The Pirates enter Monday with their final game of the spring, taking on the Toronto Blue Jays at LECOM Park. The team will then depart for Miami, where they’ll play their first game of the 2024 regular season on Thursday.
On Sunday, the Pirates lost to the Yankees by a 1-0 score. Martin Perez pitched three shutout innings to wrap his Spring Training with an 0.60 ERA across 15 innings. He continued getting swing and miss results, generating nine whiffs in 21 swings, with at least one whiff on each of his four pitch offerings. He also generated eight called swings, for a total combined called strike and whiff rate (CSW) of 31%.
Perez has never been higher than a 21% CSW during the regular season of his pro career. Having the ability to generate swing and miss could make it more likely that he puts up good overall results in the Pirates’ rotation.
For a team which has questions surrounding the production from their rotation, the swing and miss performance of Perez is one of the most encouraging results from this Spring Training.
Pirates Prospects Daily
The MLB and minor league seasons begin this week. This will also be the first full week of features on Pirates Prospects. I wrote on Sunday what the new, solo version of the site will look like.
The short of it is that there will be subscription-based articles every Tuesday, free features daily, and a free daily newsletter. The full details are below, along with how you can subscribe.
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This Week on Pirates Prospects
**The History of Anthony Solometo’s Funky Delivery
Read about how Anthony Solometo developed one of the funkiest deliveries in the game and reached the upper levels as one of the top prospects in the Pirates’ system.
**Braxton Ashcraft Returned From Tommy John With MLB Stuff
Braxton Ashcraft is looking like he could help the Pirates in 2024, with the help of three plus offerings.
**Thomas Harrington Emerged as a Top Ten Prospect in His Pro Debut
He’s down with a shoulder issue right now, but Thomas Harrington showed he was a top ten prospect in the system with his 2023 debut.
**J.P. Massey Shows His Future Potential During Eventful 2023 Season
After a trip to the MLB Future’s Game, and a full season in A-ball, J.P. Massey is showing off potential that could lead to a future in Pittsburgh.
**Jackson Wolf’s Elevator Delivery Explained
Solometo isn’t the only lefty with a funky delivery. Read about Jackson Wolf, who the Pirates acquired from the Padres last year at the deadline.
Song of the Day
New week, new artist.
