Making the Most of Opportunity

4-17-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

In baseball, it can sometimes feel like everything you do is somehow part of a catch 22 situation.

It never really goes away either. Even if you’re a nailed on superstar who has never managed to make it to the playoffs, that first time you do, everyone will be watching, wondering if you’re one of the few that thrive in the added pressure, or one of the many who wilt.

When opportunity knocks, well, you best answer the bell, because in this game, it just might never knock again. You could get forced out by something as insignificant as poor timing.

Take a guy like Bryan Reynolds. He didn’t come up here with a whole lot of fan reaction. It was an emergency in fact, if I had to give you a comp, he was much like it would be if Jack Suwinski were forced into action this year. You’d hope he’d be good but given where he is in development you don’t expect it either per se.

Bryan’s likelihood of sticking when he was called up was lower than the Vegas odds for the Pirates winning the Series this year. He didn’t just need to do ok, he needed to excel. This was a team that felt good about their starting outfield when healthy after all, and he simply did everything in his power to force the team’s hand.

That’s not typical folks. Just isn’t.

More often it’s a player like Andrew McCutchen, who did have the expectation that he’d be called up. Enjoyed the status of a highly touted prospect and knew when his number got called he’d be given a fair shake at sticking. Now, as we all know, Andrew didn’t need the team to just be ok with him working the rookie out of his game, fact is it was there if he needed it.

Sometimes it’s a player like Wil Crowe. Wil grew up in the Washington Nationals system and wasn’t given a shot at the rotation until the weirdness of 2020 forced it. He didn’t really take advantage in the capital city and was shipped to Pittsburgh in the Josh Bell trade. His situation changed drastically. He went from a team that had some of the biggest names in starting pitching league wide blocking him to an organization mired deep in a rebuild with next to nothing to push him. This allowed Crowe to work all season and answer some questions about himself and potentially his role. On a team with more options, he’s either demoted or scurried to the pen last year.

Maybe he winds up resentful about the move last year. Maybe he thinks that’s still his destiny. Maybe he doesn’t embrace it like he has this year so far to make the most of the opportunity presented to him.

It’s really different for every player. Some like Jose Osuna for one reason or another just never ever convince anyone they deserve a shot. No, not you John at the bar who used to scream he could hit 30 homeruns if they’d only play him. Facts are, he never convinced an MLB manager he deserved more playing time.

Some like Jose Bautista take a change of scenery and a complete reinvention of his swing. I often hear him brought up as a huge Pirates miss, but the player he became wouldn’t recognize the player he was.

Some guys just seem to get an infinite amount of chances. Like Eric Gonzalez seemed to have two different managers believe he had more to give. They both marveled at the untapped power, and how close he was to putting it together at the plate. His glove was otherworldly according to Clint and Shelton alike. 2019 his injury cost him a shot and he was beaten out by Kevin Newman. 2020 he seemingly played everyday at some position and got the same pass everyone else did for that season. 2021, man it was getting hard to ignore that we were still trying with this guy, until one day the toy was removed from the box.

Cole Tucker feels like he’s on this track doesn’t he? With one big difference, he did come in with pedigree. He shows a flash of special every so often and it’s enough to tantalize just about everyone, but folks, at some point she always figures out it’s Cubic Zirconia and not Diamond. Have to feel like the club is about to go appraise this uncut gem soon.

Diego Castillo has been given sporadic opportunity thus far, but he’s done something positive every time out, even maintaining a 5 game hitting streak at this point. It’s really encouraging for him and the team I’m sure. He’s really the first example of this development system, and by that I mean the Cherington-Baker system specifically, coming up. He was starting to impress in the Yankees system, but not to the degree he took off and forced the issue since joining the Pirates.

Most fans didn’t even know his name as they rushed right past him and others to anoint Nick Gonzales and Liover Peguero (on the advice of the newly minted 100’s of prospect experts out there). Now they do in fact know who he is, and to his credit, that’s entirely due to how he’s performed. He’ll earn more playing time and he’s also part of the reason time is finally running out on guys like Tucker.

Michael Chavis knows well how this opportunity game rolls. A top pick by the Boston Red Sox, Chavis has experienced more MLB success than almost anyone on this roster, only to find himself phased out of the plans on the team that drafted him based on inconsistency and health issues. Pittsburgh is his second chance, and he’s made himself as versatile as possible to make getting at bats as easy to do as he could. More than that, when he gets his chances he’s making the most of them. He’s hitting, he’s playing good defense, he’s juicing up his team with energy and on a team where the very best players are quiet leaders that’s not an unnecessary component to bring to the table.

It’s too early to know if he’ll make this opportunity count, but he’s certainly giving it a go, and it’s certainly worth noting he has just about all the same challenges Tucker does.

None of this happens if teams are unwilling to practice patience. As incredible as Reynolds and Hayes bursts onto the scene were, those kind of introductions to MLB are incredibly rare. And ask Michael Chavis, sometimes you can hit 19 dingers and still get brushed aside.

Baseball is a hell of a hard game, it’s easily the hardest path to the bigs, one thing that is never a guarantee is that someone is going to give you a chance. Opportunity is earned, but sometimes a path to earn it itself is less opportunity than will be provided.

Think about how many shots Anthony Alford has gotten, while doing almost nothing. Now put that side by side with Bligh Madris who did nothing but crush the ball in Spring Training, is aging out and got himself placed in AA Altoona to start the season.

Nobody will ever accuse this game of being fair, it isn’t. There are probably hundreds of guys who could have had productive careers but just never got the shot, or if they did, it hit as the exact time a slump popped up. It’s always amazed me how aware baseball is that short sample size doesn’t work in this sport, yet they allow a few bad weeks of baseball to outweigh 5 or 6 years of hard fought development. At the end of the day, winning matters at the MLB level. Come up at the wrong time like when your team is in the middle of a playoff run with a stacked roster and become Albert Almora Jr. Never get a chance because who the hell is really gonna sit? By the time you get one it’s out of desperation and you’re too old to matter.

Hell of a sport. Hell of a hard thing anyone who makes it has accomplished.

And we get the opportunity to watch it all unfold.

Chavis and Hayes Ignite Pirates Past Nationals 6-4

It’s early in the season, but the Pirates have been nothing short of a rollercoaster through the club’s first eight games of the season. One day, the offense is stagnate and the pitching is awful. The next, they look unbeatable, but that’s the nature of the beautiful 162 game season that Major League Baseball plays and everything can be taken with a grain of salt, to an extent.

That statement reigns true tonight after the Pirates defeated the Nationals 6-4 on Saturday night, taking the series lead 2-1 and moving to 3-2 in the club’s first home stand of the season.

We saw great things from unfamiliar faces in the lineup, particularly outfielder Jake Marisnick picking up an RBI triple to score catcher Andrew Knapp, something I definitely did not have on my Pittsburgh Pirates 2022 bingo card.

The usual suspects did well also, as Ke’Bryan Hayes and Michael Chavis combined for five of the team’s 10 hits from the leadoff and three spot in the lineup, and when I thought about what I took away from this game, I thought to myself, Michael Chavis is damn good as baseball and deserve ample playing time.

To begin the season, Chavis has mainly been used against lefties, but today he showcased why he should remain a lineup staple, reaching base three times with two singles and a beautiful display of base running for a triple that ultimately meant a ton for the ninth inning and the Pirates securing the victory.

Of course other players like Hoy Park, Kevin Newman(who is dealing with a minor groin injury), and Diego Castillo need ample opportunities to prove themselves as well, but Chavis should be in the lineup everyday if he continues to play this way, period.

As far as pitching for Pittsburgh in this matchup, I loved what I saw from Bryse Wilson, especially working out of a bases loaded jam early in the game and only allowing two runs over 4.1 IP and he was followed up very nicely by Dillon Peters and David Bednar, who combined for 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit after a Juan Soto solo shot in the fifth inning.

Chris Stratton came on the finish things in the ninth and made things interesting, allowing two runs, albeit with a four run cushion, but Stratton is one of the better arms in the pen and could be a viable trade piece come July, so we want his stock to be as high as it can be.

Overall, it’s nice to see the Buccos compete and look like a viable MLB team. No one is going to try and convince you that this team is a contender, but if they can compete night-in and night-out, things should look promising with the likes of Oneil Cruz and other young prospects on the way very soon.

The Pirates finish up their four-game set against the Nationals tomorrow with Jose Quintana facing Patrick Corbin as the Pirates look for their first series win of the season.

The Pirates Options as May Approaches

4-16-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

When you operate a baseball team with more questions than answers many can assume easy answers are all around you. When it comes to demotions or cuts so much goes into every choice both individually and also for the team.

You can assume it doesn’t matter, but everyone in that room thinks they have the talent to win. That’s just the way it is in most sports, so if you just send down a guy who’s outperforming 3 guys you keep, trust me it’s noticed.

Let’s break this into two conversations. The Pirates have to cut the roster by 2 as of May 1st, and because the limit on pitching staffs is also back to 13 on that date, one of the cuts needs to be a pitcher. So let’s be really clear here what we’re looking for. 1 pitcher, and 1 position player.

The Pitchers on the Bubble

Before we start here, we also have to take into account that soon Duane Underwood Jr. and Sam Howard will be healthy, so this could easily wind up being 3 guys the Pirates have to send down in relatively short order.

Miguel Yajure (1 Option) – This is less about performance and more about wanting to have him continue to progress as a starting pitcher. There are times when you have to pull the trigger on deciding a pitcher isn’t best suited to starting at the major league level, like Wil Crowe, or for that matter the Pirates felt that way about Chad Kuhl. Make no mistake, Miguel is in the pen because he has to be. Injury forced it and this is probably for another piece some day but poor 40-man construction caused it too.

Roansy Contreras (2 Options) – Almost everything I said for Miggy. Roansy was the last, last resort again for injury. They want him to be a starter and that will take getting stretched out and a few cycles of the rotation for someone to prove themselves to be low man on the totem pole. He can keep stretching at this level but realistically, it’s much easier to just let him be part of a rotation and get going.

Aaron Fletcher (2 Options) – Aaron has not been impressive to be kind. If he stays it’ll be purely because getting those first two back to starting took precedence over getting someone who’s performed below the line off the squad. In the greater scheme of things I think everyone can understand this position here, especially if you keep in mind he won’t be long behind them, if at all with Howard and Underwood Jr. hopefully on the mend.

Anthony Banda (0 Options) – I include Banda because when Howard is healthy this bullpen will have as many as 4 left handed options, but only Fletcher and Howard have options. Meaning if the Pirates want to demote Banda, it’ll mean DFA and that’s not ideal for depth. They could also choose to leave Howard in AAA a bit until some other option proves themselves someone who should be sent packing.

Diagnosis – First, we have to assume there are no further injuries. If there are, we’ll see a pitcher added to the 40-man and complicate this whole thing. If everything goes according to plan I’d assume on May 1st Roansy Contreras is the guy. With an outside shot they choose Fletcher if he continues to look as bad as he has.

Position Players on the Bubble

This is a bit harder. (Get your that’s what she said jokes out of the way)

To be clear, it’s only hard because there are so many extra parts than any team with a DH could possibly need. Let’s talk through it.

Josh VanMeter (0 Options) – Want the main defense for not Designating Josh for assignment? They just bothered to trade for him like a couple weeks ago. That’s the list. He’s done nothing, and they’ve given him little chance to do anything either. He’s had 8 plate appearances but certainly hasn’t pushed for more.

Cole Tucker (1 Option) – He’s simply been, eh, ok. It’s getting old waiting for Tucker to become something and the Spring that was is fading into the rear view quickly. I think he’s shown himself to be a less than effective outfielder and middle infield is a clogged up path to playing time. In 19 plate appearances he has 3 hits and 6 strikeouts. How many more excuses or chances can you give the guy?

Hoy Park (3 Options) – Hoy has played all over the field, some good, some not so good. Hoy has 12 plate appearances with 2 hits and 5 Ks. Again, how many more chances to we expect him to get? His versatility is great, but he’s on a roster with 4 other guys who can do the same. (Interestingly, all of them are on this list)

Michael Chavis (1 Option) – Michael has fared the best out of everyone on this list. 10 plate appearances with no Ks a grand slam and a few more hits on top of that. If anything he could use somebody else going down to give him more opportunity. He’s on this list because he’s arguably the platoon DH or first baseman, and for some reason they haven’t been using him elsewhere.

Diego Castillo (3 Options) – I have him on this list, but I don’t think he’s in any danger. The kid has had 17 chances and has a .353 average. Nuff said. It’s safe to say these last two entries are more about fully getting our arms around this subject than merit.

Diagnosis – This one is probably not as hard as I’m making it. To me a team that’s really trying to show the team they aren’t giving up on 2022 moves on from VanMeter. That’s what I’d do, but I’d never have gotten him in the first place if I’m honest. Now, what do I think they’ll do? I think they’ll send Hoy Park or Cole Tucker down and since I’m trying to pretend I can predict it, I’ll go Hoy Park. Reality dictates those two are in a dogfight for the roster spot but neither should expect much playing time moving forward. I think what we’ll see here in the next couple weeks is a bunch of Hoy Park and Cole Tucker in right field, whichever one looks better either at the plate or field, hell even a combination of the two will get the nod.

With Alford lingering on the IL it feels like he’ll get another shot on this team and that will cause another to be sent down so the race to save their spot could wind up being fruitless in the immediate moment anyhow as eventually they’ll need another slot, or the team could simply DFA him again since they’ve acquired Jake Marisnick and he’s easily good enough to feel ok moving on from Alford.

We also all know Oneil Cruz will force his way on the club (cough, cough, wink, wink) soon too, and that might just spell the end for VanMeter IF he isn’t called up here for some injury.

Roster construction never stops. This is up to the minute stuff, and by May 1st we could have five new factors in this conversation. Let’s start here and see how it plays out.

Prospects Aren’t Sure Things, Even When They Reach the League

4-14-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

The new pastime here in Pittsburgh seems to be the constant cries for prospects to come up to the MLB team and then to ensure they play every inning of every game or fill the exact role deemed appropriate for each and every one of them.

Now, it’s entirely understandable. You see Mason Martin hitting in AAA and then turn around and watch Daniel Vogelbach or Yoshi Tsutsugo manning first base in the bigs and well, of course you want to see something else based on what has been put on your TV screen.

You see Diego Castillo hitting when he gets a chance and just can’t see giving any more at bats that should rightly be his to guys like Josh VanMeter, Cole Tucker or Hoy Park.

Again, I get it. The reaction is visceral and real. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that you have no business feeling that way, I’m just going to offer some counterpoints because it’s rarely if ever as cut and dried as it’s made out to be.

I’ve already predicted that from this year to next year this team will have probably turned over at least 10 players, meaning I believe there are at least 10 players on this MLB roster who won’t be next year.

That’s not just hyperbole. It’s not even assuming all 10 of those guys will perform badly. Instead it’ll be a combination of control, prospect performance, 40-man protection needs and actual evaluation.

That last bit is the real important part of this discussion.

Diego Castillo is a 26 year old rookie, and he’s looked promising in his early season chances, but the Pirates have other guys they need to make decisions on and as one should expect, they’d like them to be educated decisions.

Let’s take a few guys many have expressed being tired of seeing and ready to move on from. Not coincidentally all of these guys are on my list of 10. I won’t even discuss all of them, but enough to hopefully explain why the team might not have seen enough yet.

Cole Tucker

Feels like we’ve been discussing Tucker for the best part of a decade, probably because we have been. He looked like his swing change and added bulk might help him become at least a bit player this Spring, and as a former number one pick, the team isn’t just going to flush him without thinking.

Next year if the Pirates should choose to keep him he’ll make the league minimum and won’t hit arbitration one until 2024. The bat simply hasn’t played at this level and nobody likes the idea of giving up too early on a guy only to have them turn out somewhere else. In fact, it’s just about the only thing Bob Nutting mentioned publicly as a change he expected to see with his new GM.

All that said, there are very viable options already here that can play where he plays, and I’d argue when it comes to the outfield, better. I don’t even have to dip into the next level to illustrate how easily the light hitting utilityman will be squeezed out by those guys.

This is either Tucker’s last year as a Pirate, or he’ll hit.

There is exactly nothing to be gained by sending him back to AAA to take playing time from the prospects I just mentioned, and should he actually start hitting in AAA, who cares, you’d still have the same answer about the majors right?

All that to illustrate why he needs to get playing time right now, at this level.

He’s either proving he’s worth trying to move or he’s proving he’s just not going to factor in here. Either way that takes at bats, and playing time.

Oh, I know you’ve seen enough, but you didn’t work with him heading into the off season to plan how he could improve, and watched him show up for Spring having done everything you asked. The Pirates did. His trade value is nil, yet he’d assuredly be picked up by someone and god forbid they unlock him.

This is a short leash, and quite frankly it’s already clear the Bucs are relatively tired of trying. That said, when you simply cut a guy like this, you cut into your depth and we’ve got about 157 games left.

Josh VanMeter

The Pirates created an issue here that quite frankly they didn’t need to create. He’s quite frankly never hit in the bigs, but he did tear it up in AAA. That’s more than Tucker can say, but I’d also argue that he’s already gotten more of a shot to show it in the show than Tucker has. In fact, should the Pirates eventually give up on Tucker, another fan base will be having very similar discussions about his acquisition.

Nobody has adequately made sense of this pickup in my mind. Obviously someone liked him from AAA or his time with the Reds. Clearly they don’t believe in Tucker and didn’t want to put full faith in Castillo, or Chavis, but even so, my god there are 3 guys who aren’t even on the roster I’d rather try out.

This team needs to be beyond bringing in other team’s problems at this point and this is a perfect example of buying a rusty chair at a yard sale hoping a can of spray paint will bring it back to life.

Regardless, he’s of course going to get playing time, otherwise why trade anyone for him, regardless of whether I’ve heard of the prospect they moved or not.

So Why Not Just Cut Your Losses?

Well, I touched on it a bit with both of those write ups but it’s partially about not wanting to be wrong, and it’s also got a lot to do with this team sincerely still being in the evaluation stage on 75% of this roster.

Let’s take a guy like Wil Crowe. Pitched all last season and delivered 116 innings in 26 games, 25 starts. His WHIP was an awful 1.569, his ERA was a terrible 5.48, and he gave up 25 homeruns. That’s a whole season of evaluation, plenty for most fans, not quite for a baseball club.

Now he finds himself in a different role out of the bullpen. He looks stronger. His velocity, not trying to last 5 innings, is up significantly. His pitch repertoire plays better as he uses all five of his offerings instead of hiding 2 or 3 for the second time through the order that wasn’t a given to begin with. And while it’s terribly early, he’s thriving.

In other words, you might know what a guy can do, but you might not know what a guy can do when put in a better situation. Maybe this early season performance will be an aberration, thing is, they’ll know because they tried it. They’ll know because they gave him more playing time. Rather than, you know, cutting the bum, as many of you would have preferred.

That’s the hope with guys like Tucker. They hope they’ve made some tweaks, and given him a chance to become more versatile so that if the bat comes around he could be a viable bench player that gives Shelton options. If he isn’t, they’ll at least feel they’ve done their due diligence.

Now why doesn’t Diego Castillo just start every game? Much of the same really, only in reverse.

For instance, in game one facing Adam Wainwright the Pirates felt it best to not toss a rookie into his first game on opening day against a battery that makes a living off making fools out of 10 year veterans. The Hayes injury forced it into existence anyway but he quickly saw why he didn’t start.

Part of onboarding rookies is about putting them in situations to succeed. If a guy is traditionally not great against left handed pitching, well, maybe you shouldn’t expect he will be instantly better at it when you bring him up. If a guy hits fastballs like crazy but hasn’t always found the off speed you might not want to have him face a guy who never touches 90.

Every week you’ll see them give him something new to look at. Something new to try. Maybe the next step is “let’s see what he does with three starts in a row”. Maybe it’ll be let’s see how he handles this guy who throws frisbee sliders from the right side.

Getting to the show doesn’t mean very often that the development is over. It certainly doesn’t often mean you no longer have anything to prove and should just be handed the reigns.

Patience is not something I’m going to preach to a fan base that’s been waiting this long for a winner, but it is something you’ll wind up having to find.

Pirates Win, Split Home Opening Series with Cubs

4-13-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

The Pirates entered today’s contest against the Cubs fresh off the home opener that saw them only post one run and waste a solid pitching performance against the weakest version of the Cubs lineup.

Today the Cubs would put their best foot forward, with arguably their best pitcher and the Pirates would counter with an untested starter in Zach Thompson and a lineup that surely wouldn’t strike fear into anyone.

As any baseball fan worth his or her salt would tell you, of course it was a resounding victory for the Pirates.

In the top of the first, you wouldn’t have been looked at crooked if you sighed and turned off the tv.

The Cubs as it turned out would do precious little beyond that as instead it was the Pirates led by Ke’Bryan Hayes’ 4 for 4 performance and continued defensive excellence that made Kyle Hendricks and the Cubbies wear it today.

Getting the party started was Ben Gamel, proving the source of his power wasn’t the hair.

The Pirates defacto starting outfielder and all around heart and hustle guy would rear his head later in the game, but for this moment Thompson wouldn’t look back.

Next big contribution was Kevin Newman who drilled one off the Clemente Wall. Not to take anything away from the hit, but a more experienced outfielder in this ballpark probably hauls this triple in.

Excellent defense all day by really everyone. Reynolds with a really nice catch in center, Ke’Bryan Hayes just keeps starting double plays, more than any third baseman in the game at this early stage to be precise.

Even Yoshi Tsutsugo got in on the act with a really nice diving spear at first.

Then this gem by Ben Gamel later in the game while Wil Crowe was earning his first save as a professional, the hard way via a three inning outing.

Heck of a bounceback and the Pirates win 6-2. They are now 2-3 on the season and jump right back into action tomorrow as Washington comes to town for a 6:35 start.

Also, I wasn’t scheduled to cover this game, so well wishes go out to Craig Toth as he battles a stomach bug, get well soon buddy.

News & Notes

  • Wil Crowe has simply been lights out in his new role from the bullpen. Dillon Peters also did well today pitching 2 scoreless. In fact the Pirates tossed out three guys all in the mix to start this season in the rotation at the Cubs and got the job done. This bullpen could wind up being a pleasant surprise and if they are, the entire staff will. This is a role I pounded my fist for Crowe to fill this season, and much like Hannibal from the A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together.
  • Ke’Bryan Hayes hitting the way he has certainly is welcome, but my god he’s just a vacuum cleaner at the hot corner. Nothing gets past him and his release is so quick he’s turning even soft contact into double play opportunities. If he plays like this all season it’s not hyperbole to suggest he really should net his first gold glove, it’s that noticeably special folks.

Suzuki Sinks Pirates Home Opener With Two Solo Shots

4-12-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

We have not experienced a proper home opener since 2019.

Baseball was struck by COVID-19 and one of the casualties was losing the pageantry, the hope, the clean slate that opening day always brings home or away.

On this sunny day in Pittsburgh though, 412 day, at 4:12 PM Jose Quintana would throw out the first pitch and this time PNC Park dressed in her bunting was host to a near capacity crowd.

Quintana would pitch 5 1/3 innings in this one, tossing 71 pitches and giving up one run a solo shot to Seiya Suzuki.

All in all he looked solid and the Bucs played some great defense behind him, especially Ke’Bryan Hayes who began two 5-4-3 double plays in this tilt.

Suzuki would get another off of Anthony Banda in the 7th to extend the Cubs lead to 2.

Bryan Reynolds hit the first homerun and scored the first Pirates run of the home slate with one swing of the bat.

Kevin Newman came up about 10 feet short of tying the ballgame in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs but alas, the Bucs fall 2-1 to the Cubs.

News & Notes

  • When David Bednar struck out Suzuki in the 9th inning the swing and miss was only the 2nd recorded instance of it in Suzuki’s young MLB career.
  • The Pirates only scored on the Bryan Reynolds solo shot to day, but they weren’t without chances. Runners were left stranded at second 3 times and Cole Tucker had a crack at each one of them. As promising as his Spring was, he’s certainly not brought it North with him as of yet.
  • Kevin Newman who has his well up until today missed a double by less than a foot and he was convinced it was fair, even standing on second for an uncomfortable amount of time. He’s quite aware of the pressure to perform.
  • Despite the performance on Sunday scoring 9 runs the Pirates are not built to do super well against left handed pitching. That played out today as Drew Smyly mystified the lineup for all five of his innings.
  • I’m very confused by the Cubs choosing to hit Ian Happ 8th in the lineup. He’s easily their most consistent hitter, one would think you’d want him in shouting distance of Suzuki.
  • Back at it tomorrow….weather permitting of course. Craig will have the story.

Top 5 Pirates Prospect Performers

4-12-22 By Craig W. Toth (aka @BucsBasement on Twitter)

Exactly a week ago the Indianapolis Indians opened their season-along with the other Triple-A teams across America-in what would be the first of the now standard six game Minor League Baseball series. A few days later they would be joined by the Double-A Altoona Curve, the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers and Low-A Bradenton Marauders as they began a shortened three game weekend series of their own.

When Friday rolled around my head was spinning, in a good way, as I tried to imagine how I would take in all of the MiLB and MLB action I could during the weekend; after a Indians double-header, coupled with the Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals over the previous 24 hours.

Then I remembered I was scheduled to head to Altoona that afternoon to check out the Curve and all their top prospects; a story I will surely get around to telling very soon. However, for now I’ll try to stick to my weekend of MLB on the main television, with MiLB.TV pumping through my cellphone and laptop in its own little version of surround sound on my couch.

This eventually led to whole other level of overload in preparation for what will be our second weekly feature-the first being Gary’s amazing Five Pirates Thoughts At Five-here at Inside The Bucs Basement; where I list and breakdown my Top 5 Pirates Prospects Performers during the previous week’s series throughout Pittsburgh’s Farm System.

Obviously, each of these will be a snapshot-or the classic small sample size-in the beginning; yet, as the season progress, they will start to form a picture of which players have separated themselves from the pack. Also, I realize that by limiting myself to just 5 Pirates Prospects, there are some that will be left off the list.

This is where you enter the discussion. Let me know who you think I may have overlooked and/or who your Top 5 would be. But, most of all, let’s have some fun with this!

1) Liover Peguero

Maybe I’m a little biased…okay, I’m totally biased because I witnessed his first homer of the season in person in the 4th Inning of Altoona’s Home Opener against the Harrisburg Senators.

However, it was his 2 for 4, 4 RBI performance the following day that cemented his place on this list.

2) Cal Mitchell

Mitchell was on my short list of players that I suggested Ben Cherington needed to protect from the Rule 5 Draft by adding him to the 40-Man Roster back in November. Clearly he did not agree, not that it matters too much anymore as the Rule 5 Draft was eventually cancelled. However, I stand by my belief that Mitchell is one of the three most MLB ready outfielders in the Pirates Farm System.

During his opening week in Indianapolis, Cal had a hit in all but one game that he played, blasted two homers and stole a couple bags.

3) Endy Rodriguez

Endy is flat out exciting and impactful no matter he plays on the field; starting at catcher, in left field and at second base over Greensboro’s first three games.

At the plate Rodriguez smacked three doubles and a triple in only 13 at bats. At only 21 years old, the Pirates Top 10 Prospect, will be one to keep an eye on once again as the season progresses. And, if I had to guess this won’t be the last time he finds his way into the Top 5.

4) Michael Burrows

The cat is officially out the bag when it comes to the potential of Burrows as a starting pitcher within Pittsburgh’s Organization; if it wasn’t already. Last season, for the Grasshoppers-in spite of missing nearly two months of action-the big right-hander posted a 2.20 ERA and a .898 WHIP across 13 starts.

This year he took the ball in Altoona’s second game of the season, and then proceeded to strike out 4, walk none and allow two hits in 4 inning of work; needing only 48 pitches to dispose of the Senators’ lineup.

5) Cody Bolton

Bolton hadn’t taken the mound since August 15th of 2019 due to the cancelled 2020 MiLB Season, and a subsequent knee injury/surgery while gearing up last year.

Like Mitchell, Bolton was not added to the 40-Man during the off-season, which ultimately put his future with the Pirates in danger.

Flash forward to last week when Bolton made two appearances for the Indianapolis Indians; first as the Opening Day starter, and somewhat surprisingly as a reliever in their game on Saturday night. In 3.2 innings of work he struck out 5, walked 1, gave up 3 hits and didn’t allow a single run.

There you have it! My Top 5 Pirates Prospect Performers for the first week of the year.

Now remember, let me know I missed, who your Top 5 is and be sure check back each and every Tuesday during Minor League Baseball Season!

Shelton Lineups Essential To Pirates Development

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-44hya-11f96dc

Ke’Bryan Hayes got a long-term extension from the Pittsburgh Pirates with less than a full season of at bats under his belt. We will tell you why the deal makes perfect sense, how it helps get the team closer to a Bryan Reynolds extension and why manager Derek Shelton has to lock him into one spot in the lineup this year. Speaking of daily lineups, we ask if Shelton’s first few of the season match up with the goals of this team. It’s “30 Minutes of Pirates Talk!”

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!

Five Pirates Thoughts at Five

4-11-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

Well, we’re in the middle of game time but the Pirates can barely control their lineup let alone the weather. The Cardinals series officially ends with the Pirates headed home with a 1-2 record as the stage is set for opening day on 412 Day in the Burgh.

Time for the Thoughts.

1. Beware False Prophets

No, I’m not gonna go all biblical on ya, but I can’t help but point out, there are far too many people out there quoting batting averages and ERAs for guys who’ve thrown 5 innings or had 12 at bats.

A good rule of thumb for this stuff is usually pretty simple. You know how when you watch games early in the season the broadcast will show last season’s numbers, or maybe they’ll flash up that someone is 4 for 9 in their past 3 games? Well, that’s because nobody should care that someone is hitting .775 without the context of understanding that came from his one game where he went 3 for 4 and literally hasn’t swung a bat otherwise.

Nobody should care that someone has a 18.00 ERA after pitching 4 innings.

These numbers and any average based stat for that matter don’t really mean much until there have been enough at bats or innings to you know, average.

I should probably add this stuff goes farther than just jumping on a number too early, sometimes that 3 for 4 performance isn’t an indication that the player should never leave the lineup again or whatever catchphrase is going on that day. It could mean this dude kills lefties or was the beneficiary of hitting in front of Reynolds or Ke’Bryan, or even just dumb luck.

All that said, hey, for your own sake and sanity, just at least wait to start seeing broadcasts post actual averages before you start dissecting who stinks and who should be inked long term.

2. The World Needs Ditch Diggers Too

My dad used to tell me this every time I complained about school. It applies to baseball too. A baseball team needs a good bullpen, and rarely is a good bullpen constructed without some failed starters or even just squeezed out starters being a part of it.

Look no further than the Dodgers who have our old friend Tyler Anderson penciled in to pitch from their bullpen. I don’t say this as a compliment to the organization but this was damn near an ace in Pittsburgh last season.

All that to say, if Wil Crowe finds a place in this bullpen and he’s a true swing man, damn that’s a good find, and one that could really be more important than people are thinking.

Look at a guy like Brent Suter with the Brewers. He’s started, he’s pitched middle relief, he’s been used in leverage situations at the back end of games. Hell, he even has a save. Point is, Suter is always there for whatever the Brewers need. A spot start, long relief, leverage middle innings, a late inning left on left matchup, maybe even one of the big two in the back gets hurt and he needs to fill the role for a month.

If Crowe can be anything like that, he’s not a failed starter, he’s a reborn asset.

I love this role for him. Love the added velocity, and more than anything I love that he can empty the tank over a couple innings and not worry about not showing some of his mix the first time through, or being afraid to hunt a strikeout because of his pitch count.

This Wil Crowe is something I want to see more of.

3. Oh How Quickly We Forget

I had to laugh this week watching national baseball writers lose their minds over the A’s tearing their team down to start their next cycle.

They’ve done this for just about 30 years now. They get good, then they realize they can’t afford to keep everyone and trade off the lot for high end talent and play all kids while they develop.

It hasn’t netted them a ring, in fact they are every bit the AAA of the league the Pirates are called (well, with more actual success stories I’d argue), but the darlings of the small market world aren’t so darling when they enter their cycle as when it’s bearing fruit.

My first thought is, folks, where was this concern when the CBA was being hammered out? Nobody could have possibly thought there was a solution baked in to the agreement that would stop this, or even make it less of a plausible path to having a shot.

Nobody fought for economic change that would make it more feasible for a team like Oakland to keep young stars. No instead every team in the league ultimately put pen to paper on a deal that did nothing but make it even harder. They raised the amount the super rich could spend and did nothing to balance it out. We all know the dirty word that would have fixed the sport, they do too, but 5 weeks out we’re already acting like this stuff should have been fixed.

If you want this stuff to stop, there has to be a system that stops it. Scream salary floor all you like, I’ll happily accept it, cause coupled with the already in place Luxury Tax Cap, guess what you have dopey.

4. I’m Still Confused About VanMeter

Heading into this season the Pirates had an issue it didn’t take a 30 year journalist to predict. An absolute glut of players who could rightfully claim a shot at middle infield playing time.

That’s played out, well, exactly as I and so so many others told you it would. And let’s be completely transparent, that’s without Cruz making the club or Rodolfo Castro being here. They have just way too many players for those positions.

I didn’t understand for that very reason acquiring Josh VanMeter from Arizona. Thing is, I don’t really even need to pick apart his numbers to ask the question. The Pirates simply didn’t need him, in fact the surprise call up of Roansy Contreras for bullpen duty is a direct result since the Pirates were ultimately forced to DFA Adonis Medina and move him to NY for cash after picking VanMeter up and gripping Knapp to backup Perez.

Even if Josh finds it here, to what end? He’ll be arbitration eligible next season and he still plays where the Pirates have another busload coming up behind the current glut. And finding it is a big if to begin with. If you don’t hit homeruns in Cincinnati, you probably aren’t going to hit them in Pittsburgh. And I won’t waste much time illustrating he’s a poor defender.

I suppose if the team is working on a deal with Newman or Tucker to head out of town, ok, but even then, you have Cruz and Castillo, Chavis and Park, Castro and Bae, I mean attack this deal from any direction you choose and the answer is, why?

Nothing personal, I just don’t get it. I don’t care what they gave up, I’d never heard of him anyway, but this just doesn’t make sense on any level. Smells like someone knew him and liked him and had a really loud voice to me.

I can’t even begin to think how he survives the cuts at the end of April back to a 26 man roster.

5. The Pitch Communication System

Roberto Perez is a fan. Pushing a couple buttons to communicate the next pitch to the pitcher has been quick, even with guys on and for the most part guys have taken to it. We saw a bit of miscommunication from Brubaker, and a bit from Wil Crowe the other day, but for the most part pitchers are quicker to the next pitch and it’s really helped the flow of games I’ve seen across the league.

Not all pitchers or catchers are required by MLB to use it, and of course I see the potential for Astros like cheating like everyone else, but this will speed up the game, arguably more than a pitch clock, importantly without fundamentally changing the game.

I’ve noticed something else about Perez behind the dish, and it’s rather stark in comparison to how Jake handled himself. When he sets for a pitch, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where he wants the pitch, he’s playing games with hitters. He’ll crouch outside then hop in right before the pitch is uncorked. Or he’ll set the glove high then recieve it low and praise the pitcher for hitting his spot. Gamesmanship at it’s finest and while a small facet of what he does back there, I’d bet a contributing factor in why he’s caught so many Cy Young Candidates.

Michael Chavis Grand Slam Lifts Pirates Over Cardinals 9-4

Through the first two games of the regular season, the Pittsburgh Pirates offense was about as stagnate as it could have been through 18 innings of baseball. In their third game of the season though, that all changed, at least for one game.

The Pirates fell behind early as Bryse Wilson struggled out of the gate by allowing three runs in the first inning with two coming off of the bat of Nolan Arenado, who has played phenomenal against the Pirates in this series with two home runs thus far in 2022.

Even after the dismal start, Wilson settled in, pitching four innings and not allowing another run after that first inning.

The big blow to the Cardinals lead came in the third inning after the Pirates loaded the bases from three straight singles that would lead to a Michael Chavis grand slam, his second of his career and his first home run as a Pittsburgh Pirate. The grand slam was the first time the Pirates first home run as a team was a grand slam since Pedro Alvarez in 2016.

That wouldn’t be it for Chavis either, who got the start at first base and finished with a 3/4 day with a single, double and a walk to his credit as well. The rest of the offense chipped in as well, pitching in 15 combined hits with five players having multi-hit afternoons from top to bottom in the lineup.

The Pirates bullpen did its job as well in relief of Wilson as Miguel Yajure would make his 2022 debut and had two scoreless innings and a strikeout to his credit on 34 pitches, 19 of which were strikes. Heath Hembree would follow that up by pounding the zone with nine of his 13 pitches being strikes, but that would result in him allowing a run to Dylan Carlson on a sacrifice fly.

One of my biggest takeaways from this game and what we’ve seen from the Pirates through the first three games has been the play of Wil Crowe out of the pen. Crowe had two scoreless innings of work in this outing with two strikeouts on 27 pitches, but his command, velocity and overall his demeanor seems to be much more confident in this role and he has shown that on the stat sheet with 4 IP, 5 Ks and only 2 BB.

Some other bright spots in this game have to be credited to the defense the Pirates showed this game, particularly from Ke’Bryan Hayes and Kevin Newman, who both had some stellar defensive players on the left side of the infield and contributed to the offensive onslaught as well three combined hits and two RBIs between the third basemen and shortstop.

Diego Castillo followed suit with the offense as well, becoming only the third Pirates player in the modern era(since 1901), to have three hits in their first start. Castillo flashes his defensive ability a few times as well at second base and I would expect to see much more of Castillo at second base for the near future, but the revolving door at the position with Castillo, Park and VanMeter will likely continue through the early part of the season.

The Pirates and Cardinals will wrap up their opening series of 2022 tomorrow as Zach Thompson will makes his Pirates debut facing Dakota Hudson for the Cardinals. Pittsburgh will look to split the series and get back to .500 baseball before heading home to face the Chicago Cubs in their home opener on Tuesday.