The Pittsburgh Pirates opened the second half with a come from behind victory against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night. Nick Gonzales delivered the walk-off single to give the Pirates an 8-7 win, pushing them above .500 for the first time since April 24th.
The crowd of 39,530 was the largest at PNC Park since April 2015. This comes in the same week as the All-Star Game, where Pittsburgh had the highest in-market ratings.
Baseball fever is officially back in the ‘Burgh.
What stood out about the win on Friday night was that the Pirates battled back repeatedly with their offense, overcoming a six-run start from Martin Perez.
Perez allowed three runs in the first, but the Pirates matched that with three of their own in the bottom half of the inning. The score was 7-4 after the fifth inning, with both teams turning to their bullpen the rest of the game.
The Pirates got four shutout innings from their bullpen to close out the game, with one each from Dennis Santana, Quinn Priester, Colin Holderman, and Carmen Mlodzinski.
The offense chipped away at the lead with two runs in the seventh, led by an RBI single from Oneil Cruz and a sacrifice fly by Rowdy Tellez.
Connor Joe led off the ninth inning with a single, sparking the final comeback rally with the Pirates needing a run to tie. Michael A. Taylor was brought in to pinch run, which became a key substitution. After a walk by Andrew McCutchen, Taylor stole third base, with McCutchen taking second.
Cruz came up with one out, hitting a chopper up the middle to a drawn in defense, but the speed from Taylor beat the throw home from the second baseman for the tying run, while putting McCutchen at third. Gonzales then came to the plate, hitting the first pitch he saw to left field for the walk-off.
At the end of the season this game might stand out as a statement win.
The Phillies entered the game with the best record in baseball, while the Pirates entered with an offense that has ranked 13th in the Majors in wOBA and wRC+ during the month of July. They were also throwing their worst performing starter, with Perez struggling lately.
At the end of the night, the Pirates overcame the Phillies by keeping their offensive trend going.
Minor League Promotions
The Pirates also opened the second half with a lot of moves in the minors, including two big promotions.
Hunter Barco and Nick Cimillo were moved up to Altoona after both 2022 draft picks led Greensboro in the first half.
Barco, a left-hander taken out of Florida in the second round in 2022, is in his first full season after returning from Tommy John. He put up a 3.34 ERA in 62 innings, with a 77:22 K/BB. I wrote about Barco for Baseball America last month, noting how he’s added velocity (jumping from the low 90s to 94 MPH), while working on his secondary to develop a five pitch mix.
Cimillo was taken in the 16th round in 2022 out of Rutgers. In his first full season last year, he made it up to Greensboro, but only hit .147/.256/.294 in 78 plate appearances. This year he took a big step forward, batting .293/.419/.619 with a system-leading 17 home runs. Cimillo was drafted as a catcher, but profiles better as a 1B/DH type. He played first base in his first game with Altoona, going 0-for-3 at the plate.
Scott Randall was sent from Altoona to Greensboro to make room for the new additions. The 25-year-old right-hander was acquired for Diego Castillo after 2022, but missed all of 2023 with Tommy John. He’s pitched across four levels this year, only making one appearance for Altoona, with four shutout innings.
The Pirates had a few players returning from injuries.
Lonnie White Jr. was activated from the injured list in Greensboro. The 2021 Competitive Balance pick is hitting .189 this year, but has shown power with 11 homers. White has dealt with more serious injuries the last few years, and this is his first full-season.
Garret Forrester returned to Bradenton. Last year’s third rounder is batting .262/.421/.381, while learning the catching position this year. He excels offensively with pitch recognition and plate patience, leading to the high OBP.
Brad Case began a rehab assignment in the FCL. The 2018 17th rounder converted to a sidearm approach this year, and has seen his best results since before the pandemic. The right-hander had a 3.18 ERA in 11.1 innings in Altoona, and made a brief appearance in Indianapolis before the injury.
Earlier this week, Aaron Shortridge returned to the Indianapolis roster, ending his rehab assignment. Drafted in the fourth round in 2018, the righty underwent Tommy John in 2021. Shortridge pitched his first full season last year, finishing strong in Altoona. He made his season debut in Triple-A on Friday, allowing one run in four innings. The 27-year-old had one start at the level last year, allowing one run in five innings.
Anthony Solometo has been on the development list since June 14th, after a 6.27 ERA with Altoona. The Pirates assigned the 2021 second round lefty to the FCL, where he hopefully can get back on track after being the best pitching prospect in the minor league system in 2023.
On the other side of the injury coin, the Pirates lost two players. Left-hander Tyler Samaniego was placed on the 7-day IL in Altoona with an elbow injury. Prior to the injury, he had a 3.57 ERA in 17.2 innings of relief, with a 22:7 K/BB.
Eddy Rodriguez was placed on the 60-day IL in Bradenton. He was hitting .209/.342/.269 this year in his jump to A-ball, showing flashes of good contact, and an ability to get on base.
Kade McClure retired. The 2017 sixth round right-hander was used as depth this year in the upper levels, and finishes his minor league career with a 4.44 ERA in 401 innings.
Bullpen Help is on the Way to Pittsburgh
Ryan Borucki and Hunter Stratton had their rehab assignments moved to Indianapolis, putting the two Pirates relievers closer to returning to the big leagues.
Borucki has been rehabbing since June 25th, spending time at both Indianapolis and Altoona. He should return to Pittsburgh in the next week, giving them a lefty who has shown an ability to pitch in any situation out of the bullpen.
Stratton has emerged as a sleeper right-hander since being called up last September. He has a 3.71 ERA in 43.2 innings so far in the majors, along with 40 strikeouts that mostly come from a four-seam/slider combo. His slider is one of the best performing pitches on the team.
The Pirates got their win on Friday thanks to the bullpen, and that bullpen should receive a boost soon with Borucki and Stratton getting closer to the majors in their rehab.
Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Grades
The MLB Draft was this week, with the Pirates selecting prep hitter Konnor Griffin with the ninth pick in the first round.
MLB Pipeline graded the Pirates with the second best draft overall, highlighting their approach of drafting high ceiling players like Griffin, along with three other prep players in the first five picks. They also took right-handed pitcher Levi Sterling, and shortstops Wyatt Sanford and Eddie Rynders.
Pipeline had the Cleveland Guardians ranked first. Cleveland picked first overall, and had the biggest bonus pool. The Pirates picked ninth, with the sixth biggest pool. The fact the Pirates ranked so high in the results is a great early sign.
Baseball America evaluated the Pirates draft, highlighting two interesting picks beyond Griffin. They had Rynders as the most interesting day two pick, profiling him as a potential future power hitting third baseman. They had 19th round right-hander Joe Vogatsky as the most interesting day three pick, noting that he’s touched 96-97 MPH with his fastball, along with a low-80s slider, a curveball, and a changeup.
Keith Law had a glowing report of Griffin in The Athletic, noting that many scouts said the Pirates’ first rounder could have gone first overall if drafting on tools. Law projects 70-grades for the run, arm, and possibly the power tool from Griffin, along with the chance for 60-grade defense at short, and possible 70-grade defense in center field. He noted that the hit tool needs work, but Griffin seems like he has a good chance at being a plus power/speed/defense center fielder at the least. Law concluded that Griffin is the type of player you build your franchise around if everything clicks.
In addition to Sterling, Sanford, Rynders, Law profiled third round right-hander Josh Hartle, fifth round outfielder Will Taylor, sixth round right-hander Matt Ager, and seventh round lefty Connor Wietgrefe. All three pitchers have the chance to be MLB starters, according to Law.
Trade Rumors
The Pirates have had “exploratory talks” with Miami for center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., according to Craig Mish of the Miami Herald, who discussed this on 93.7 The Fan.
Chisholm is batting .251/.322/.407 with 12 homers and 19 stolen bases this year. This is actually his worst offensive output over the last three seasons, ranking close to league average. That would still be an upgrade over Taylor. The defense from Chisholm in center field would be a massive step down from Taylor, who is one of the best outfielders in the league.
Mish notes that several teams have expressed interest, with a few having more serious interest than the Pirates. Chisholm is under team control through the 2026 season, so he’d be a multi-year addition for any team acquiring him.
I personally wouldn’t consider Chisholm a priority addition. There’s a need to add offense to this team, but Chisholm only looks like a serious upgrade in comparison to Taylor, who is having the worst hitting season of his career. That’s been a trend for a lot of hitters, and that could hit Chisholm as well, dropping him below-average. The poor defense in center field reduces his value as well. He is more valuable overall compared to Taylor, but the price for this 2+ year addition might not be worth it beyond this year’s offensive woes.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Malcom Nunez hit two doubles and a homer for Indianapolis, for his best offensive output of the season. Matt Gorski also hit his 16th homer in the 8-1 Indianapolis victory. Termarr Johnson extended his hitting streak to 13 games in Greensboro. Down in the FCL, Zander Mueth pitched five shutout innings. Read about all of Friday’s minor league action in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch:
https://piratesprospects.com/2024/07/pirates-prospect-watch-big-day-from-malcom-nunez-leads-indianapolis-victory.html
