When it was announced that Chris Owings was among the non-roster invites for spring training, his experience and versatility made him look like an ideal candidate to fill out the bench.
A strong showing in spring only strengthened his case to be included, but eventually he found out that he wasn’t going to be part of the Major League roster to begin the season. He did have an opt-out clause in his contract, meaning he could become a free agent should he not make the team, but instead accepted the assignment to minor league camp.
One thing that was brought up by Ben Cherington while on the broadcast of the game against the Baltimore Orioles was them continuing to try and build as much depth as possible.
Not only will the Pirates have some of their best prospects in the system in Indianapolis to begin the season, it will also have a player with nearly 2,500 career plate appearances at the major league level.
The Indianapolis infield could field any number of names that could include Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, Malcom Nunez, Ji-Hwan Bae, Liover Peguero, and Tucupita Marcano before we even factor in Owings. Peguero would be a strong candidate to start the season over in Altoona just due to the number of names in Indy.
They’ve succeeded in putting enough depth in place, something that will be needed over the course of an 162-game schedule. That will come in handy as well if the offense continues to struggle into the regular season.
Eddy Yean Fastball Velocity
The Pirates went with a bullpen game on Sunday, using eight different pitchers, with most pulled from the minor league side of things.
One of those players was Eddy Yean, who was acquired along with Wil Crowe in the Josh Bell trade. A still very young 21 years old, the righty hasn’t posted the best numbers in his two years with the Pirates, but his fastball/slider combination remains intriguing.
I’d have to go back and watch some video but don’t remember this being the case from Eddy Yean. Topped out at 99. Sat 93-95 rest of the inning thought #Pirates pic.twitter.com/SXXezsD1Qa
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) March 27, 2023
His first pitch hit 99 mph, which is an interesting development. Pulling as much video as I could on him, he had never hit more than 96 mph, even going back to 2022 when he focused on shorter outings.
Yean has the frame that would support more velocity, it would just be a matter of controlling it. He also seems like a prospect that a longer approach would need to be taken, but could also have a decent payoff.
Pirates Prospects Daily
By John Dreker
Pirates lost 8-1 to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. Here’s the boxscore. Connor Joe was hit by a pitch and removed, with the Pirates saying he was day-to-day. Pirates are on the road today at 1:05 PM against the Minnesota Twins. The lineup will be added below once it becomes available.
**Pirates Reassign Angel Perdomo and Miguel Andujar to Minor League Camp The latest roster cuts
**Pirates Prospects Daily: Did the Pirates Do It Again with Vince Velasquez?
**Pirates DVR: Thomas Harrington, JP Massey, Michael Kennedy
Song of the Day
It could very well be a manic Monday with the amount of roster moves that still need to be made
Today’s Lineup
The squad vs. the Twins.
