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Pirates Prospects Daily: Mason Martin Showing a Better Approach

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The Altoona Curve didn’t have the best of opening weekends, but the offense came to play so far against Erie.

In two games this week, they have already scored a total of 26 runs on 24 hits, winning both games.

Maybe the most impressive performance has been that of Mason Martin, who came to the plate six times on Wednesday, reaching safely in five of those. In true Martin fashion, he launched two towering home runs, as well as a double, giving him a total of four extra-base hits on the season. All four of his hits this season have been for extra-bases.

He also drew a couple of walks, showing great patience at the plate. It will always be a question of containing the strikeouts, but he has walked (five) just as many times he’s been rung up in his four games this season.

It’s all about baby steps, and he did start really hot last year before falling flat, but this season there has been more of a semblance of an actual approach, as opposed to just going up there hacking.

– One interesting note to watch as the season continues to unfold with Altoona, and Martin in particular. Calix Crabbe was the manager in Greensboro last year when Matt Gorski put a lot of the pieces together and had that breakout stretch.

Crabbe is now in Altoona and going to have an extended opportunity to work with Martin, who would probably be the only player that could compete with Gorski when it comes to in-game power, if not surpass him.

Henry Davis picked up three hits on the day, including his first home run of the season. Numbers easily fluctuate at the beginning of the season, so that kind of day really boosted an on the paper tough start for the former first overall pick. 

Beyond the paper numbers, I thought Davis had looked good to this point, and it was really just a matter of time before he started to string some hits together. 

That home run was 109 mph off the bat and a reminder that Davis rarely gets cheated out of a swing and gets every bit of a baseball when he squares up.

– A reminder that some of these prospects are in the minors because they are still working on things, Luis Ortiz was flying through his start on Wednesday before utterly hitting a wall in the fourth. 

After striking a hitter out, Grant Koch was charged with an error after trying to throw out a runner that could have also ended the inning. A runner would score on the play, and it sent Ortiz spiraling. He allowed a home run to the next hitter and then followed that up with 10 straight balls thrown.

The slider is really good, maybe the best singular pitch in the system right now, but the fastball still isn’t missing enough bats. The progress of the changeup will be huge, and despite the results he took a strong step forward, throwing it 15 times, compared to 20 for his slider. Collectively they picked up 10 whiffs (five a piece) on 18 swings while the fastball got just two on 14. 

Having changeup become an effective weapon would really help the left-handed problem he’s had, and maybe allow the fastball to miss a little more bats. 

Daily Video Rundown

Part of the offensive explosion, Liover Peguero went first pitch hunting and drilled this pitch in the fourth inning into the right center field gap, driving in a run. 

Not much offense for the Indianapolis Indians, but Travis Swaggerty continues to find a way to make an impact, making this nice catch against the wall to end the inning.

PIRATES PROSPECTS DAILY

By Tim Williams

I’ve got some changes hitting the site in the next week. One of those changes will be my daily column moving to midnight. I’ll also have a nightly section here. Today’s column looked at how the Pirates’ depth is being tested early.

Williams: The Pirates’ Depth is Being Tested Early

**John Dreker broke down the Pirates’ Extended Spring Training roster.

**Here’s my article on Brubaker’s surgery.

**Anthony Murphy wrote yesterday about how whatever happens with the Pirates, quitting won’t be an option.

**Anthony also had early statcast observations for the Indianapolis Indians.

SONG OF THE DAY

I have so much respect for Anderson .Paak’s overall musical talents. He was part of the Super Bowl halftime show last year, playing drums during the segment with Eminem and Dr. Dre. His combined project with Bruno Mars, titled Silk Sonic, was one of my favorite albums last year. I picked up his 2016 solo album “Malibu” last weekend on orange and white vinyl. That’s been one of my favorite new music discoveries lately.

The video below is incredible, where he’s not only creating his own beat on the drums, but singing on a scale that ranges into the headspace that controls the body movements. That’s all while having casual talk with his band mates, The Free Nationals, playing the leader role. Anderson .Paak is just sitting down, inside his head, casually multitasking and making music live in this video.

It’s the exact same brain skill needed to excel in the batter’s box or on the mound in a Major League stadium.

Anthony Murphy
Anthony Murphy
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.

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