The Pittsburgh Pirates wrapped up their 2024 season with a loss on Sunday, finishing 76-86. It was the same record they had in 2023.
I’ll be recapping the season on Pirates Prospects over the next few weeks, starting with a column later today about the team’s year-over-year progress.
From there, I’ve been recapping the minor league season, and will be wrapping that up this week. You can check out my previous recaps below.
Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Recaps
Each minor league affiliate recap looks at the hitter and pitcher of the year, the top ten prospects, notable performers, and an early 2025 outlook. This week, I’ll be writing up the DSL recap, the overall system awards, along with a column recapping the minor league development this season.
- Indianapolis Indians: From Paul Skenes to Bubba Chandler
- Altoona Curve: An Elite Trio of Pitchers and Then Disappointment
- Greensboro Grasshoppers: Termarr Johnson and The Next Wave of Pitching
- Bradenton Marauders: Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Depth
- FCL Pirates: Zander Mueth and Jhonny Severino Led a Near-Championship
Three Pirates Observations
The Pirates lost 6-4 to the Yankees in the final game of the season. Here were three things which stood out from the loss:
- Joey Bart was one of the best things about this season. He finished with a two hit day, getting his 11th double of the season. Bart is probably the worst defensive catcher the Pirates have, but he stepped up this year as one of the best hitting catchers in the game. The Pirates will have an interesting decision to make with Endy Rodriguez returning and Henry Davis also factoring into the mix.
- Liover Peguero got the start today, batting ninth and playing shortstop. The backstory to the start is that if Isiah Kiner-Falefa had started the game, he would have received a performance bonus with four plate appearances. It was the same contract scenario as Rowdy Tellez, only with one day left in the season, rather than one week. According to Alex Stumpf, Kiner-Falefa found out he wasn’t in the lineup last night. The Pirates approached him an hour before the game, giving him the opportunity to play. Kiner-Falefa declined, saying he had already checked out, and didn’t think it was fair to take a start away from Peguero in Yankee Stadium. Peguero went 1-for-4.
- Isaac Mattson pitched two scoreless innings in relief for Bailey Falter, covering the fourth and fifth innings. Mattson worked with a fastball/changeup combo, using his slider once. The four-seam fastball sat 94.5 MPH, touching 96.2. It had two whiffs on 13 swings, with four called strikes for a 25% CSW. The changeup had four whiffs on nine swings, and one called strike for a 42% CSW. It sat mid-80s. The 29-year-old from Erie, PA signed with the Pirates as a minor league free agent last offseason. After a successful season with Altoona then Indianapolis, he was promoted at the end of the year for three appearances. He allowed three runs in 5.1 innings, with five walks and six strikeouts. All three runs and four walks came in his second outing. This was a good way for Mattson to bounce back from that and end his season on a high note. He could be an option for the MLB bullpen in 2025, if he lasts on the 40-man all offseason.
Offseason Content on Pirates Prospects
This wraps up my 16th season covering the Pittsburgh Pirates on this site. This season was unlike any other, in that it was only the second year that I ran this site as a solo project, and the first year where I was really able to enjoy and embrace my role as a writer.
At the start of the season, this site was offline for two months, while I decided if I wanted to return this year and possibly beyond. I decided that I would return for one year with an option for 2025. My plan is to take the next two months to decide if I’ll return for 2025, although I’m currently leaning toward that option.
During these two months, I’ll be working on expansions and upgrades to the site, which were originally planned for last offseason. The big goal there will be finding the best way to present the massive amount of information on this site. I’m the only writer, and I had to scroll to page two in the site archives to find an article I wrote less than a week ago. If this site ever expands beyond me, there will need to be a better information display system in place than before. That’s what I’ll be working on during this time.
I’ll also be writing daily articles this offseason. The content in October will be recapping the 2024 season. The content in November will start to look ahead to the offseason and 2025 season. I’ll also have Arizona Fall League and Winter League updates. And, you might be reading about the Philadelphia 76ers from time to time in First Pitch. I’ll be writing about the Winter Meetings, but I’ll be deciding the site’s future around that time.
Whether this year, or any of the 16 seasons, this site wouldn’t be possible without the readers. Thank you to everyone who supported the site as a Patreon this year, and thank you even if you were just a free reader. I hope to continue giving you more content to read as the Pirates’ offseason unfolds. Mostly, I hope that the Pirates start to make an effort, for all of the Pirates fans that this site serves.
