Five Pirates Pre-Deadline Topics

The rumor mill is hottest in the fan base, just as predicted the deadline itself is pretty slow. We heard that team executives around the league wanted to get their deals done early because of the unique circumstances in 2020, well, here we are on deadline eve, what happened?

The reality is valuation is all over the place across the league. Teams are overvaluing who they have to move, and others are undervaluing targets. That leads to waiver wire pick ups, cash deals and even swaps of non-factor talent.

Lets take a look at some things to keep an eye on for the next 26 hours of so.

  1. The biggest factor is, was and will be the overall willingness to make considerable moves at this particular deadline. Expiring contract guys not withstanding. For teams like the Pirates the offers are undoubtedly less than they feel they could get this off-season. On top of that, they don’t have a long list of guys who would really push a club over the edge. Final diagnosis – nothing major happens, same as I thought as soon as the deadline was announced.
  2. Jacob Stallings is a dark horse move. His value is sky high and he’s proven himself to be valuable even when he isn’t hitting. He’s the type of player a team that is a catcher short might want to overpay for, he’s already developed and brainy enough to jump right in and help immediately. The Pirates Catching situation is such that a move like this would set the club back unless they can get a good prospect in return, This would take a perfect partner in a perfect spot. If it doesn’t happen, look for the Pirates to extend Jake in the off-season.
  3. One thing to remember when thinking about trades, rebuilding teams don’t typically make deals with other rebuilding teams. There’s a reason for that, and its surprisingly overlooked by fans. They both have the same needs. For instance, Seattle doesn’t want to deal for a player that helps now in exchange for their top catching prospect they’re counting on for their own window. Are there exceptions, of course, just not very many.
  4. If the Bucs don’t move all their expiring contract guys (they won’t), it won’t be because Cherington isn’t listening, or asking too much, it’ll simply be that nobody was interested and/or they got injured at the wrong time. Derek Holland is a perfect example, I fully believe GMBC would take just about the same deal he swung for Dyson. Now, does anyone think he can help them down the stretch?
  5. Social Media has made it really hard to hide ongoing conversations, but there is certainly more cover this season as reporters aren’t roaming around the halls collecting leads. If there is one reason to believe this hot stove will eventually light over the next few hours, it’s that. The Pirates have 3 or 4 starting pitchers I’d bet they’re willing to part with, but Dylan Bundy and Lance Lynn will surely be in front of them on the list of targets, if one or both of them go early today, things will heat up in the next tier.

Hader Implodes, So Does Richard Rodriguez; Pirates Lose a Heartbreaker 7-6 to Brewers

JT Brubaker has had a long road to the Major Leagues. Drafted by the Pirates in the 6th round back in 2015, He moved through the system quickly and was on track to be the next starter the Pirates called on, but the 26 year old suffered right forearm tightness and missed nearly all of 2019.

The excitement about Brubaker was quickly eclipsed by excitement about Keller, and entering 2020 he wasn’t really given a shot to make the rotation this Spring. Well as tends to happen, especially to the Pirates recently, injury would test the depth.

Eventually enough were on the shelf that Brubaker was given a shot to start in a piggyback role with the winner of the nightcap against the Cards, Cody Ponce. Double headers the rest of the way should give him a chance to stick and continue to put his name in the hat for 2021.

Tonight would be a culmination of everything he worked for as he took the hill against the Brewers in Milwaukee.

The Pirates jumped out to a one run lead in the first getting two singles from Gonzalez and Tucker, then Newman grounded to third, but Gonzalez intentionally got himself in a run down and Tucker and Newman moved to 2nd and 3rd. A nice example of fundamental base running and worthy of note. To continue the theme Bell followed with a nice deep fly ball for the early 1-0 tally.

Brubaker surrendered a long home run to Christian Yelich but regrouped to escape with the game tied. In the second, he really ran into some trouble. Loading the bases with 1 out, then he got a ground ball to second and Frazier opted to get the out at home instead of trying for the double play, it would have been close.

Brubaker would take the next batter to 8 pitches before surrendering the lead with a walk, and worse, bringing Yelich to the plate with the bases loaded. Yelich too would take the count 3-2 and the game really sat here. Let’s face it, Brubaker’s entire night rested here, lose Yelich and Sam Howard was warm. Foul ball on an aggressive slider left up in the zone. Foul tip off a fastball out on the outer third. Another fastball away and Yelich lined out to Reynolds.

Baseball is a funny game, sometimes you can sense that early on the significance of a situation. The lead was surrendered but he kept his team, and himself in the game, big stuff from the young man.

Jacob Stallings came through with a two out double to tie the game in the 3rd and Brubaker would settle down. In the top of the fifth, Erik Gonzalez led off with a triple and was driven in by a Newman sac fly. Then Bell went Boom. He’s finding it a bit lately making some pretty solid contact as of late and tonight that was good for a 4-2 lead.

Brubaker cruised through the fifth, striking out the side and leaving in line for his first big league win. Unfortunately the bullpen couldn’t finish the story of JT’s first win in the majors.

In the seventh inning Chris Stratton would surrender one of those insurance runs on an Orlando Arcia home run.

Nik Turley would surrender two more and the lead in the 8th to make it 5-4 Brewers.

Game flipped, right there.

Josh Hader came in for the Brewers and walked Gonzalez, struck out Tucker, the wildness continued though as he would walk Newman too bringing up Josh Bell with two on and the tying run at second. After a visit to the mound that surely sounded like, um you ok dude?, Bell stepped up to try to deliver. On a 1-1 count Hader uncorked a wild pitch moving both runners up 90 feet. Now Bell just needed another fly ball, and he drew Hader’s third walk bringing up Jacob Stallings who is not just the Pirates hottest hitter, but the National League’s, with the bases loaded.

Unbelievably, he walked him. Tie game.

They left him in to face Frazier, 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, sensing a pattern? You guessed it, Walk. Bucs lead 6-5. One of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. He faced 6 batters, walked five and only threw 9 strikes in doing so.

Of course he was pulled, but meanwhile the bases are still juiced with one out. And just in case you thought baseball was fair, Nik Turley now was in line to get his first win.

Regardless, Reynolds to face Williams, and he grounded out to first as they got the out at home. The Pirates called on Gregory Polanco to pinch hit, hit-less in his last 17 but almost guaranteed to see a pitch. Polanco drove one to right but a nice sliding catch kept it a one run game.

Richard Rodriguez on to collect another save in the bottom of the ninth. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so Rich Rod walked the first batter as a nod to Hader I assume. Then promptly gave up a game winning walk off homerun to Eric Sogard.

And just like that, the winner didn’t even wear a Pirates Jersey. Devin Williams picked up the win for the Brewers.

Heartbreaker.

News & Notes:

  • Cole Tucker is quietly really starting to hit. Time to maybe chill on all the ‘if only he could hit’ takes that I’ve certainly been guilty of.
  • Sam Howard continues to be a reliable arm out of the Pen
  • Jacob Stallings is on fire right now, putting the wood to anything over the plate and if he sees a lefty who isn’t the starter the opposing manager should be fired.
  • Gonzalez and Tucker at least tonight really looked like a good one-two. Complimentary to each other and if either get on you don’t suffer in the run game.
  • I know it’s due to injury but Newman in the 3 hole is weird, and even if he hits I’m not sure its the right kind of hitting.
  • Josh Hader did not look sharp tonight, hadn’t pitches since Tuesday. He hadn’t given up a hit all season.

What In the World Has Happened to Bryan Reynolds?

Let’s start by being honest about how bad it has gotten. The Pirates are down a couple runs in the bottom of the 8th and they have a couple speedy runners at second and third. Bryan Reynolds steps to the plate, you actually find yourself wishing it was Newman or Gonzalez.

Even as you feel that way, you tell yourself, no, it’s just a matter of time, Reynolds is the right guy in this situation. Then he chases a belt high fastball, I mean a pitch he would have hammered last season to the gap on a line. Next he chases a breaking pitch down at his ankles and loses his helmet in the process. Ok, last year he probably spits on that one and you can tell from the look on his face he knows it too. You know he won’t chase like that again, you can just tell looking at him, so he takes a pitch that you can’t afford to watch with two strikes and takes a seat.

That scene has played out countless times in 2020, ok not the runners on base part, but the approach at the plate sure has.

Now, the Pirates won’t say it, but it’s pretty clear either the Bucs or Bryan have altered his swing from 2019. Swing changes take some time to bear fruit, but anyone that watched him play last year is screaming at the screen right now ‘Why would you mess with him!?’ and the answer may very well be his 16 home runs in 2019.

Let’s not forget that Derek Shelton came from the Minnesota Twins who came out of nowhere last season to become the league leaders in home runs. They focused on launch angle and pitch selection to create a lineup that hunted and more often than not captured the long balls they were seeking. It makes sense he would want to bring that here, but not all hitters are created equal.

Reynolds greatest strength in 2019 was his balanced approach and quick swing that created line drives.

In fact let’s take a look at his Slugging Percentage on pitch types.

Bryan Reynolds Slugging Percentage based on pitch type 2019-2020

The trends don’t lie, his slugging percentage for Fastballs and Breaking pitches is down, breaking is frighteningly so. The only improvement is on offspeed pitches which tend to be splitters and changeups. This would seem to signify more success when the ball is down a bit. Typical for players who focus on launch angle vs hitting line drives.

The funny thing is, in 2020 he’s actually seeing some increase in pitches in the zone which belies his walk percentage going up.

Zone Percentage based on Pitch Type

That’s a very sharp increase in breaking pitches that find the zone. Remember earlier when I said last season he would just spit on that breaking pitch at the ankles, well when the pitchers are coming into the zone with it that much more it has a couple effects. First, you can’t just spit on them if they’re finishing for called strikes at an almost 50% clip, and second if you don’t show you can’t do as much damage, you’ll see far more.

OK, so pitchers are throwing more breaking pitches in the zone, Bryan just needs to swing at them then more often right? Maybe, but take that increased in zone percentage and couple it with his swing and miss percentage.

Swing and Miss Percentage based on pitch type

Pretty clear here why he’s seeing so many breaking pitches. While the percentage in the zone has increased dramatically, so has his swing and miss. Many times you can tie this to chase, but these two numbers tell you something, he has to swing at these pitches, and if he doesn’t start making more contact on them, improvement won’t come. On top of that, you also see Fastballs have migrated out of the zone and those he is chasing.

Again the only thing he is actually improving on tends to be the offspeed stuff. Alarmingly that’s not what it looked like when Lucas Giolito was brutalizing the entire lineup with change ups.

Being forced to swing at breaking pitches and offspeed stuff goes against his strengths, which has been barreling up the fastball. I mean, it’s good he isn’t missing the changeups as much, but that doesn’t add up to more barrels.

Barrel % based on pitch type

In fact in 2020, he has yet to barrel up anything not classified a fastball. Scouts aren’t paid to ignore things like this, and he’ll have to show he can change these trends to get back to a more advantageous pitch mix.

Looking for good news or a sign he is coming out of this? It’s not very apparent if you are, the only metric I can find that has actually gone up is BB%.

I’m not ready to throw in the towel on Reynolds, that natural ability we saw on display in 2019 is still in there and on occasion he still displays it. Far too often he looks like his approach is not his comfort zone, if anything I’d say look to his personality as the greatest chance he rebounds, Bryan is not the type of player to allow a hitting coach, organization or even his own attempts to make changes get in the way of success. Problem is there isn’t time in this 60 game sprint to really give the time it takes to show results on the field.

Even the numbers I posted are based on a relatively small sample, but they’re still rather telling. Perhaps we’re missing the obvious, a second year player has been fully diagnosed by opposing scouts and knowing what he can and can’t do they’ve altered their approach to him. This happens all the time, sometimes month to month, again, there are only two this year so that doesn’t bode well.

One thing is absolutely true, if Bryan Reynolds doesn’t figure this out, the organization is further behind than even the most bitter fan projected.

Through The Prospect Porthole: Revisiting The Journey Of Cody Ponce

Back in December when I was working for a now defunct Pirates website my main focus was prospects, which has always been a passion of mine. Due to this fondness of players who are constantly fighting to make their Major League Baseball games come true, I often become defensive of them when fans and others criticize a trade by directing these frustrations on the guys who ends up on their teams. I spoke about how people regularly jump to blame this guy, call him a bum or say that he was not worth the trade; especially when he is an unknown prospect and the player you are letting go is a known commodity.

The specific scenario I used in my article involved the player that the Pittsburgh Pirates received in their trade of Jordan Lyles to the Milwaukee Brewers, 25-year old AA pitcher Cody. When he arrived in Altoona the hill he had to climb was already high enough, but of course it turned into a mountain after Lyles went on to have a 7-1 record, a 2.45 ERA and a 1.108 WHIP with 56 Strike Outs in his final 11 appearances for the Brew Crew in 2019. I went on the discuss that this mountain could be one Cody Ponce may never be able to fully climb, but I also encouraged people to not throw in the towel/call him a bum/blame the trade on him just yet.

By now we all probably know how Cody Ponce got here or at least the last part of his journey. However, I would also like to take a look back on where he has been. The Milwaukee Brewers chose Cody Ponce, a 6’5 240 pound junior righty starter out of California Polytechnic State University, in the 2nd Round (55th Player Overall) of the 2015 MLB June Amateur Draft. During his Junior season at Cal Poly Ponoma, Ponce posted a 5-3 record, a 1.44 ERA and 1.091 WHIP with 67 Ks in 62.1 Innings. Based on this impressive resume, as well as stint in the Cape Cod League in 2014, Ponce earned a $1,108,000 bonus upon signing with the Brewers. Upon being drafted he was sent to the Helena Brewers (Milwaukee’s Rookie League Affiliate) of the Pioneer League. He only stayed there for 2 starts and 5 innings of work before earning a quick promotion to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee’s Low A Affiliate) of the Midwest League, where remained for the rest of the season.

In his first professional season, Ponce had a 2.29 ERA, a 1.098 WHIP and 40K/9BB. Due to this success he started out the next season in the Florida State League, with the Brevard County Manatees (Milwaukee’s High A Affiliate through 2016). Unfortunately for him, this year did not go as well or as smoothly as the last. He started the season by suffering a right forearm strain and never regained his effectiveness when he finally did get back on the mound around 2 months later. He finished the season with a 5.25 ERA and a 1.400 WHIP and earned another turn in with Milwaukee’s High A Affiliate to start the 2017 season, this time in the Carolina League with the Carolina Mudcats. He performed much better this time around, with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.292 WHIP, eventually earning a promotion to the Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee’s AA Affiliate) in the Southern League. He built upon his strong season with the Mudcats and in 3 games with the Shuckers only allowed 3 Earned Runs in 17.2 Innings.

Prior to the 2018 season Ponce reached his highest spot on the Brewers MiLB Pipeline Top 30 Prospects, landing at #17. He also started his year in Biloxi, which had to be kind of a disappointment. He tried to make the best of his situation but struggled off and on for the majority of the year, while remaining with the Shuckers this entire time. He was even transitioned into the bullpen, where they thought he would be more effective. For the season he had a below average 4.36 ERA, a 1.284 WHIP and 88 Ks in 95 innings, but also 11 HBP (Hit by Pitches) and 34 Walks. In 2019 he would once again start the year in AA, in Biloxi and with the Shuckers, but this year was going to be a little different. For starters, after being a starter his entire life he was officially transitioned into the bull pen as a reliever and found success again. Through his first 27 appearances of the season he posted a 3.29 ERA, a 1.174 WHIP and 44 Ks in 38.1 innings. Then came the trade. On July 29, 2019 Cody Ponce was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jordan Lyles.

On August 1st he was assigned to the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh’s AA Affiliate) of the Eastern League and the judgement by Pirates’ fans began. Ponce was in Altoona for all of three appearances and 6 innings. He did have 6 Ks and a .667 WHIP during that time, but it is such a small sample size it is almost forgettable. From there he was promoted to the Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh’s AAA Affiliate) of the International League. In 18.2 innings and 4 appearances as a starter, something he hadn’t done consistently since the middle of 2018 and hadn’t done exceptionally well at since at least 2017, Ponce had a 5.30 ERA and a 1.339 WHIP, but did manage 20 K’s.

At the end of the season he was assigned to the Peoria Javelina’s of Arizona Fall League, where he once again remained a starter. In 5 starts he put up an impressive 2.35 ERA, a decent 1.261 WHIP and had 27 K’s in 23 innings. Not bad at all for a mostly hitter-friendly league. Immediately following the Fall League Season, Ponce went on to start 3 games for Team USA in the Premier12, including the Bronze Medal Game against Mexico. In these 3 starts he had a 2.03 ERA and 11 Ks in 13 innings, including 6 in 5 innings in the game against Mexico.

At the beginning of the season, the big question concerning Cody Ponce was, where does he go from here? We knew he would be at Spring Training as he was added to the Pirates’ 40-man roster on November 20, 2019 to protect him from eligibility in the Rule 5 Draft over the Winter Meetings. However, it was not known at the time if the new regime under Ben Cherington saw Ponce as a starter or a reliever. Unfortunately as baseball was shutdown we would have to wait for the answers to these questions. When it finally resumed at the end of July, Cody was optioned to the alternate training site in Altoona.

On August 2nd the Pirates recalled Ponce from Altoona and immediately put him to work against the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately he would earn the loss in this game in spite of only pitching 1/3 of an inning, giving up a hit and a run. His second appearance would come a few days later versus the Minnesota Twins, where he would pitch 3 innings of relief as an impromptu piggyback for JT Brubaker. In this outing he allowed 2 solo home runs and walked one, but also struck out 3 batters. He was eventually optioned back to the alternate site on August 16th.

Then a couple of days Cody was recalled once again, this time for a spot start in the second game of a double header with St. Louis. Needless to say he exceeded the expectations of many by lasting 5 2/3 innings, spreading out 5 hits, striking out 2 and not allowing a run. In the process he earned his first big league win and had people declaring that the Pirates has won the Jordan Lyles Trade. I really don’t know if they were being serious or not, but they are right. Ponce has a plus Fastball (60/60 grade), a plus Cutter (55/60 grade) and an average Curveball (50/50), with average Command (50/50), to go along with a lot of potential. And even though he was sent down almost immediately, I don’t think it will be too long before we see this big right hander back up at the Major League Level because this once unknown prospect from the Jordan Lyles trade has earned it.

JT Riddle Provides Only Power For The Pirates As They Fall To Brewers

In the four games since they last played and swept the Brewers, the Pittsburgh Pirates have played like near polar opposite teams. After being no-hit by Lucas Giolito, shown how high powered the White Sox offense can be and taking both games of a double header from the Cardinals, I was not really sure what Pirates team was going to show up in Milwaukee this evening. To go along with this was the uncertainty of which Derek Holland would take the mound. In three of his starts Holland has allowed less than two runs, while striking out five each time and has lasted between five and six innings. In his other two starts he has given up a total of thirteen runs in 10 2/3 innings, but still struck out eleven batters during this time.

On the Brewers end, they would be sending out Corbin Burnes, who the Pirates roughed up a little bit in his last outing this past Sunday. In 5 1/3 innings Burnes allowed three runs on five hits, ultimately earning a no-decision when Freddy Peralta blew a save in the bottom of the 8th inning. So, would the Pirates experience the same level of success against Burnes and Milwaukee as they had over last weekend or were the Brewers set up to exact revenge?

Luckily for the Pirates it seemed that in the beginning they were going to get the better performing version of Holland as he showed great command of his pitches, striking out five Brewers in the first two innings. His lone mistake being a first pitch fastball to Jedd Gyorko, which he pounded over the left field wall for a home run.

Unfortunately their luck came to an end in the bottom of the third when Holland hit the leadoff batter and promptly gave up a double to Luis Urias. Then after almost working his way out of this jam, he gave up his second home run of the night, a three run jack to Ryan Braun; putting the Pirates behind 4-0 to begin the 4th. In the bottom of the fifth Holland found himself in trouble again, walking a batter before giving up another home run to Jacob Nottingham; making the deficit 6-0. By the bottom of the 5th it started to feel like deja vu. After putting two batters on with free passes, a Mark Mathias double brought in both to extend the Brewers lead to 8-0 and ended Holland’s night. Holland did strike a season high of eight on 100 pitches, but the four walks and eight runs on six hits, three of them home runs, dwarfed this accomplishment on a night inside Milwaukee’s dome.

For the Brewers, Burnes looked like a completely different pitcher than the one that the Pirates faced less than a week ago. Through six innings he was nearly untouchable as he struck out ten, while giving up only two singles to Josh Bell and one to Jacob Stallings. In the top of the seventh he was replaced by David Phelps, who looked to be picking up where Burnes left off by striking out the first two Pirates batters. However, the next batter, JT Riddle put a 1-1 cutter into the right field stands to put Pittsburgh on the board, but still trailing 8-1.

In the bottom of the sixth the recently recalled Nick Mears took the mound for the Pirates and made quick work of the Brewers, striking out two on his way to a 1-2-3 inning. His 15 pitch inning earned him another shot at the Brewers lineup. After getting Keston Hiura to ground out to second baseman, Mears surrendered a center field shot to Gyorko for his second home run of the night. Following another strike out and a single, Mears was lifted in favor of the left hander Sam Howard, who recorded the third out of the inning. At the end of seven the score was the Brewers 9 and the Pirates 1. It would remain this way for the rest of the game as the bats went silent for the both clubs, improving the Brewers record to 14-17 while the Pirates dropped to 9-20.

The second game of this four game series is scheduled for tomorrow evening at 7:10 PM EST as JT Brubaker (0-0, 4.80 ERA) takes the mound for Pirates, facing off against Brett Anderson (2-2, 3.52 ERA for the Brewers.

Through The Prospect Porthole: Rodolfo Castro Is Impressing In Altoona

After speaking with Garett Mansfield from the Altoona Curve at length about the notable performances of Jason Martin and Jared Oliva at the alternative site, he brought up the somewhat unexpected play of Pirates Infield Prospect Rodolfo Castro. Mansfield noted that Castro has executed well at the plate, making regular hard contact, as well as looking comfortable at multiple positions in the field. All of this new information led me to revisit exactly where Castro came from and how he got here.

Back in February of 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates’ owner and chairman, Bob Nutting, spoke of his plans to expand the team’s already existing Baseball Academy in the Dominican Republic; doubling the facilities that were present at that time. The original project had cost the Pirates approximately $5 million dollars and to date had only produced a few Dominican-born prospects. Mr. Nutting was probably completely unaware that as he was making this announcement, the Pirates had a Dominican-born player, named Rodolfo Castro, in their system that was ready to break into the Pittsburgh Pirates top prospects list that coming summer.

On October 30, 2015 the Pittsburgh Pirates signed the 16-year-old shortstop during the international amateur free-agency period to a $150,000 contract. His first taste of professional baseball would come the following summer as the Pirates assigned him to the DSL Pirates (Pittsburgh’s Foreign Rookie Level Affiliate) of the Dominican Summer League. For being only 17 years old the 6’, 200 pound, switch-hitting shortstop performed very well.

In 56 games and 230 plate appearances the young Castro posted a slash line of .271/.360/.411, with 2 home runs and 20 extra base hits. The next year in three less games, Castro produced very similar numbers (.277/.344/479 with 6 homers and 22 extra base hits for the GCL Pirates (Pittsburgh’s Rookie Level Affiliate) in the Gulf Coast League. During this season Castro began to split his time defensively almost exactly three ways, between second base (15), third base (17) and shortstop (19). It was clear that his best positions were his natural SS and his adopted second base, but he performed well at third as well.

 After his second full winter off in a row, Castro joined the West Virginia Power (Pittsburgh’s former Low A Affiliate) in the South Atlantic League for the 2018 season. The consistency that he had exhibited in his first two years in the Pirate’s farm system did not continue through his third season. His strike out rate swelled to 26%, his walk rate fell to 6.8%, his batting average dropped to .231 and he only totaled 35 extra base hits in twice as many games as the previous two seasons. Another change was that for the first time in his career he played more games at another position, second base (89 Games) than he did at his drafted position, SS (12 Games). 

Due to his struggles during this season, as well as an stint on the IL at the end of July, with the Power it was determined that Castro would be assigned to Gigantes de Carolina of the Puerto Rican Winter League during the 2018-2019 off-season. Castro would only go on to appear in 8 games for Carolina that off-season and get 27 plate appearances. Unsurprisingly his numbers were not that impressive as he batted .269, with a .672 OPS and 12 strike outs.

Following this disappointing season it was not a shock when he was assigned to the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pittsburgh’s Low A Affiliate beginning in 2019) of the South Atlantic League, his second year in a row at this level. However, this year was going to be a little different. For the first two months of the season, his strike out rate still hovered between 25% and 30%, but his batting average once again returned to around .263 and his power rebounded as he hit 13 home runs, accounting for a .901 OPS.

This resurgence led to a promotion to the Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh’s High A/Advanced Affiliate) of the Florida State League at the end of June. At this point Castro began to labor and slump more than he had in his entire career thus far, as he batted only .132/.192/.206 in the month of July and hit a only a single home run. It looked like things might not get better for the young Dominican. Luckily for Castro things did get better, a lot better. For the month of August he hit .299/.346/.443, with 2 homers and 10 extra base hits in only 26 games. It should be noted that in his short time in Bradenton he did play third base in 4 games, which has always been the position where he performed the worst. It is possible that this change in position and level threw off the rhythm that he found earlier in the season.

In spite of the bumps in the road that he experienced during the past two seasons, Rodolfo’s hard work was rewarded with a spot on the MLB Pipeline Pittsburgh Pirates Top 30 Prospects, landing at #22. As the off-season began he had been scheduled to play Toros Del Este of the Dominican Winter League, but was placed on the reserves list. Prior to this season I saw the possibility of him starting the year back in Bradenton due to age, the fact that there was a logjam at the middle infield position ahead of him in the organization and with the goals of reducing his strike out rate, increasing his walk rate and attempting to find a balance between hit/contact and power. The delay in the MLB season and the eventual cancellation of a MiLB one caused the plans for Castro to be re-evaluated. Much to my surprise the now #26 ranked Pirates prospect, was added to the player pool at the alternate site, but as previously stated he is taking every opportunity he can to make a good impression.

It is obvious that new General Manager Ben Cherington and staff saw something in Rodolfo Castro to make the decision that he should be a part of the squad in Altoona. Currently this choice appears to be strictly a developmental one as Castro has not participated in a contest above High A. However, I would not be shocked if this led to a more direct path to playing time for him at the MLB level in the coming years.

Kuhl, Ponce, Power Pirates to Sweep of Double Header in St. Louis

In game one the Pirates sent Chad Kuhl to the mound. The lineup featured the return of Kevin Newman and the MLB debut for Will Craig. The Cards trotted their normal lineup out and started Kwang-Hyun Kim the lefty.

The dynamic of a seven-inning game is so different, when the Pirates scored their first run on a Jacob Stallings single it was the 4th inning and felt like the seventh. Kuhl getting through 3 scoreless cut the game in half and he wasn’t done yet. He would post another scoreless inning and then Yadier Molina led off the fifth with a solo shot to tie the game at one.

Kuhl would regroup to finish five strong innings on 56 pitches, helped out by Jacob Stallings throwing out Dexter Fowler trying to swipe second. In the sixth he would run into trouble after recording two outs but rebounded to strike out Tyler O’neil. Really nice outing for Kuhl and he didn’t have his best stuff, especially his curveball. Kim efficiently had himself in the same position as Chad, his problems were caused primarily by the Cardinals defense which feels weird to even type.

That defense would crop up again in extras as Brad Miller made his second error allowing the Bucs to capitalize and score 3 runs in the top of the 8th off Gant.

Richard Rodriguez would run into trouble in the bottom half, surrendering two runs and getting help from another solid play in left by Reynolds. The Cards pinch hit for Tyler O’Niel with Max Schrock and he struck out to end the game. Whew.

On the whole well played game by the Pirates. Solid defense and they really pitched a nice game.

News & Notes:

  • During the 1st ballgame the Pirates added Anthony Alford a young center fielder who the Blue Jays put on waivers last week.
  • Yadier Molina 7-15 against Chad Kuhl hit his first homerun of the season off Chad in the fifth.
  • The Cardinals have had 13 players make their MLB debut this year.
  • Kuhl didn’t have his curveball today, just wasn’t breaking for him but he battled through, really shows why it’s so important for a starting pitcher to have 4 or 5 pitches to go to.
  • Richard Rodriguez is an example of what you can find picking up DFAs Yes, he’s had his struggles but right now he is very much so the most consistent arm they have in the pen.

Ponce Delivers a Gem in Game Two As Bucs Sweep the Series and the Double Header

For game two the Pirates sent rookie Cody Ponce to the hill with a chance to start his first game in the majors. The Cardinals countered with Johan Oviedo also a rookie but not in his debut start.

Ponce tiptoed through the minefield in the first three innings of work then came out for the fourth and put together a 6-pitch inning.

Oviedo only really got touched up in the third, walking Riddle, then a single by Murphy, Gonzalez and Frazier drove in a pair. In the fifth Oviedo walked Murphy with one out and gave up a single to Frazier setting up Reynolds for another RBI opportunity, but he struck out. A theme that continues to plague the team. They have no choice but to believe in Bell and Reynolds, even if they let them down all season long, because without them in the lineup or not producing in it, the result is the same.

The bottom of the fifth saw Ponce give up a lead off double, but he kept his composure and got two pop ups and a strikeout. Shelton showed confidence in him and sent the youngster back out for the sixth where he got the first two outs then gave up a hard hit liner to the wall by Brad Miller, Cole Tucker had it lined up and its debatable as to whether he should have had it but it was make-able, instead a triple that drove him from the game. Geoff Hartlieb was summoned and he induced a pop up to strand Miller at third and keep Ponce’s line clean.

To the seventh, and last inning I keep reminding myself and the Bucs were looking to add on to their precarious 2-0 lead.

The Pirates turned to Nik Turley in the 9th and he delivered a save and the Bucs win 2-0 in game two. Cody Ponce picks up his first MLB win.

Two well played games by the Pirates tonight. Win or lose you’d rather see them build on a foundation of fundamentally sound ball than the alternative. The sloppy play makes it feel like the whole ball club is in disarray, this makes for a much better learning environment.

2 wins, Not the biggest deal in the world, but heading to Milwaukee for a four game set, the same Brewers the Pirates just swept, could make for a nice rebound from an awful two nights in Chicago. Record up to 9-19 and are 5-2 in their last 7.

News & Notes:

  • No new trades or acquisitions came through this game by the way.
  • Erik Gonzalez looks like he’s getting back on it, making good contact and going the other way with regularity.
  • Important outing for Cody Ponce, making a case to be looked at should spots in the rotation need filled. Nice composure and you can tell he’s missing just a little polish on his pitches. Just a bit more sharpness on the breaking stuff and he’s an interesting piece. He’s also a big endorsement for trading rentals.
  • Frazier started this game and looked locked in at the plate.
  • There have been a whole lot of negatives in this season but imagine tossing 5.2 scoreless in your MLB starting debut. Cody Ponce really stepped up and saved the pen for these 13 games in 11 days stretch.
  • First time since 1966 the Pirates have swept a double header in St. Louis.
  • Also, Cody Ponce looks like Jack Black in Nacho Libre (Enjoy, you’ll never not see it.)

Sports Aren’t Fun Right Now, At Some Point That Will Matter

It’s easy as a Pirates fan to feel this 7-19 season isn’t fun, but for many the knowledge that it’s part of the process is enough. COVID-19 changed the landscape of every sport that was in season and some that haven’t even started yet.

Add into that the BLM protests and recently, boycotts.

This isn’t about what the players can or can’t do, should or shouldn’t, it’s more about understanding why the players have these platforms in the first place.

Before I get into that, I’ll say first, yes, sometimes there are indeed things that are bigger than sports. I’m not here to decide for the players if this is one of those times or not, but I am here to say at some point, sports better return to being what these leagues are about.

If there is no NBA or professional basketball in the US, nobody knows what Lebron thinks. I don’t say that to imply he wouldn’t be successful if pro sports weren’t on the table, but if his basketball career never happened, his voice is not the behemoth it is today. If the NBA never comes back, yeah, I know it will, Lebron will have his voice until the day he leaves this Earth because he earned the fame, the platform, the voice, through sports.

The youngsters who are still in college or plan to be drafted next season don’t have that voice yet. Sure, as part of a larger group they can speak to anything they like, but again, if you haven’t done anything yet you just don’t have the impact. If you use your voice and platform to actively hurt or stop the game, surely it makes sense that your platform at some point won’t be brick but waterlogged plywood.

Baseball had an inconsistent response, and that too is ok. If we respect the NBA teams making a decision like that, we should respect baseball teams making choices for themselves too. Unlike the NBA, if one star like Mookie Betts decides to not play, the game can go on and in many cases they did.

The NHL decided to just keep playing, and the outrage over that is hollow. It’s a Canadian game, predominantly made of Canadian and European players, being played exclusively in Canada at the moment, why would they want to halt what they have going on for an American problem?

The larger point I’m trying to get through though is this, sports are supposed to be fun, a release from our daily lives and if that’s not going to be the case, long term it won’t be good. When a game is scheduled for Sunday, fans will build their time around it and make it part of their lives. When the schedule becomes something determined by whims of players, I start to question the sustainability of the relationship between fan and team.

Think about what COVID alone has done to baseball. It’s really hard to get too ahead of yourself talking about upcoming games. The Pirates are embarking on 13 games in 11 days and man it’s tough to see all those happening isn’t it. In fact, I’ll believe today’s double header will happen at around 3 today.

Again, special circumstances, the pandemic made this a reality, but now there is another variable where something awful can happen in some small town in Virginia and it threatens an entire day’s schedule. You can support them, and I actually think most do, but at some point, the loss of games will start to alter the viewing habits.

As a writer, and trust me I don’t pretend to be a real journalist, I often hear “stick to sports”, and quite honestly, I’d love to, but how can you ignore political issues that are directly affecting the games we love on a daily basis? I also suspect that is a disingenuous statement, what they really mean is “don’t disagree with me”. Try to stay silent once you’ve gotten to a certain point in this business and see how far you get before people ask/demand comment on stuff like this.

They don’t really care what I think, they just want me to echo the approved message in a well written way and retweet someone else who agrees. Even the message I’m writing as we speak isn’t in the playbook. I’ve not written one word saying the players should or shouldn’t do this but have pointed out I question the sustainability of doing so. That won’t matter to some, and you take that as part of the gig. The opinion game is very much so about making informed statements and being prepared to defend them, while leaving room to change them with new data points. That’s not always going to equate to agreement.

I’m not normally an NBA fan, not because I don’t like basketball or the tired, they don’t play defense stance, no, my reason is very yinzer, we don’t have a team. If we did, I have no doubt I’d be just as into it as I am the Riverhounds right now. That said, I have really been enjoying these playoffs, I was hungry for sports and the NBA was making a fan out of me. I’m not one of the people who won’t watch because they kneel or wear a jersey with a message on it but I am someone who isn’t familiar with all the players, so as a guy trying to get into it, I struggled to know who I was watching outside the few names everyone knows.

That’s exactly what I’m getting at, I understood why they wanted to wear a message, but is it good for the game? The game that gave the platform in the first place has/had a chance to grow, giving voice to even more players. The NBA has been extremely accommodating to really any method these guys wanted to employ, and at the end of the day, it still wasn’t enough to insulate the league from being boycotted by the very people they supported and promoted.

Baseball has been really trying too, nobody told the players they had to stand or salute, it’s been very much so up to the individual. They have provided platforms for many of them to speak and get their message out but still, not enough.

The protests were designed to bring awareness to a problem, that’s what Colin Kaepernick started with. Sure, he did some things afterward to make it easy to fracture the message like wearing Pig Socks but when it started it was to bring awareness to a situation.

Hey, mission accomplished.

Problem is, nobody really has a solution for it. At least not anything I’ve heard. Again, they can do this all they like, they can straight up cripple these leagues if they so choose, nobody can and more importantly will stop them. I’d suggest something attainable must be in place if you want to protest and affect change. If you want to have a platform to affect change, I’d suggest not forgetting why you have one.

I’m not going to tell you sports are on the brink, because honestly there is just too much money involved for many of them to die, but COVID taught a whole lot of people they could live without something they never thought possible, the reality of many walking away because they can no longer count on something as simple as the games actually being played is a possibility many won’t face until it smacks them in the face.

Sports has always had an element of social or political overtones, Muhammad Ali, Jessie Owens, Jackie Robinson, the Negro Leagues as a whole, hell the Miracle on Ice was democracy versus communism. It’s been a thing for a long time, and in the case of Ali he actually gave up his platform for his cause momentarily.

I’m a white guy, I have cops in my family, I have black friends who feel this is wrong and black friends who describe in detail their fears. They all remain my friends because I can understand the situation all of them are in. Maybe my friends know I have law enforcement in my family, and they curb their words, but I like to think they just know I’ll listen. I also know, they don’t think my relatives are out there targeting them. ALL and NONE have no place in this conversation and eliminating them from the discussion is step one for finding answers.

I don’t offer solutions because I don’t have any. Racism lives in every country on the planet, in every race, toward every other race. Its disgusting, and you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who vocally disagrees with that, but it lives in the shadows. If Sports want to be part of the solution, they’d be wise to continue being a place where people from all walks of life can congregate and come together under one banner, if they don’t play that will surely be the sacrificial lamb.

Back to baseball today, so far.

Through The Prospect Porthole: Nick Mears Goes From Unknown To MLB

Signed as a free agent in August of 2018, this young right hander seemed to come from out of nowhere. Mears had pitched for two years at Sacramento City College, as well as two summers in the Northwoods League playing for the Willmar Stingers. It was during his second summer there that he really hit his stride. In 14 games and 19.1 innings he posted a 1.40 ERA, a .724 WHIP and 29 Ks. Due to being signed in August he was only able to appear in 3 games, but he continued to impress; striking out 8 in 4 innings.

Last summer, Mears began the year with the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pittsburgh’s Low A Affiliate) of the South Atlantic League. It only took 11.2 innings to realize he was ready to move up to the next level, as he clearly outplayed his competition: striking out 19 with a 1.029 WHIP. His stay with the Bradenton Marauders (High A/Advanced) lasted a little longer, but Mears continued his dominance. His strike out rate dropped slightly from 14.7 per 9 to 12.9, but his WHIP stayed steady (1.029 to 1.033). Toward the end of the year he was promoted for the second time in one season to the Altoona Curve (AA).

When he arrived in Altoona there was still not much information on him other than the fact that he struck out a lot of guys, which was clearly evident by the fact that even the knowledgeable Garett Mansfield, voice of the Altoona Curve, had to go down to the clubhouse to have a conversation with him to find out his whole story. He was ultimately only with the Curve long enough to pitch 5 innings, but he once again impressed and earned an assignment to the Arizona Fall League where he would be teammates with Jared Oliva on the Javelinas. In the AZFL he didn’t give up a run, struck out 11 in 8 innings. Mears’ whirlwind of a season was capped off with a non-roster invitation to Pirates’ spring training and eventually earning a spot in the Pirates player pool, being assigned to Pittsburgh’s Alternate Site in Altoona toward the end of July.

However, the roller coaster that Mears had been riding for the previous sixteen months since arriving in Greensboro was far from over as he was promoted to the big league club on August 8th and immediately entered the game versus Detroit later that afternoon in the 6th inning. His Major League Debut was less than ideal as he walked 3 batters and gave up an earned run, but he did strike out 2 and work his way out of jam. The very next day Mears would be on his way back to Altoona.

A little over a week later Mears would have his number called again, this time appearing in two games in four days. The young right hander came into the game on 8/19 against the Indians in a tough spot, with runners on 1st and 2nd in the top of the 8th and 3 runs already in. He promptly struck out Delino DeShields to avoid any more damage. Mears then struck out another in the 9th and induced a double play. His second outing would not be as promising as he was unable to locate the zone; walking 3, striking out none and allowing another earned run. Once again he was optioned back to Altoona almost as quickly as he had been brought up.

When evaluating Nick Mears I would like everyone to take into consideration is that this young man is only 23 years old and prior to being called up to the Pirates he had only pitched five innings in AA, after having started the year in Low A. That feat alone is impressive. Now add in 70 grade fastball and a plus curveball that resulted in 13.39 K/9 across three levels in MiLB last year and 10.80 K/9 in limited MLB action this year; all of which points toward a bright future for this young man.

White Sox Sweep 2 Game Set; Pirates Trade Chips Lower Bar

Full disclosure, my Co-editor Craig, the host of the Bucs In the Basement Podcast is part of the Broadcast Basement Network. Chris, his co-host also does one for the White Sox called Sox in the Basement. So I listen to both pretty regularly, as I’ve always considered the Sox my cheat team.

The Sox are absolutely crushing the baseball, and since their 1-4 start to the season they’re pitching better than most as well. Combine that with a scuffling team who is half injured and the half that’s healthy is doing nothing, and you get exactly what we watched here in this two game series.

The trade deadline looms large now just five days away and the Pirates have reportedly expressed willingness to talk about almost anyone, with anyone. Three guys who have come up quite a bit in discussions are Joe Musgrove, Colin Moran, and Keone Kela. Musgrove has a chance to come back and pitch before the deadline, but it’s starting to feel like a stretch. Yesterday Colin Moran was said to be available, today he was reported as still undergoing testing. Yesterday Kela was said to be doing fine, today we were informed he hasn’t picked up a ball yet.

What is going on here? It certainly can’t be some effort to pull the wool over potential trade partner’s eyes, they would assuredly perform an exam. Is Derek Shelton, the author of yesterday’s updates not talking to Head Trainer Todd Tomczyk? To say the least, I can’t imagine it’s comforting to teams the Pirates are in contact with to see the club not have their stories straight.

Back to the field, because the next set of players that figure to be subject to trade winds created some of their own questions.

Trevor Williams took the hill today and went 6 innings. That’s where the kind words stop. Here’s Trevor’s line beyond that, 9 hits, 8 earned runs, 2 BB, 3 K. Ouch. Of course Trevor has been at least the most public target in rumors this week, and this certainly doesn’t help that, but he also has enough history that an outing like this is hardly a shock. He has these every once in a while and anyone talking to the Pirates is already painfully aware. I’ll say this, if you believed Williams to have value and wanted to trade for him, this changes nothing.

I could go on about the Sox stats in this game and who hit what off who but the real story of this game lies in the directions these clubs are headed.

Many will point out how dominant the pitching was this series against the Bucs, and that’s true, but the bats are and have been inept. Reynolds looked like last series never happened. Bell continues to look like he hasn’t a clue, and it’s starting to lose the qualifier of ‘for Bell’ he just. What I mean here is, Bell just looks plain bad and it’s real hard to keep calling him one of the best players on this team. Polanco is still not making contact often enough, I can’t remember the last time I felt Frazier had an impact. The list goes on.

Yesterday I saw many reference the lack of approach against Giolito and that’s true. Despite Joe Musgrove taking offense to the assertion on social media. Today was no different as the Bucs went up swinging at early stuff, finally in the sixth they became patient and drew three walks off Chi Sox Starter Dallas Keuchel. It’s frustrating how far this team goes without realizing they need to change course.

The significance of this sweep is just about equal to the one the Pirates just put on Milwaukee.

Sox Win 10-3

News & Notes:

  • Erik Gonzalez has fallen off the map since his hot couple weeks, but he did hit a homerun today and made solid contact often in he series. They are clearly intrigued enough by him that I’m more convinced than ever he is the 3rd baseman the rest of the way here once Newman is healthy.
  • The Pirates acquired Austin Davis from the Phillies for Cash during the game. In his 3rd year in the majors, Davis is a reliever with decent peripherals but nothing to get too excited about. Another talent, not yet realized. Low risk, high reward.
  • Tyler Bashlor gave up a two run shot to Abreu, and there’s no shame in that really, but his numbers since being called up to the Pirates are not pretty. Another reason to not get too excited about Davis. Same deal.
  • I see no reason to continue playing Riddle, not sure what they get out of it at this point and the Newman injury could have been an opportunity to put Tucker back at short for a stretch.
  • Many are frustrated the club has not yet called up Hayes, but I’d like to mention Jason Martin. I can almost understand Hayes with so much infield depth, but the outfield could use another member and Martin seems to be a forgotten man.
  • Jacob Stallings has been the most consistent hitter as of late collecting two hits today. If you utter that statement, your team isn’t going to be very good.