Even through a slow start, a player can show signs that their slump will only be temporary. Liover Peguero has been the living embodiment of that this season.
Despite a lot of his base stats being a tad underwhelming, Peguero was striking out less, and walking more compared to last year. You can see the work getting put in, and that it would only be a matter of time before the shortstop exploded.
Peguero had a slash of .238/.324/.302 during the month of April and didn’t hit his first home run until May. He’s been lights out in this weeks series against Bowie, picking up 11 hits in 21 at-bats while collecting five doubles and a pair of home runs, both of which came in Saturday’s game.
Make it a TWO HOMER DAY for @liover_peguero to give us a 4-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/YBk0MaHW71
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) May 20, 2023
He’s also swiped two bags this week, giving him 11 steals on the season. He has sold out a bit this week, at least at first glance, striking out five times, but statistically he was always probably due for a week with a little added swing and miss.
The Pirates are trying to string together their middle infield picture until they can get Oneil Cruz back. At his absolute best, Peguero has the best collection of tools that could potentially supplant Cruz at shortstop, between his hitting ability, speed, and fielding ability.
He’s still working through the fielding part of things, with it really becoming a concern once again this year, and is one of the main reasons he’s been seemingly passed over despite being 22-years-old in Double-A.
We’ve seen this before from Peguero, who got off to a really good start last year, before struggling down the stretch, so he is going to have to find some sort of medium to start advancing forward.
If he does, he should help to find some clarity in the middle infield picture, and the rest can fall into their future roles.
Prospect Notes
–Not prospect news, but I’ve been impressed with Tucupita Marcano playing shortstop so far this season after being thrown into the role. The defensive metrics haven’t been kind to him there, but he’s always gave me a ‘gamer’ type feel to his approach.
Maybe not the loudest tools in the room, but he’ll never be outworked. In the short term that can really be helpful, and cover a lot of holes. Long-term, it’s kind of unfortunate there are so many ‘middle-infield’ options, but none have really laid claim to the temporary shortstop position.
All things given, in that kind of competition, give me a player like Marcano.
— I don’t care what his age is, or what level he’s at, this is the Jackson Glenn I kind of expected after watching him in Bradenton back in 2021.
His approach was amazing at the plate, and that opened all sorts of opportunities for him. Last year wasn’t a good year, but he’s back with a vengeance this season, posting a .975 OPS after hitting his sixth home run on the season.
Daily Video Rundown
The slugfest continues! @henrydavis32 crushes his 10th home run of the season to give us a 5-2 lead! pic.twitter.com/QOU1LgxLfl
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) May 21, 2023
Near daily post about Henry Davis hitting a ball really hard, his 10th home run of the season.
That's outfielder, @henrydavis32 making a great throw to get the out at second! pic.twitter.com/3KNIObB0aG
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) May 20, 2023
His experience in the outfield is limited but he looked a lot more comfortable out there on Saturday. He gets an outfield assist on the play above, and then nearly gets a second one below. A great slide to elude Peguero’s tag saves the runner from being out.
This is why you want Davis in RF instead of 1B if he’s not catching. Great play to cut the ball off, even better throw. Crazy slide by the Bowie player to avoid the tag #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/tBwCPLxpqH
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) May 20, 2023
Pirates Prospects Daily
By John Dreker
Pirates and Diamondbacks finish up their three-game series today. Roansy Contreras goes for the Pirates. P2Live will be up later this morning. All of the minor league games are early afternoon today.
**The Pirates lost last night, but Mitch Keller pitched well.
**Keep an eye on JP Massey. That and more in the Prospect Watch.
**The college regular season is winding down, but there’s still plenty more for Pirates fans to follow.
**A look at Thomas Harrington’s success from Anthony Murphy
Song of the Day
This is by request
