The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 5-0 on Tuesday, led by five shutout innings from Paul Skenes.
What I liked about this win was that there were several examples of the positive side of the inconsistencies from young players.
For example, Skenes has seen his velocity decline in some outings recently, as he gets to the end of his first full season as a professional pitcher, throwing longer than he ever has before. That wasn’t the case on Tuesday, with Skenes seeing normal, if not slightly increased velocity on several of his pitches.
Skenes was pairing his fastball with a changeup, which received 10 whiffs on 11 swings as his most effective pitch on the night. One thing which leads to his consistency is his vast arsenal, allowing for at least one of his pitches to be shut down on any given night.
Another positive example was the two hit performance from Nick Gonzales. The second baseman started his first full MLB season on a strong note, before entering a slump over the summer. Since returning from the injured list, he has a hit in six of his seven games, with four multi-hit games. Prior to his injury, he was heating up with an eight-game hitting streak.
Gonzales might be a streaky hitter, relying on BABIP to counter fringe-average power and a low walk rate. His ability to make consistent contact will allow him a shot at those extended hitting stretches. Long-term, he’ll need to improve the walks or power results to avoid the streaky play.
I also liked that Colin Holderman came up big with a scoreless sixth inning, protecting a two-run lead. The Pirates scored three runs on a Jared Triolo homer in the seventh, putting the game a bit further out of reach. That provided less pressure for Carmen Mlodzinski’s two shutout innings, or the scoreless inning from David Bednar to close out the game.
Holderman had a lot of struggles a month ago, and has spent time on the injured list. Seeing him throw a perfect inning during one of the higher leverage situations of the game was a good sign that he could be getting back on track.
The Pirates are now 65-73, going for the series sweep against the Cubs tomorrow evening with Domingo German on the mound.
Pirates Add a Lefty
On Tuesday, the Pirates made a waiver claim, adding left-handed reliever Joey Wentz from Detroit. He’s got five years of control remaining, and impressive whiff rates on his secondary stuff. Wentz also had a decent month of August. He’ll get a trial down the stretch in Pittsburgh, with a chance to stick on the 40-man as an option throughout the offseason.
Three Prospects Make the Top 100
The Pittsburgh Pirates had three prospects in the latest top 100 update by Baseball America. Bubba Chandler moved up inside the top 25, while Thomas Harrington joined 2024 first rounder Konnor Griffin in the back-half of the list. Read more about the three top 100 prospects.
Players of the Month
Bubba Chandler and Matt Gorski were the top performers in Indianapolis for the month of August, with Chandler making a great debut at the new level. On Tuesday, I wrote about the top hitter and pitcher during the month of August at every level throughout the system.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Omar Alfonzo homered for the Greensboro Grasshoppers in a short day for minor league action in the system. Read about the action in Altoona and Greensboro on Tuesday night in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch.
