Williams: The Growing Pains of Single-A

It might not be obvious by the numbers, but the Pirates have some good young talent in Single-A Bradenton.

There is talent on offense. It’s mostly raw, and isn’t easy to see in the stat lines, but it’s there.

There are several players who started off hot in April and struggled in May, with Alexander Mojica and Jase Bowen being two of the big cases. There are the opposite cases, who started slow and rebounded, like Rodolfo Nolasco recently. Inconsistent performance is a characteristic of younger hitters, and one of the earliest things to learn in pro ball.

“You look to just get them to be as steady as possible, and that’s really what separates, in my mind, the good players, is they’re able to bring it every day, regardless of what happens,” said Bradenton manager Jonathan Johnston. “Bring it every pitch, regardless of what happened the pitch or at-bat before.”

The pitching talent has been more apparent in the stat lines, with a lot of live arms that now includes 2021 second rounder Anthony Solometo. Still, there have been inconsistencies. One example is Luis Peralta, who is on the development list to work a few things out, despite posting incredible strikeout numbers. He’ll be working to fix the control issues that come with those strikeouts.

“You play the games because it shows you what you need to work on,” said Johnston. “It tells these guys a lot about themselves, how they handle situations, how to react to certain situations, and you remember now, this is the first league.”

In the past, there would be short-season teams between Single-A and the Florida Complex League. Those levels were also hundreds of miles apart.

Now, the levels are in the same city, and there are no more short-season leagues. The bigger jump has led to some prospects getting an earlier push to the full season level, knowing the trip back down can be a temporary journey across town. The overall ages of the level are similar, but younger players will cycle in and out to focus on their development.

The Pirates have been treating the FCL almost as if the games don’t matter and are more of an inconvenience to the actual work — which happens during practice. The same approach applies to the work day in Single-A, though these guys have games to play that do matter.

“It’s always about the work and the focus,” said Johnston. “During our work day, these guys are high energy, working hard, trying to get better.”

Johnston said that the coaching staff can help the players by providing consistency and striving to improve in the areas where the game has revealed struggles.

“These guys are trying to win,” said Johnston. “They are learning to win, and they’re trying to win… We just have to continue to push to win. That’s the whole goal. In doing that, we’re getting better. That’s kind of the process. Go out there to win the games, and the games reveal why you didn’t win, and then you go work on those things.”

The Pirates have talent on their Single-A roster, even if that talent has been more raw ability than numbers on the stat sheet.

By the end of the year, I’d expect that talent will be more apparent as players gain more consistency with a full season of work.