The last few days in winter ball have been light for the Pirates. Tuesday night was a little busier, including the winter debuts of a current big league pitcher, and a Pittsburgh Pirates prospect from the lowest level of the minors. There were also two Pirates vs Pirates match-ups.
Mexico
Fabricio Macias played on Christmas night and had an 0-for-5 game. His team played a doubleheader on Monday. He went 1-for-2 with a triple and a run scored in the first game. He was 0-for-2 with a walk in the second game. On Tuesday, he went 0-for-3. He has a .253 average, with 14 doubles, three triples and a homer in 59 games.
Denny Roman started on Tuesday night against Macias and his Mazatlan teammates. He came into the night with an 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings. He allowed one run on three hits, a walk and two strikeouts. That gave him a 1.02 ERA in 17.2 innings. He got Macias to ground out in their lone match-up.
Venezuela
Gustavo Armas made his winter debut during the final day of his team’s season. He got to play both games of a doubleheader, going 0-for-2 with a walk in the first game, and 0-for-2 with an outfield assist in the second game.
Armas is a 19-year-old outfielder with plenty of tools, but he hasn’t put things together as far as stats. This is a case where you shouldn’t overlook him just because he had a .586 OPS during his second season in the DSL. Maybe he doesn’t make it, but the tools are what matters more than the stats.
Playing two winter games in Venezuela won’t help his development other than building confidence, as they were a reward for his strong performance this winter in the minor league version of winter ball.
Puerto Rico
Josh Palacios went 0-for-3 with a run scored in game one of a doubleheader. He went 1-for-4 with a single and three strikeouts in game two. He’s hitting .255 in 15 games, with three doubles, a triple, a homer and six walks.
Tsung-Che Cheng went 1-for-3 with an RBI single and a walk. He has a .189 average in 15 games, with two doubles, a triple and five walks.
Duane Underwood Jr. made his winter debut. The first batter he faced was Tsung-Che Cheng and he recorded a strikeout. Underwood ended up striking out the side in his lone inning of work.
Colombia
Andres Alvarez went 1-for-5 with a single. He has a .360 average and a 1.042 OPS in 33 games.
Rodolfo Nolasco went 0-for-3. He has a .212 average and a .696 OPS in 29 games.
Francisco Acuna went 3-for-4 with two runs, a triple, a walk and a stolen base. He’s hitting .240 with a .734 OPS in 31 games.
