The Pittsburgh Pirates finished up their second series of the season, and have played six games overall. After a huge midweek series sweep at Fenway against the Boston Red Sox, they own a record of 4-2.
It’s still early to make any kinds of actual assessments, but here are six observations, six games into the season.
– Mitch Keller was nasty on Wednesday, pitching seven innings and striking out seven batters. Props to Derek Shelton for giving him another batter so he can have an opportunity to finish the inning out.
He started a little iffy with the control, but by the end of the game he was pumping pitches into the strike zone. He threw 18 sinkers on the day, 11 of which were called strikes. He only got ten whiffs on the 52 swings against him, but also had nine groundouts to just one flyout.
– Not sure how maintainable the bullpens’ success is, but they’ve been really good early on. If anything, at least we know what role everyone seems to have this season, which that on its own is a positive.
With the defined roles, it’s made Shelton’s job to manage the bullpen a lot easier.
– This team is clearly going to be pitching to contact more than chasing strikeouts, so it will be key that the defense plays strong behind them. Ji-Hwan Bae made that fantastic play Tuesday night, and has shown good range at second base at times.
Oneil Cruz had a really bad throw earlier in the week, but otherwise has been solid at shortstop as well.
Carlos Santana has been fantastic at first base, not only picking the ball, but ranging and making plays on his own. Plus he finally had that big game at the plate they’ve been waiting for, picking up a double, walk and home run on Wednesday.
– It’s almost like he told us it wouldn’t be a distraction, and that someone playing for potentially $100+ million like Bryan Reynolds is would have extra motivation. Fantastic start to the season for the outfielder.
– Not sure how much I buy Rob Zastryzny as a long-term, or even the rest of the season, option, but the Pirates really needed someone to step up in the bullpen after Jarlin Garcia went down with an injury, and he’s really delivered. He leads the team in appearances, and has only allowed one run in those four games.
– Even before you look at the numbers, you can just see any gap between Bae and Rodolfo Castro continuing to widen. Both have added paths to get extra playing time away from second base, but Bae just continues to make contributions all over the place, and have competitive at-bats.
Way too early to panic when talking about Castro on his own, but when looking at his potential opportunities on this team currently, it’s only getting smaller and smaller with each strikeout that’s followed by an impact play from Bae.
Daily Video Rundown
Welcome to the Pirates Prospects daily video rundown, where we pull some of the top videos of the Pittsburgh Pirates across the internet.
Carlos Santana's first home run in Black & Gold. pic.twitter.com/8jBBQmEuFC
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 5, 2023
Carlos Santana has played some great defense at first up to this point, but Wednesday was his first offensive explosion at the plate, walking once, while picking up a double and home run.
When you look up 'perfect bunt' in the dictionary, you'll see this. pic.twitter.com/qpPuyEKURm
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 5, 2023
Ke’Bryan Hayes with a wonderfully placed bunt to not only get a base hit, but score a run as well.
Mitch Keller, K'ing the Side pic.twitter.com/kdqXItCM3K
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 5, 2023
Keller pitched to contact a lot, but was still able to dial back at times and get some strikeouts. Here he strikes out the side in the fifth inning, picking up three of his seven total on the day.
Pirates Prospects Daily
By John Dreker
Pirates are off today, Indianapolis was postponed due to weather yesterday, but today is minor league preview today. We will be posting previews for all four full-season teams today. Stay tuned. Lots to read below if you missed anything yesterday.
**Pirates Recap: Keller Stellar As Bucs Sweep Through Fenway
**Williams: Do the Pirates Have the Makings of a Shutdown Bullpen?
**Pirates are Favorites to Sign a Top Pitching Prospect from Panama Pirates are lining up to make a splash in Panama in January
**Pirates Have the Highest International Bonus Pool for the 2023-24 Signing Period Bucs will have a lot of money available to make that splash and much more
**Pirates Have the Highest Draft Bonus Pool in 2023 Pirates will have a lot to spend in the draft as well
**Pirates Prospects Daily: Tucupita Marcano Flashing Glove, Power In Early Season
**Pirates DVR: Quinn Priester Strikeout, Back-To-Back Home Runs, Ji-Hwan Bae Home Run and Catch
