The first game of the season is always fun.
The smallest of the sample sizes is in, and it allows all sorts of fun projection for the regular season.
Is this the year Cole Tucker finally breaks out?
Is Wil Crowe destined for the majors in any role after giving up two runs in his first start following a bad season?
Is Jerad Eickhoff destined for the All-Star Game after three shutout innings in his Pirates debut?
What do we make of Michael Chavis and Mason Martin combining to go 0-for-5 with five strikeouts?
Is Greg Allen ready to step up and take a long-term outfield spot in Pittsburgh?
Some of these scenarios sound like they could be realistic, and some sound like an overreaction. The negative outcomes tend to be the scenarios that sound more realistic, as it’s easy to envision a baseball player failing in his shot in the majors, rather than a big outcome from any obscure player on the roster.
What stood out to me on day one were a few minor details that don’t exactly extrapolate success or failure, but which might tell us something about the upcoming season.
The first is Ji-Hwan Bae getting time in center field. Bae has played both middle infield spots, and was getting work in the outfield last year. With all of the middle infield options available, and with speed leading his profile, center field might be a better bet for him breaking into the majors. At the least, it gives him additional positions to make it as a super utility player initially.
I have Diego Castillo as an option for second base, but he got the start at third in the Spring opener. Ke’Bryan Hayes is the starter at third base, and I’ve got full confidence in him reaching his upside, or at least getting close to it and justifying his role as an MLB starter. That said, it’s nice to see Castillo and Jared Triolo serving as backup options if Hayes doesn’t work out. I can remember when Hayes was the only option on the horizon.
Kyle Nicolas throwing a shutout inning with two strikeouts is one of those small sample sizes where we could have fun extrapolating the results. In this case, I’ll wonder if we could see Nicolas in that reliever role this year. I think he could be lights out, similar to David Bednar. I also think the Pirates could stretch Nicolas out to be a starter. The question is whether it’s worth stretching him out, or just getting his value as a reliever and working him into a starter role long-term. Adrian Florencio had the same stat line, and you could make the same argument for him. A key difference is that Nicolas has pitched in Double-A, while Florencio has only pitched as high as Low-A.
Overall, the Pirates featured an impressive amount of non-roster invitees — most of them being prospects — in the Spring opener, which is nice to see.
Pirates Prospects Spotlight
Gold Glove Third Baseman Jared Triolo Overcame a Slow Start in 2021
Daily Links
**Daily Video Rundown: Cal Mitchell, JT Brubaker vs Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz
**Pirates Designate Eric Hanhold for Assignment
**MLB Pipeline Reveals Their Top 100 Prospects List
Song of the Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSlYtXnMlCQ
