The Pirates are a little more than a week into Spring Training, which isn’t enough time to make any kind of lasting decisions on the team in general, but is also long enough to pick up on some things that have been happening.
Here are some general thoughts, or observations, on the first week-plus of Spring Training games.
– I’m still not sure what the plan is at second base, but the original thought going into camp it would be Rodolfo Castro manning the position, with Ji-Hwan Bae playing a super-utility type of role. So far, it has been Castro playing all over the infield, where Bae has been limited to just second base.
Castro has picked up three-hits, one of which is a grand slam, and thanks to that also leads the team in RBI with five. Bae on the other hand is 1-for-12 with five strikeouts. This may turn from a competition for the starting job, to Bae fighting for a roster spot in general.
– Feels like the starting center field job is going to come down to Jack Suwinski and Travis Swaggerty. Suwinksi graded out as a solid defender last year in the corners, but that may not translate to center field. Swaggerty has played in six of the team’s 10 games, but only has 10 at-bats — although one is a home run.
The arm on Swaggy T 👀 pic.twitter.com/DZKFB7LSNn
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 2, 2023
The opportunities that Swaggerty has gotten and what he has done with them – he had another solid performance in center field and picked up a hit – would kind of lead into him getting the first shot.
While he may not be the long-term answer in center field, Swaggerty is certainly moving towards earning that opportunity to prove himself. Statistics don’t ring as loudly in spring, but that doesn’t matter because he has done all the other things right in camp.
– Speaking of Suwinski, he came into camp with a new batting stance, but it’s been mostly the same results for him, at least this early into spring. He has seven strikeouts in 13 plate appearances so far, but in true fashion, also roped a double on Sunday with an exit velocity 110.4 mph.
It’s crazy to think that someone who hit 19 home runs last year doesn’t have a roster spot reserved for him, but for as split oriented he was in 2022 (at home and against righties), nothing could be guaranteed should he continue with the strikeouts.
– Maybe the most intriguing bit of competition, if it is even one, has been of the non-roster veteran middle infielders, Chris Owings and Drew Maggi. The Pirates lack a right-handed option to back up Oneil Cruz, and both are versatile enough to play elsewhere if needed, if they decide to Castro play primarily second base.
A big blast by Chris Owings! pic.twitter.com/a3yFQTmHxX
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 5, 2023
They both have picked up a double and home run, with those two being the only hits for Owings in spring, while Maggi leads the team with five.
– While he has an untraditional repertoire for a reliever, Colin Holderman makes it work and has displayed some filthy stuff in his two outings. I’d like to see some more swing and miss, and will have to be more accurate to fully unleash his near triple digits fastball, but the stuff is there.
– Suwinski and Swaggerty may be the favorites for the starting center field job, mostly due to already being on the 40-man roster, but if there’s a name out there to watch the rest of camp, it’s Chavez Young. He’s been great defensively, has a cannon for an arm, and has picked up a couple of hits, including a double and a home run he hit against the Yankees on Sunday.
Chavez Young with a home run and bat flip to go with it #Pirates pic.twitter.com/PNwrEmF4FS
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) March 7, 2023
The Pirates have so many outfielders on their 40-man, it would be far more ideal for one of them to step up and take a hold on a roster spot, but if Young continues to do it all, he could be a good option to play with Swaggerty in center field.
Next step for him is to take on bigger competition with Great Britain during the World Baseball Classic.
World Baseball Classic Preview: A Dozen Pirates are Scheduled to Play
– There may not be a player who can frustrate, and captivate you simultaneously more than Liover Peguero. I’ve seen him make some fantastic plays, that only a few could probably make, but he also can make the easiest of plays look dreadful.
He’s gaffed a few already in spring, but also made two solid plays in the same inning on Sunday. He has four hits and four RBI this spring, getting in a good amount of games so far, but has also reached on some pitches someone of his status shouldn’t be.
Peguero is 22-years-old, he has time to figure things out, but it’d be really nice to see some sort of progress in that direction.
– In the battle for the backup catcher spot between Jason Delay, Kevin Plawecki, and Tyler Heineman, the leader has been – Endy Rodriguez? Not really a surprise that it happened, but there hasn’t been a better looking catcher in camp than Rodriguez. Yet, we know he’s slated for Indianapolis to start the season. Endy has gotten better as he has climbed the ladder, with just the majors left to conquer.
– The Pirates have a lot more pitching prospect depth than some may think and spring is showing that. Everyone knows Quinn Priester, Luis Ortiz, and Mike Burrows, but they aren’t the only ones in camp showing off.
You can make a case that Carmen Mlodzinski, Kyle Nicolas, and Jared Jones are all among the better looking pitchers in camp right now. Jones lit up the radar guns, throughly impressing the Yankees broadcast crew on Monday, Nicolas has looked solid in his two outings, and Mlodzinski’s stuff is standing out early in camp.
Carmen Mlodzinski Getting Praise For Stuff Early In Spring Training
None of those three are mentioned when discussing the better pitching prospects, and each have some reliever risk. In each case, the stuff is playing in major league camp, and that’s a positive.
Thoughts After a Week
Numbers really aren’t something to be taken too seriously this early, if at all, in Spring Training, but can never be a good thing being last in anything.
There are still plenty of games to be played, and more things to be figured out. A weeks worth of games is plenty to generate stuff to talk about, as well as create questions and things to watch going forward.
How the rotation will set up and who will fill out the bench will be among the things to watch the rest of the way.
THIS WEEK ON PIRATES PROSPECTS
**Early Observations on the Pirates After a Week of Spring Training Games – READING
Anthony Murphy breaks down what he’s seen from the Pirates and their position battles after a week’s worth of Spring Training games.
**Carmen Mlodzinski Getting Praise For Stuff Early In Spring Training
The 2020 supplemental first rounder has been getting some recognition for his stuff early in camp. Anthony Murphy looks in detail at how his cutter and changeup stand out.
**World Baseball Classic Preview: A Dozen Pirates are Scheduled to Play
We will have daily World Baseball Classic updates for all of the Pirates involved. John Dreker previews who is playing, and for which country.
Anthony began writing over 10 years ago, starting a personal blog to cover the 2011 MLB draft, where the Pirates selected first overall. After bouncing around many websites covering hockey, he refocused his attention to baseball, his first love when it comes to sports. He eventually found himself here at Pirates Prospects in late 2021, where he covers the team’s four full season minor league affiliates.
Wei-ChiehHuang hasn’t looked bad either. Mostly late inning appearances where he’s facing a lot of subs and prospects but he’s been better than expected.
He got into a jam and was able to get out of it too. With a K and then a ground out. He has 3K, 0 BB, 0 ER in 2IP. He might get the first call-up and spot start if needed.
Haven’t had a chance to write anything yet, but Mlod was impressive. Bolton looked very good, too. Burrows was better than the stat line.
Bolton not getting protected for Rule 5 surprised me. I thought he’d be a perfect reliever for free. Him not getting picked means I don’t really understand what teams value in relievers
I think it just comes down to every club in the league has Cody Bolton’s in their minor league crop.
Doesn’t mean he can’t provide value, just not likely any more than a club’s own dudes.
If you’re actually trying to win baseball games, there’s far stronger roster decisions to be made than taking a season-long flyer on a potential middle reliever.
I’ve never really understood what teams look for in R5. Seems downright whimsical sometimes.
Everyone but Hedges is lacing the ball, but coming up empty.
Brown and Walk alluded to this earlier in the broadcast, that managers will need to make decisions quicker given the clock. I wonder if that will have any impact on things like calling for bunts, hit-and-runs, etc.?
No need to bunt with the rules to enhance stealing bases.
It’s interesting seeing the range for the number of sacrifice bunts last year: 1 (Braves) to 31 (Dbacks). The Pirates had the 8th most (19) sacrifice bunts last season (and the 3rd fewest PAs). I can’t recall a sacrifice bunt that I liked last year, so if Shelton calls for fewer this year, whether it’s due to lack of time to get signs in or trying for SBs instead due to the larger bases, I’m all for it.
No, because nobody ever bunts anymore, or uses the Hit-N-Run anymore.
Two thoughts:
1) re: 2nd Base you say “the original thought going into camp it would be Rodolfo Castro manning the position, with Ji-Hwan Bae playing a super-utility type of role.”
You use the passive here and don’t say who thought that, but it wasn’t me. I always thought the conventional wisdom/media narrative made little sense considering how Castro has been used the last couple seasons. Yes, Bae got some OF time last year but realistically switching him there with all the OFers we have to tryout makes no sense. It is a recency bias. What we have seen most recently is not necessarily most likely.
Similarly suwinski is getting some CF looks but the narrative that he is likely to play there is also recency bias.
2) Endy is an opportunity for the Pirates that they simply won’t take. Shelton’s utterance earlier this winter shows they simply refuse to understand or consider what the new CBA makes possible.
If he started in the Majors he could win us a draft pick. And if he starts in the minors then comes up and plays like an all star he could get the full year service time ANYWAY!
That’s entirely possible if you look at the ZIPS projection he’s at 1.5 WAR in 250 PA. That’s not his high end, they put the 80th % at 4.0 WAR. he could conceivably finish 2nd in ROY in half a season AND BOOM we wasted the chance to have him play a full year yet he gets the full year.
He is a perfect candidate for the pirates to take a flyer on the new rules and they just won’t do it. So frustrating.
If he is sent down (he will be) I secretly hope he wins ROY in half a season and costs the pirates anyway. They deserve it.
yeah that’ll really show ’em.
You think you’re being ironic, but it would actually. It would show them that their rote paint by numbers service time manipulation makes sense less than 100% of the time. It might make them think twice in the future with someone as ready as Endy is.
Hedges may be the worst hitter I’ve ever seen.
Keller just got the third out on a clock violation. Really, wtf? Class A guys could handle this.
Well, as long as it’s mostly the bad guys.
The strike call on McCutchen really didn’t make sense–the pitcher wasn’t even on the mound or even had the ball. In general I like the new clock rules; Cutch’s strike is the first one I completely disagreed with.
Agreed…The Cutch one was odd. I guess it’s on the batter to be ready and in the box even if the pitcher is off doing his own thing and then let the ump call the violation on the pitcher.
The batter has to be in the box and ready to bat with 8 seconds left on the pitch clock, regardless of what the pitcher is doing.
As long as the pitcher starts his wind up with 1 second on the clock, he’s good.
That’s how it was explained on one of the broadcasts last week.
They need to add 5 seconds onto the clock. It’s just too fast of an AB at current pace. It’s taking managing strategy out of the game. It’s giving an advantage to the pitchers.
Crowd here is about 80% Jays’ fans.
It’s 10 degrees colder in Toronto than in Pittsburgh, so that seems right.
Surely has more to do with the 30 additional games their team won last season.
Southern Canada, what chauvinists call the Florida Gulf Coast, has multiple non-stop flights from Toronto every day during the winter. I’m guessing that wouldn’t change if the Blue Jays lost 102 games. Nonetheless, you have a point.
also seems like Cutch is going to get a lot of playing time in right field
Peguero, Jones, Nicolas and Malcom Nunez (they really don’t seem to like him) to MiL camp.
If they don’t like Nuñez, what do they think of Peguero?!?
Don’t need him when you have Honus Owings.
Plawecki is 3 for 83 in caught stealing the lasy 3yrs according to Greg brown so ,nope to him making team.
That’s pretty freaking brutal.
Saw his arm twice last night vs Yankees on throws to 2nd and 3rd…….nothing to see there.
Realistically, it should be a ‘nope’ to everyone who is actually competing for the spot but, here we are
I mean whoever it is, that guy’s just filling the seat until Endy gets here. Maybe starts 15 games. Not worth losing sleep.
Thankful to be a Pirates fan!
My observations is that what we’re seeing is the product of 3 years of “get better at baseball.” Talk about a complete fail. Swags vs. Suwinski – one had 19 dingers in the bigs last year, the other couldn’t get a cup of coffee in the bigs. I don’t see much of a competition there at all.
Agree with Roberto. Swaggerty is not disliked by the team and had a major personal reason for actually preferring Indianapolis last season. The team had high enough regard for him to keep him there with his new premature infant in the NICU rather than force him to try to perform in the majors when his mind was far away.
The hot takes we fans love posting as if they were fact are usually very wrong and filled with either recency bias or based on incomplete information.
Twitter has enough of that. We can do better on a blog devoted specifically to Pirates prospects, can’t we?
Could you please elaborate? Many would regard an elite CF defender with a plus arm and plus on-base skills as having an attractive skill set. You don’t. Why? I tend to see an unwillingness to rush a player as evidence of high regard.
Agree with Roberto. Swaggerty is not disliked by the team and had a major personal reason for actually preferring Indianapolis last season. The team had high enough regard for him to keep him there with his new premature infant in the NICU rather than force him to try to perform in the majors when his mind was far away.
The hot takes we fans love posting as if they were fact are usually very wrong and filled with either recency bias or based on incomplete information.
Twitter has enough of that. We can do better on a blog devoted specifically to Pirates prospects, can’t we?
Except for suwinski vs right-handed pitching at home ,his numbers were poor hitting pitcher bad, and road numbers were god awful.
The fact he was that bad against lefties AND on the road makes the 19 home runs impressive but also you would have to assume impossible to repeat. At least to me.
The road numbers certainly would be tough to repeat and hopefully he doesn’t.