P2Daily: And So It Begins

The final score didn’t end up in their favor, but in the bigger scope of things, what started on Tuesday night at PNC Park may be more important.

Over the last couple of days we have finally started to see the churn of the big league roster to make space for the first wave of prospects that the Pirates have been stockpiling within the system.

Roansy Contreras rejoined the team, this time in the rotation, and was exactly what everyone had hoped that he’d be, pitching five shutout innings while striking out five. Although he got the no-decision it was the kind of shutdown performance from a starter they have been looking for outside of Jose Quintana for the entire season.

More than just Contreras, Cal Mitchell joined Jack Suwinski and Diego Castillo as players to make their big league debut this year for the Pirates. In his first game, Mitchell drove in the Pirates only run of the night, scoring Castillo on the base hit.

✔️ First Major League hit
✔️ First Major League RBI

Welcome to The Show, @CalMitchell14! pic.twitter.com/bf5cPHVrLB

— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) May 25, 2022

When you count in Rodolfo Castro, who just recently shed his prospect status, the collection on youth in the lineup Tuesday combined to go 3-for-9, with a run, RBI, and a walk to their credit.

Ke’Bryan Hayes is the face of the franchise, but this wave that was expected to hit this season that’s supposed to provide support to him.

Speaking of Castro, he’s been exactly what this season is supposed to be about, figuring it all out. He’s made some head scratching plays, as well as some errors, even thrown out in key situations being aggressive.

But the Pirates are letting him learn from those moments, providing the valuable ‘life’ experience that comes with it. Castro’s play highlights the aggressive play that we’ve seen in the minors. It’s fun to see the aggressiveness transition to the major league level, as well as the energy that Castro has brought when he’s in the lineup.

This is just the beginning though.

Sitting in Triple-A Indianapolis are still more parts of that wave that should start the revitalization in Pittsburgh.

The batting average still isn’t where you’d like it to be, and he’s still having the defensive lapses, but Oneil Cruz is starting to made more consistent contact. For the second straight year Ji-Hwan Bae has seen his power increase, and is already halfway to his extra-base total from a year ago.

Mason Martin continues to clobber baseballs, Canaan Smith-Njigba has gotten on base every game he’s played in this month, and Travis Swaggerty’s bat is starting to show signs of waking up. Ryan Palencer will have more on Swaggerty today.

There’s a long way to go, and while the floodgates haven’t completely been blown open, it’s certainly sprung a leak. It’s just a matter of time before the rest of the wave comes crashing down.