I saw a discussion online yesterday where some fans were marveling at Cole Tucker’s speed in legging out a double. I thought it was interesting because, while Tucker has good speed and is a very intelligent baserunner, he’s not exactly Billy Hamilton. (Statcast in a very small sample size so far measures Tucker’s sprint speed at 28.1 ft/sec, which is comfortably above the average of 27.0, but below the elite speedsters, who are up over 29.0.)
But then I thought about what Pirate fans are used to watching. Not just in the sense of foot speed, but overall athleticism, which in Tucker’s case rates very highly. Speed and athleticism are, of course, related closely to age. The assumption among baseball fans used to be that hitters peaked around age 30. (I’m leaving aside pitchers, who have very different aging patterns.) Then, as people examined the data more closely, the notion of peak age moved to 27. More recently, there are some indications that it may be closer to 25. But that’s hitting. Speed, and with it defensive ability, probably peaks even earlier, although I’m now aware of any comprehensive data. (Bill James did find that triples peak at age 21.)
The notion that speed and defensive ability peak at a very young age started getting some purchase when the current version of the Astros emerged from their rebuild to win 86 games in 2015 with baseball’s youngest position players. That team was third in MLB in defensive efficiency and was very exciting to watch.
The Pirates in recent years, while they’ve had young pitching staffs, haven’t had young position players. In 2015, their average age of 28.2 years was just 0.2 above the MLB average. (These are all weighted averages, taken from baseball-reference.com.) In 2016, the Pirates had MLB’s tenth oldest position players. In 2017, their average moved back to 28.2, just under the average of 28.3. In 2018, it was 27.8, a little further under the average of 28.1.
And that’s where Tucker comes in. He’s 22 and the advantages of youth may be one thing making him more exciting to watch than what we’re used to seeing. The last time a player under 25 became a regular for the Pirates was Josh Bell, at age 24 in 2016, but speed and athleticism aren’t exactly keys to his game. Before that, it was Gregory Polanco, who became a regular at age 22 in 2014. So we’re not used to seeing players as young as Tucker in the field and on the basepaths for the Pirates. Hopefully, players like Bryan Reynolds, Jason Martin and Ke’Bryan Hayes will make this a more common experience.
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 2-1 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night. They will send out Jordan Lyles for his fourth start tonight. He has allowed just one run in 17 innings this season, and he’s coming off of six shutout frames in his last start. The Diamondbacks will counter with 30-year-old right-hander Merrill Kelly. He has just four career starts in the majors, all of them this season. Kelly has a 4.37 ERA in 22.2 innings, with 22 strikeouts and a 1.46 WHIP. He allowed three runs over 3.2 innings in his last start and walked seven batters.
The minor league schedule includes two early start times. Brad Case and Greensboro will get the morning start time, while Altoona will send out Scooter Hightower for the noon start. JT Brubaker returns to action for his fourth start. He left his last game with elbow stiffness, which caused him to push this next start back three days. Cody Bolton makes his fourth start of the season. He has a .153 BAA and an 0.88 WHIP, with 17 strikeouts in 16 innings.
The full 2019 Pirates Prospects Prospect Guide is now available, up to date as of April 3rd, with every player in the minor league system. Includes full reports on the top 50 prospects, reports on over 150 other players, as well as looks back at the recent drafts and international signing classes.
MLB: Pittsburgh (12-9) vs Arizona (13-11) 7:05 PM
Probable starter: Jordan Lyles (0.53 ERA, 18:5 SO/BB, 17.0 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (10-7) @ Gwinnett (9-9) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: JT Brubaker (1.69 ERA, 15:3 SO/BB, 16.0 IP)
AA: Altoona (8-10) @ Harrisburg (16-2) 12:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Scooter Hightower (5.02 ERA, 8:3 SO/BB, 14.1 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (12-7) vs Fort Myers (12-7) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Cody Bolton (1.13 ERA, 17:5 SO/BB, 16.0 IP)
Low-A: Greensboro (10-8) @ Lexington (10-8) 10:35 AM (season preview)
Probable starter: Brad Case (2.16 ERA, 12:2 SO/BB, 16.1 IP)
HIGHLIGHTS
From Bradenton, Travis Swaggerty’s second home run of the season
Relive @TSwaggerty_21’s 8th inning
From Altoona, here are two strikeout pitches from Dario Agrazal. They look like the same pitches and swings from the hitter, but they’re not. This one ended the sixth inning…
Another punch out, another 0️⃣ up on the board for Harrisburg. Six strikeouts and six scoreless for Agrazal.
Still 0-0 at FNB Field pic.twitter.com/yEUErEZZr8
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) April 22, 2019
This one ended the seventh and tied his career high for strikeouts
Dario Agrazal ends the seventh with his eighth strikeout, tying a career-high.
Still 0-0 after seven pic.twitter.com/7lr2coAZUQ
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) April 23, 2019
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
4/23: Nick Burdi placed on injured list. Pirates recall Steven Brault.
4/23: Brandon Maurer placed on injured list. Montana DuRapau added to Indianapolis roster
4/23: Kevin Newman sent to Indianapolis on rehab. Nick Franklin assigned to Indianapolis
4/23: Oneil Cruz assigned to Bradenton.
4/22: Blake Weiman added to Altoona roster. Angel German assigned to Extended Spring Training
4/22: Joel Cesar added to Bradenton roster. Gavin Wallace assigned to Extended Spring Training
4/22: Jose Osuna assigned to Bradenton on rehab
4/22: Gregory Polanco activated from injured list. Steven Brault optioned to Indianapolis
4/21: Elias Diaz activated from injured list. Jacob Stallings placed on injured list.
4/20: Starling Marte and Erik Gonzalez placed on injured list. Cole Tucker and Bryan Reynolds added to Pirates
4/20: Alfredo Reyes promoted to Indianapolis. Ryan Peurifoy assigned to Altoona
4/19: Lonnie Chisenhall assigned to Indianapolis on rehab
4/19: John Bormann activated from injured list. Joel Cesar assigned to Extended Spring Training
4/18: Ji-Hwan Bae moved to suspended list.
4/18: Montana DuRapau and Dean Lockery assigned to Extended Spring Training.
4/17: Nick Franklin assigned to Bradenton. Oneil Cruz assigned to Extended Spring Training
4/17: Alfredo Reyes assigned to Altoona. Robbie Glendinning sent to Bradenton.
4/16: Pirates activate Kyle Crick from injured list. Option Kevin Kramer to Indianapolis
4/16: Pirates activate Dovydas Neverauskas from injured list and option him to Indianapolis
4/15: Altoona activates Jared Oliva from injured list. Ryan Peurifoy assigned to Extended Spring Training
4/15: Steven Jennings added to Greensboro. Braeden Ogle assigned to Morgantown
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Four former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, and all four lasted just one season with the team. The four players were spread out pretty well throughout Pirates history. First baseman Jim Field played for the team in 1885. Pete Falsey played for the Pirates in 1914, right out of Yale. Dixie Howell caught for the Pirates in 1947 and Bob Beall was a September call-up for the 1980 Pirates.
The 1889 Alleghenys opened their season on April 24th with an 8-5 win over the Chicago White Stockings in front of 4,000 fans. Hall of Fame pitcher Pud Galvin picked up the win. The Alleghenys began the year with eight games at home, then went on a crazy road trip. From May 3rd until June 17th, Pittsburgh played one home game and 32 road games. The strange part is that by the end of the year, the Alleghenys played four more home games that season (70-to-66). Part of the reason for that long road trip? The Johnstown flood made it impossible for them to get home by train.
The Pirates opened up the 1919 season in Chicago against the Cubs after a long layoff between games. The 1918 season was ended early due to the war, wrapping up on September 2nd. Wilbur Cooper was on the mound on a very cold Chicago Opening Day and he took a 5-1 loss, with all of the runs against him coming in the second inning. The Pirates lineup on that day, which had three future Hall of Famers in a row in the 2-4 spots, was as follows:
Howdy Caton, ssMax Carey, cfCasey Stengel, rfBilly Southworth, lfGeorge Cutshaw, 2bTony Boeckel, 3bFritz Mollwitz, 1bWalter Schmidt, cWilbur Cooper, pHere’s the boxscore.
