Entering this season, Josh Palacios had less than 100 career at-bats at the major league level. Brought in during the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft, he added some depth to the outfield in the upper levels of the system.
He’s now getting a shot in the majors, and after going hitless in his first four games with the Pirates, Palacios has hit safely in five of his last eight, including picking up his first career home run in their come from behind win against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
Josh Palacios is fired up about his first MLB home run for the @Pirates!
426 feet | 105.4 mph pic.twitter.com/46wnYY2RcL
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 3, 2023
As he’s gotten more comfortable at the plate, we are starting to see a little more power showing, as each of his last three hits have all gone for extra-bases.
May was a dreadful month for the Pirates, but they ended things on a high note, taking two out of three games against the San Francisco Giants. In their first game of the month, they erased a 5-0 deficit, scoring seven unanswered runs that was capped off by Palacios’ home run.
The offense struggled for the most part of last month, and they are going to need players up and down the lineup chipping in offensively if they want to get back to how they looked in April.
Prospect Notes
— Termarr Johnson picked up his second home run of the season on Friday, a three-run shot in the first inning to give Bradenton an early lead.
Things are slowly starting to come around for him, even though the strikeouts are still lingering. One thing to monitor going forward is the defense. He was one of the more hyped prep players to come out the draft in recent history due to the bat, and really profiled as a second baseman going forward.
Not only did he pick up another home run, continuing to hit the ball hard, he also committed his 10th error of the season.
He’s played some shortstop this season and hasn’t completely looked out of place there, so I wouldn’t be too worried about the errors just yet. If they continue to mount, it will continue to add pressure in the bat to come through for him.
— Jared Jones continues his fantastic start to the season, pitching six innings of one-run baseball. While the strikeouts weren’t quite there (three), he only allowed two hits and two walks in the start.
The righty has the perfect mix of upside and floor to make him a legitimate candidate to be the Pirates top pitching prospect once Luis Ortiz graduates.
— Speaking of top pitching prospects, Quinn Priester makes just about as good a case as any, and bounced back after a dreadful start last time around to toss six shutout innings and pick up his sixth win of the season.
The Pirates won’t rush him to the majors but the path for him to make it to Pittsburgh got a lot shorter with the amount of injuries they’ve suffered. Like I said, they won’t rush him, but the opportunity may be there at some point this season, it’s up to Priester to be ready when it comes.
Daily Video Rundown
Gonzo showing off his range.
Nick Gonzales makes a fantastic defensive play at second base in the first inning.
.@mattfraizer3 with a big fly! pic.twitter.com/EJHBNyY1ft
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) June 2, 2023
With Altoona already leading the game, Matt Fraizer doubles their score with a three-run shot, his fourth of the season.
PIRATES PROSPECTS DAILY
By Tim Williams
We’ve got some new features we’re trying out on the site this weekend.
**Pirates Business: Examining the Super Two “Deadline”
**Pirates Trade Robert Stephenson to the Tampa Bay Rays; Mark Mathias Rejoins the Team
**Pirates Release Six Minor League Players
**Abrahan Gutierrez Hitting Ground Running Returning From Injury
SONG OF THE DAY
