Injuries have hit the Pittsburgh Pirates, as an organization, pretty hard as of late. There’s been plenty of injury updates over the last week or so, a lot of them unfortunate, such as JT Brubaker having Tommy John surgery.
The Indianapolis Indians were struck particularly hard, especially when it comes to the rotation. Not only were they going to be without two of their starters for some time, the two were scheduled to pitch on consecutive days.
Caleb Smith was placed on the Injured List this week, and Thursday would have been his scheduled day in the rotation. Instead, they went with Cam Alldred and he came up big on short notice, allowing two runs on three hits over four innings, while striking out six batters.
This is nothing new for Alldred, as he was very comfortable in a multi-inning role for Indianapolis last year. Of his 42 appearances last year in Triple-A, he threw two or more inning in 18 of them.
Now attention will turn to tomorrow, where it would have been Mike Burrows‘ turn in the rotation. Burrows is looking for a second opinion currently on a sprained UCL, but Ben Cherington said he ‘is gonna be out for a while’.
GM Ben Cherington said Mike Burrows "is gonna be out for a while." JT Brubaker, too, but we knew that. More information coming at some point from Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) April 12, 2023
Carmen Mlodzinski (who pitched on Thursday) and Cody Bolton are two pitchers who made the shift to the bullpen this year, but have starting experience, so the Pirates could look their way to eat some of the innings they’ve lost with Burrows and Smith out.
— There were a lot of interesting names on the Bradenton roster to start the year, among them Thomas Harrington, Javier Rivas, and Shalin Polanco. Digging a little deeper, Jesus Castillo looks like another name to monitor closely.
The 19-year-old infielder has shown a great approach at the plate, walking eight times and collecting seven hits in just six games this season. He’s never hit for much power, and all of his hits have been singles so far this year, but he is does have a frame that he could grow into some more (MiLB.com has him listed as 5’10”).
— More on the injury front, Jack Carey, Liover Peguero, and Travis Swaggerty were three more names that left the game early.
Swaggerty is not being promoted. He left the game because he was not feeling well #Pirates
— Ryan Palencer (@RyanPalencer) April 14, 2023
Peguero left after committing an error in the bottom of the 10th inning. Carey faced two batters before leaving the Greensboro game as well.
It’s certainly been a rough season when it comes to injuries, and it’s only a couple weeks into the season.
Daily Video Rundown
Mason Martin stays hot, driving in a pair of runs with this single in the third inning of the Altoona game.
Two runs score after the @masonmartin7 single! We take a 3-2 lead in the third!
LISTEN: https://t.co/aioWvW3Svf
WATCH: https://t.co/6GP894jPtF pic.twitter.com/To5I3YXnQs— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) April 13, 2023
Endy Rodriguez guns down a runner trying to steal third base in the eight inning of an one run game.
In case you didn't know, his name is Endy Rodríguez and he has a hose.
The Pirates really needed someone to step up with Oneil Cruz out, and so far Ji-Hwan Bae is doing it with the glove and the bat.
Ji Hwan Bae just keeps doing amazing things
PIRATES PROSPECTS DAILY
By Tim Williams
Pirates Recap: Vince Velasquez Leads Shutout Over Cardinals
Prospect Watch: Another Rough Day for the Starters
**Ethan Hullihen looks at what it would take for each player to gain an extra year of service time in 2023.
**I’ve got a column on Ji-Hwan Bae’s defense on Friday morning.
**Minor Moves: Shalin Polanco Joins Bradenton
**From yesterday: Mason Martin Showing a Better Approach
SONG OF THE DAY
I picked up a Sam Cooke album last weekend. Today, I’m going with a Sam Cooke cover by T-Pain. He made auto-tune popular, but T-Pain’s natural voice is phenomenal.
