and hell it assumes Hedges himself stays healthy to a degree.

I say all that because the first time this is even likely to be an issue would be 2024 mid season. I mean, we can pretend that the Pirates won’t do that to Henry or whatever, but c’mon, we know they will right?

Now if that indeed is how it played out, first of all, kudos to everyone involved. That would mean the players didn’t have any hiccups, and the team did well developing their skills.

By 2024 mid season, who knows how we’ll feel. Who knows what we’ll have seen? What if Endy has just been unreal behind the dish? Do you move him simply because Hank came up? Do you waste one in the field and make them a DH or stick them at first? Why would that automatically be Endy?

Well, if it would be, it’d likely be because Endy has shown he can do it. But if he trains as a catcher, chances are he’ll bulk up a bit too and that could change what he can and can’t do in the field.

So, is there a plan per se?

Yeah, I think they’d like to get to 2025 with two young and capable catchers. One will emerge as the “better” defender and likely get the lion’s share of starts while the other plays elsewhere and backs up the position amounting to just about the same level of opportunity.

Honestly though, their performance will dictate this.

By then, you may think one of them has to go to 1B or the OF to fill a gaping hole.

Endy’s versatility is cool, but for the simple fact he’s coming first, he’ll get the first chance to cement himself back there.

Also, look at the landscape right now on the MLB club. This could change by the end of the year of course, but he’s hardly needed at 1B. They have quite a few options at 2B, plenty to work through in the OF, catcher seems like his best spot for opportunity. So even if their intention is to have him evolve over time into a Daulton Varsho type who can play wherever they need him or want him, it’s not likely to be how he starts out especially because I think the need to have him be the seasoned and entrenched catcher by the time Henry gets here is imperative to their pitching plan.

I hate to cop out here and say the bats will tell us if it matters or not, because both players make me feel that’s less of an if than can they catch.

Bottom line, their short range plan may not be indicative of their long range plans here. In fact, I’m not sure how they could be.

Great problem to have is something I think we’ll hear a whole lot come 2024 at some point, and I’m quite sure we’ll all have opinions on who should play where when we get there, but take comfort in knowing both have the ability to do other things, and both bats are good enough to stand alone as a DH and still make them valuable.

Plans are funny with stuff like this, cause they’re really more loose scripts.

I’m sure you’ve heard the quote from Woody Allen, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” Well, he probably could have been talking about a baseball GM too.

Hump Day Pittsburgh Pirates Q&A

3-15-23 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

I’ve loved doing these things.

It’s so easy to get stuck in a bubble of what interests you as you cover a team, doing things like this gives you a window into where the fans heads are, what’s concerning, what isn’t. Invaluable really.

Lets Go!

Question 1

Who do you *want* to see go to AAA? Who do you think would benefit the most from the ABs/IPs in the minors relative to being a backup/utility in the majors? – Whisky Rebel (@ProtonPirate)

Ha, Whisky has been following me for a long time and knew if he didn’t treat “want” like that I’d go on some diatribe about want having nothing to do with it. Love it. That said, I completely get where he’s coming from here, and I think there are some that are pretty easy to identify.

Let’s keep it to bigger names.

Luis Ortiz – He’s at a pivot point. Stuff is great, and he’s built like a guy who can give you innings, but for him to make it as a starter, he simply has to further develop his changeup or another off speed. I’d prefer that happen in AAA.

Colin Selby – I like his potential, and I think the stuff plays now, but I’d like to see him shut down AAA for a little while before he’s counted on in MLB. If the Pirates were down to 6 decent arms back there, I might feel differently, but they can afford to let him work a bit longer.

Jared Triolo – The defensive game is there, but the bat needs more reps, and to face some better competition. Looking at his frame, there should be more in there offensively.

Those three I think I can honestly say will benefit from more AAA soak time. They certainly won’t be the only ones sent down, but they’re the most in need for actual baseball reasons.

Question 2

Who’s winning the outfield battle and why is it Chavez Young? Looks like Taijuan Walker knew what he was talking about. – Cali Buccos Fan (@CaliBuccosFan)

To be 100% up front here, Cali asked this last week, it’s a carry over question and one that Chavez hasn’t made silly.

Now, Chavez Young isn’t going to make this team out of camp in 2023. That’s not entirely his fault, but he’s just not really in the running. Not on the 40-man and if a 25 year old is going to get a shot, it’s probably going to be their number one pick.

I will say he’s done nothing to hurt himself though, and even in the WBC he’s done well. 3 years ago, I might even be excited. I’m happy to have the depth, and defensively, I could make a fairly strong argument he’s their second best defender anywhere close, problem is, that best defender is his direct competition I mentioned, who happens to already be on the 40-man.

Question 3

Concerning the pitch clock, I believe there have been other consequences besides dramatically shortening the length of a ball game…a good thing. I think I’m seeing pitchers be more focused and throwing more strikes, and because of this the hitters are swinging at more pitches. Although it’s still early, what is your deeper review of the impact of the pitch clock? – Dale Merchant

Overall, I haven’t really seen much of what I see as lasting downside. Some confusion, some guys trying to quick pitch, some hitters thinking the 8 second thing doesn’t matter if the pitcher isn’t ready, basically stuff that will get ironed out and or the enforcement will get tweaked on.

I think this will be most noticeable in drama situations. Like 3-2, bottom of the 9th, bases loaded, trying to nail down a win, I have every confidence they won’t allow themselves to give up a free balk, but man as a fan, you don’t want that situation rushed either do you?

All in all, I bet we won’t notice it all that much. In stadium, I bet for at least the first few, man it’s all we’ll think about. You could miss an entire inning in the restroom brother!

As to guys swinging more, they are, but some of that is Spring too, nobody wants to just stand there and see 3-4 pitches in an at bat during Spring, all in under 25 seconds. They want to swing and do something productive up there. We’ll have to see how it plays out in the Bigs. I can say in the MiLB game, the numbers say it was almost negligible.

Question 4

Do you think MLB will ever retire the number 21 in honor of Roberto Clemente? Is Jackie Robinson the only player to have his number retired? – Don Jacobson

Do I ever? Yes, I think they’ll have to at some point. He represents such a large block of players in MLB (Latin American) and while he wasn’t the first, he was certainly the beacon most seem to point to as their idol.

They have to be careful though. I mean, so long as he represents an entire block, it works. But what if people want a Dominican player’s number too? You know where my head is going here I’m sure.

I’m a Pirates fan, of course I think 21 should be retired. Tell you what I’d do, poll the players. Every union member votes and I bet it clears 95% in the yes column. Make sure that’s the new standard to eclipse to globally retire a number.

I doubt many players will garner that kind of number.

Question 5

Who would you prefer for 4th OF: Swaggerty or CSN? – Michael – 412 Double Play Podcast 🏴‍☠️ (@412DoublePlay)

If I were to choose today, Swaggerty. His defense won’t be caught up to by anyone they have close, and he’s hitting. At 25, I have to think it’s close to now or never time for him and to his credit, he’s taken advantage of his opportunity so far. CSN or Canaan Smith-Njigba to those of you who think this might be an advanced stat, has also hit really well, solid contact, superior patience at the plate to many prospects too. GREAT problem to have if someone worth a crap couldn’t fit.

I’d also like to just point out here real quick, Spring has a tendency to make it seem like not making it out of camp as some kind of damnation for the entire season. Not Michael specifically, I’m speaking more generally here.

If either of these two don’t make it immediately, it’s very hard for me to imagine either of them not getting a legitimate shot this year. Hell even go back to question 2 and add Young in, talk up Mitchell if you like. When injuries start cropping up, or if Jack Suwinski shows he simply hasn’t evolved enough, opportunity will be there.

It’s been so long since we’ve seen players look good enough and not make it because there wasn’t room, typically that kind of stuff is reserved for manipulation of service time. Now we’re to the point in this build where potentially good/ready players aren’t going to make it immediately. A good build always gets to this point, and having watched this team since the late 80’s, no wonder so many don’t know how to approach it mentally.

Question 6

Does Drew Maggi have any shot to make the team? He’s been doing great this spring and it would be a real feel good story? – Don Jacobson

I don’t think so Don, not out of camp. I think the Pirates will keep him around as a Crash Davis type and maybe they give him a “gold watch” call up in September to get him his at bat as a reward for being a good soldier.

I can appreciate the story, and maybe if this was 2020 or 2021 I’d feel differently. At least then he wouldn’t be taking his shot while young players this team could really use are held back.

Question 7

Great problem to have hypothetical: It’s June and Brubaker is pitching well, Velasquez has been better than expected and Burrows is deemed ready for the bigs. What do you do? – Nick Cammuso (@npc210)

Well Nick, first of all, I think Burrows is very close right now so I don’t think we’ll have to wait long to start seeing how they plan to deal with this.

Also, full disclosure, I’ve already suggested trading JT Brubaker at the deadline if he has a market. Velasquez being moved doesn’t really need my endorsement, lol.

Here’s the thing, I think there’s a legitimate chance both of these guys are actually good. I also think those two, plus Hill could all be on the block this year, but turning over 3/5 of your starting rotation in a season tends to not happen. That’s a lot to ask or expect.

Burrows, Ortiz, Oviedo, and I’m not even going to push Priester, could all show themselves ready this year, but if the scenario is as outlined that Vince and JT are both good, well, good chance the team is doing well. Might be tough to force a change.

I will say short of injury, Vince could go to the bullpen, I’m less convinced JT is a good fit in the pen but I suppose you could do that as well.

The truth though, this is going to likely be messy. All three of those guys will likely get chances to take a spot via short term injury call ups or even performance replacements, but I suspect next Spring we’ll be looking at Keller, Contreras, Burrows, Ortiz, Oviedo, Priester, Nicolas, Mlodzinski, and maybe even more all fighting about who will form the rotation, AND the Pirates will bring in a veteran anyway.

There is nothing in baseball harder than flipping the switch to trusting young arms.

Question 8

How do you see a DH Split between Cutch, Santana and Choi? – Adam Yarkovsky

Great question.

For one thing, I’ve seen some chatter that Andrew McCutchen muddies up both the OF and DH picture, and that’s just hogwash.

Cutch and Santana are both at the age where you simply don’t expect 150 games worth of work from them anymore, and you probably shouldn’t expect them to be in the field more than 50% of their games.

Before Cutch was signed, most people saw Choi and Santana almost platooning both first base and DH. Which made some sense, but there seemed to be a need to find another right handed stick to work in there. I thought that might be Connor Joe and it still could be at times. Let’s say this team is facing Kershaw, well you could put Cutch in right field, Santana at DH and toss Joe at first. Or Joe plays LF and Reynolds slides to center while another right handed stick takes DH for the day.

All in all, I see Cutch being the primary DH and I bet he plays fewer than 60 games in the field. Santana and Choi would tag team the two positions against a bad matchup righty or even just when Cutch needs a break or plays the field. If all three vets stay healthy all year, which in and of itself isn’t a given, I think there are plenty of at bats to spread between the three of them, minimize how much fielding they have to do in an effort to keep them healthy and still not have any of them feel like they’re a “bench” guy.

Bottom line, I don’t see this potential logjam as a problem, I see it as wonderful to have, especially given the state of the Pirates 1B prospects as we sit here today.

Moving forward, the Bucs will have Malcom Nunez, Mason Martin and now Matt Gorski all competing at first base, so having too many options for 1B/DH, well, I’m ok with it in 2023.

Pirates Roster Decisions And How To Build

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-bt6pe-13b882b

Craig and Chris talk about how to examine Spring Training Statistics-when it comes to deciding who should make the roster-and the idea of trading to complete a re-BUILD. 

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!

Top 5 Pirates Prospects: Greensboro Grasshoppers

3-14-23 By Craig W. Toth (aka @BucsBasement on Twitter)

If I thought charting out the Bradenton Marauders lineup was hard, I definitely wasn’t prepared to take the trip north to Greensboro.

Naturally there are going to be some logical promotions for players who performed well with the Marauders last year, in addition to those that have simply aged out of the Low-A level; more often described simply as organizational players.

Obviously, these guys have a place in the system, and can actively contribute to their ball clubs and/or the development of teammates; still, we have to start being realistic about expectations for prospects.

Every Major Leaguer was a prospect, but not every prospect becomes a Major Leaguer.

But, I digress.

In these blog posts, I try to focus on the former over the later; yet even then I’ve been known to be wrong.

I know, it’s a shocker.

Just like the weatherman that told us that we were supposed to get a snowstorm, so school was canceled. Yet, when we wake up there isn’t even a dusting on the ground.

Predicting success for prospects is hard to do. Still, let’s give it another shot anyway.

1) Anthony Solometo-LHP

Prior to the 2022 Minor League Season, Solometo was a prospect that was piquing my interest ; and why not? Compared to MacKenzie Gore and Madison Bumgarner due to his funky mechanics, the Pirates 2nd Round Pick in 2021-37th overall-had a fairly raw three pitch mix that that missed bats, and found the zone; but, potentially needed some polishing and velocity-especially the later with the fastball.

Given the fairly aggressive assignment of skipping the FCL, in favor of Low-A Bradenton; Solometo baffled hitters pretty regularly, to the tune of a 2.64 ERA, a 1.049 WHIP, 51 strikeouts and 0 homers allowed in 47.2 innings.

And, now rumor has it, that he has unlocked some of that velocity on his fastball; coming in regularly at 94-95 MPH, as opposed to his regular 89-92. For those who know Solometo’s history this is not something completely new based on the scouting reports that he was touching 97 during his high school years.

2) Po-Yu Chen-RHP

I feel like I write about Chen pretty often; which is probably true since I just wrote a full Through The Prospect Porthole about a month ago. So, I’m not sure what else I can say about the now 21 year-old International Signee.

I mean he doesn’t an overpowering arm and none of his pitches are above average at the moment, but he gets the job done.

Could that eventually catch up with him? Not the way the experts see it. Given the coveted Low Risk designation, it’s likely that Chen could move up through the system at a steady pace.

While he might not light the world on fire, his consistency should keep him in the rotation; and, at the very least, in the future rotation conversation.

3) Sammy Siani-OF

Drafted in 2019-18 selections after a pretty notable pitching prospect-at the 37th Overall Pick Comp-Round A out of William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, Siani has yet to accumulate even 800 plate appearances in his Minor League Career.

Following a quick introduction to Pro-Ball in the Gulf Coast League League-now the Florida Complex League-exactly three weeks after being drafted, the younger brother of Reds Outfielder Michael was made to sit out the 2020 Season; just like almost every other MiLB player.

When baseball returned, he once again found himself in Bradenton; only this time it would be at LECOM Park with the Low-A Marauders, instead of the backfields at Pirate City. Unfortunately, after the first 55 games of the season, Siani once again found himself being forced off the field; only this time it was because of injury.

After almost as many days-Fifty Four-as games played, he returned for the final week or so of the season; which amounted to 31 trips to the plate.

In spite of these unlucky circumstances, the Pirates decided to be aggressive by promoting him to Greensboro to start the 2022 Season; a choice that did go over very well for Siani.

In 82 games, and across 334 plate appearances, the Grasshopper’s Centerfielder slashed .201/.318/.306; all of which were career lows.

At this point you are probably wondering why Siani is on a list like this; as they usually consist of prospects that are top performers: not ones that had a .625 OPS and a 79 wRC+ during the most recent season.

Well in Siani’s case he has age on his side, as he just turned 22 during the off-season. And, he did perform well in the Australian Baseball League at almost four and half years younger than the average player.

In 156 plate appearances, he had more homers-eight-than he had in the 334 with Greensboro. He also slashed .291/.353/.546 with another 11 extra base hits for the Sydney Blue Sox.

Does this mean that his success will transition over to a likely repeat of High-A? Absolutely not!

Do I think we should at least try to be a little bit optimistic about the former Top 10 Pirates Prospect? Absolutely!

4) Logan Hoffman-RHP

Hofman made this list for me in a very similar way to Sammy Siani. Meaning, that I’m not ready to write this kid off just yet.

Maybe I’m letting my own personal feelings get in the way of my overall assessment of him as a prospect; however, sometimes you just have to go with your gut.

Prior to arriving in Greensboro this past season, Hofmann had posted a 3.59 ERA with a 1.113 WHIP and 103 strikeouts across 82.2 innings as a swing-man on the Bradenton Marauders pitching staff the previous season,

Then without any real explanation, the man from Muenster, Saskatchewan (population 430), lost his command and control at unpredictable levels. His WHIP skyrocketed to 2.103, he started walking batters at a clip of 9.1 batters per 9 innings, and only struck out 25 batters in 35.2 innings pitched-solely out of the pen.

Naturally Hofmann also saw his ERA rise to 6.81, as he was knocked around on any pitch that did find the zone.

And, if you were this wasn’t some sort of home-split situation that is often talked about for the Grasshopper’s players.

On the road Hofmann had a .878 OPS against, a 2.059 WHIP and a 7.94 ERA versus a .916 OPS, a 2.143 WHIP and a 5.79 ERA in the not so friendly confines of First National Bank Field; which basically means that the normal regulating move to Altoona isn’t something to even consider at this point.

Simply put…he needs to get back to his 2021 form. And believe me, it is definitely something I am hoping for!

5) Tsung Che-Cheng-SS/2B/3B

Cheng is a prospect that has been on my radar for quite some time now; especially following an FCL Season where he had 19.1% walk rate, while only striking out 8.9% of the time, Of course this was on top of slashing .312/.449/.492 with a 154 wRC+.

And now thanks to his play thus far in the World Baseball Classic, he should be on everyone’s radar.

Which I still thought he should have been earlier after a Caribbean Series Championship, and a .270/.376/.418 slash line with 38 total extra base hits and a 13.8% BB-rate in Low-A Bradenton in 2022.

During a recent episode of my podcast-where Anthony Murphy from Pirates Prospects and myself broke down the potential Greensboro roster-both of us lit up when discussing Cheng; and, not only for his work with bat, or his 33 stolen bases. Watching Cheng play defense, it possible that he is one of the best, if not the best defensive middle infielders in the system.

If you can’t tell I am a little bit excited about hopefully getting to see Cheng this year.

[You hear that Greensboro! It’s 2023, and you have the capability; so please, for the love of everything that is holy, just stream your home games!]

Conclusion

Over the past two seasons Greensboro has been absolutely stacked with the Pirates Top Prospects; especially when it comes to the pitching staff. And, although this may not necessarily be the case at the moment, the situation can clearly change as players emerge/breakout, are promoted up from Bradenton or in some rare cases arrive on the scene straight from the MLB Draft.

Any way you look at it, the Grasshopper’s Roster should look very different by the end of the 2023 MiLB Season.

Five Pirates Thoughts at Five

3-13-23 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

Another week of Spring games in the books and with the World Baseball Classic in full swing too, baseball is everywhere right now. The results haven’t been great for the Pirates so far, not that the record matters in Spring, but you still want to see players starting to show the rust knocking off and fewer blow up innings from the pitchers.

You can give the bats excuses, like the old cliché that the bats lag behind arms in Spring, it’s true, but it’s hard to give that to them when you watch what other teams are doing with the bats.

Point being, the Pirates woes are theirs, and they’ll eventually right the ship or get off to a slow start.

Lets Dig in.

1. Fast Forward!!!!

It’s so hard to tell a fan base that has dealt with what we’ve dealt with to be patient, but that is exactly what is needed here.

No, I don’t mean deal with inferior pitchers to start out while the Pirates manipulate some rookies out of paychecks, I mean right now, the Pirates have a decent starting 5. Keller, Brubaker, Hill, Velasquez, and Contreras looks to be the way we’ll start and while I do think they have superior talent that will start in AAA, we’ve seen enough ball to know they’ll need to draw from that pool.

Fans from the jump this Spring have envisioned the rotation including Burrows, Ortiz and Priester by season’s end and all along I’ve been telling everyone to pump the brakes a bit there.

Here’s why.

It’s not that those 3 couldn’t make it to the show, it’s that they aren’t the only ones who could. Carmen Mlodzinski looks really good, Johan Oviedo is a guy the Pirates have certainly not given up on, even a guy like Kyle Nicolas could work his way into that conversation.

There isn’t an order this has to happen in, and there’s no rule this has to happen this season. There’s a very real possibility we head into Spring of 2024 with yet another veteran starter brought in (most likely from the left side) and 4 or 5 qualified starters fighting for a single available spot.

All I’m saying here is, I’ll take 8-9 guys I want to see and be ok with watching it turnover slowly. It’s a luxury we haven’t seen in these parts, really in my lifetime. There have always been teams where they had one of two guys coming, but this is different, to the point where a few could fall flat and they’d still be in good shape.

2. Where’s the Offense?

For one thing, waiting for at bats.

The Pirates current leader for at bats is Rodolfo Castro with 26 and he’s trailed by Cal Mitchell and Oneil Cruz with 23 apiece. That’s about a week’s worth of ABs folks. Most players have far fewer than that, so it’s super hard to hit the panic button, just like it should be hard to pretend Ke’Bryan Hayes is going to keep up his 1.077 OPS he’s racked up after 13 at bats.

Look, it certainly hasn’t been ideal, I just got done saying Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen had really gotten off to slow starts in Spring and Reynolds answered with 2 homeruns, while Cutch has started hitting the ball harder too.

This isn’t an excuse, every team is in the same boat when it comes to getting regulars ready to go and as we’ve seen, they certainly aren’t being shy facing Pirates pitching.

There is something to be said for the inconsistency of work load in Spring, and the Pirates will start to swing in a different direction soon. By MLB rule, players with no service time who remain on the MLB Spring roster on the 15th who get hurt and are on the IL both accrue pay and MLB service time, so you’ll see them make a flurry of moves likely tomorrow.

These moves will ship out players like Triolo, Rodriguez, Gonzales, Burrows, basically if they are a guy you’d think this team would want to “manipulate” chances are they aren’t going to take a risk that they get hurt and get service time.

This doesn’t mean you won’t see them again in Spring, it just means they’ll be “over from MiLB camp” as opposed to on the MLB Spring training roster. Even so, there comes a point where getting prepared for the MiLB season is important as well so the ABs will diminish.

This will force the team to focus their energy on the guys who have a real chance of heading North, and the hope is in doing so we’ll see a bit more, well, readiness start to emerge.

When you start a lineup that only misses maybe 1 projected starter though, you expect the offense to look a bit more polished than it has. I can’t stress enough how little I’ve seen tangibly change with the overall team approach at the plate, and yes, it scares me.

3. MLB Presentation

Before we start here, let’s touch on what looks to be the plan as we sit here for the eventual folding of ATT SportsNet. It seems the plan will be for MLB.com to offer free streaming with no blackout restrictions for all affected markets. Now, for those of you who already stream content this is going to be fine, you’ll adapt and move on.

For those of you who don’t, well, you’ll have to figure it out. If it’s something you’re super concerned about, let me know and I’ll make it a point to write up some “easy” ways to make sure you can watch.

All that aside, I was talking to my friend Graves on Twitter and she mentioned how tiring it was hearing every new analyst who comes into the booth and their individual take on all the new rules.

This really got me thinking, cause I’ve heard it all over the league, even national broadcasts.

When those calling your game are acting like these rules are silly, or unnecessary, or even damaging to the game, I’m not sure how they expect fans to embrace them.

That doesn’t mean you lie to the listener, but maybe don’t start out with things being awful and hoping it gets better. Instead maybe just ensure we all understand the rules, what they’re intended to cause/create and let us decide for ourselves if we like them or not.

It’s not just about rules either, think back a few years to all the young players coming up to the league and showboating after a homerun. Think of how critical most broadcasts were toward them, even as those antics drew some youngsters to the sport.

I can honestly say, I’d much prefer a player drop their bat and jog or hand the football to the ref like Barry Sanders, but man this is the game you’re selling. It’s not against the rules and like it or don’t it’s putting eyeballs on your sport that wouldn’t be there otherwise.

At some point, MLB broadcasts both locally and nationally, need to realize they are the salespeople, so they might want to start acting like they like the product they’re selling. As opposed to acting frustrated by it.

4. One Lefty Reliever on the 40-man

That’s right, Jose Hernandez the Rule 5 Selection from the LA Dodgers is the lone left handed reliever on the 40-man and while he’s largely been impressive, he’s still a guy no good team would enter a season banking on. He’s never even thrown a pitch in AAA and now that Jarlin Garcia is almost assuredly starting the season on the IL the Bucs need a backup plan.

Michael just wrote up a nice piece about all the internal options last week. It’s a nice breakdown of NRI’s, and young prospects but man it screams the need for a trade to me. It’s too early to allow your best laid plans to disintegrate, and if I’m the Pirates brain trust first thing I’m doing is teeing up a move to sure this up. Even if Garcia winds up being ok and comes back in April you still don’t want forced into leaning on Hernandez to get crucial outs late in games.

They could also wait for final cuts this Spring and pick off someone who had an out clause or simply were set free due to roster restrictions, but any of those guys will be someone who went through an entire Spring and failed to compel a team to keep them.

To me, this is the very reason you duplicate efforts with prospect acquisition, so you have depth to deal from. Even if you take someone you like who throws right handed to get a left hander you like, the Pirates must not turn a blind eye to this in my opinion. Eating salary could help make what you have to ship out even less.

They won’t be alone either. Take a quick look at Seattle’s projected roster and you quickly see they, right this second, don’t have any healthy lefties looking like locks to make their bullpen. So if you wait, well you won’t be the only one shopping.

Lefty relievers are short all around the league, but that doesn’t mean none. Look for something here, if the Pirates have one need to make a deal it’s this and I’d recommend shopping from the most stacked teams like Houston, LA, NY, they’ve filled their rosters and might have some more polished prospects, maybe even some with experience available for the right price.

5. OMG! Reynolds Likes Jack! Everything has Changed!

LOL.

Bryan Reynolds could tell us his favorite cereal is Cheerios right now and someone would tell us it was code for saying the Pirates had a bunch of holes. Point is, everything he does and says will be analyzed and projected because real news hasn’t been coming out about his situation.

I believe 3 weeks ago now, I put forward in this space that these two sides will get this deal done, and I still believe they will but in this case, I think it’s just a guy who is genuinely excited about playing with a friend and has no reason to expect he won’t play with him all year.

I don’t think the situation is constantly in his head, I don’t think it’s causing him to struggle, I honestly think both sides being quiet is exactly what you want right now. Quiet tends to equal two sides that don’t want to invite the media to help them screw it up.

From the other side of this thing, take Ben Cherington’s appearance on 93.7 the Fan last week where he was very evasive about the situation. He clearly didn’t want to give any clues, didn’t want to lead you to any conclusions, just reiterated he didn’t see any reason Bryan wouldn’t be a Pirate all year long. It’s frustrating for media and fans alike, but when two sides are talking and they put in place a pseudo gag order, you just aren’t going to hear any progress, any red flags, nothing.

They could absolutely still screw this up, but for now, read into everything said or done however you like, until I hear different, I’ll just sit back knowing this is still playing out, and wait for something real to change instead of pretending there is hidden meaning in everything uttered.