Teams will often try their best to keep something they are planning close to their chest, not giving their opponents an opportunity to adjust before hand.
Taking a look at how the Indianapolis lineup has been penciled in this week, whenever the Pirates look to the minors for some help, we may already be getting clued into what could come next.
We always knew that if Jared Triolo was going to find his way as a regular on the major league team, it was going to have to be at a different position than third base, that being manned already by Ke’Bryan Hayes.
So far this week, Triolo has started at shortstop, a position he has some, but not a lot, of experience with at the professional level.
A gold glove winner at third base in the minors, the defense isn’t necessarily guaranteed over to shortstop, but with the Pirates currently struggles at the position this season, at least defensively, it seems they are preparing to cross all avenues in the search for a short-term answer until Oneil Cruz can return later on.
After Cruz went out with his injury, Rodolfo Castro filled in as the next man up, but actually rated out as one of the worst at the position in the majors. Tucupita Marcano has been better, almost by default, but still has graded out negatively by almost all metrics.
He may not make the big play, but he’s made the ones he is supposed to make, which is a win on it’s own.
At the very least, Triolo provides a platoon partner for Marcano, who has struggled hitting left-handed pitching.
With a long history of hitting throughout each level he’s played at, it was only a matter of time before Triolo got his shot to make an impact on the major league roster. The Cruz injury could have opened the door for him to do it sooner, if he was not recovering from surgery himself.
Triolo won’t hit for a lot of power, but the Pirates could use some solid defense, and really just someone to get on base.
Daily Video Rundown
WARNING: Shack attack safety measures have been installed at Huntington Park. Pedestrians shall walk on West Nationwide Blvd. at their own risk. No liability accepted when Shack attacks. pic.twitter.com/GzxPiRo9Dp
— Indianapolis Indians (@indyindians) May 25, 2023
Not talked about too much, but Aaron Shackelford continues his really strong play in Indianapolis this season. This was the first of two home runs he hit on Thursday.
Chavez Young denies extra bases. ❌ pic.twitter.com/Uxj2J35TZ9
— Indianapolis Indians (@indyindians) May 25, 2023
Chavez Young comes up with a great leaping catch near the warning track to get the third out of the inning.
Baseballs do not like @masonmartin7, but we sure do! His eighth home run of the season gives us an 8-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/xUMcL8FEMk
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) May 25, 2023
The Altoona Curve have scored 35 runs through the first three games of their series against Hartford. Mason Martin pitched into the run barrage, slugging his eighth home run of the season.
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.
Can someone tell Joe Block we’re 6-16 in last 22…….to temper his enthusiasm justttt a bit?
Back to 1/2 game back of,1sr!
Marcano has had a really good game.
Shelty wants to make this interesting with DUJ coming in.
1-2-3 and ending with a K.
Let’s hope Shelton doesn’t remember.
I said it multiple times how I prefer Bae in the outfield but the defensive change of him replacing Suwinski as CF is just.. does the metrics even support the decision???
Probably not, but he made that great catch in Boston. It’s like bourbon to Shelton, he doesn’t forget things like that.
Who had the Pirates hitting 7 homers-thus far, and Keller giving up 6 ER?
Nice
Man, it’s nice to see Reynolds with homerun 🥹
Ramirez was so puzzling in ST—I had him as a near lock for the pen but they had to send him down after how he pitched in Florida. Looks like he’s back, or even better.
That last dinger just enough to put Mitch’s ERA over 3.
Arghhh i slept and not only the Pirates scored but also the M’s… at least Keller picked a good game to give up runs. :/
Shelton playing his usual spin the pitcher’s wheel, why not get the BP in for the 7th in a 6-run game? But not trust Mitch in last start w one-run lead in a dominating game?
Don’t try to figure that effing clown, can’t believe they extended him….
Maybe it was a one year deal, but doubtful since someone said Shelton was very emotional about it.
Welp
I’d have lifted Keller—big lead and he had already thrown 91 pitches (honest—I started writing this before the walk and HR).
Yes! Does Shelton have no feel for the game? Last week it was obvious he should have left him in, and tonight, while not “obvious”, it made more sense to start the 7th with the bullpen.
Yes no feel. We’ve had 3 off days in last 10. No one’s overworked in the pen (except Underdog of course).
Third straight series we’ve had a very impressive game one; now we need to win the series.
Okay, I shouldn’t have put this one in the win column yet. Bednar better be ready.
Nice to see all the dingers from the good guys, but this one ain’t over quite yet.
Then Then came in the game and we took BP from Then while them watched us like the HR Derby!
The lumber company is out tonight!
It’s those black pants the Mariners are wearing—flashback to the ‘79 Pirates.
Crap! Was posting on the other board. No I find every one here!
Marcano boosting that slugging tonight.
Jack Jack is on fire!
Where are all those who wanted Jack to start the season in Indy?
Damn
Suwinski got that one.
Reynolds is hitting beautifully with runners on this year, the exact opposite of last year.
Julio likes pitches above the zone. Is that in our scouting report?
Keller losing it from the stretch again.
Didn’t have any trouble with it in the 6th.
Pitched well out of trouble and they got the 2 runs back….make that 3….TUCU!!
Run support for Keller! Much deserved.
On the other hand, they seem to score when I’m half asleep not watching so I’ll continue doing that..
Pirates beat up on another top 10 pitcher. How did Eovaldi escape the curse?
Must just mean hes not a top 10 pitcher!
Has there been a more unexpected performance—4 HRs against a guy who had only given up 3 all year?
I stayed up to watch Keller pitch, but love seeing the hitting.
103.1 EV with 41% LA on that Hayes shot, for those debating whether all his hard hit balls are grounders…
Then promptly grounds out to first in next at bat. Lmao.
That .234 batting average and 2 homers really quieting the haters this year!! What a slugger the Pirates have at the hot corner.
His and Cutch’s had crazy hang time. Moon shot wall scrappers.
was because of my pep talk earlier today
Shelton actually did not have contact play on with Joe batting. I’m actually stunned. Or did Reynolds just know better from good coaching at Vandy.
Suwinski with a good approach, he needs to hit the ball the other way.
Hope Jack can keep this up.
At least they’re hitting homeruns…?
The Pirates looking sloppy again. Jack not catching the ball allows the run to be scored. All you have to do is glove it, why charge so hard? The rubber got a late break and was still two steps from third when the ball bounced off his glove…. That’s why the losses are piling up.
The clean games are few and far between these days. It seems rare when we don’t give away at least one run, either by defensive blunders or base running mistakes. I’m not seeing the culture change Ben praised Shelton for.
It didn’t impact the play but he mishandled the double as well.
From the manager that tried Vogey leading off, then Key with his low OBP, he now has found his lead off hitter. Cutch fits the bill perfectly. Has some pop to keep SP honest and the eye to take a lot of walks.
I’d rather see Castro at 2B even against a RH than Bae. I’m just not a Bae fan.
If the Pirates want to give Bae more starts, that’s one thing. But to have Castro sit this often doesn’t make sense. Why keep him up if he is getting one start a week.
I won’t get into all the reasons I’m not a Bae fan. Regardless, I don’t like his game. It’s hard for me to watch him. Imo, Castro is being penalized for playing SS poorly. He was out of position and had limited reps in his history. He’s young. He needs reps at his natural position. Meanwhile, we get to watch Hedges be a total turd behind the plate and in the batter’s box.
I like Bae but I’d still rather see Castro. Bad managing.
Watching Julio is worth coming out to Seattle. Someone remind us who the M’s draft in July for their bonus pick for calling up Julio and he wins ROY.
those black pants look sharp
would look good with our grey tops and our black tops
Keller only around 94 in the first? I guess we will see if thats where he sits this start or has plenty in the tank
He seems to start low and ramp up as he starts going. He’ll bebe 96 by the 5th
Or 97.
And most likely 98 the more he goes. Kinda how Verlander started out slow then was pumping heat the longer his start went on
Or 98.
Player development has been on the rise. If you disagree look at the number of prospects deserving a shot at the NEXT LEVEL OR TWO
However the Pirates are the least bit interested as they continue to treat
20-8 as an aberration rather than a “FORTUNATE HAPPY ACCIDENT”
Meaning this:
FO stated we are “competing to win every game” they forgot this part
“while we go FULL/TILT to try and finish the rebuild
They had it all figured out including the 20-8 APRIL which was HUGE.
NOT for CHANCES of winning a division title but reason to extend an unfit skipper after just 28 G, leaving him 134 games to find more ways to ESCAPE FROM WINNING
Jose Iglesias just opted out, maybe replace Owings with him.
Lord what an easy effing decision.
This is probably our best win now move at SS
Lots of folks clamoring for Mason Martin, but what about Shackleford who is actually doing well at AAA? From PBN:
1B Aaron Shackelford
Game stats: 2 for 2, one home run, three RBIs, two runs, one walk
Season stats: .268/.407/.509, seven doubles, one triple, six home runs 15 RBIs, four steals, 36 games
If the guy is bangers at third base, why on earth on we messing with him and not maximizing what he is proving to do really well? like best in all the minor leagues really well…
when people say “that will be a good problem to have” it means that we should be trading the more expensive guy
Kebryan to short, establish his value with plus defense at a position where his bat may not be atrocious, then flip him and let Jared take over.
I was starting to consider this but then I read Anthony’s last sentence “Triolo won’t hit for a lot of power”…..arghhh.
Triolo closed last year and opened this year on IL
He didn’t play for almost 10 months
Had no Spring Training and this is first visit to AAA
He has 8 doubles in 65 AB’s
W/ 14 BB and 16 K’s
Is that GOOD ?
It is but 4 of those doubles came in A ball rehabbing in 16 at bats, 4 doubles in 49 at bats, not so much at triple A. He’s coming off a surgery that is known to sap power. Let’s give him some time to adjust there before we set him up for failure in the majors. I really think he’s a guy that can break out this year.
Lets say JT was in Houston over the holiday to be inducted into the school’s HOF
So he’s having a few with the boys and they are busting him about some of these posts
Upon his return while unpacking finds what he thought was a print out of a prank post
He asked me to help with a response just in case it was real
I was more nervous than I thought, its not like riding a bike, even though feeling like Mutumbo thats still a prof tossing out there
AFA the 2 base hits ,you mentioned
(4-49 not so good at AAA)
Pace is close to 50 two baggers in 500 AB’s
Even if I was a power hitter, i mean who hits 50 in one campaign
Speaking of power the way i’m driving ball thru the gaps shows i haven’t lost any power. They actually took longer to release me to full work outs, even though i felt i ready a couple weeks before
At the end of the day, their know what their doing
Im a professional hitter, my adjustment came last year when broke out afer having 3 RBI’s at the end of May. For a 2-3 day span mid summer i was leading entire EL in H and BB, probably why i was on base close to 200 times in 4 months
I was 2nd leading hitter in the Eastern League which easily had the strongest pitching seen anywhere in a long time
The entire league hit .237 average, only one prospect, Brett Baty hit over .300, he’s a 3rd baseman now for the Mets
I was 2nd with .292 and Sabol was 3rd
It def was a wake up call, i mean I”m watching peggy, lolo, scott and frazier hit walls. Frazier was past the wall but AAA was too crowded and ended back in AA and went from first to worst
Gonzo and Davis both got eat’n alive at first, both recovered
I know they know I’m ready or they wouldn’t have protected me to handcuff the Left side of the infield
Didn’t that work out well, i was injured before Cruz
Any normal FO would be somewhat interested in a post season run and welcome a 14% / 17% eye
on base machine and lock down left side glove
Worst infield in MLB
Joe, Castro, Marcano, Hayes
SPRING TRAINING
to
One of best
Santana, Marcano, Triolo, Hayes
POST SEASON
Prediction for JT –
What they would expect from him
-Clean up LS of Infield
If the pirates continue to use castro as
def replacement, keep batting Joe 3rd behind reynolds Santana at clean up
If they don’t play Marcano and Bae everyday,
keep PH for JS continue to keep owings
Then I agree, keep him away from the most unethical toxic vibe that even the baseball gods refuse to touch, thats one unnecessary evil
He’s ready and willing to help just like 2 of his friends
You’re the one whom implied 8 doubles in 65 at bats in first visit to triple A. Which is impressive, 4 in 49, now 56 is more average than good. I really like Triolo and would rather him get some at bats in triple A than just a visit before being thrown to the fire at the major league level.
I’m being positive about the player not trying to rush him back from an injury, that would set him up for failure in his first visit to the show.
He’ s playing 6 days every week
54 innings in a much more risky enviornment
Endy almost lost his face the other night
only he could have got away from this pitch. Triiolo playing every single inning to make up for lost time
its up to the pirates. if they want to win , call him
if they don’t care, let him stay
but he knows more about baseball than castro Bae and Joe all combined
this team is starving for glces
JT and swaggerty are the answers just cant stay on the field
Several years ago, it seemed to me, and I think many others, that the Pirates had a plethora of middle infielders. It appeared the future was offensively and defensively bright. Now, we have a SS, currently injured, that may need to move off the position in a few years, if not sooner, and a gaggle of weak fielding, weak hitting middle infielders with ‘warts’ that seem to be competing for at least bench players, or at best super utility notoriety. Meanwhile, down on the farm our ‘future’ middle infielders are floundering, one seemingly forgotten in Altoona, and a first rounder in Indianapolis that strikes out like Pedro Alvarez but without the power. Now, in desperation, we’re preparing a potential ‘gold glove’ 3rdbaseman with no power, blocked by a gold glove 3rdbaseman with no power that can’t be traded because of a too expensive for his production long term contract, to play SS. Did I miss anything? The best laid plans …
wait until you get to CF….
Don’t forget 1st base. Although I like Nunez.
I’ve got a headache. I only addressed SS on purpose. Please, forgive me for stopping short of the whole debacle.
We do this thing to ourselves where we pretend a handful of gift ngopes in the lower levels implies “middle infield depth” and they inevitable end up stinking.
Did it in the late 2010s and again to start this decade.
Does KeBryan have a non-trade clause in his contract?
how is it that sub .650 ops for a third baseman acceptable?
Because, as several have pointed out, almost all of his WAR (like Hedges) and value comes on defense.
three years in a row
its almost June and the guy still stinks at the plate
no more launch ankle bs
no more wrist worries
its time to put up or shutup
he is about out of sunflower seeds
His launch angle is the problem. Lol. He pounds the ball into the ground. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like he can make the adjustments needed to be a productive MLB hitter.
That’s not the case this season, he’s at a 13% launch angle which is higher than the league average. He’s also in the top 9% on exit velocity. All of that said, I just don’t understand why his results aren’t matching the metrics. Perhaps some of the stat gurus can shed some more light.
His xwOBA, xBA, and xSLG were all trailing his real numbers a fair bit last I saw. FG even named his as a player due for positive regression so far. I know people will hate, but yandy diaz not long ago was a hayes profile and now look at him
The contact he lifts is poor, essentially mis-hits. Can’t link it for some reason but Baseball Savant has exit velo-launch angle distributions and his hard shit is mostly still on the ground.
Really? I didn’t look it up, was just going off of what I have seen from the games I have watched. Guess I shouldn’t assume lol.
I would be curious to see his launch angles coupled with the exit velocity for each ball in play. I feel like his best contacted balls are finding more infield grass than he wants.
Ya I had that same exact thought just from watching the games
Oh-VER Rah-ted
clap clap…. clap clap clap
scholership nepo’baby
Was doing some digging and what exactly is jack suwinski? Holding down cf just fine, not a gold glove but certainly stronger than reynolds was out there. He had 2 weeks of under 50 wRC+, 2 weeks of over 230 wRC+, and now 2 weeks of 50 wRC+. I dont mind some level streakiness but I do wonder if the lows are worth the highs long term
Like many of our players, he is a platoon guy that plays everyday. He crushes inside pitches and that is it.
I dunno how he did out there, but triolo also has some experience in center? Wouldnt want to throw that all on his plate right now, but eventually could be looking at a super sub
He played a few games there last year in Altoona. Think he did fine there. But not sure it’s something you want to do a lot.
Seems like we have a good amount of guys that could theoretically do something, but not something we want a lot of lol
With him and Marcano it would give a potentially good super utility from each side of the plate.
Seems like we have castro and bae in the utility role as well with castro weakside platoon and bae giving no value right now… would love if someone just stepped up and took over an everyday role
Bae should be sent down. He’s much worse against LHP than is Castro and I don’t think his slight advantage against RHP is enough to justify him being the strong part of a platoon. For example, at least twice in the last week Castro has had hard hit balls against RHP caught (.560 xBA on one, .730 xBA on another). If two of those balls had fallen for hits, Castro would have a higher average against RHP than Bae. Yes, ifs and buts get us into trouble, but I don’t see the justification for Bae getting so many more starts than Castro.
Castro has a dog water line of .203/.320/.234 against RHP. I don’t want to see him starting against righties. Pretty much the same numbers in 2022 against RHP too.
He’s had less than a full season of ABs and is too young to give up on. While Castro was never an elite prospect, there was an interesting article at ESPN.com the other day about how several former top prospects are finally breakout out. All are within a year or so of Castro’s age and experienced similar struggles as they were trying to get established:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/insider/story/_/id/37685965/mlb-2023-check-former-top-prospects-kelenic-gorman-marsh
Could that happen with Castro? I think it’s plausible and in the past week he’s had some of the hardest hit balls against RHP, so let’s at least give him every other start against RHP. It’s not like we’re getting much from Bae.
I think Castro has the potential to be a better than average 2nd basemen as well. I still would like to see him try only batting RH in the off-season.
I guess anything is possible. I’m just not going to beat a drum for Bae or Castro. I doubt our starting second baseman is currently on the roster.
Bae needs the game to slow down for him and it ain’t happening at the mlb level. A lot of potential but a game built on speed has to know when to react.
I agree on his potential, and have nothing against Bae other than he’s taking time from Castro.
He’s trying but he just keeps digging himself in a hole or maybe the quicksand comparison is better. His last game he got a couple hits but thrown out at second and being picked off first, wasn’t for lack of effort. He was so determined to make something happen he got ahead of himself and his best attribute (speed) worked against him.
Castro should take 90% of the reps at 2nd.
I’d be for that, it would be a sink or swim trial though.
At least hold the fort and hopefully Peguero or Gonzales will deservedly take over.
It is perfectly within the rules of baseball to acquire an actual GOOD player even if they aren’t in your organization!
Stop making stuff up!
Even if cost a couple of might be good players.
There’s not a spot for him now, but I’m excited to see Shackleford given a chance when there is a need. It will be a nice success story for someone who never received much attention when drafted or as he worked his way up the system.
He’s earning his playing time and potential call up.
Shack for bae while shack is on his hot streak then shack for triolo longer term
We could use a lefty hitter to play 1b, doubt he’s the answer, but why not take a look, I mean WTF is Owings doing in the 26. I rather have Marcano play against lefties than Owings.
He could fake it at second against a tough RHP also.
Could Triolo be any worse than Newman, who didn’t have much range, but caught everything he got to?
Smart decision playing Triolo at SS because of his defensives abilities, because he hit well at AA last year (795 OPS with 35 EBH), and it’s not like he will be taking somebody’s position. He had a few games there last year in AA and fielded .929. With more exposure, I think he could get that up into the .960’s.
Oneil Cruz is definitely our SS of the future, and Liover Peguero could eventually push Castro, Bae, and Marcano at backup SS and 2B. Right now, the 21 year old Peguero is fielding .930 at SS in AA after a very bad April, and hitting very well.
Carlos Santana is a better hitter RH than LH. With Choi still out, would this be a good time to reward the work of Mason Martin with a short-term promotion to MLB? Really impressed with his ability to continue to hit for power (HR for every 15 PA, every 10 AB) while transforming himself into a hitter with a good eye at the plate – 24.8% BB/27.3% K. In 2021 at AA he was 8.1% BB/34.2% K. I know it is still AA, but transformations like that have to happen between the ears – total commitment! Extremely difficult.
I would say that martins improvements make him interesting once again, and i would like to see him at indy
Given how badly Martin struggled in AAA, I would not think he would do well.
Martin has not exactly lit up AA. While he is definitely showing some intriguing power again this year, he still has been a 3 outcomes hitter in Altoona. The 3 outcomes have been Walk, Strikeout or Home Run. I still doubt that will work at the MLB level.
Yes, but this is a good thing. His OPS is so much highe than it was in ‘21. He is what he is and he, and we need to accept it. His best profile is as a legit 3 out come player. It seems like he was trying to change this over the past few years but it didn’t work. I don’t know if he will play for the Pirates but there is a place for guys with 30- 40 homer power and high walk totals, even with a low average, as long as they are getting on base at a high clip and hitting the ball over the wall.
There is def a place in MLB for 3 outcome players. The issue is striking out 39 percent of the time last season in AAA.
It’s hard to have MLB success if your striking out 25% in AAA…
I am not predicting stardom and he may not even play for us. I just think he needs to be what he is and see where it gets him. If he can cut down on k’s, by all means do it, but he has shown no ability to do that, BUT he does know how to cox a walk and he is back to doing that. He turns 24 in June, he is still a guy that could be something of value in the majors.
I was always pulling for him. It sucks he has stalled in AAA. I feel like the only way he gets a shot is if he keeps his SO % under 29% at the triple A level. The Pirates could absolutely use a masher in Pittsburgh.