Pirates Prospects Daily: What to Watch for With Two Weeks Until the Season

It was a rare off day on Monday for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and now they prepare for a stretch that will take them up the day before their regular season opener against the Cincinnati Reds.

With a chance to reset and relook at everything that has gone on so far, there are still a few things left to figure before things are wrapped up in Bradenton.

Who Steps Up In The Bullpen

The Pirates made it a point in adding as much depth to the bullpen as possible for the upcoming season. As David Bednar and Wil Crowe wore down during the latter stages of the season, it become obvious that more depth would be needed to avoid a repeat.

Part of the nature of spring, a lot of the bullpen options have been up and down so far. After the injury to Jarlin Garcia, there will be an additional spot up for grabs.

Colin Holderman looks like someone who could take a late-inning role at some point in this season. While he’s been hit hard at times, Jose Hernandez has flashed the stuff that made him an exciting Rule 5 pick.

There are plenty of other names out there, like Yerry De Los Santos, Dauri Moreta, or even Colin Selby. Will any of them make enough of an impression to claim the extra spot available? Who of the non-roster lefties make enough of a splash to be considered to get added to the 40-man, or will the Pirates roll with an inexperienced Hernandez as their lone lefty?

The Starting Outfield, And Bench

Something tells me that Sunday’s combination of Bryan Reynolds–Jack Suwinski–Andrew McCutchen are the odds on favorite to play opening day. Travis Swaggerty has been very strong in his playing time, but Suwinski continues to get more time.

Swaggerty could still factor into the picture off the bench. It could be done between him and Canaan Smith-Njigba for the last spot, if Connor Joe is also penciled into the other.

Although Joe was originally a Neal Huntington draft pick, he was brought back by Ben Cherington, so out of out of everyone fighting for a spot, only Swaggerty wasn’t brought back in by the current regime.

Not saying that matters, that’s just how it’s lining up.

Who Steps Up At Second Base?

Rodolfo Castro entered spring as the most experienced of the current options, with Ji-Hwan Bae maybe having the most upside. Tucupita Marcano was highly sought after by Cherington, and graded out respectively at the position last year.

None have really stood out from one another, maybe going Castro’s way by default due to the grand slam. He also leads the team in strikeouts, with 10 in 26 plates appearances, and hasn’t drawn a walk either.

The hope was that Bae would settle into some super utility role, but has mainly played second base with some shortstop sprinkled in. He’s looked less than impressive at short, and he has just three hits in 19 at-bats.

Marcano picked up a couple of hits the other day, which doubled his previous output during the spring. He doesn’t hit for much power but picked up a double, and has also stolen a base as well.