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Greensboro is Where Players Start to Take Development Into the Real World

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Pittsburgh Pirates farm director John Baker recalls his playing days in Triple-A, where he lived with four players, two player wives, a baby, and a dog all crammed into a three bedroom apartment.

“I will say, although I wouldn’t wish that upon today’s player in my position now – you want to be able to take care of all of those things, so they can focus on the game and competing – but I wouldn’t trade the experience I had for anything,” Baker told me when we spoke last week. “Through adversity and through struggle, you really do make lifelong friends. I made a lot better friends in the minor leagues than I ever did in the major leagues as a player.”

Times have changed since Baker was in the minors. Major League Baseball started covering housing expenses this year for their minor league players — even those in A-ball.

“I really appreciate the direction that baseball is taking now, where the organization is tasked with those responsibilities,” said Baker. “That’s always been something that the Pirates have been good about.”

Baker noted that Pirates owner Bob Nutting pushed to find cheap, affordable housing for players in the past in Altoona and providing residences at Pirate City in Bradenton. That is something that I can confirm hearing prior to MLB’s mandate for teams to cover housing costs. The Pirates have always utilized host families to provide affordable solutions in the South Atlantic League. The Pirates have been covering more food costs this year than in the past.

“The essentials are provided, I think which is critical,” said Baker. “Similar to a college environment, so that people can develop, and really focus on baseball when they’re at the field, and focus on whatever else they want to focus on when they leave.”

I wrote in June about how Baker was working with assistant field coordinator Jim Horner to turn their Bradenton facilities into a model of a college baseball facility. The idea is that players would exit Bradenton with all of the knowledge they would have gained in three years playing for a Division I college.

The Pirates Are Modeling a College Baseball Development Track in the Lowest Levels

Once players get to Greensboro, they are on their own for the first time, and can easier handle the issues that life throws their way, without that college environment for support.

“They can’t just drive back to Pirate City and see all of their friends,” said Baker.

Let’s all shed a tear as we remember back to our college days, being surrounded by friends at all times, only to reach our late 30s and have like five people we really know from high school and college, and we only ever see any of them once every three years, max.

The move to Greensboro can provide a lot of unseen challenges for such young players — and the Pirates have sent players who otherwise would be college sophomores.

These players need to develop good sleep routines when there is no curfew and many of them are living on their own for the first time. They need to learn how to eat properly when they are responsible for more of their own meals. They need to develop a routine in their life away from the game, learning what hobbies are healthy in their free time.

“I think it weeds guys out, because you have to learn those skills to be a successful Major League player,” said Baker, who spent seven seasons catching in the big leagues.

The adjustment to Greensboro can be more difficult for Latin American players, who had previously spent all of their time around the complex at Pirate City, or the similar complex in the Dominican Republic.

“There’s a lot of life challenges that happen when you move to a different state,” said Baker. “You’re in an apartment, you’re driving to the field. All sorts of different things are life hurdles that players have to clear or learn. The beginning of the year in Greensboro, we had a lot of players like that, who hadn’t been outside of the complex really, and now they’re kind of out on their own.”

One player who has really emerged in this move has been Endy Rodriguez. I wrote about Rodriguez this week, highlighting how his focus on catching also led to an increase in his offensive numbers. Rodriguez worked through some early season struggles against offspeed stuff, while dealing with the same life adjustments at a young age.

Endy Rodriguez’s Bat Came Alive And Defense Improved When He Focused on Catching

“I think once he locked in those routines, and got comfortable – we saw him really start to get stable as an offensive player, and he’s just gotten better as the season has gone on,” said Baker, who credited Greensboro manager Callix Crabbe, hitting coach Ruben Gotay, and development coach Justin Orton for their work at the level with one of the organization’s top hitting prospects.

The Pirates have seen hit or miss results at Greensboro this year. Rodriguez has been outstanding, but not every player has progressed. Young, power hitting shortstop Maikol Escotto — acquired in the Jameson Taillon trade — struggled and has since returned to Bradenton. The biggest success story was Matt Gorski, who spent three years at college and obviously didn’t have much to learn about performing while living away from his support system.

A lot of younger players got off to slower starts, which is to be expected. The hitters who have stepped up the most in the second half are Dariel Lopez, Abrahan Gutierrez, Hudson Head, and Rodriguez. It’s hard to evaluate the pitchers, due to the hitter friendly home park. The player with the most upside is Jared Jones, who was drafted out of high school in the second round in 2020. Jones has shown some improvements in his control and contact rate over the last month, which is promising.

There is still one month remaining in the season in Greensboro. The results from this level aren’t strong from a season standpoint. Gorski shouldn’t have been at this level, and the biggest full-season positive is Endy Rodriguez confirming his top ten prospect status.

It’s important to remember that this is a development level, and it’s key to follow how a player trends and finishes the season. The Pirates are seeing some of their players trending in the right direction in Greensboro lately, with Lopez, Gutierrez, and Head the standouts.

Perhaps it’s a case of young players developing routines after a few months of live practice.

Perhaps it’s mechanical adjustments.

Perhaps it’s a bit of both.

Because once you leave Bradenton, you’re on the journey to being a Major League player. That journey happens on and off the field.

THIS WEEK ON PIRATES PROSPECTS

Greensboro is Where Players Start to Take Development Into the Real World

Endy Rodriguez’s Bat Came Alive And Defense Improved When He Focused on Catching

Nick Gonzales Working Through Contact Issues

Prospect Roundtable: The Book on Oneil Cruz

Johan Oviedo enjoys the opportunity to start again

Carter Bins reworks swing and discusses Triple-A adjustments

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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