Leveling Up In The Pirates Minor League System

On paper it appears to be a very simple process, especially after the full Minor League Realignment this past offseason, as a player starts out in Low A-Bradenton, travels north to High A-Greensboro, then even further north-pretty close to Pittsburgh-arriving at Double A-Altoona and finally across the map to Triple A-Indianapolis before eventually arriving at PNC Park. However, for anyone that has ever watched any Minor League Prospect’s career, it is obviously not this simple, and often has many individual boxes to check off before a player is truly ready to level up; with the chance of being sent down to a previously conquered stage of development as another distinct possibility.

Also, before going any further, it should be noted-but probably goes without saying-that just because a player has experienced success and/or check off all the boxes at a particular level, this doesn’t imply success at the impending level, or that they are supposed to be completely prepared to be elevated; because as casual fans, amateur scouts and even for some of the most seasoned of professional scouts, there is little awareness or transparency concerning what the player and his coaches are working on, and what they truly expect from each individual player.

Sure a fan, or someone that falls into the other categories, can luck into some pretty decent analysis of a particular player or situation, however it’s tough to recognize exactly what you thought was correct, how it was correct and especially what it means for the player as the season progresses.

A minimum of three times yesterday on Pirates Social Media, I saw that Quinn Priester was back on track, or primed for a breakout, after a five inning shutout performance against the Hickory Crawdads on Tuesday Night. During his outing he allowed only three hits, walked one and struck out four. I first wondered if anyone actually knew he was off track, because no one other than Priester and his coaches knew what the track was for this 20 year old young man. Next I thought about the quotes about him attacking the zone, with a 67% strike rate; which is promising don’t get me wrong. Nevertheless, it’s not like there is a Ump Scorecard in the Minors or someone calculating how many times batters swung, for a strike, for pitchers outside the zone. Also, he could have been working on the control of one particular pitch, which would be a step in the right direction, but not a breakout on the horizon. A better way to phrase this might be that he executed the game plan; still a positive for those of you keeping track at home.

The next target of praise, much deserved by the way, was Roansy Contreras. In his three starts of the year, the young right hander, who was acquired in the Jameson Taillon trade, has not allowed a run in 17.2 innings, while striking out 28, allowing 7 hits and only walking 3. Obviously this is unbelievably impressive, but I still see the calls to have him promoted to Triple A-Indianapolis as a little bit premature, as I just don’t want people putting undue pressure or unfair expectations on such a young man, since we as fans usually either jump to blame the player or the organization for keeping a guy down for too long or for him struggling with a promotion. It’s honestly a no win situation unless the player exceeds expectations immediately upon his promotion. At 21 years old he is one of the youngest players at Double A, and almost a full 4 years younger than the average player at that level. It’s not a bad idea to pump the breaks every once in a while; the kid has time.

In my recent interview with former First Round Pick for the Pirates back in 1995, Chad Hermansen, who was labeled a can’t miss prospect, that flew through the system with great success, I became more aware of the pitfalls that often follow inflated expectations. It happens to everyone. Many times I have fallen victim to this train of thought, most recently with current Pirates Pitcher Mitch Keller.

Back in 2018 Keller was a consensus top 20 prospect in all of MLB, which I reference on a regular basis, when trying to punctuate that he has the potential to be so much more than what he has shown thus far in his career. In 24 career starts Keller has posted a 6.24 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP, with 115 strikeouts and 54 walks. Clearly not ideal; however, when you step back and think about how often these rankings have been wrong. Being a top 100 prospect in MLB or a top 30 prospect in a system doesn’t guarantee anything. And neither does your impression of a MiLB player two and a half weeks into a four and a half month season.

But remember, it’s OK, we all do it. It’s fun to try to predict the future; still, be prepared to be wrong as often, or possibly more often, than you are right.

Cardinals Sweep Pirates (17-25) in 2 Game Set 8-5, Cahill Exits with Injury, Polanco Gold Star Night

Nobody likes getting beat up by big brother. The Pirates for the majority of the modern era have looked up to, with awe, the Cardinals, and the games often play out like that. Every once in a while little bro lands a shot, but it’s not long before the elder puts him back in his place.

Heading in to a matchup with Trevor Cahill squaring off against Early season Cy Young possibility Jack Flaherty, you don’t feel overflowing with hope exactly, but again, he got beat up early and often.

He lasted 1 inning plus, giving up 4 ER in that inning with 2 BB and 2 K. He left with an injury and Duane Underwood was called on to replace him.

I guess he thought he had to pick up where Trevor left off because in his three innings of work he gave up two more earned runs, 3 walks 4 hits. Duane showed some really good stuff early on in the season, but he’s really started losing the handle on his repertoire. The Bucs seem to want to pitch him through it, and I agreed for the first couple weeks, I saw enough that he’s worth trying to help him get back to it, especially since he has no options. I don’t think he’d clear waivers, but they may need to find a way to get him hidden a bit like they’ve done for Oviedo and get him in the lab a bit. Stuff is there, just lost the handle.

The Bucco bats were really quiet against Jack Flaherty, with the exception of Polanco who blasted a two run shot on a night when the ball just wasn’t flying.

They did get to the bullpen, touching them up for 3 more runs in the 7th, again Polanco came through with a clutch single. Adam Frazier did his part too, as usual getting on base 3 times, man is he fun to watch right now.

Down 8-5 in the 9th Kevin Newman led off with a Kevin Newman special, drilled a ball into the ground and beat the throw to first. Reynolds struck out and Polanco followed suit. Reyes is so slick, and he finished the job striking out Vargas to sweep the series.

New Series in Atlanta tomorrow, Wil Crowe vs Drew Smyly in game one at 7:20

News & Notes

  • It’s getting close to pull the plug time on Michael Perez. It’s one thing if you’re killing it on defense and don’t hit. Or you’re a personal catcher for an ace and don’t hit. But if you’re actively not handling pitchers who shake you off as often as they nod, diving wildly at pitches making them look worse than they actually are, sometimes turning strikes into balls, at some point, you better hit. It’s just not happening, and what’s in AAA isn’t impressive, but he has options, send him down and try Susak or Hudson. Why not?
  • Trevor Cahill left this game early in the second with a calf strain. This actually (while I’d never wish injury on a player) could keep the Pirates from making a bad move or hasty. Kuhl will now have a place and if he’s not ready, Yajure will get a few, at least. I’m even jumping here to say he’ll go on the IL, I have no knowledge he will, it just seems too good an opportunity.
  • Sam Howard when from somebody we didn’t expect anything from when he arrived in 2020 to a very Tony Watson looking lefty reliever in the back end of the pen. Consistently good and has a knack for getting big strikeouts.
  • Illdemaro Vargas singled in the 7th on the first pitch he saw as a Pirate
  • Gregory Polanco is actually heating up, he’s seeing the ball right now and the offense is far too weak to pass up playing him right now.

If the Unwritten Rules Are So Great, Write ’em Down

Baseball is such a romantic sport, people love it for so much more than just the sport itself. The ballpark is like a cathedral to many and as such some of the silly unwritten rules of baseball have become a religion.

Don’t flip your bat and taunt a pitcher you just took deep. Don’t try to hit a position player pitching with the same gusto you would a relief pitcher. Don’t run up the score. Pitchers have the right to exact justice when they’ve been wronged or the team has been wronged.

I could go on all day with this nonsense.

It just cropped up again the other night in the Twins and White Sox game. The Twins Broadcast didn’t like this 3-0 swing by Yermin Mercedes.

That wasn’t too much really. The announcer said he didn’t like it, but it didn’t seem like it was going to be a big deal, then in steps the White Sox manager Tony La Russa to make sure everyone on his team knows this won’t fly on his team.

None of the talk mattered because the next night…

And as if that wasn’t enough on this silly incident Tony La Russa was A-OK with it.

All of this because one team was getting blown out and threw a circus act on the mound yet somehow were surprised when they saw clowns under the big top.

I said in the headline if these rules are so great, let’s write ’em down. If they’re worth fighting for, let’s make them official.

I don’t really mean it, I’d much prefer everyone just grow up.

For instance, I’ve seen people lose their minds about Fernando Tatis Jr. flipping his bat after a homerun, but many of those same people praised Jacob Stallings after his.

This is a game.

Now, I’m a guy who prefers the way Barry Sanders acted after a touchdown than much of what I see today, but I’m not playing the game. I prefer when pitchers can pitch inside without worrying that an inside pitch that gets away will be seen the same as a dome seeking missal.

When did we lose the ability to tell the difference?

Enter Greg Brown…

No can of worms there.

You might as well hand Anthony Rizzo the batting crown right now, and invite every other player to hang over the plate.

I love this sport, but it’s desire to fix things that aren’t broken and break things that are fixed is unmatched.

Tell you what, if you don’t want guys to swing against your position player, don’t put him on the mound. Because if they still count the hitting stats, guys can’t be expected to just stand there. Maybe give a team losing by 10 runs in the 7th the ability to just say, game, and eat the loss. I mean if we’re saying because you’re losing the other team should stop trying it’s not a real game anyway.

Think that’s ridiculous? Honestly, I kinda do too, but I’m battling idiocy with more idiocy. No matter how chubby and adorable the player, you put him on the mound, he’s a pitcher. Tough.

Let’s take this to real life.

When driving, there of course are rules of the road. Most of you took a driving test, granted it might have been 40 years ago, but you took one. You know the rules for turn signals, and passing through a yellow light, moving over for ambulances, there are a ton of them.

Here in Pittsburgh, we have what’s referred to as the Pittsburgh left, it’s essentially a “rule” unwritten of course, where you gun it to make your left the second the light turns green and the opposing traffic just let’s it happen. Now, drive to North Carolina on vacation and try it down there. You’ll get beeped at and flipped off.

It’s an unwritten rule because it simply isn’t a rule. It’s very technically an unsafe practice that we assume the person across the way is in on. When they aren’t and start to go, we are the ones beeping and flipping off, like they violated a “rule”.

How about someone weaving in and out of lanes on I-279 and then when you catch up to traffic they wind up behind you. Don’t you sit back in your car seat and pump your fist a bit for seeing that person get theirs? How about when someone is flying past you when you yourself are speeding a bit then you see them pulled over down the road.

Point is we celebrate our victories, and the defeat of people we didn’t feel were following the rules every day, baseball is no different.

At some point, this is just a game, and warts and all players are going to have different ways of looking at situations. We either leave room for that, or we write them down and enforce them.

If coaches like La Russa are going to reanimate their corpse to coach into their 100’s it’s likely nothing changes.

I’m over it, just play baseball and shut up. Flip the bat, dance around like an idiot, run backwards if you want, but I’m not gonna cry if the dude get’s drilled in the ribs either, it’s always been part of the game, and unless we move to brain implants to decipher intent, it always will be. I’m sure Houston could use info like that somehow.

St. Louis Gets To Brubaker Early, As The Pirates Drop Fourth Straight To The Cardinals

Some games your starter just doesn’t have it. Even a guy, who up until this point had allowed three runs or less in his first seven starts on the season, is bound to have a little bit of an off day; although this start did not have any the markings of such an occurrence, other than in the earned run department. The velocity, control/command and execution were all there; while some calls didn’t go his way, forcing him into the zone more than he was comfortable with. This was when the Cardinals made him pay; well sort of.

Nolan Arenado is one of MLB’s best, and he proved it again on Tuesday Night by tracking Brubaker’s pitch as it was tailing away from him, and muscling it over the the left centerfield wall for a two run homer. It wasn’t a bad pitch, with a bad location, Arenado just bested him. Next was Tommy Edman’s bloop, pop up two run single, that Brubaker himself had notched as the third out of the inning by his reaction after the contact. Now the fifth run was clearly all on him, as his pitch drifted up into the meat of plate and was promptly smacked for a double by Edmundo Sosa.

Following these errors and misfortunes, Brubaker would retire 9 of the next 11 batters he would face, before ultimately being replaced by Chasen Shreve in the bottom of the sixth. However, at this point the damage had already been done; and we have all seen how difficult it has been most of the time for the Pirates to pull off a come from behind victory.

In the end, the Pirates bats didn’t put up much of a fight, as they fell to the Cardinals 5-2 in the first of this short two game series.

News and Notes

  • Kevin Newman and Gregory Polanco each collected two hits on the night, which was nice to see. Still, only Adam Frazier and Erik Gonzalez would add to this, for a total of six hits on the evening for Pittsburgh.
  • Nolan Arenado homered in his fourth straight game with his first inning blast off Brubaker. It was his sixth home run in May. The number of Pirates home runs in May also sits at six.
  • Will Craig is 3 for 19 with 10 strikeouts since being called up from AAA-Indianapolis. I have no issue with giving the kid a look, but I can’t imagine it lasts much longer.
  • Chris Stratton has posted a 1.80 ERA over his last 7 appearances, across 10 innings of work. During that time he has 9 strike outs and a 1.27 WHIP. Just making note of this as I haven’t seen his name in as many trade conversations lately.
  • Some of the biggest news I saw for the Pirates Organization did not come out of St. Louis last night; and involved one of Pittsburgh’s Top Prospects, Travis Swaggerty.

The Pirates and Cardinals will be back at it tonight at 7:45 PM EST, once again from Busch Stadium, as Pittsburgh continues to look for their first win over St. Louis this season.

Trevor Cahill (1-4, 5.97 ERA) takes the ball to face off against Jack Flaherty (7-0, 2.47 ERA).

Five Pirates Thoughts at Five 5-17-21

It’s an off day today, and when as a writer you see that as a needed break from action, it kinda puts into perspective how the players must feel. Calling up Miguel Yajure for a spot start pushed the rotation back a day and coupled with the off day today bought even more for a couple guys. That’s something the Pirates plan to do more of this season but I’m not sure how many more times Yajure can come up here for a spot and impress before he just stays. That last outing had to make them think.

1. Prospect Optimism

There are just a ton of exciting things going on in the Pirates minor league depths. That’s a fact, but when you see a kid do something exciting in Bradenton, you really must temper that excitement with realism. In an effort to pump up some of these performances and players, some are ignoring the truth. Most of these guys won’t ever make it.

Even some of the guys you were told happened to be sure fire, will stall at some point. Every single year the dream ends for some guys and begins for others. That doesn’t mean you can’t get excited about individual performance of course, but you also have to resist the urge to believe the search is over for who’s going to play a position 4 years from now. That’s just not how it works, that’s why there is no such thing as ‘too many’ at a position or ‘too much’ pitching. It doesn’t happen, and nobody knows this reality more than the players.

You may think you’re just being a nice guy or gal by pretending that single A guy who has been at that level for 2 seasons has a shot because he struck out the side in a game, but in that effort, you’re actually diminishing just how damn hard a journey it is to become a major league player.

2. Turning a Corner?

Mitch Keller faced Deja vu on Sunday afternoon. He pitched 3 solid innings and ran into trouble in the 4th. He didn’t get hit hard, but the Giants soft served themselves into a 2nd and 3rd situation with nobody out.

In just the previous outing, he went 3 strong and blew up in the 4th, on Sunday he put a foot down, and struck out the side. Pumping his fist and punching his glove.

Before the strikeouts, Jacob Stallings noticed what was happening. He saw the change in his demeanor, he saw him missing locations, and he quickly sprung out of his crouch and headed out to put a stop to it.

This doesn’t always work of course, but this time it had the desired effect, and to his credit Mitch went after what he needed to have.

That was a foot down. That was belief, in his catcher, his stuff, his ability. That was maturation.

He won’t have an ascent that comes with no steps back, but this is a very real and live look at what it looks like turning talent into effective talent. Mitch Keller being successful is a feather that Oscar Marin needs, and Ben Cherington’s organization and training philosophy predicted.

3. Asking Too Much from the Pitchers

The Pirates pitching has been really good, full stop. Sure there have been hiccups, but by in large the pitching has been there. The bats need to chip in much more.

This is a theme across the league this season as hitting has struggled league wide, but the main difference is that the Pirates simply don’t have enough power to score anyway. Hey, they weren’t predicted to lose a bunch of games based on believe the lineup would shine, but struggling isn’t the same as inept.

There are far too many games where it looks like they simply aren’t in the game because they can’t get any traction.

Yesterday the lineup had Alex Wood sitting at 40 pitches through two innings, then completely changed how they were attacking him. Next thing you know, he’s still pitching in the 8th.

The lineup needs to do more, and unfortunately what they need are more professional hitters. That will come a little from injuries clearing up, and if you want a little optimism, if they keep pitching like this AND get Moran and Hayes back in there, they could have some fun.

4. When the Plan Takes a Hit

It’s hard for me to see the Pirates heading into this season not planning on moving Chad Kuhl and or Steven Brault, but both of them have suffered injuries and Kuhl didn’t look great before he went on the shelf. Trading either of them in season might not work this year. That changes some things I’m sure for the Pirates. They have a rotation with Keller, Anderson, Brubaker, Crowe and Cahill, I’m just about positive they planned on Cahill being more of a bullpen option and Crowe not being here at all at this point.

Now that things went this way, the club will have to adjust how they approach things moving forward.

For instance, maybe Chad Kuhl is now a better option for the bullpen, maybe that plays out for Brault as well. Maybe Cahill is the guy who moves once Kuhl has his arm built back up. Let’s not forget Jose Soriano the Pirates rule five selection who has been working his rehab from Tommy John will also be here soon.

One thing is for sure, if the Pirates had a predetermined plan for how this would all play out, it’s broken now.

Super interested to see how they handle all the moving parts without losing anyone they actually think has a future here.

5. No Masks at PNC

Yes, yes, I know, if you’re vaccinated.

You all know that’s not what is going to happen. This isn’t a political statement as much as a reality check. Not everyone was going to get vaccinated, and some like me who had COVID, probably don’t even need it, although I did anyway.

The point is, unless we’re going to be commanded to wear masks forever, these types of things were always going to come up. If you’ve done what you’re supposed to do, and you’ve gotten vaccinated, it’s not your problem, and more to the point, it isn’t the Pirates problem either.

The CDC has decided we’ve reached the threshold where this is safe, well, safe enough. If you want a vaccine it’s out there. If you don’t, you’ve made a personal choice and I’m not telling you one way or another which is right. But you did make a choice. From what we know, that choice can’t hurt everyone, just others who made the same decision.

Sorry if this sounds cold, but it isn’t my job to protect people from themselves.

Back to life, happily without a mask more and more often as other businesses start to make the same decision.

Excited to start greeting people with a smile again instead of a salute or wink.

6. Late Breaking News Bonus. Ildemaro Vargas, the Newest Pirate

The Pirates claimed Ildemaro off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. To make room, Troy Stokes Jr. was DFA’d. Again, DFA doesn’t 100% mean we’ve seen the last of him, but he will be exposed to waivers and if nobody claims him he’ll be assigned back to AAA Indianapolis and simply no longer be on the 40-man roster.

I liked what I saw from Stokes in limited action, but let’s not act like they just released Barry Bonds. I hope he clears waivers but if not, they have 5 or 6 players almost just like him, in fact, Vargas himself isn’t much different.

This is his 4th organization, Arizona, Chicago, Minnesota and now Pittsburgh. He’s 29 years old and has done very little in his stops. He has a career 0.2 WAR in 305 at bats he is a career .246 hitter. The guy is mainly a middle infielder, but has played some 3rd and corner outfield.

Meh, I mean what can I say? I also question the need for the move, if you want a controllable infielder who hasn’t ever hit, why not just call up Tucker?

I’m sure clarification will be provided, but unless someone is traded or on his death bed, I’m also sure it won’t satisfy most people in their hunt for understanding.

It’s On the Pirates to Connect with Fans

There are many things that have surprised me since I started doing this job. First of all, it shocked me people actually cared what I had to say, now I’m surprised people think part of my job is to convince them to care about the Pittsburgh Pirates.

I can’t do that, simply put.

For many of you nothing they do matters because Bob Nutting is at the end of the road waiting to not pay, and even that supposes you’ve bought in enough to understand why they aren’t spending right now.

I say this all the time, but how you connect or don’t with the team to a large degree is entirely on you, and the Pirates.

One thing I think the team is trying to do is to get you to pay attention to what’s going on in the system.

That’s awesome, really. They’ve started the Young Bucs Social media handle and they spit out highlights on there, but they also do very little to help people understand why seeing those 4 homeruns from that High A prospect doesn’t mean he’ll be here next season.

That said, it’s a good start.

Pirates fans can’t be expected to go out and find ways to watch games from all the affiliates, and aside from that most of the people covering these players might as well just give you links to the stat pages on MiLB.com.

Prospects are absolutely a big part of the connection, but again, you must not fool yourself into thinking the top 30 will all be part of the winning team here. That’s so far from the reality of how development plays out I can’t even elaborate. It would lead me into giving examples of players who may never get all the way here and I don’t want anyone to confuse my examples with predictions of failure for some of these guys.

Suffice to say, they don’t yet have enough.

The draft will provide more, and that’s great but the team itself needs to still make more difficult decisions.

I’ve talked to you both here and on my podcasts about the importance of making decisions and when they need to be made. Let’s take two players and talk about the differences in the decision making process.

Adam Frazier, 29 years old, one more year of control with the Pirates via salary arbitration. Right now he makes 4.3 Million dollars, a bargain by anyone’s standards. We can’t possibly know what he would be awarded next year but somewhere in the 6 Million plus range is likely. The Pirates as we sit here don’t have anyone threatening to push him out of second base.

Sure they could play Newman there, or Gonzalez (also only 1 year left) but prospect wise, unless Cole Tucker figures something out, you’re waiting on Nick Gonzales or Ji-hwan Bae, maybe Rodolfo Castro.

The decision is this, we can extend Frazier for 3 or 4 years beyond his current control which would make him 34 or 35 by the time it ends, or trade him for prospects, which the system clearly still needs, especially in the form of bats.

Keep in mind, from Frazier’s point of view, he’s 29, this is the last and first time he’ll really be able to cash in. That certainly doesn’t mean he thinks he’s Jeter, but it does mean he might not want to just take a couple years for an extension.

Again, the Pirates have real choices to make. If you truly buy into the build, you have to understand who does and doesn’t fit into it. Now, I’m not going to tell you that means Adam needs traded or they have to keep him, but you certainly have to see there isn’t just one answer here. Will a trade take an already putrid offense and make it worse, oh hell yes, but you already bought into this not mattering right?

Let’s move to Jacob Stallings, another veteran player, well at least age wise. He’s playing on his Arb 1 contract and was handed Super-2 status meaning he has 4 arb years. He’s currently 31 years old and will be 35 before the Pirates have to do anything more than argue with an arbiter to retain him.

He’s arguably the best defensive catcher in baseball, and he’s pitched in on offense probably more than we expected. He’s a tall guy who’s body type doesn’t scream he’s going to thrive into his 40’s like Yadi.

Now, teams are going to come calling on Jake, teams need what he brings, but so do the Pirates. Young pitchers will be a theme for several years and having someone like Jake is akin to having an extra coach on the field.

If you’re the Pirates, you have to listen on calls, but you also have to decide what matters more, getting a couple prospects or potentially damaging some you already have by not having his presence behind the plate.

Decisions decisions. None of them easy.

If either of these decisions come out on the side of trade, it’s going to rattle off a few people who stood by the club through the last wave. So if you’re Ben Cherington, you have to say to yourself, yup, I’m going to lose some fans, but they’ll be back when this all comes together.

That’s what he has to think, but it’s certainly not an easy decision. You certainly don’t have to agree either, again, it’s on the Pirates and you to decide if the Bucs are acting in good faith. I can say for both the guys I mentioned, money isn’t an issue, even for Nutting. Cheap and effective might be on their business cards if they carried them.

There will come a day when this team has to say, enough. They’ll have to say ok, this guy is where this all starts, he’ll be here. Is that Reynolds? Is it Hayes? I think so, but Ben might think it’s really guys in Greensboro now, or Altoona.

Until such a time as the Pirates actually lock in salary, and remember, the only actual commitment they have is the likely 3 million dollars to buy out Gregory Polanco in 2022, we won’t know when they see the window.

Ambiguity may help protect baseball executives from being wrong, but it doesn’t help a fan base understand where the team is trying to get to, or when. Don’t get me wrong no team exec is going to come out and say, hey, we’re going to be good from 2023-2027 and then suck real bad again for a couple years. But by some of the decisions they make on players like Frazier and Stallings, we’ll be able to start to piece together what they’re thinking.

Discussing trades isn’t the same as suggesting them. For what I do both here and in podcast form, I can’t pretend these things aren’t real. These subjects need broached, and even if it’s not what you want to hear, I’d rather be part of the reason you aren’t caught flat footed.

This process is not one that comes painlessly, and I’ll be very blunt, of all the moves they’ve made the only one I didn’t see coming was Taillon, and that was more about thinking nobody would pay for him with his history. There will be more, there were always going to be more.

Strap in.

Pirates (17-23) Drop Series Finale 4-1, Earn Split with Giants in 4-Game Set

Maturation is a funny thing in baseball. Some people seem born that way, others struggle to come to grips with the fact they aren’t flawless. Mitch Keller has probably had just about every description of failure to launch you can come up with in his young career.

Today, he took a step forward.

After walking the lead off batter in the first he limited the damage to one run, and it certainly could have been worse. In fact, you could say it should have been kept scoreless. Will Craig fielded a groundball and instead of taking the tag play at home he chose to take the force at second. I could argue this either way, at the end of the day, it was the less risky play and kept things from getting out of control.

The Pirates had chances against Alex Wood today, but only Ka’ai Tom was able to make it count with a sac fly to tie the score in the 4th with the bases loaded and nobody out.

In the top of the ninth with the Bucs trailing 1, David Bednar was summoned to keep it right there. He would walk the leadoff batter and surrender a bomb of a 2 run shot off the bat of Mike Yastrzemski to make it 4-1.

Tyler Rogers was called on to close the game for the Giants and he did so with little trouble after hitting Ka’ai Tom to lead off the inning.

The Pirates travel to St. Louis for their next contest on Tuesday night as JT Brubaker takes on John Gant at 7:45

News & Notes

  • Mitch Keller had a noticeable jump in his velocity today, hitting 97 regularly which creates a bit more play for his 91MPH changeup. Good signs from him the past two games, looks like he might be starting to put some things together. While he velo is up, his 4-seam fastball didn’t have much movement to it, which might explain the improved control with the pitch. That said a 97 without movement is something a whole bunch of MLB hitters will get to, might need to go back to the lab just a bit on that.
  • Jacob Stallings was removed from the game after taking a foul ball off his knee. Seemed precautionary, but you never know with things like this.
  • Adam Frazier collected 2 more hits today, 51 on the year currently and also recorded his league leading 16th multi-hit game on the campaign.
  • Clay Holmes came into trouble that Keller left behind today and did well to work his way out of what could become a big inning. He provided 2 scoreless innings today.
  • Duane Underwood Jr. pitched a scoreless 8th, but it came with some loud contact. His off-speed stuff is a struggle right now, he’s lost the handle on something with his breaking stuff.

Jacob Stallings Lifts The Pirates To Victory

For the past couple of years it has honestly made me chuckle as a decent amount Pirates Fans have questioned Jacob Stallings ability to be an everyday Major League catcher; many times denying every metric in an attempt to discredit Pittsburgh’s backstop, and even claiming at times that he wouldn’t start on any other Major League team.

Currently Stallings is rated as the sixth best catcher in all of baseball, and number ten over the past three years; not just defensively as some might assume, but the tenth best catcher overall in Major League Baseball. As it stands he is slashing .255/.371/.449 with three home runs and a career high doubles; one of which tied the game last night in the seventh, and presently leads all catchers. Oh, and he walked of the game in the bottom of the ninth with a two run jack to give the Pirates an 8-6 victory against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night

News and Notes

  • Adam Frazier just keeps on hitting. On the season Frazier is batting .318 with 13 doubles, three triples and a homer. We all that Frazier is a streaky hitter that has gotten hot for periods of time during his career, however in the past it has usually lasted a week or two at the most, not a full 30 plus games.
  • Bryan Reynolds has continued to experience success from both side of the plate, with his success against righties finally starting to catch up with potential his over performance from the right side of the plate, as he is now hitting .263 versus .395. He has also shown extreme patience at the plate by posting a career best 12.9% walk rate.
  • For the past few games Pirates Fans have been asking for more offense, and for at least one game they delivered, totaling 15 hits from from nearly everyone in the lineup.
  • Tyler Anderson had his worst start in a Pirates uniform and still only gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, two of them being homers, while striking out 7 and walking 2 in 5 innings of work.
  • Richard Rodriguez got his second win on the season, and still has an unbelievable .53 ERA to go along with a .41 WHIP.

With last nights win the Pirates have guaranteed at least a split in their four game series with the NL West leading San Francisco Giants, and could take the series with a Sunday Afternoon victory at PNC Park.

For Pittsburgh the up and down Mitch Keller (2-4, 7.81 ERA) toes the rubber against Alex Wood (4-0, 1.80 ERA) for San Francisco is just a few short hours, at 1:05 PM EST.

Pirates Fans Are Anxious About Travis Swaggerty’s Timeline

As the Pittsburgh Pirates Affiliates began to roll out their rosters at the beginning of the month, just ahead of the May The Fourth Be With You Opening Day, I had some questions about Ben Cherington’s choices concerning roster assignments; most notably the decision to start Travis Swaggerty off in AAA. At that point I put my faith in Cherington, as I have been in agreement with the majority of his trades, acquisitions and other roster decisions and moves up to this point.

Yes, I have been critical of Swaggerty’s potential with bat since his time in then High A Bradenton, but I also hadn’t seen given him an extended look-unlike the coaching and development staff who have had eyes on him for months on end-in almost two years. However, I also never saw Ke’Bryan Hayes making the leap he did concerning his offense development from 2019 to today, and as always I am happy to eat crow when my analysis may be off on a player; especially when it benefits the Pirates.

After his first game of the season, many made comments about Swaggerty’s eventual call up, as Cherington was forced to field questions on the topic; and while it was exciting to see this type of performance from one of the Pirates Top Prospects, even the most staunch supporter of Swaggerty realized his approach at the plate would have to continue before this discussion was rooted in anything other than pure emotion.

Then came the much anticipated Indianapolis Indians Home Opener. After 619 Days, baseball had finally returned to the Circle City; welcomed by another leadoff homer from the bat of one Travis Swaggerty.

As the bulk of the Pittsburgh Pirates outfield continued to struggle- adding veteran Ben Gamel to the mix in the interim-the calls for Swaggerty have gotten even louder at times. However, outside of those two homers, I am not sure a lot of Pirates Fans know exactly how he has performed, with some even complaining that he was in the Designated Hitter spot in Friday Night’s contest with the Mud Hens; not thinking that it could be a scheduled off night in the field, and the part of his game that needs continued reps at is the box.

In his other 36 plate appearances there have been other clear positives, as his walk rate and strike out rates both sit at 13.2%, and his ISO is at a career high of .188. Also take into account an unfriendly .200 BABIP, and you can see the room for improvement. Nevertheless it doesn’t change the fact that as I write this he is batting .219, with a barely above league average 101 wRC+.

Luckily for him there are still four months plus left in the Minor League Season, and he is only 23 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to progress in his development, mature into a consistent hitter and make it to PNC Park at some point in the future.

All you need as Pirates Fans is what the great songwriter Axl Rose encouraged us to have in late 80’s…Patience.

Pirates (16-22) Win in 11 Innings, Yajure, Frazier Shine

Another game, another great pitching performance, another near shutout loss. When we came into 2021, most were ultimately concerned with the starting pitching, I was too. I thought it had a chance to hold its own and by the end of the year be pretty strong.

Primarily based on the thought that somehow we’d get to the point where Wil Crowe and Miguel Yajure would make their way into the rotation.

That time is upon us, and we’re in mid May.

Miguel Yajure was absolutely outstanding today. When you look at the box score it will say 5IP and 1 hit, which is good of course, but won’t tell the story.

He did all that with 57 pitches, and just looked dominant. Placing his fastball on the black at will and then in the second time through the order he mixed in devastating off speed stuff. Impressive stuff really. He’s ready, and if they send him back down it won’t be due to performance.

They pulled Yajure after five, and I’ll touch on this in the notes after I hear what Shelton has to say about it, but I pray it wasn’t to make sure one of his scary bats needed to lead off the bottom of the fifth, because Yajure had way more in him.

Brandon Crawford would finally provide some offense in the game as he hit a solo shot off Duane Underwood Jr in the top of the 8th in his second inning of work. That was it until the 9th where Bednar shut down the Giants again.

In the Bottom of the 9th the Giants were still using their starter Kevin Gausman. Frazier led off with a single to left field, and Newman who hit the ball well with no reward tonight delivered a single on a hit and run moving Frazier to 3rd.

The Giants went to their closer to face Reynolds with nobody out and runners at the corners. He would deliver a single to tie the game.

With runners at 1st and 2nd Will Craig struck out bringing up Polanco who hit quite possibly the softest double I’ve seen him hit to face McGee the Giants lefty closer with one out, he too would strike out.

With two outs the Pirates pinch hit for Ka’ai Tom with Erik Gonzalez, he too would strike out. Turkey was on the table, if you’re going to call yourself openly a small ball team, move the runners over and score. If you aren’t, start reviewing draft boards for 2022.

Rich Rod got through a scoreless top of the 10th, and the Pirates started the 10th with Erik Gonzalez at 2nd base. Wilmer Difo was tasked with bunting Gonzalez over but failed on his first 2 attempts then worked the count full and got the ball pulled to the right side to advance him to 3rd with one out.

Facing the sidewinder Tyler Rogers and a Giants defense that went to 5 infielders, Michael Perez struck out on 4 pitches. The defense switched back and Jacob Stallings was called to pinch hit and he too struck out.

Onto the 11th.

The Pirates turned to Luis Oviedo. A flyball moved Crawford to 3rd with one out and then a bloop single scored the go ahead run. Then he walked Ruf to put runners at 1st and 2nd, then Will Craig made a hell of a play to rob the Giants of an extra base hit and they escaped only giving up one.

The Giants now protecting a one run lead brought in Caleb Baragar to face Adam Frazier who was 3 for 4 and now playing Left Field. Frazier belted a triple off the wall to tie it up again. And as if he’d been watching his own special on tape all month long, Kevin Newman stepped up with a chance to put this game on ice, instead he popped out. 1 out.

Next up Bryan Reynolds again. He’d tied it earlier and now he has a chance to win it but the Giants would instead elect to intentionally walk him to face Will Craig, and the Giants chose to walk him as well.

Gregory Polanco, bases loaded, tie game, bottom of the 11th, 1 out. Needs nothing more than a fly ball to win the game. And he delivered! Fly ball deep to right center GAME!

Pirates win 3-2 in 11.

Back at it tomorrow, Johnny Cueto vs Tyler Anderson at 6:35 for game 3 of the series.

News & Notes

  • Adam Frazier just went right back to hitting, collecting 4 more tonight to lead the NL, maybe Adam should be the hitting coach.
  • Sam Howard and David Bednar each tossed a scoreless inning bookending Duane Underwood Jr. who looked better but gave up one run in his 2 innings of work.
  • Bryan Reynolds rarely sees a hittable pitch. He has zero protection in this lineup and if you let him beat you, you probably deserve to get beat. He was 0 for 3 heading into the 9th tonight, and this is just my observation, he’s getting tired of walking 2 times a game. Finally they were forced to pitch to him in the 9th and he delivered. That’s not as easy as it sounds, Really need to get guys healthy, it’s a credit to Frazier and Reynolds for not falling off a cliff in the middle of this disarray.
  • After the game there was a protracted discussion as the Giants protested something. I believe it was about Polanco running past Will Craig on the base paths, but Polanco was out as the ball was caught so of course this isn’t a thing. It’s amazing how many managers don’t know all the rules of the game they operate in. Perhaps that says something about the rules.
  • Gregory Polanco was shown utter disrespect tonight in the 11th. Walking two batters to load the bases to get to his bat. Happy for him, after falling behind 0-2 against a lefty, that’s a big swing.
  • Will Craig and Erik Gonzalez in the 10th and 11th each saved this game with outstanding defensive plays. They may not have delivered at the plate but that matters too.
  • After the game Derek Shelton was asked why he pulled Yajure after 57 pitches and five innings. When a move is really curious you can just count on it being the first question. They wanted to keep him at 5. They claim because Indy is using a 6 man rotation he was on what they considered short rest. In his last outing for Indy he threw 92 pitches and went 6 innings. This strikes me as a weird answer. I thought pitch count was the gospel now, not innings.
  • This was the first win the Pirates have when trailing after 8 innings. 1-20 record in such situations.