Each week in Statcast Heroes, I’ll be recapping the weekly leaders at each level of the Pittsburgh Pirates system that has data available. That includes the Major Leagues, Triple-A, and Single-A. The results give a quick glimpse at players who stand out in a given week, with the chance to identify players who wouldn’t normally be discussed. As for the players who are normally discussed, this allows for a deeper dive into why they’re performing well.
The weekly leaders can be found at the bottom of the article, after these players who stood out in the last week.
Jones and Falter Whiff the Brewers
I wrote about this last night on Pirates Prospects Daily, but it’s worth repeating: What Jared Jones and Bailey Falter are doing this week against the Milwaukee Brewers is impressive. Jones had 25 whiffs on Monday, and Falter had 14 on Tuesday. The two pitchers combined for two runs allowed in 13 innings, with seven hits allowed and a 15:4 K/BB ratio.
The Brewers entered this series with one of the best offenses in baseball. They rank top five in overall position player fWAR, as well as on-base percentage. They rank bottom-third in swinging strikes, and are middle of the pack in strikeouts. Jones and Falter put up monster numbers against this offense, which is far from a pushover.
These are the type of results we’re starting to come to expect from Jones, who is looking like a Rookie of the Year candidate. In the case of Falter, who has a 6.0 K/9 this season, the high whiff rate is more of a surprise. The combination from the two pitchers led the Pirates back to two games above .500.
Paul Skenes Doesn’t Have His Best Stuff
