Five Pirates Thoughts at Five – The Ups & Downs of Youth

8-14-23 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

Young guys are very clearly the theme the rest of the way this year. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about Hayes having a hot stretch or Reynolds getting on track, it just means those two extended players, well, it should be expected they’d play like good players.

Today, I want to focus on the highs and lows of youth, and more than anything, I want to focus on how their roles might evolve in the short term as they continue to improve.

An overriding theme here though, you aren’t seeing most of these guys at the height of their powers. Probably shouldn’t have expected that in the first place, it so rarely happens.

It also should help you understand why you can’t look at things like the rotation options for 2024 and pretend they don’t need to bring in some sure things.

1. Endy Rodriguez

Endy was sold as a guy who could start behind the dish, second base, outfield, and first base, but if you watched him as his minor league season played out it became apparent the Pirates see him as first and foremost a catcher.

He shows you why as you watch him. The arm is great, and he does a generally good job with pop time and making the throws to help control the run game. He’s a solid receiver of the ball, it’s quiet and paints a clear picture for umpires, well, everywhere but upstairs. He also shows you some warts.

Playing on one knee has not only become normal/acceptable as it comes to the catching position, it’s become coached. As an older fan myself, I’ll probably never fully accept it, and when I see it directly create problems, well, I’m certainly not going to just sit here and pretend it’s ok.

Let’s outline Endy’s biggest youth issues.
1. Playing on one knee, he’s not reacting quickly enough to pitches in the dirt, predominately when they occur to his right. His gut tells him to backhand at the ball, and multiple times now we’ve seen it cost the Pirates bases and put pitchers in trouble. Over time he needs to, especially in crunch time, change his focus to making sure those balls don’t get by him, it’s far more important than framing which is the main purpose of the one knee technique.

If he doesn’t, pitchers simply won’t trust they can bounce their stuff in there, which yes, they purposefully do at times. Wild pitches happen, so do passed balls, that’s part of the gig, but you can’t allow them to happen 3-4 times in a given game and expect to win.

2. Attacking batters efficiently. Calling a game is important, and often we pretend all of these pitchers should just do what’s right on their own, but a catcher has been back there all night by the time relievers come in. They have real world eyes on guys, relievers have scouting reports. Over time Endy will improve in this aspect, as he’ll start to discover how gameday changes the pregame scouting bible.

3. Running the bases. Endy like many high end athletes needs to learn what he can’t get away with at this level. Last week for instance, he led off 1st base much too far with the bases loaded and the catcher threw behind him to pick him off. He (to his credit) found a way to get his hand back in there and the Pirates scored a bunch of runs on the Braves as a result. Yesterday we saw it go the other way with a runner on 2nd. Can’t have it. He does it because quite honestly it gets him extra steps to ensure he gets from 1st to 3rd on a hit, and more than anything, he didn’t have to pay a price in MiLB for doing so. He’s finding out MLB talent is different, just like everyone does, but twice is enough, needs to stop.

2. Henry Davis

Oh Henry, he’s making a fairly obvious mistake almost every game at this point in the field, sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn’t, every time it’s dangerous.

That said, he is learning. Just yesterday in game one of the double header a ball was hit over his head, he was chasing it down, looked like he was about to dive headfirst into the wall trying to get it, then he maturely pulled up and played it smartly off the wall instead. That is progress my friends. A baby step to be sure, but a step nonetheless. Later in that same game he took a poor angle to a screaming liner and it wound up going over his head. A seasoned outfielder makes that catch, a tremendous athlete almost made it despite the mistake.

Seeing him actually set for a catch and throw is a step. Breaking the right direction on a linedrive right at him is a step.

Henry is learning a brand new position right before our eyes and yes, it’s messy.

So, why no catching? He is practicing it, and he will do it this year, but folks everything I said about Endy up there, add in having a hard time just keeping strikes called as such let alone framing something up.

This is a kid who quite literally was not trained in the nuances of catching in college, this is sourced from his former teammate and catcher from Louisville on with Craig Toth on Bucs in the Basement.

He’s caught all of 67 professional games. He’s played all of 56 games as a professional in Right Field.

Henry is here because of his bat, plain and simple. He hit his way to MLB and unlike Miguel Andujar, he has a future even if that’s all he ever is. There is also evidence that given time and focus he’ll improve. He improved as a catcher in AA, he’s improved believe it or not as a fielder since his promotion to MLB. He’s taking better routes, although not good enough, he’s making better throw decisions, although not often enough, but improvement all the same.

If they choose to focus him on Right field, he’ll work all off season to improve and he won’t look the same come Spring. This is where all the manipulation stuff falls apart. His bat was ready before his call up, I’m convinced of it, but the defensive side, it simply wasn’t ready, and my friends, there is no shortcut, he simply has to learn it. Call up all the kids and see what they can do at times looks like this as well.

I should also add in here, he was drafted for his bat. Even at draft time Henry being an MLB starting catcher was not seen universally as a good bet. That doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t do it well, it just means teams draft arms and bats, as opposed to positions. Endy was brought in before Henry in a trade and he’s never for even one day fallen behind him as it comes to developing defensively.

Bottom line, Henry will play the field with his 80 Grade arm, and eventually he’ll play somewhere very well, but he doesn’t’ have to be a catcher to be a success.

And one more thing, if you want Cutch back next year, be careful deciding everyone who isn’t a gold glover from the jump should be the DH.

3. The Outfield Conundrum

Bryan Reynolds has been a gold glove finalist, there is a good fielder in there, and even now he flashes the leather at times. Jack Suwinski has speed, and generally takes good routes to the ball, but his arm isn’t traditionally strong enough to play center and Henry we just got done discussing.

Those three are very likely going to enter 2024 as your starting outfield and while they all have ability, I don’t think any of them are going to find their way into any “best” conversations anytime soon out there.

As a franchise, the Pirates have an issue with the outfield and it mostly comes from not understanding who should take charge at any given time. It happens when a gap shot could be either the CF or LF ball, it happens on every pop up where a middle infielder is on their way out while the OF is charging, and thing is, just being vocal could help.

Tarrik Brock trains the outfielders for the Pirates, and while he does well schooling them on the intricacies of playing outfield in different ball parks, this disconnect has to improve.

First, there needs to be a general, and it needs to be the Center Fielder. What he sees, needs to be gospel. If he calls off a RF or LF, they need to peel off and back up the CF. Same with the infielders, they need to know ANY OF who calls them off gets the ball, period.

It’s one small thing they can improve on, and it’s gone on far too long.

Bryan and Jack aren’t vocal guys, but in their positions, they need to be. I don’t care what they do, pull together drills where they call for balls and if the pitcher can’t hear them screaming, start over and do it again. Communication is something too easy to fix to just let it keep happening, and it’s not even about experience, it’s just about designating a pecking order for who is in charge and making sure everyone knows where you are.

Not jockeying guys around helps too.

Nothing is going to make Reynolds and Jack have incredible arm strength, but positioning, communication, solid routes and making sure the player with the best angle makes the catch can help make it a much smaller issue. If those three have spots based on their bat as it looks likely to be, they have to at least be average out there as a unit. That’s doable, so find the coaching mix that helps it happen.

4. Don’t “Waste” a Guy at First Base!

I hear this constantly. Can’t play Oneil Cruz at First, it’s a waste of his arm! Can’t play Davis there because, yup, a waste of his arm. Folks, at some point, it’s more about finding places for 9 bats to play.

At this point, it’s painfully apparent the Pirates will be back on the free agent market looking for a first baseman in 2024. Rivas can play the position, but his bat is limited, Joe can play ok there, but he’s not excellent on defense and his bat again probably isn’t a first baseman’s preferred skill set.

The Pirates could consider moving someone over there, it doesn’t have to be Cruz or Davis of course, but it simply can’t be the answer for ever. As you develop bats, the hope is you develop more than you have spots for. That can lead to trades, or just quality depth, but to never consider moving anyone over there to me is like crying about being hungry when in reality you just don’t want to eat what you have on hand or don’t feel like cooking.

My top candidates are Jack Suwinski, Henry Davis, and Nick Gonzales right now. Triolo can do the job if he’s asked, but I’m not sure the bat will ever do what you really want to see it do over there. That said, if Hayes recent outburst is real and lasting (far too early to know and you have to be skeptical) Triolo could work out fine over there for a while.

Moving Jack or Henry could help answer the outfield issue. It could allow them to improve defensively out there, maybe even be the path for Ji Hwan Bae having a place to play when he comes back. Nick might struggle to find a spot when Cruz returns, especially if Peguero keeps playing the way he is.

I’d like to see the Pirates have an open mind here if only because the free agent market for first basemen that matter is Hoskins, Cron and Santana really. I don’t think they’ll pay for either of the first two, and Santana at best is a one year answer.

I’m not anxious to watch someone learn it here, so it makes sense over the offseason and in the minors. Maybe it’s a sign Santana again thing, and this time he has someone he’s shepherding.

Either way, I understand the waste aspect here, but as we run out of places for guys to play, there is ample possibility they’ll waste a player all together because they can’t get him on the field anywhere. Which is better?

5. It’s Time to Call Up a Real Starter

The Pirates are playing better baseball, that’s true, and the recent record shows that, but the starting rotation is smoke and mirrors.

Keller and Oviedo are there, Priester by all estimation has gotten his taste and has shown he has work to do. I’m ok with that happening here, but he needs backed by a rested bullpen. Bailey Falter is what he is, at best a 5th starter, but he’s not providing enough length to be considered a real starter quite yet. Then they just use the bullpen.

Luis Ortiz and Jared Jones both could and I’d argue should be called up soon. Even if they’re no more successful, we need to see what we have now, nothing is going to effect the offseason decisions more than understanding who is and who isn’t in the mix.

It’s become clear that Ortiz was sent down less for “fixing” him and more for resting him. It’s going to take another two weeks to build him back up. Jones is already beyond his innings this year, so he doesn’t have a ton of innings left to give. If he doesn’t get called up soon, I could see him getting shut down in September.

Paul Skenes is of course in the picture next year, but you can’t count on that and claim you’re competing.

Let’s see more real starters, including Roansy make their way back up here, or up here for the first time this year and start making some decisions. Killing the bullpen once a week is going to leave a smoking stump back there when you really need them.

Pirates Split Double-Header, Lose Series to Reds(53-65)

07/13/23 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_Ethan on Twitter

Game One

The first game of the double-header on Sunday was a pitcher’s duel in the early innings, as Mitch Keller and Brandon Williamson pitched three scoreless innings before the Reds drew first blood on a Christian Encarnacion-Strand RBI-single.

Cincinnati would score another in the fifth, gaining a 2-0 lead from a Matt McClain double that scored Will Benson.

Pittsburgh would finally get on the board in the bottom of the fifth as Alika Williams scored Henry Davis to bring the Pirates within one.

The turning point and ultimate decider of the first contest came in the seventh inning. With two runners on, Jared Triolo would secure his first MLB home run as a pinch hitter on a 3-2 count as he sent a line-drive over the left field wall to give the Pirates a surprising 4-2 lead.

At that point, the Pirates offense only had three hits, but Keller’s quality start kept them within distance to allow the comeback effort.

Colin Holderman and David Bednar would have identical outings as the duo pitched a scoreless inning a piece with four combined strikeouts to shut the door on the Reds in the first game of the double header. It was Holderman’s 18th hold and Bednar’s 24th save on the season and Angel Perdomo was credited with his third victory of the season.

Game Two

Game two of the double header had a much different feeling than the first game.

After a mostly quiet game offensively for both squads, the Pirates brought home two runs in the bottom of the first against Luke Weaver, who only pitched 3.2 innings, thanks to a Bryan Reynolds homer and Henry Davis sacrifice fly.

Luke Maile and the Reds answered back immediately against Andre Jackson, as Maile doubled to score Henry Ramos and Wil Benson.

In a game of back and forth, Liover Peguero homered in the bottom of the second to give the Pirates the lead right back. Elly de la Cruz would follow suit in the third, tying the game at three a piece with a solo shot.

Peguero struck again in the fourth, picking up an RBI single to score Henry Davis and giving the Pirates the lead again.

After some disagreements on ball and strike calls, Derek Shelton, Oscar Marin and Don Kelly were all ejected from the second contest of the night. Despite this, the Pirates would escape the sixth inning with their lead intact.

Reynolds added to the Pirates lead in the seventh on an absolute moonshot over the Clemente wall for his second homer of the evening to make it 5-3.

Cincinnati, as they did for most of the second game, fought back and tied the game at five in the eighth with Joey Votto starting the inning with a double and a couple wild pitches helping the Reds tie things up after a Stuart Fairchild ground-rule double.

Pittsburgh would threaten to break the tie in the eighth, with Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez reaching before Cincinnati brought in Alexis Diaz from the bullpen, effectively shutting the door and keeping the game tied heading into the ninth.

Colin Selby came on in the ninth, ending a scoreless frame by freezing Votto on a beautiful pitch, giving Pittsburgh a chance at a walk-off victory in the final frame.

Diaz would set down the side in order, sending the game to extra innings.

Thanks to a bloop single, Cincinnati would score off Osvaldo Bido in the top of the 10th as Stuart Fairchild would beat out a tough double play attempt from Peguero and Triolo. Cincinnati would enter the bottom of the 10th up 6-5.

Pittsburgh would fail to score in the 10th, losing a tough one to Cincinnati in a game where Cincinnati only led for one-half inning.

Pittsburgh ends the week 53-65 and heads to Queens to take on the New York Mets.

News & Notes

  • Keller: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 7 K
  • Holderman: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 K, 18th hold
  • Bednar: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 K, 24th save
  • Jackson: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
  • Borucki: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 K
  • Bolton: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB
  • Hatch: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER
  • Hernandez: 0.2 IP, 1 H, O ER, 2 K
  • Selby: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
  • Bido: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 K
  • Reynolds: 2 HR
  • Triolo: 1 HR
  • Pirates move to 53-65

Minor League News and Brews: International Bonus SPACE and MLB Draft Pick Debuts

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-thnxc-147b026

Craig leads off the show by dispelling claims concerning Henry Davis’ development; which eventually leads into a discussion about International Bonus Pool Space and the professional debuts of numerous 2023 MLB Draft Picks for your Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Craig Toth covers the Pirates for Inside The Bucs Basement, and is a huge Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Fan; especially when it comes to the Farm System. Listen. Subscribe. Share. We are “For Fans, By Fans & All Pirates Talk.” THE Pirates Fan Minor League Podcast found EVERYWHERE podcasts can be found and always at BucsInTheBasement.com!

Ten Things We Have to See This Year to Prepare for 2024

8-11-23 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

The Pirates obviously should be trying to win as many games down the stretch as possible, at the end of the day, nothing shows improvement more than the record after all. That said, there are some underlying things that I feel are crucial to next season, and for that matter, making smart decisions in the offseason.

Today, lets talk about what I see as being the ten most important.

10. Ortiz & Contreras

Look, even if both of these kids come back and look great, this club is going to have to procure a quality free agent starter, so one thing I don’t think they can afford to do is have 2023 wrap up being completely in the dark as to whether either of these guys are at least capable of being in the 2024 rotation, even as an alternate.

Roansy has just been returned to AAA, pitched his first outing yesterday, just a couple innings. As I wrote here a few weeks ago, nobody in MiLB is going to touch his offspeed stuff, so I was disappointed to see him lean on that arsenal in his outing and all but ignore his fastball that is still only touching 93MPH. Bluntly, that’s not going to be enough for him at the MLB level, and no, I don’t think he’s a solid bullpen arm without it either.

The team has taken him to independent “pitch doctors”, and they’ve had him in their own lab at the FCL complex, but nobody seems to know where the velo has gone. Bottom line, they either get the velo back, or they have to find a way to make it move so much it works for him anyway.

Ortiz still has his fastball, but he also isn’t placing his breaking balls. Ultimately, I think he’ll be back maybe as early as next week. What we must remember with Luis is he rose from relative obscurity in the system and next thing you know he’s in MLB mowing down everyone he faced. Now that the league knows him, he’ll have to learn how to do a bit more, mainly improving his changeup offering.

These two must both be at least educated guesses by the end of this year, or this whole thing changes as it pertains to offseason requirements.

9. Get Eyes on Oneil Cruz

First of all, make sure he’s 100%, if he isn’t, there is very little purpose in risking him playing at all. That said, it seems to be that he’s on the right track and having just started a running program, he should be ready by the end of August for a rehab assignment and ultimately back in the Bigs come September.

I don’t expect him to light the world on fire, but I do think just the threat of what he can do will change the lineup, and I think that’s important to see this year. The more they know about this situation, the more informed they’ll be entering free agency.

It’s also time to put all the nonsense aside about what position he plays. We need to see how he’s moving when he comes back, and understand if it is less than is necessary to be a major league shortstop, is that something that will improve with additional healing or do we just accept we have to find him somewhere else to play?

The bat is going to require an everyday position, even if that includes DH. This decision, could effect the 40-man and potentially who is available at the prospect level to move in a deal for another need.

8. Narrow Keller’s Focus

Mitch Keller has 5 or 6 pitches depending on who you ask. Meaning, his cutter and slider are such similar pitches, statcast has a hard time distinguishing them and the sweeper (AKA Slurve) is yet another wrinkle on the same action.

I’m starting to think he may have too many to truly perfect any of them and more than that, I think he might have too many toys for any catcher who isn’t a defensive specialist nerd type to really manage and understand. Oscar Marin really needs to get his arms around this situation and help Keller be as effective as he can be.

It’s clear as day he isn’t throwing the 2-seamer that helped him find something last year nearly as much, and it’s equally clear he’s fallen in love with the cutter, unfortunately, so have lefty power hitters.

7. Get Eyes on Jared Jones

In my mind, he’s the next starting pitching prospect truly worth excitement. His stuff plays, and he’s working hard to develop a more effective changeup. Jones is at some point going to have to get an opportunity and with the state of the starting rotation it makes too much sense to get the ball rolling.

In case you’re not sensing a theme here in the early going, it’s super important to this whole thing, and to me, you can’t enter 2024 hoping one or two of these youngsters can be the answer. Maybe they are, but if you want to truly compete next year, the rotation can’t be filled with blindly answered questions and hopes, it has to be filled with educated guesses, and reasonably sure things. The more they find out now, in theory, the smarter they can be in free agency.

6. Work Henry in Behind the Dish

I’ll be very honest, I don’t think Henry right now is a very good catcher. He has the arm, but I believe Endy is already far enough ahead of him it’s not ultimately going to be worth the effort to try to get Henry there.

That said, Henry wants it, and not that I think he’d make a problem, but simply so it doesn’t become something he always wonders about, to me, its important to let him have a shot at it in September, and I mean a real shot, give him a couple games back there, DH Endy to keep him going too, but let Henry have what he’s seen as his dream. Do it for a few weeks like that. Again, a real shot.

Best case scenario, he looks better doing the job than practicing the job. Worst case, you focus him hard on Right Field and let the athlete do what athletes do. Much like Cruz, the bat needs to be in the lineup, and almost every day somewhere. That at the end of the day is the important thing. For both Henry and Cruz, I believe they can find a place to play and do it well. At this rate though, feels like we’ll have a very hard time “not wasting an arm at first base” doesn’t it?

5. Avoid Misplacing Credit

While you have a bunch of kids, too many to be overseen directly on a game by game basis by your hitting coach, don’t misinterpret their success for part of the hitting plan. In other words, I don’t care if the team ultimately blames Andy Haines for what this offense turned into for 3 solid months this year and a full season in 2022 or not. What I care about is settling for Andy Haines being good enough for this group of hitters.

Hitters with different skill sets, some being held back by an approach that limits their effectiveness. Others being rendered useless entirely at times because they’ve become offensively speaking one trick ponies.

Even if they think he’s done a good job, they have to see it’s not working for some of the most important hitters they have, guys they’ve locked up for quite some time. Guys who are no longer looking to Haines for answers exclusively. It’s time to upgrade, and I’d like to see one for game to game scouting report stuff and one focused on swing mechanics.

4. Evaluate the Fielding Coaches

The Pirates in 2020 openly set the goal of improving their team defense, and as poor as that ballclub was, they were definitively excellent defensively that year. Ever since, its fallen off a cliff. This happens with young players of course, but they simply have to improve.

Bryan Reynolds, Henry Davis and Jack Suwinski are all what this club at the moment considers to be their best offensive lineup. Henry has the best arm, but he has trouble reading the ball off the bat, and takes some very ill advised routes to balls. Again, not his fault, he’s barely gotten started out there, but Jack and Bryan, well, they’ve been outfielders all their lives. I’m not sure either are going to win a gold glove if what I’ve seen this year is what there is. I suggest coaching here because honestly, I think all 3 bats play, and that being the case, there’s nothing else to be done but upgrade the players.

I don’t think I’ve seen enough improvement on throwing decisions, routes to balls, or for that matter where the coaches place them at times. Reynolds and Jack aren’t vocal enough to truly take charge, honestly folks, without making it sound like it’s the end of the world, I simply only think they’ll get so good out there as a unit. So let’s at least know we’re coaching the hell out of them.

3. Get Back to Forcing Action on the Bases

I know a lot of this was about Ji-hwan Bae, but the rest of the team has speed too, let’s get back to forcing action. Make the defense worry what not paying attention could cause. Distract the pitching. It was such a huge part of what worked in April, and despite losing a guy like Bae to the IL, it just completely disappeared from their plan, and largely the speed is still here if not added to.

Maybe baserunners became so precious due to the universally preached hitting plan they stopped having the intestinal fortitude to push the envelope, but to me it feels like a big piece of what gives this offense potential. It’s not loaded with 40 homerun bombers, it’s loaded with gap power and speed, at least for now. Use it.

2. Derek Shelton Manage to Win With No Apology

If it means Jared Triolo doesn’t play for 5 straight days because Peguero is red hot, so be it. If it means Perdomo is a better choice to close out a game and not Bednar because there are 2 big lefties coming up, so be it.

If Connor Joe is literally just a pinch hitter the rest of 2023, so be it.

Manage as though your job depends on it, because whether the Pirates had the expectation of winning a lot in 2023 or not, at some point the reaper comes for everyone. Knowing this mix of players is largely returning in 2024, we fans shouldn’t wait to see them try to use them the way they would if they were fighting for a pennant.

It could only benefit Shelton to push these kids so he knows better what he has come Spring.

1. Reconnect the City to its Baseball Team…Again

Don’t say it out loud, cause we’ll all slap you down for that. But make sure fans understand all the garbage they watched since this management team came to town has been in an effort to get here, right where we are.

We have some good looking young players, some tough decisions coming and add to it in a professional way this offseason. Make sure it’s clear, tryout season is over, now it’s time to prove yourself and hold a spot, because there are other candidates and we’re going to pick who’s performing best, not the nicest guy, bet that.

Let fans know you’re serious by addressing some long lasting problems and making sure they’re addressed for longer than just 2024.

Have a little belief that if you spend it, they will come, and support this exciting young group you’ve to your credit put together, but don’t forget we paid a bigger price than you for that effort. We watched a lot of struggle, with a promise of doing what was necessary when the time comes.

Now it’s up to you to execute the show part of show and tell.

Pittsburgh Pirates Scratch & Claw, Split Series w/ NL Best Atlanta Braves (52-63)

08/10/23 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_Ethan on Twitter

What. A. Series

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves met for four games at PNC Park this week and many expected Atlanta to run over an inferior Pirates squad, but every game in the series would be decided by two runs or less and both teams would pick up two wins in the process, including a Pirates comeback victory on Thursday.

Atlanta started hot in this one, scoring four runs in the first three innings against trade-deadline acquisition Bailey Falter, who saw four innings of work as the Braves lineup hit him eight times.

For Pittsburgh though, this series was all about showing the best team in the NL that they wouldn’t just lay down and that they would fight back in these games, and that’s exactly what they did Thursday afternoon.

After three innings of the Braves scoring, Pittsburgh found a jolt offensively against Bryce Elder, scoring three runs in the third inning guided by a Ke’Bryan Hayes sing that would bring the Pirates within one run.

Pittsburgh continued to put runs up on the board in the sixth, scoring two more thanks to a Jack Suwinski double and a Liover Peguero single that would each score runs for the Buccos.

The seventh was no different as Hayes would once again torch Atlanta’s pitching with a triple that would score Bryan Reynolds, following by another Peguero RBI-single that gave the Pirates seven unanswered runs against Atlanta.

Pittsburgh came back and took the lead after the 4-0 deficit and with help from Thomas Hatch, who would pick up the victory here and go four innings without allowing a run, the Pirates managed to get to the top of the ninth and have room to allow a run, which they did.

In the end, you could look at this series in two lights. One, the Pirates very well could have swept the Braves. The other, and the light you should be looking towards, is that they lost by a combined three runs in their two losses against a 70-plus win team at this point and played very good baseball offensively. It may be a split on the record book, but it’s a massive win for this young squad.

Pittsburgh starts a new series tomorrow against NL Central rival Cincinnati to end the home stand.

News & Notes

  • Falter: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
  • Hatch: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K(W)
  • Holderman: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 K(SV)
  • Peguero(2 RBI) and Hayes(3 RBI) lead the way offensively in a 10 hit afternoon
  • Pirates move to 52-63 and split series w/ Braves, Cincinnati next

The Pirates Are Building A Culture

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-hm76y-1476c89

Craig and Chris start off by comparing the culture within the Pirates Clubhouse to those of other rebuilding teams, and end by trying to make roster decisions for 2024 and beyond; including the possibility of trading a player that is presumably a part of the core. 

Brought to you by ShopYinzz.com! Craig Toth covers the Pirates for Inside The Bucs Basement, and joins his buddy Chris at a 9-foot homemade oak bar to talk Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball. Listen. Subscribe. Share. We are “For Fans, By Fans & All Pirates Talk.” THE Pirates Fan Podcast found EVERYWHERE podcasts can be found and always at BucsInTheBasement.com!

Strider Struggles and Pirates Pounce (51-61)

8/7/23- By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on Twitter

Coming home after a solid trip to Milwaukee to face the NL favorite Atlanta Braves is not ideal. Having to face the MLB leader in strikeouts – Spencer Strider – takes that to a whole other level but, somehow, in the face of adversity, this team rises to the occasion as they jumped all over the Braves for a 7-6 victory.

First few innings were fairly quiet as it appeared a pitching duel could be in order between Strider and Pirates starter, Osvaldo Bido. The Pirates got the scoring started in the third inning. Liover Peguero led off with a sharp double down the first base line, moved to third on an Alika Williams groundout  and scored on a groundout by Connor Joe. Then, they kept the two-out rally rolling. 

Bryan Reynolds walked and scored on a deep double to center by Andrew McCutchen, who would then score when Henry Davis singled to center. A pair of walks to Jack Suwinski and Endy Rodriguez loaded the bases for Jared Triolo to deliver the knock-out punch, driving a single to center and scoring two runs – but more importantly, ending the night for Strider. Unfortunately for him, he was still on the hook for some baserunners. Reliever Mike Tonkin came on and hung a pitch as Peguero drove a high sinker to center for his second hit of the inning and the team’s sixth run.

Atlanta would battle back in the 4th as Bido’s struggles second time through the order continued. Ronald Acuña lined out to center but Ozzie Albies homered to right, Austin Riley doubled to left and Matt Olson singled to drive in Riley. Following a Sean Murphy hit by pitch, Marcel Ozuna stuck a ball to right field that bounced under Davis’s glove and resulted in two more runs scoring.

Connor Joe led off the bottom of the 4th with a blast to left field, his second straight game with a long-ball.

Yerry de los Santos relieved Bido in the 5th and managed to get two outs but allowed two baserunners as well and, facing the league leader in home runs and RBI, was pulled for a left-on-left matchup with Olson as Ryan Borucki was summoned. Olson was able to fight off a slider on the outside corner, shooting it into right and driving in another run.

Following a lengthy rain delay, Jose Hernandez came on for the 6th inning, retiring two of four batters he faced before Carmen Mlodzinski came on to get the last out. A big moment of the inning came when Triolo made this grab for the 2nd out.

Mlodzinski took the 7th, Angel Perdomo shut it down in the 8th and David Bednar finished it off with his 23rd save of the season – albeit, not without some drama. Action on the bases with a lead-off double from Michael Harris II, coming around to score with a ground-out to first by Albies but team managed to hold it down to secure the win.

News & Notes

  • 2.2 innings marked the shortest outing of the season for Strider and ties the shortest start of his career. Coincidentally, the previous one was on August 7, 2022.
  • The game was delayed for 78 minutes due to rain.
  • Peguero is the youngest Pirate to record 2 hits in an inning since Barry Bonds.
  • With his 9th round-tripper of the season today, Connor Joe set a new career-high for home runs. He previously hit 8 in 2021 with the Colorado Rockies.
  • Endy showed off his swim move avoiding a pick-off at first base.
  • Pirates patience paid off as the Bucs walked 6 times tonight against 8 strikeouts.
  • Game two tomorrow night with Mitch Keller facing Yonny Chirinos. Start time is slated for 7:05PM. Let’s Go Bucs!

Five Pirates Thoughts at Five – Finish Strong?

8-7-23 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

Different sport of course, but happy birthday to Sidney Crosby, the longtime and almost universally respected captain of our hockey team here in Pittsburgh.

Sid is easily in the top 5 hockey players all time, and by the time all is said and done, he’ll have played 2 solid decades in “small market” Pittsburgh and regardless of how he finishes his career, he’ll have minimally delivered 3 cups.

If Hockey’s economics were structured like MLB, he’d have been a Rangers or Kings player 15 years ago.

This team, and this owner don’t help themselves as much as they could or should, I don’t absolve them of that, but in a league like this, there are certain realities, this is one of them. Doesn’t mean you can’t win, it just means it’s a hell of a lot harder.

Let’s jump into this week’s 5 Thoughts.

1. Meritocracy

The Pirates have used this as a goal. They’ve used it to explain playing time decisions, they’ve used it to explain call up decisions. I understood the meaning, and sentiment of course, but functionally, if you were honest about it, there was simply no way to truly practice this prior to about 2 weeks ago.

Keep in mind, this isn’t about talent level. When we discuss that, we’re talking about a player’s perceived or expected ceiling. In other words, Termarr Johnson’s ceiling is higher than Josh Palacios or Conner Joe, clearly, but he has a long way to go to reach their level of production at the MLB level, or more accurately, the belief he could at least match their production at this level. He should absolutely be a better player, but you can’t make a meritocracy argument here. Just like you couldn’t take a military cadet at West Point with a tested IQ of 165 and think he’d be better right now than a currently serving General with 5 or 6 active duty battles under his belt.

Point is though, we are officially to the point where the sentiment is lined up with real options.

That’s what leads to a guy like Nick Gonzales being sent back to AAA. Again, his ceiling is higher than Alika Williams, but Alika is outplaying him and his ceiling isn’t exactly light years behind Nick’s. So, based on merit, Alika for now, wins the playing time in MLB and Nick earns a trip back to AAA to prove he can improve on what we’ve seen from him so far.

He won’t be the last.

Doesn’t mean they won’t have to take shots. Oneil Cruz for instance. When he returns, he’s likely going to replace someone here who might very well matter.

The goal of this whole thing was to get to the point where we were no longer able to pick from 5-6 guys who had long since proven they don’t belong here, and move it along to sending productive and interesting players down for other productive and interesting players.

The harder these decisions get, the better this thing is likely looking.

Point is, what was a punchline is now a reality. Barring injuries, prospects now need to perform to get the call, at least in the field, on the mound, probably lagging behind a bit.

2. Asking Different Questions About Johan Oviedo Now

As the season started, think back with me now, Johan Oviedo even being the 5th starter seemed in question. It took JT Brubaker having Tommy John out of nowhere to procure an opportunity. He’d shown enough that the Pirates likely could have chosen to put him in the pen or easily could have made the case starting in AAA for a while was in his best interest.

Well, what could have happened, did, and to his credit he’s at this point not only proven he can start, he’s proven he has the potential to be a workhorse.

He’s still fighting through some inconsistency, but really, who isn’t in MLB that isn’t universally considered one of the best of the best.

All that being said, we started out asking “Is Oviedo a bullpen arm or a starter?”. And now, we’re asking things more like how good can he be in this rotation?

We critique Ben Cherington’s every move, because that’s what fans and bloggers do, and this deal in particular still has room to get better if Malcom Nunez ever progresses to MLB, but right now, right this second, Oviedo all by himself makes the Jose Quintana and Chris Stratton move to St. Louis (an inside the division trade that I’ve heard is completely out of the question after the Carlos Santana to Milwaukee deal) a total win.

Finding an effective and under team control starting rotation piece that stepped in during that very season for 9 weeks of a starter and roughly a season of a reliever, folks, that’s the damn GM lottery.

Again, moving Quintana and Stratton hurt the 2022 product. GM doesn’t care about winning, GM doesn’t care about the fans, GM doesn’t know what he’s doing… Had they kept both, maybe they win 2,3, hell I’ll give you 5 more games last year. Now take a stab at where they’d be right now without Oviedo.

This is the type of stuff that has to happen if it’s ever going to work here. Cherington must find players who are blocked, or used differently than they believe is optimal for the talent and acquire them for what equates to nothing important.

For instance, they tried this twice last year at the deadline. Colin Holderman was acquired from the Mets for Daniel Vogelbach, he’s not had nearly the success that Oviedo has, but he too was a big armed reliever that the Pirates thought potentially could start. They got him here, opened the hood and realized he was best suited to be in the pen. I’m not claiming he’s been some wild success as we sit here, but the risk was worth it, and they probably have a guy who can help them in the back of their bullpen for years to come.

Now we’re seeing the same type of thoughts with Andre Jackson whom they claimed from the Dodgers. It’s again a win win. If he can pitch at all, solid bullpen pickup potentially, if he can start, hey, super win.

That’s 3 players acquired for nobody who was going to be here in 2024. Guys they didn’t draft, sign, and importantly they didn’t invest all the time developing them, they tweaked them.

Moving on from Quintana, Vogelbach, Hill, Santana, Choi, you know, guys who aren’t in the long range plans for short range upgrades with potential to be long range pieces always hurts in the moment, but trust your eyes, it works too at times and bluntly, it’s a process they’ll have to keep doing.

3. Nick Gonzales, Bust?

Not yet. Not after 100 at bats in MLB.

Nick can play multiple infield positions, that part of his game has, and continues to look good. The bat however, well, he has the problems many of us observed and critiqued as early as draft day in 2020.

As Craig Toth wrote in a recent Through the Prospect Porthole “Prior to the 2020 MLB Draft, scouts saw his strength as having a short/compact swing with a ton of bat speed, that could move through the strike-zone due his control. At the time they also questioned his power due to him hitting inside the friendly confines of Presley Askew Field at New Mexico State; often drawing comps to the recently DFA’d Keston Hiura of the Brewers.”

Again, Nick’s issues aren’t a surprise, he strikes out too much for a non traditional power hitter. He can still be effective, can even wind up being a key piece to this whole thing. Believe me, if and when this thing gets where they want it to go, they won’t have 26 All-Stars.

If indeed he winds up being a contributor as opposed to leading the charge, hey, so be it. Would that make him a disappointing number one pick? Sure, but not the end of the world either.

I don’t say things like this to glaze over Ben Cherington’s first selection. I’m not pretending it doesn’t matter when you don’t get what you’re hoping for from a first rounder. It matters quite a bit, but it also is plain to see league wide, first round doesn’t equal guaranteed star.

Look, it’s too early to decide what Gonzales is, but look at the landscape right now. Cruz, Peguero, Marcano, Gonzales, Bae, Termarr Johnson, Williams, Triolo, Cheng, folks, Nick has a ton of competition just in his own franchise let alone the league. Now if we work through all these names and still don’t feel we have a 2B and SS combo we love, that my friends is a problem.

Right now, it’s nothing more than a kid who simply has to improve on a few things and because the roster is better, the team can easily make the case more seasoning is needed, and not hurting the MLB team in the process. Nick has every opportunity to either find a way to develop more meaningful power, or focus more on the contact aspect of his game.

Of all that, my biggest fear with Nick is that he does exactly what this club preaches offensively. That sets up a slamming your head against a brick wall situation, because honestly, I don’t think it’s in his skill set to make the philosophy work for him (we’ll find few are the longer it goes this way). He either needs to walk more, strike out less, or hit more homeruns. All 3 preferably, but I don’t believe that’s in there.

4. Is Baily Falter – More Than a Fill In?

Impossible to say honestly. One thing is fairly certain though, he’s going to get the last 2 months of this season to audition. We’ve all been through the list of pitchers who have some claim to being members of the starting rotation in 2024, Keller, and Oviedo are the only two locks, then you have Priester, Jones, Ortiz, Contreras, Nicolas, Kranick, Solometo, Wolf, and yes, Falter, and at some point later in the year, Skenes if he shoves from the jump.

They’ll have to sign some veterans, I’d recommend 2 even looking at that list and even if they don’t agree with me, we know they’ll get at least one. 2 spots up for grabs, 1 if they do what I suggested.

That’s a lot of competition for Falter, but it is for everyone on that list too, and as one of the 3 lefties I mentioned, he’s probably even got a head start.

Solid acquisition though regardless. This team severely lacks depth in the Starting rotation at the top level of the system and more than that, they lacked left handed pitchers with a snowball’s chance in hell of impacting the league before July of 2024, and even that is if Solometo just keeps making it look easy.

All of those options could be Starters for this club, but I’d suggest if they truly want to enter 2024 with an eye toward winning a division or even hunting down a wild card, they simply have no choice but to add in a seasoned and tested starter or two. And I don’t mean guys you hope get beaten out by prospects, I mean bonafide starters that have a track record of carrying an innings load and being seen as at least a middle of the rotation arm.

So, does Falter matter? Well, not to backtrack, but Oviedo wasn’t supposed to be this crucial either in 2023 was he?

Have an open mind, the rotation might not be the mix you thought it’d be, but it also is very much so an opportunity for anyone who wants to grab it with both hands and not let go. Including Baily Falter.

5. Payroll in 2024 is Likely Only Going Up Marginally

Bob Cheap, I know. Yes it’s very true, but I also think in 2024 it’s going to be more about what they have, and less about what they’ll spend.

This team has needs to be sure, They need Starting pithing as I outlined in number 4, they need a first baseman and they could use an upgrade in the outfield. They’ll sign McCutchen but he’s certainly not going to get a raise on his 5 million dollar salary.

Now, I can go around the diamond and suggest it’s pretty easy to bring in a vet here and there to upgrade a position, but with all the kids they have to work through, I just don’t see them trying to do that as opposed to working through these prospects.

If they go get a guy like Julio Urias, he’s going to command 25Million AAV most likely, and yes, I know this isn’t something this team has considered in the past, he’d fill a real issue for years, cause he’s not coming here for a season, you’d have to offer him 6-7 years as he enters his age 27 season. This is his big career payday.

This team still wouldn’t hit 100Million.

This situation is exactly what they were shooting for, and the hope is you have enough youngsters actively getting better so you can afford to augment in a meaningful way. This is also the part of the equation the Pirates usually don’t even attempt.

Until I see different, I can’t make the mental jump that this off season will be different. But for that 25 million, I can say this team goes from young upstarts trying to compete and get better, and becomes a rotation that can mask some of what comes with youth and help drag a young roster forward.

There could also be extensions in there like Keller or Bednar, but even so, if a certain number means “trying” to you, I’d suggest next year it’s only going to get so big.

Spend money big on the two main open spots. The starting rotation and first base, maybe you make this happen. Spend like a scared to death to make a mistake GM and ensure incremental improvement at best.

Oh, and maybe coach them properly too, but this is about money.

First base for instance, they spent about 11 million, folks, that’s more than this team usually does, and that won’t even get you Rhys Hoskins, he’ll get somewhere in the 17-20 million dollar AAV range.

These are two premium needs, and to me dipping a toe in won’t help. Sign better quality free agents for a few years and if you have better options internally in 2025 or 2026, move them for better prospects than you’d get from any 1 year signing.

I know what this franchise is, and what they’ve done. But as a fan, I’m going to ask for what I think they need, not what I think they’ll swallow.

Oviedo Tosses Gem, Bucs Homer Thrice to Secure Series Split (50-61)

8/6/23- By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on Twitter

Following a straight-up drubbing on Thursday, the Pirates put together three straight competitive games, culminating in a 4-1 victory today to split the series against the Brewers.

After struggling through the first two innings where Brewers’ starter Brandon Woodruff struck out 5 of the first 6 batters, Bucs led off consecutive innings with a bang as Endy Rodriguez hit his second home run of the season to give a 1-0 lead. Connor Joe struck a hanging slider to left for a 2-0 lead in the 4th.

Johan Oviedo posted his third straight quality start with 7 shutout innings of work, allowing just 2 hits with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts. He was working all of his pitches, reaching up to 97 on his fastball and down to 79 on his curve, creating very different looks for Brewers bats.

Woodruff only allowed 4 hits and 2 runs but was pulled after 5 innings as he made his first MLB start since April 7 following a lengthy injured list stint. Hoby Milner and Abner Uribe each pitched a clean inning of relief, but J.C. Mejia took the 8th and, after allowing a lead-off single to Endy, faced pinch-hitter Bryan Reynolds and he did this:

Colin Holderman pitched a clean 8th inning with Carmen Mlodzinski taking the 9th and managing to finish it off after some action on the bases and a rare throwing error by Ke’Bryan Hayes.

News & Notes

  • Reynolds did not start today after fouling a ball off his knee in the game last night. Per GM Ben Cherington, “We don’t anticipate this being a long-term thing.” Seeing his swing on the homer, I think he’s probably ok.
  • Oviedo has been on a strong stretch lately. Over the past three starts, 20 innings, 11 hits, 16 strikeouts, 8 walks and only 2 runs.
  • Endy notched a 3-hit game, with 2 singles in addition to his home run. It was his first 3-hit game of his young major league career. He is the first rookie catcher for the Pirates to have 3 hits and a home run among them since Michael McKenry on July 26, 2011
  • Joe’s home run had an expected batting average (per Baseball Savant) of .060 despite being a home run in 28 of 30 parks.
  • The Pirates head back home tomorrow to host Spencer Strider and the Atlanta Braves. First pitch is at 7:05PM. Let’s Go Bucs!

The Pirates Had to Cross This Bridge…and it Was Never Going to be Smooth

8-6-23 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

Way back in the off season, long before the Pirates rekindled their relationship with Andrew McCutchen. Before the Bryan Reynolds trade request saga. Predating all those starting pitchers going down with season ending arm injuries, I had one main question.

Pretty simple actually.

How the hell is this team going to navigate introducing all of these prospects to MLB?

Now, on the surface, it’s easy, call them up of course. But more specifically what I wanted to understand was how were they possibly going to go through all these kids efficiently, and effectively.

Unfortunately, I’d have to say it’s been answered, and just as unfortunately, I’d have to say it’s been answered with a big thud.

Some guys bounced all over the field, some were called up, placed on the bench and unceremoniously send back down before recording an at bat.

Some were “protected” and attempts were made to ensure they were getting favorable matchups, others were tossed in the deep end and seemingly couldn’t struggle enough to get anyone to pull back on the effort.

Have a great game at the plate, its a damn near guarantee you’ll have butt splinters tomorrow.

The best way to describe what this team did with youngsters all year is inconsistency. I guess you could give them benefit of doubt and claim what appears to be inconsistent is simply what they refer to as player centric.

I’ll also add in here, with all the 40-man decisions this club is going to face this December, I can hardly say they didn’t legitimately need to make sure they saw as many as possible.

This process is always hard though, and it’s primarily why I found it the most important and interesting question entering the season. Think about it, if they were really good, zero chance we see all these kids, they’d have been forced to keep most of the vets they brought in, and probably would have had to acquire more.

The post April fall off created an environment that made the youth movement the easy choice.

Now that most of the kids we hoped to see in 2023 are here, in fact, some have already been sent back down for some work, I’d just like to remind everyone development doesn’t stop once you reach MLB.

I mean, it may here, but it shouldn’t if they’re doing it right. That said, I keep hearing things like “Send Quinn Priester Down, he stinks, he’s not ready!”. He likely will wind up being sent down at some point, but if you remember, I mentioned before he was even called up, he was going to be a guy that needed to learn from what his stuff did in MLB, so he knows what to fine tune. Quinn has to be a pitcher, not a thrower, and that takes time.

If you want to keep a kid like that in AAA until he’s “ready”, trade him now, cause it simply won’t happen without this step, the one we’re watching now. Maybe more than once.

That’s one guy.

Want more examples? OK, Henry Davis. “He’s not a Right Fielder, he’s killing us out there!”, “If he’s a catcher, let him catch!”

Henry and Endy for that matter are always going to have to be well versed at another position on the diamond. At least for the first half decade of their careers. Henry’s bat was ready, nothing else was really battle tested. As a catcher, he has a lot to work on, internally they feel this, nationally, scouts think this, visually it’s so apparent from his 2 innings of work I’m not sure how you concoct conspiracy theories about why it isn’t happening more.

He has work to do in Right Field too, but he can’t create as much negativity in RF as Catching.

So, why’s he here then? Sounds like he needs “developed” and that should completely happen in AAA right? Sure, if you want him up in 2025, and even then, guess what, he’ll have MLB only lessons to learn.

The point of all of this, Kids don’t come to MLB as locked on superstars all that often. That takes time to develop, and that development most often takes place at the MLB level.

Now when you’re watching a team that has 10-15 guys like this in the field and on the mound, it’s not going to be seamless.

This is where the whole “they don’t care” thing to me loses it’s teeth. I’m not sure what other direction you could go once you’ve worked your way into the situation. The team had a ton of kids on schedule to debut this year, fueled by stinking, making moves, drafting high and COVID smashing them together.

They could have brought in better free agents, probably had a better record, and just as likely not debuted 5 or 6 guys who we’ve seen this year.

Some teams would absolutely do that, maybe the Pirates should have too, but the truth is, this process, what we’re watching right this second on this team is exactly what they intended.

To promote and play as many kids as possible. To have an ide of what holes they can reasonably fill internally this Winter, and which holes they have to address outside. 2024 will be different.

We’ll see more debuts for sure, but not on this scale, and we’ll see a better record too. Oneil Cruz if healthy and productive will get most of the credit but I have a feeling when we sit back next June and think about our baseball team, we’ll be able to credit these last two months of baseball and affording all these kids amble room to learn at the top level of their craft.

Nobody smart is going to tell Pirates fans to be patient, but in 2023 with all these kids, you really have little choice, well, you could change the channel too.