Today is the final day of the 2024 minor league baseball season. The Indianapolis Indians will send Mike Burrows to the mound at 1:07 PM to wrap up the year, as the final full-season Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate in action.
This has been my 16th season covering the Pirates minor league system on this site. One of the most difficult things about this game is that it runs daily for months. Even on the minor league side, there are nearly six months of action, with only a break in mid-July. It’s a grind to follow as a fan, it’s a grind to cover, and I’m sure it’s a grind to play.
At the end of the season, it’s significant to point out which players performed well across the full-season marathon, which players improved in the second half, and which took a step back. I’ve kept track of this in my 2024 Top 50 Prospect Rankings, but will dive deeper now that the season is completed.
This week on Pirates Prospects, I’ll be recapping each minor league level, detailing the top prospects and performers, along with an early look at what to expect in 2025.
Thank you to everyone who has followed Pirates Prospects this season.
Three Pirates Observations
The Pirates lost 7-1 to the Reds on Saturday. Here were three things which stood out to me from the game:
- Jared Jones had a rough finish to his rookie season. The right-hander allowed six runs in five innings on two homers, with three walks and five strikeouts. His fastball velocity was down from his season average, and led to five whiffs and eight called strikes (27% CSW). His slider had four whiffs and two called strikes (24% CSW). He threw the changeup and curveball each 9% of the time. The fastball and slider just didn’t have elite results this time out. Despite the rough finish, Jones had a great rookie season, with a 4.14 ERA in 117.1 innings, and a 125:37 K/BB.
- It was good to see David Bednar pitch a scoreless inning, even if it included a walk. Bednar came in to pitch the seventh inning, with the Pirates down 7-0. Ryan Borucki pitched a scoreless inning in the eighth. Jalen Beeks allowed a run in the sixth, which had me checking to see that Luis Peralta hasn’t allowed a run in 12 appearances, spanning ten innings. It was more good than bad from the bullpen.
- Billy Cook hit his second homer since being called up to the big leagues. It was a solo shot in the ninth inning, hit 424 feet at 103.6 MPH. Playing center field while Oneil Cruz served as the designated hitter, Cook had two hits in the game. He also had a 106.1 MPH single in the seventh inning.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Indianapolis won on Saturday, thanks to a triple by Andres Alvarez, which was one of three hits on the day. Read about the game from Alvarez, along with all of the other top performers for Indianapolis on Saturday, in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch.
