For the Pirates Winning Games is Still the Goal

8-25-21 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

One of the toughest subjects for fans of a rebuilding team is balancing the want and need for a high draft pick with the reality that the players on the field have a job to do.

Pick a random player, ask him what the goal is and he’ll tell you to win the game. Period. It’s what they’ve tried to do their entire lives as ballplayers and just because the team they play for is rebuilding doesn’t mean that has ever changed for them.

Sure, jaded people will tell you it’s just player speak. It’s the PR game they’re trained to give the media not unlike Crash Davis teaching Nuke Laloosh all the clichés he’d need when he got to the show, but it’s more than that.

After Monday night’s game Ke’Bryan Hayes was asked about Kevin Newman’s outstanding defensive performance and his response was to compliment the plays and of course, mention how they helped the Pirates Win the game. 34 games under .500, 31 games back in the division, 4th worst record in baseball, his go to was that Newman helped them win.

We’re at a point in this thing where there simply aren’t many guys here who see their immediate future elsewhere. No, that’s not me saying this is the group of guys who ultimately turn this thing around, that’s me saying most of the guys here aren’t Adam Frazier waiting to hear where they’re headed.

Derek Shelton has a lot to prove and while he’s been charged with playing and evaluating a team record 57 players so far, he too wants to win. You can think he’s not the right guy, I have my reservations too, but if you believe part of his job is to keep his eye on the standings and make sure he sets up the draft well for 2022, I’m afraid you’re missing an important component.

His players want to win. More than that, he’s got his players repeating it.

Dillon Peters is getting a shot that he didn’t get before, and in his two starts he’s taken advantage. Michael Chavis has done this, done well, flamed out, felt unwanted. Now he’s in a new place and knows this is his chance to prove he belongs in this league, with this team.

Ke’Bryan Hayes came in like Ted Williams, and on top of missing most of his rookie season to injury, and endured the league pushing back. Finding his stroke has been a months long project, he’s not going to just stop because he wants the team to get the top pick.

Bryan Reynolds is having an MVP consideration type season, and slow down isn’t in his DNA to begin with. Kevin Newman did absolutely nothing with the bat most of this season, now that he’s finally recaptured his stroke, don’t expect him to step aside and let someone else take his job from him.

Jacob Stallings catching Wil Crowe in Monday’s contest was visibly frustrated after the hit that put the team down 5-1. See, Jake has experienced almost nothing but losing since really catching on with the club, and let’s just say he’s tired of doing it.

Mitch Keller, came off as a stubborn child most of this season. Right before being sent down to AAA he was quoted as saying nobody in the locker room was a pissed as he was about his performance. As he works his way back and tries to build on what he’s doing, don’t expect him to just stop so the Pirates get that top guy.

Winning isn’t a bad thing, ever. It’s the single thing everyone involved is trying to do.

Now, this is still not a good team obviously. They’ll lose more games than they win, and they’ll wind up getting a top 5 draft pick. Basically what I’m saying is, it’ll be ok. You want them to try to win, and you want to see improvement, especially when you see younger guys come up.

If you want to get frustrated about something, start wondering what took this team so long to get Kevin Newman to stand up straighter like he was this Spring. Start asking why it took 3 months to realize Ke’Bryan Hayes hadn’t pulled a base hit in the air to left once this season until the Dodgers series last week. Wonder aloud why almost nobody seems comfortable running the bases on a team that doesn’t have the power to make it moot.

But don’t waste time crying that they refuse to tank. More importantly realize you wouldn’t want a player who’d participate in that kind of crap in the first place, or a coach for that matter.

Practice winning. Practice treating game situations like they matter. And more than anything, finally start changing the culture in this club house. Shoot for “hey rook, can’t wait to see how you can help us win” instead of “welcome to hell”.

If this club finishes strong and winds up with the 5th pick in the draft led by players that will be here next year, it’s worth the slight reduction in slot money. Part of this effort is to improve players already here, not just acquire new players.

So as the Pirates beat a bad team that just swept them last month, calm down and really think about what you’re asking for when you cry about the draft position.

This franchise has a long way to go, and no matter when they start the uphill climb back to relevance there will have to be a first step. If that’s this last month of the season, fine by me.

Pirates Secure Second Series Victory In A Row

8-25-21 By Craig W. Toth (aka @bucsbasement on Twitter)

With a record of 2-15, for the month of August, coming into this past Friday, the Pittsburgh Pirates were supposed to get swept by St. Louis and continue their losing ways against the lowly Diamondbacks in order to move ever so close to the coveted #1 overall pick. Once again, the Pirates players must have missed the memo, as they were one Adam Wainwright dominating start away from a sweep of their own and sit poised to break out the brooms for the first time this season, in their 11th attempt; and now sit in the four spot in next year’s draft, with 40 games left in their season.

Surprise, surprise the Pirates aren’t actively tanking, and I’m here for it.

No one eagerly awaits the next loss by their favorite baseball team, especially in the manner and rate it had been occurring for the Pirates over the past few weeks. And in all honesty, the only thing I have been hoping for is competitive games; not necessarily even winning the contest. Over the past several days, Pittsburgh has done just that. Sure you could point to the level of competition over the past two games, but I would counter with the fact that a little over a month ago, when the Pirates were supposedly at full strength prior to this season’s trade deadline moves, the Diamondbacks swept them out of Arizona.

In a marathon of a season, like it is in Major League Baseball, it is very difficult to completely dominate everyone for long stretches; just like it is hard to be absolutely awful for an entire month in the manner the Pirates were for the first half of August. Eventually, things begin to even out a little bit, and Pittsburgh looks like a team that can complete; at least from game to game like they did yesterday.

Obviously, JT Brubaker could have been a little more crisp and not been forced to battle so much, but overall you can’t be mad at a 4-2 win against anybody on any given night.

News and Notes

  • On the night Brubaker had 6 strikeouts, but he also had 3 walks and a couple of wild pitches he had to work around; although it was nice to not see a ball go over the fence on his watch this time around.
  • Michael Chavis blasted his first homer as a Pirate, and his third on the season. For those who are wondering, this isn’t anything new for Chavis as he once blasted 31 homers in a Minor League season and had 18 in his rookie campaign with the Red Sox. Consistently has been his main issue, with lot of strikeouts and not much as far as free passes to speak off.

  • Anthony Alford added a 2-run homer in the fourth to give Pittsburgh a 4-0 lead. Once again, as it it has been with Chavis, Alford has been able to put his power on display at times. Just look at his 14 home runs with Indianapolis this year. However, also like Chavis, the strikeouts numbers are a little too hard to ignore.

  • Ke’Bryan Hayes is good at defense. No one has ever questioned that. It is simply that the bat will make him go from a 2, 3 or 4 WAR player to a consistent All-Star Level Player with 5 or more. Luckily tonight, the bat was on display with a triple in the bottom of the third. His season average currently sits at .250, while his OPS is just below .700 and his wRC+ is short of the Major League average (100) at 92.
  • As expected Gregory Polanco cleared outright waivers and remains a Pittsburgh Pirate on the teams active roster. So ends the biggest, and at times most controversial, story in recent weeks. Just imagine it was never leaked, or if Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic had just reported it accurately from the beginning.

The Pirates will try again for their first sweep of the season at 7:05 PM EST from PNC Park.

For Pittsburgh it is possible that Bryse Wilson (2-5, 4.82 ERA) takes the mound after his stint on the 10-day IL, or could it be Miguel Yajure (1-2, 3.96 ERA), who last started for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians this past Thursday. For Arizona, Tyler Gilbert (1-1, 2.04 ERA) toes the rubber.

Top Ten Pirates Stories You Don’t Want to See But Probably Will

8-24-21 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

When you write about a team daily you get to the point where you can think of ten different things to write about almost every day. In fact that’s part of why I started the Five Pirates Thoughts at Five feature here on the site. Craig and I will often bounce ideas off each other, some we’ll even start to frame out, and while we trust our ability to be fair on a subject, sometimes bluntly, most of you aren’t ready to hear it.

Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t afraid to give you bad news, but sometimes the juice simply isn’t worth the aggravation if you will. So I thought, let’s go ahead and get all these naughty thoughts out of the way in one Top Ten formatted list. This can be fun if you let it.

10. This Roster Won’t Look Much Different to Start 2022

By the time all is said and done, I expect most of this roster to return next season. Doesn’t mean they won’t improve, doesn’t mean they’ll stay all season, doesn’t even mean there won’t be new faces. But seismic changes to the roster, not yet.

9. Kevin Newman is Very Likely the Starting SS Next Season

It hasn’t been a good season for Kevin, but somehow he is still a positive WAR player, which is more than most on the roster can say. The glove plays and unless Marcano has one hell of a Spring, I don’t see him being unseated.

8. Ke’Bryan Hayes is a Good Player, Just Not What He Showed in 2020

We warned you he couldn’t sustain being Ted Williams. He’s going to be a hell of a player, but those expectations were never fair, and if anything perhaps extension talks might be a bit more productive moving forward.

7. Attendance Doesn’t Effect Bob Nutting’s Wallet Nearly as Much as Some of You Think

It certainly helps the team make money when the place is sold out, but it hardly buries them when nobody goes. I’m not saying this to convince you to give up your little crusade to not give Bob your money, but he makes far more from the TV deal and sharing than tickets. Do you, it just doesn’t matter much.

6. Oneil Cruz Still Might Not Be Ready to Begin Next Season

Injury robbed him of some time, but we still don’t know where he’s going to play defense and he still has work to do on his approach at the plate. His power potential is there, but a poorly developed Cruz could look too similar to Polanco to just force it.

5. Quinn Priester isn’t Likely to Be the Top Pitching Prospect in Baseball

It was exciting to hear Baseball America project Quinn as potentially being the top pitching prospect in the game prior to this season beginning, but make no mistake, that was based on performing at a certain level. He’s done well, but not to the level of reaching that designation. You should still be plenty excited for him, but the national accolades will have to wait just a bit.

4. Going .500 in 2022 is a Stretch

They could certainly overperform or have a bunch of guys step in and change the story, but I wouldn’t bet on it. They’ll finish 2022 looking like a different team in many ways because they don’t have a ton of guys who’ll be ready to start out of Spring in the pipeline, but they have a bunch close enough to factor in post All Star Break. I’d expect a top 10 pick one more time before this gets really fun.

3. As Poorly as He Has Finished His Career, Gregory Polanco is an International Signing Victory (Sorry Craig, We Swore We’d Never Mention It)

The draft is a crapshoot in many ways, multiply that by a thousand for International Signings. Watching a 16 year old play what amounts to pick up baseball and determining if they have the goods to make the show one day is incredibly hard. So to have them get here and play for 7 years, yeah, you’ll take that. The Pirates are certainly not pleased with his contract now, but if you get this from anyone signed at that age you have to see it as a win.

2. Positive Change in the CBA Will Only Come With a Lockout

I mean this sincerely, nothing you as a small market fan would consider positive will happen without a lock out. Changes might happen but they’ll almost assuredly be concessions by the owners. Things like a reduction in arbitration years from 3 to 2 might happen, and while I’m all for it, a change like that without a cap will only serve to make a daunting task harder to pull off. Even what the owners proposed a Luxury cap at 180 million and floor at 100 will only create bloated contracts for replacement level players. you can dream that the Pirates would sign a 30 mil a year guy, but 12-14 other teams would need to add payroll too.

1. Henry Davis, Nick Gonzales and Whoever They Draft Next Season All Need to Hit

One swing and miss on any of these three picks and the franchise will feel it. You can’t draft that high, swing and miss, and just move on like it didn’t happen. This club is all out of players they can move for top end prospects, ok, they’re out of guys they want to move for high end prospects. That means from here on out, the heavy lifting largely will fall on the draftees.

Now, I’m ready for the hate, have at it. Let’s Go Bucs.

Pirates Top 30 Prospect Trend Report

8-24-21 – By Justin Verno – @JV_PITT on Twitter

In the coming weeks I will give a weekly update to how the top 30 prospects progressed. I will be using Fangaphs rankings, these guys are a lot smarter than I am. The Bucs MiLB system is off on Mondays, so Tuesday seems the natural day to this.

I will give the weekly stats and the season stats and indicate if the numbers moved up or down.  If FG gives a prospect a bump or even lowers the FV number I will make note of that. I will also not give the stats to the players currently in the MLB. 

I will also highlight a player at the end.

1-Henry Davis – 50 FV       

BA/OBP/SL OPSISOwOBAwRCwalkK
Week 286/353/7141.067.426.42216111.8%35.3%
Season263/375/684 1.059 .421 .424 16216.7%33.3%

 2-Quinn Priester – 50 FV

IPERAFIP  xFIP  WHIPBABIPK%BB
Week57.204.381.4043827.3%0%
Season793.084.384.391.2327422.6%9.1%

3 – Roansy Contreras – 50 FV

IPERAFIP  xFIP  WHIPBABIPK%BB
Week – (IL)
Season462.352.362.79.9127535.5%6%

4- Liver Peguero – 50 FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week238/261/286.547.048.243474.3%17.4%
Season259/317/433.750.174.3271017.1%25.5%

5-Miguel Yajure – 50 FV

IPERAFIP  xFIP  WHIPBABIPK%BB
Week – (IL)
Season213.434.052.97.95.23428.7%7.5%
MLB9.13.865.214.51.86.14323.5%8.8%

6- Oneil Cruz – 50 FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week333/400/556.956.222.41215810%40%
Season291/352/538.890.247.3811388.8%23.5%

7-Tahnaj Thom – 50 FV

IPERAFIP  xFIP  WHIPBABIPK%BB
Week40.004.761.50.20022.2%22.2%
Season51.24.185.855.791.53.22523.1%14.3%

8-Nick Gonzales – 50 FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week 444/464/704 1.168 .259 .500 210 3.6% 28.6%
Season 298/368/514 .882 .216 .381 135 8.5% 29%

9-Travis Swaggerty – 50 FV – Out for the year

10-Bubba Chandler – 45 FV – 8 plate appearances, lets save this 

11-Ji-hwan Bae – 45 FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week .316/.462/.317 .777 .000 .371 131 40% 40%
Season .2643/.35/.410 .745 .146 .328 103 9.3% 24.2%

12-Brennan Malone – 45 FV

IPERAFIP  xFIP  WHIPBABIPK%BB
Week – CPX4.110.38 7.54 5.04 1.85 .300 25%20%
Week – A3.20.007.61 9.12 2.45 .333 10% 25%

13-Hudson Head – 45 FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week-.067/.300/.067 .367 .000 .240 37 20% 45%
Season-.200/.362/.375 .737 .175 .375 110 17% 32.2%

14-Cody Bolton – 45 FV -out for the season

15-Maikol Escotto – 40+ FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week-.214/.353/.214.567.000.3047617.6%41.2%
Season-.244/.377/.376 .752.238.46511416.4%30.8%

16-Anthony Solometo – Nothing Yet

17-Jarred Jones – 40+ FV

IPERAFIP  xFIP  WHIPBABIPK%BB
Week3.29.824.614.61.28633.3%22.2%
Season52.13.593.543.481.37.38435.5%10.8%

18-Carmen Mlodzinski – 40+ FV

IPERAFIP  xFIP  WHIPBABIPK%BB
Week218.0017.763.00.33316.7%16.7%
Season453.204.483.781.09.25832%9.4%

19-Canaan Smith-Njigba – 40+ FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week – (IL)
Season.286/.403/.427.830.14137213216.1%25.8%

20-Lonnie White – 40+ FV – Only 2 plate appearances, let’s save this

21-Rodolfo Castro – 40+ FV – MLB and is headed back to the MiLB, let’s take a look once he is back in Altoona

22-Diego Castillo – 40+ FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week .240/.269/.400 .669 .160.290783.8%7.7%
Season – PIT .263/.320/.453 .773.189.3671087.7%7.7%
Season – NYY .277/.345/.504.850.228.3671288.4%13.7%

23-Rodolfo Nolasco – 40+ FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week.286/.412/.500.912.214.42814611.8%17.6%
Season.250/.368/.385.754.135.36711014%31.6%

24-Jared Oliva – 40+ FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week.364/.417/.500.917.136.4051484.2%20.8%
Season.243/.315/.348.663.104.301797.9%27.6%
MLB.175/.233/.225.458.050.215207%23.3%

25-Endy Rodriguez – 40+ FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week .333/.429/.6671.095.333.48918814.3%42.9%
Season .273/.362/.464.826.190.38412411.7%19.2%

26-Mason Martin – 40+ FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week .208/,208/.414.625.208.262590%50%
Season .256/.332/.536.868.280.3661288.5%34.7%

27-Jose Soriano – 40+ FV – Out for the season

28-Luis Oviedo -40+ FV – MLB

29-Cal Mitchel – 40+ FV

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
Week.273/.333/.455.788.182.3451144.2%16.7%
Season.272/.326/.446 .722.174.3351075.7%17.5%

30-Eddy Yean – 40+ FV

IPERAFIP  xFIP  WHIPBABIPK%BB
Week3.22.456.792.45.37525%30%
Season535.775.644.791.43.25923.3%14.4%

So there’s the weekly update. A few quick notes, there are more 40+ FV prospects that aren;t in the top 30 prospects,  that’s how deep it is right now. A lot of depth here! A few guys I can see getting a bump soon? Canaan Smith-Njigba. Endy Rodrihuez. Diego Castillo. Carmen Mlodzinski. And Jared Jones. They might not be the only ones but they are the ones that jumped out to me. One more that jumps out as being in line for an FV jump? Well, that leads me to the highlighted player, hey Fangraphs, can Matt Fraizer please get some respect? Seriously, he’s not even a 35+ FV prospect, and that simply has to change. 

When the Bucs drafted him in the 3rd round in the 2019 draft he was coming off a broken hamate so there was not a lot  for teams to go on in his last year at school. And while he looked good at Arizona before that injury, slashing 412/452/565  a big jump from his sophomore slash line of 266/352/359, there was nothing to suggest  the power breakthrough we’ve seen this year.  It’s not entirely unusual for a Jr in the NCAA ranks to make that kind of jump, particularly after not playing his freshman season at Arizona, but it appears the Buccos really got one here and Cherington should consider giving a shout out to Neal Huntington, this was one of his draft picks. 

And the best part? The peripherals suggest he’s the real deal. At 23 he is age appropriate for AA despite missing a season due to the COVID situation, so no worries there. Let’s delve in a little…

Matt started the year in A+ and in 75 games terrorized it. Hittin 20 HR in 350 trips to the plate, but Fraizer is no one trick pony, he also hit 17 more extra base hits. 14 doubles and 3 triples. He isn’t limited to the long ball. Here’s what he did in A+

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
.314/401/.578 .979.264.41815812.3%21.1%

Since getting the call to AA, well he hasn’t slowed much…in fact he’s been better in the short amount of time in Altoona. 

BA/OBP/SLOPS  ISO  wOBAwRCwalkK
.379/.422/.6901.112.310.4641934.7%20.3%

Now don’t get me wrong the AA sample size is small and at some point they will adjust to what he is doing. How quickly Fraizer makes adjustments could be a key to how quickly we see him in Pittsburgh and how high he shoots up boards. 

Something that jumps out here, Matt has never had a K rate higher than 22.2% so he has a great feel for the strike zone. The ground ball is down from 47.4% in A- ball. 36.8% in A+ and 43.5% in AA. He’s also pulling the ball more, 45.7% in AA and 41.6% in A+ a decent jump from 32.8% in A- in his 2019 season. But with a healthy hand, literally, these numbers aren’t all that alarming. Get used to the name Pirate fans, you’re going to be hearing it a lot!

Pirates Win 6-5, Bullpen Sets Up Comeback With Strong Night

8-23-21 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

The Pirates bullpen has obviously undergone a nearly complete overhaul this season, but recently the Pirates moved Chad Kuhl to that role. They’ve done that to help him continue building up and haven’t defined whether this will be a permanent position for him or if they intend to give him another shot at starting next season, if they don’t move him.

Tonight, another potential bullpen arm next season started this ballgame. Wil Crowe has a good pitch mix, but his pitch counts are ballooning early and worse, the more hitters see of him, the harder they hit him. Perfect candidate for a bullpen role next season.

Tonight he pitched ok for 4 innings, but I can’t sit here and tell you it looked easy. By the fifth you could tell the wheels were coming off.

The Pirates hung in this one and it all started by limiting the damage with the glove.

Then the Bucco Speedsters stepped in again.

The Bucs had it at 5-2 and Yoshi was called upon to pinch hit.

5-3

In the Bottom of the 7th the General stepped up.

They’d work it back to 5-5 and that’s why I bring in the bullpen, because Chasen Shreve and Chad Kuhl kept the Diamondbacks where they were and allowed the comeback to happen.

Anthony Banda, who’s been solid since joining the club tossed a 0 in the 8th.

In the Bottom of the 8th Diamondbacks reliever Noe Ramirez walked the bases loaded with one out and they brought in Faria to face Ke’Bryan Hayes who at this point was 1 for 2 with a pair of walks. Great at bat by Hayes, 10 pitches and finally got a weak grounder to score the go ahead run 6-5 Buccos. Reynolds now had a chance with runners at 2nd and 3rd. He hit sharply to left but alas inning over.

We head to the 9th and the Bucs call on David Bednar, what you were expecting Oviedo?

And the Renegade landed on a save for the first time at home. Nice win.

6-5 Pirates

News & Notes

  • Michael Chavis made his Pirates debut and went 0 for 4
  • Yoshi hit his 3rd dinger as a Pirate, and while I still have questions about signing a pending free agent, he’d make a mighty fine DH.
  • I’m not going over the whole Polanco thing again, see my Five Thoughts today if you want that, but tonight he went 0-4.
  • Kevin Newman had 3 legitimate gems today at short.

Five Pirates Thoughts at Five

8-23-21 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

During a rebuild, you can expect some twists and turns. Some guys you thought were going to be part of the solution wind up never meeting the standard, others that you cast off for dead will rise up and make themselves indispensable. That said, some of the twists and turns we’ve seen this year seem more like self inflicted wounds than growing pains.

This year should be all about learning, and what I’ve learned more than anything else is that players keep coming from either outside the organization, or up from AAA, and they hit. John Nogowski, Anthony Alford, Hoy Park, Rodolfo Castro, there are even more. When the newness washed off and they hit a rough patch, the Pirates have seemingly been incapable of helping them out of it. I hate to harp on one guy, but at some point there is simply too much evidence on the bad side of the balance scale for Rick Eckstein.

It’s really this simple. The team either trusts their hitting coach or their scouts.

I figured I’d get that out of the way instead of making it a thought. Started feeling like every thought would have this in it if I didn’t.

1. So, What’s All This Polanco Stuff?

I’m confused. First, Greg was put on waivers, so just about everybody starts writing eulogies. Then Jason Mackey tweets out that sources have told him the Pirates wanted to give him a shot (slim to none) to get picked up by a playoff team, but should he not, they plan to put him right back on the active roster.

Not that a real reporter needs my backing but I’ve been told the same.

This is madness. The player has proven himself unworthy of being on an MLB roster. He’s below replacement level and there is slightly over a month left in the season.

Look, I like the guy, truly, one of the best humans in the game and specifically that locker room, but enough is enough. As a fan, I wasn’t happy to just keep shuffling him out there 5 times a week to begin with, but at least I could say, well they want to do the guy a solid and let him go with dignity.

Now, while this is being painted as an altruistic endeavor for the Bucs it’s still going to in my mind come across as, nobody wants you Greg. So what does it say when you again take him back if indeed they do that?

Sometimes it’s this simple, if you don’t want to be seen as a joke, don’t make moves like one.

This stuff happens in baseball all the time. The difference is this got leaked. You aren’t supposed to hear about it, but did. That’s so the player isn’t embarrassed. Now everyone thought he was gone because proper terms weren’t used by many and it leads to a situation where Greg is on waivers, starting in right field. The manager looks dumb, the GM looks dumb, and people get angry because they thought this chapter was closing.

On top of it they call up Michael Chavis and reinstate Alford, to make room Park and Castro are sent down.

Good luck selling that Buccos.

2. Speaking of WTF, This Whole Yoshi Tsutsugo Signing

He’s done fine, that’s not an issue. His power potential is super welcome, needed even. That said, unless there is a nod and wink agreement for after the season, it seems pretty weird to bring in a guy who will be a free agent this Winter.

So much so that I can’t wrap my head around any other explanation.

I’ve brought this up with team officials, heck I’ve even brought it up with fans and the consensus seems to be, hey, what’s the harm?

I agree, no harm no foul, just curious. If he had one more year of control, sweet. If they have some agreement in place, awesome.

I guess if anything, maybe I’m just tired of guessing. It’d be nice to just have a move make sense instead of presenting new questions.

3. New Bullpen Arm or Still Recovering?

Almost since Chad Kuhl debuted here in Pittsburgh, many have clamored for him to find his way to the bullpen. See when Chad is only pithing an inning or two out of the pen he has the ability to throw his stuff with maximum gusto. 97MPH isn’t out of the question and before TJ he even had 99-100 on occasion in his arm.

One thing not everyone picks up on his just how many good relievers were first starters, in fact, that’s the case with a vast majority. There’s no shame in carving out a 15 year bullpen career, and while we still don’t know if that’s what the Pirates plan for Chad, I think it might be in the team’s best interest to take that path.

Miguel Yajure, Mitch Keller, JT Brubaker, and Steven Brault should all be just about locks for the rotation next season with quite a few competing for the last spot including any free agent signings they might (ok should) acquire. That doesn’t leave an awful lot of room for Chad. He should probably be on the block anyway, so why not start to plan for life without him and potentially put him in position to increase his value as much as possible with this move.

4. David Bednar, Out Specialist

I’m happy to see David Bednar being used as the best pitcher in the bullpen instead of just a traditional Closer.

As many of you know, I’m not a fan of the closer role, I’d rather see my best pitch when it makes the most sense. If the heart of the order is due up in the 8th, hey, toss David out there. Why wait for the 9th that might never come?

Now, it would work a lot better if they had more options, but the premise is sound. It prevents your best arm from sitting sometimes days at a time waiting for a save situation and instead leverages your best asset when it matters.

Yes, yes, I’ve heard all about the special mentality it takes to pitch the 9th. Oh, I’ve also heard that bullpen pitchers won’t want this role if it always has them facing the toughest hitters. But this is how it used to be.

Baseball changes constantly, and this role returning to something more like this is a long time coming.

Now, maybe a team like the Pirates makes this easy for me to like. If I were a Brewers fan, perhaps I’d feel differently. They have a highly effective bullpen and I suppose that makes more sense for them to just stick Hader in the 9th. Even then, what if the 8th has 3 lefty’s due up? Wouldn’t it make more sense to toss Hader out there and Williams in the 9th?

Hey, either way, it hasn’t been a regular occurrence for me to say I agree with Derek Shelton, so I’ll just smile and take this one.

5. The Race for Worst

I don’t see the Pirates losing more games than Baltimore. That’s as far as I’ll go, but this series against Arizona sure could give them a bead on 2nd worst. The Pirates sure made a big splash out of having the first overall pick this year. The pick is great, the slot money even more so.

Point is, the Bucs will have a very high pick again, in a deeper talent pool near the top, at least as projected. They’ll get a good player, and they’ll get a nice pool again too. Having three seasons consecutively with a pick in the top 7 of the draft is the type of stuff that can really turn a franchise around.

The draft is great, but it’s not fast. When this shows up at the MLB level chances are picking very high is gone for a while, that’s why it’s so costly when you swing and miss when you get your shot.

Bryan Reynolds Is A Different Kind Of Superstar

8-22-21 By Craig W. Toth (aka @bucsbasement on Twitter)

The picture of Bryan Reynolds above was taken at 2:17 PM EST on March 12, 2020 from beside the bleachers on the deck of LECOM Park in right field, moments before Major League Baseball, and ultimately the world, shutdown.

Several weeks prior to this I was in line with my three kiddos at PiratesFest, waiting for them to get an autograph from ROYnolds himself. Each of them intently holding on to their caps, bats and baseball cards in anxious anticipation.

Rewind even further back, and I found myself in Section 131 on Steve Blass Night at PNC Park, disappointed I wouldn’t get to see Reynolds live one more time that season-during which Pirates Fans saw him slash .314/.377/.503 with 16 homers and finish 4th in NL Rookie of The Year voting-due to a hamstring injury suffered earlier that week.

In each of these instances I had so much hope for what the future could hold for the Pirates new rising star, not knowing the torment 2020 had planned for the majority of Pittsburgh’s lineup; especially considering that up until that point Reynold’s had not hit below .300 or had an OPS of less than .800 his entire professional baseball career. Yet, in 55 games of the shortened season he hit .189 with an OPS of .632; a small sample size, and one that Reynolds vowed to move on from, but not forget.

Nevertheless, and in spite of some impassioned comments on his part, the only thing that could truly make this go away would be a rebound from his sophomore slump; with the bat, but not the glove and arm as he earned 6 DRS and had 5 outfield assists.

To start the season, and in turn trying to dissuade his doubters, Reynolds reached base safely in all but 4 games during the first month of the season; ending April with a .278/.381/.411, good for an OPS just under .800 with a couple of homers.

His May would continue as much of the same; right around the same average (.293) with a little more power (.958 OPS and 5 homers). Then in June he really hit his stride; slashing .376/.442/.645 with 7 long balls for the month, and reaching over .300 for only the third time since April-a benchmark he has yet to fall back under.

During this time, Reynolds was named to the NL All-Star Team by his peers (eventually becoming a starter alongside then teammate Adam Frazier), and reached the mark where he accumulated more fWAR (3.2) than during his amazing rookie campaign (3.1).

For many who reach an apex such as this the only place to go is down, but not for Reynolds. Since the All-Star Break, and only 30 games started later, he has added an extra 5 homers, his first three triples of the year, 7 more doubles and an additional 1.2 fWAR; which now has him sitting at 4th overall (4.4) in the National League behind Fernando Tatis, Jr. (4.9), Max Muncy (4.9) and Trea Turner (4.6). Still, some don’t see him as a superstar. He leads all NL Outfielder with an OAA of 8, is 7th in wRC+ (146), has an OPS of .920 (9th) and is 4th in hits with 132, but is not considered a superstar in spite of all of this and more.

For some it is as simple as the fact that he is on the lowly Pirates (43-79), where even a good player can look great; while others point to his 21 homers and his 72 RBI as not being enough to put him in the conversation. Never mind the fact that as a team, Pittsburgh has the lowest number of RBI (410) and the 4th worst overall average (.232) in all of MLB. If guys don’t get on base it’s pretty hard to knock them in.

However, to me it‘s even more straightforward as to why he avoids this label in some fans eyes. The first reason is because he is not in major market, which equals not as many eyes that see him play. The second is due to the manner in which he approaches the game both on and off the field, at least the part fans get to see. He does nothing flashy with no bat flips, is rarely caught smiling even after a big hit, and he conducts stoic interviews with little to say. Not that there is anything wrong with this, and in all actuality makes him the type of player I am drawn to more often as my favorites in the game.

So, maybe that’s why I find it easier to identify him as a superstar, even if some of you still don’t agree. All because he doesn’t fit a specific mold, play for a competitive team, or falls below your standards in certain statistical categories; which still makes me wonder why the first two matter and what the third one even means.

Maybe, this faction of the fanbase could enlighten me.

Pirates Win Second Straight Over Cardinals 5-4, Peters Shines

8-21-21 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

Earlier today I wrote about young pitchers and how their growth is tracking. Dillon Peters name came up, but not because I had enough to honestly evaluate the kid. Tonight he added another good start to his resume. Tossing 5 innings of 1 run ball and probably had more in the tank if I’m honest. Really looks in command which wasn’t the book on him.

There’s really no more to add. He pitched very well. Lets see more of him, impressive stuff early on really.

The Pirates kinda brought the wood a bit tonight. Kevin Newman continues to stay hot going 2 for 4 with a solo homerun. And Yoshi Tsutugo also went 2 for 4 with a solo shot.

Up 2-1 the Pirates turned to Nick Mears who didn’t look sharp tonight and he coughed up 2 runs to give the Cardinals the lead 3-2.

Now, this is where a lot of games have gone south this year, instead Chasen Shreve came in and struck out Carpenter to keep it manageable.

The Pirates wasted no time getting back to work in the 7th, first Newman, then Gamel who was himself 3 for 4 on the night, all of this with two outs mind you.

Ke’Bryan Hayes who is starting to find it a bit but on the night largely struggled came up clutch with a sharp single that scored two. Reynolds would walk and Yoshi laced a double to left center that scored Hayes and nearly Reynolds who was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

Whew.

Chad Kuhl newly added to the bullpen came in and promptly loaded the bases with nobody out. He didn’t look right at all.

Again, this is one of those spots where the game tends to get away from them this season.

Instead Kuhl got a fly ball to left for a sac fly and make the score 5-4.

Here’s where it gets good. He completely regrouped and blew a high fastball by Molina for a strikeout and whiffed Nootbaar on a wicked breaking ball. Oh my, that was pretty.

Stratton in the 8th and on to Bednar in the 9th, because it was a theme all night, why not have Ke’Bryan Hayes with a beautiful backhand and toss across the diamond.

What a great ballgame. I love when you get to just sit back and watch a good well fought baseball game. Not gaffes or bloops, just two teams going at each other and into the action.

Bucs win second straight against the Cardinals 5-4.

Back at it tomorrow at 2:10 with Steven Brault toeing the rubber against Adam Wainwright who I can only pray someone new to this club like Yoshi can solve.

News & Notes

  • Ben Gamel in the leadoff spot has been interesting. I’ve liked Park up there, but with his bat slowed to a crawl, Gamel has jumpstarted the offense for a couple nights now. I’d like to see him stay there for a stretch.
  • I know most of you probably don’t want to hear this, but Kevin Newman is hitting, Park and Castro aren’t. I’m letting him play a bit more if I’m Shelton.
  • Sam Howard’s return will drastically improve the chances of this bullpen holding leads. One guy, but he’s an option they need.
  • Check out my latest Fan Forum over at DK Pittsburgh Sports Podcasting Network. All Bucco Talk every week and absolutely free. Right Here

Young Pitchers and Inconsistency, This is What Growth Looks Like

8-21-21 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

When you watch a young staff develop, well, it takes more than an ability to read a box score. You’re sometimes looking for confidence in a pitch, or command of a situation.

Don’t get me wrong, you’d love to see a young guy just come out and shove, it’s just not how things go for most of them. Sometimes what separates success and failure can be as simple as patience and opportunity.

This season has been all about those two things. See a team in the race can’t afford to spend half a season trying to convince a highly touted prospect he knows how to pitch. A team in the race can’t have a guy clearly gassed trying to train his arm to deliver the kind of innings load the club expects of him.

Even when the batch of pitchers most of us have been waiting for arrive it’s going to require a bit of that kind of thought process.

There’s a reason teams in the playoff hunt like San Diego would rather go get some veteran help instead of bringing up their own highly touted prospects. It’s fact that learning on the job is part of development, it’s also fact if you get to the point where the team is ready to compete, you might no longer be ready to instruct.

To be blunt, it’s part of why the Pirates were so loathed to demote Mitch Keller a while back. It’s why they are so hesitant to shut down a clearly pushed to his limit JT Brubaker. It’s why a team like this finds so much value in rotating new guys into the rotation. The more cups of coffee they hand out, the more chance some of these growing pains are out of the way.

We as fans have the right to not enjoy watching this part of progression. It simply isn’t fun most nights. The coaches don’t particularly care for it either, difference is, they know they have to do it.

So I thought it would be a good idea to go through some of these young guys and identify what they’ve shown, where they’ve improved, what they need to work on and ultimately have they shown enough to keep working with them.

Mitch Keller

What’s He’s Good At – When placing it, throwing high heat by guys. Nasty breaking pitches that play well off the fastball. It’s all about control, when he has it, he can be very good, when he lacks it, he doesn’t belong in this league.

Where He’s Improved – Nowhere consistently. His flashes for the most part have been parts of games, not entire outings. Since his recall he’s improved his ability to throw strikes, that’s helped him but the sample size is just too small to call it a win.

Next Steps – More of the same. The lessons he was to learn in 2021 are just now starting to show signs of taking root. Next year needs to show they aren’t taking two steps forward and three steps back. Command of his fastball is key to his success, but almost just as important is the ability to drop his curve and slider in the bottom of the zone. Far too often he only has one of them as an option. Tunneling (The ability to make it look like all pitch types are coming from the same spot) escapes him with his slider, that’s a problem because hitters can identify spin and lay off the breaking stuff. His Curve and fastball line up much more often which makes that his best potential out pitch and that’s my final point, he needs to develop an out pitch. That will keep his pitch count down, and get him out of more jams.

Keep Going? – Yes. But not much longer as a starter. He has the most potential of anyone who has pitched significant innings to be a middle of the rotation pitcher. If he doesn’t look like he’s taking hold early, I suggest a move to the bullpen where he could increase his velocity and hunt strikeouts while ignoring pitch counts.

JT Brubaker

What’s He’s Good At – Throwing strikes, consistently. Displaying confidence.

Where He’s Improved – Early on, his breaking stuff. It was his ability to throw those with control that allowed him to survive by inducing ground balls seemingly at will.

Next Steps – Throwing strikes is great, but JT now needs to learn the difference between a strike and a quality strike. This is one of those things that gets confused with nibbling, but it’s really more about targeting thirds of the plate. For instance, when you get to a 3-2 count on Mike Moustakas you have to realize that most of the time a walk is better than a meatball, be more fine, target the outer third, not just a strike. Get me over strikes aren’t going to fly when your stuff isn’t wipeout.

Keep Going? – Yes. His makeup has shown an incredible amount of self awareness. He knows what he’s doing wrong, or what gets away from him, but he needs to show he can change it now. Far too many homeruns will prevent him from any role on this staff and the scary thing with JT is not every bad pitch he’s thrown has been sent into orbit. Has to work on more consistently finishing his pitches in the bottom of the zone.

Wil Crowe

What’s He’s Good At – Pitch mix. He has five, and on a given night each one can be great. Reminds me a lot of Joe Musgrove if I’m honest.

Where He’s Improved – He’s found a way to have more of the arrows in his quiver nightly. He needs 3 of the 5 to be effective. 4 or 5 of them and he’s damn near unhittable. (again, a very Musgrove feel to him)

Next Steps – Has to learn to control the walks. Essentially the opposite of what I just said Brubaker needs to work on. Wil tries to be too fine at times and it gets him into trouble. Thing is, this lesson is just as hard to learn and often gets a guy pounded trying to learn it.

Keep Going? – Well, he’ll have a role, but I can’t say it’ll be in the rotation. I do think he’s earned himself a good look in Spring and I believe he’ll be one of their 13 best options next season, but Wil can’t be a starter if he’s using 60 pitches to battle through 2 innings of trying to throw darts.

Miguel Yajure

What’s He’s Good At – Miguel has in my estimation the most mature and controlled breaking stuff in the system.

Where He’s Improved – Fastball command. This was his knock in the Yankees system and since arriving in the Pittsburgh system there has been zero evidence of this being a problem.

Next Steps – Simple, get healthy, stay healthy, pitch more.

Keep Going? – Yes. Simply put, without being injured he’s already here and we’re breaking down what played and what didn’t. That’s moved to next year now and for the team that stinks. As I already stated at the beginning, I don’t expect many rookie pitchers to come up here and look lights out, there’s almost always something that doesn’t quite have the shape it needs to have, or something that always worked for them until they got to MLB. That said, he has nothing more to learn in AAA, even in a shortened season. Expect innings limits for Miguel next season.

There are others, but not that I’ve seen enough from as of yet to form a real opinion on. For instance, Dillon Peters looked great in his outing, but it was just that, one outing. Max Kranick looked outstanding in his first and his subsequent attempts weren’t so hot.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you this group has what it takes to lead this team back to a winner. I’m not even going to mention Steven Brault and Chad Kuhl probably shouldn’t be considered grizzled veterans. I will say these four guys I’ve focused on have the ability to improve, and I’d expect at least 2 or 3 of them to do exactly that.

One thing I know for sure, for the next 4-5 years, you’re going to be watching a ton of young pitching, and while your patience level has very little to do with the management’s decisions with them, it might help you to look at the parade of solid MLB pitchers who certainly didn’t start out that way.

How about Zack Greinke who didn’t post his first ERA under 4 until his 4th season. In his second season he was 4-17 with a 5.80 ERA. Missed the next year with injury then finally found it in year 4. The rest is nothing short of an 18 year MLB career, so far.

Lucas Giolito is another fun one. The White Sox Ace pitcher struggled with Washington, did well in a cup of coffee with the Sox after being acquired, then in year three put up a 6.13 ERA in 32 starts. He surrendered 118 earned runs and walked 90 batters while striking out 125. To make it even more fun he gave up 27 homeruns (see Brubaker is already ahead of him) and had a WHIP of 1.477. Brutal, in every sense of the word. But the Sox were rebuilding, and his stuff said, keep working. In his 4th year literally every single one of those numbers were night and day. Now he’s a linchpin for a surging first place team.

Again, let’s be clear, I’m not saying any of these guys will be like these two, but I will say that’s the type of pedigree Mitch Keller for instance has. This is why you don’t give up easily. This is why patience is important.

Thankfully this sort of thing doesn’t come down to the fans wishes very often, but trust me in Chicago there weren’t too many people happy they lost Adam Eaton and watched him win while Giolito was pooping the bed in 2018.

Pirates Surprise The Streaking Cardinals

8-21-21 By Craig W. Toth (aka @bucsbasement on Twitter)

Winners of 7 out of their last 9 games, the St. Louis Cardinals found themselves in a familiar place; in the midst of a hunt for the playoffs, as they sat only a few games outside a Wild Card bid behind the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds. The Pittsburgh Pirates on the other hand, losers of 14 out of 16, were trending every so close to the number one overall pick for the second year in a row.

Then came Friday night, where in some ways it was almost a familiar scene. The Pirates batters totaled only 4 hits and struck out a total of eight times, while the Cardinals regularly threatened with 10 hits of their own. The only differences this time were that the Pirates hits were timely, resulting in four runs, and the arms for Pittsburgh were able to squash any attack from the Cardinals; with timely strikeouts and a double clutch double play from Castro. Man that kid’s got an arm.

However, the biggest surprise on the night without a doubt was the performance of Mitch Keller. No runs allowed on 6 hits, 6 strike out and only one walk and a career high 10 whiffs on his fastball in 5 innings of work. Sure, I could critique the use of his slider against right handed batters at times, but just for today I will just enjoy a strong outing from Keller.

However, if you are curious as to what I am talking about, see the illustration below.

News and Notes

  • Yoshitomo Tsutsugo is one of the more curious acquisitions in Ben Cherington’s time with the Pirates. Even bringing in Tom, Nogowski, Alford and Fowler made more sense on the surface; not that I totally agreed with all of them, but at least I saw the method behind the madness. Guys with control, and if they “worked out”, could provide some consistency in the lineup beyond just this year. Now you have Yoshitomo. Still somewhat tied to the two year deal he signed with the Rays before the 2020 season and set to become a free agent at the end of the year. Sure the Pirates could resign him, but only if he performs. Only, whose to say he isn’t snatched up by someone willing to pay a little more for his services. On a lighter note, Yoshi hit his first homer of the season last night.

  • The Pirates Bullpen (Underwood, Jr., Bednar and Stratton) held it together to provide 4 innings of scoreless ball to match Keller. Duane Underwood, Jr. who had been on my “short” DFA list at one point, has posted a .68 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in his last 7 appearances over 13.1 innings. David Bednar has continued to impress, coming into a game for the 51st time this season. I can’t say many expected that when he came over in the Musgrove deal. Chris Stratton has been fine, but is now where near as dominant as he was in June and July.
  • Harrison Bader did his best Bryan Reynolds impression, with two highlight reel catches in a row; however, he got caught in between on a Jacob Stallings single to center, which put the Cheetah on third after a two base error. But, seriously Bader is solid in CF with a 7 OAA to Reynolds’ 10.

  • Gregory Polanco had two sacrifice flies, so there’s that.
  • The MLB Pipeline updated Top 100 and team’s top 30s are now out. Go check them out if that’s your thing. https://www.mlb.com/app/atbat/prospects/pirates. It happens to be one of my things, so I did.

The Buccos and Red Birds are back at it tonight at 7:15 PM EST from Busch Stadium.

For Pittsburgh, Dillon Peters, aka Dillypicklez, (0-1, 1.93 ERA) looks to duplicate his Pirates Debut, while Pirate Killer J.A. Happ (7-6, 6.03 ERA) is on a mission to put up his third win of the year against your Buccos.