Bucs on Deck Yearly Recap: Favorite Moments of 2024

A look back at the best moments from 2024

This was an incredible year here at Bucs on Deck. It was the site's first full year, which brought with it a bunch of firsts.

We talked about my favorite articles of 2024 yesterday, today I wanted to talk about some of my favorite moments over the past 12 months.

Jared Jones’ Debut

I started to really dive into the Pirates and their minor leagues as a writer during the 2021 season, which was significant because that was Jared Jones’ first in the system. He began in Bradenton, a game I watched, with his first pitch clocking in at 99 mph.

Jones was electric from the get-go.

He would go on to strike out 103 batters in 66 innings as a teenager pitching in Low-A.

So, it was a fun, full-circle moment to see him make his major league debut less than three years after seeing him light up the radar gun as a teenager.

By the time it was all said and done, Jones had struck out 10 in 5.2 innings pitched against the Miami Marlins.

An incredible start to his major league career.

Paul Skenes’ Debut, and pretty much anything after that

I was sitting in an Airbnb in Bradenton, getting out of the heat before I headed to LECOM to watch the Marauders, when Paul Skenes made his major league debut.

The ending soured things a bit, but the rest of the season made up for it.

Skenes was everything and perhaps some more in his rookie year for the Pirates, electrifying every time he was on the mound. I usually have two or three screens set up to watch minor league games, but on Skenes day, one was reserved for the Pirates.

Bubba Chandler Two-Game AA Stretch

After a rough start to the season, Bubba Chandler started to put things together and realize the potential everyone knew that he had. By the time the year was over, he had emerged as one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball.

There were plenty of moments from the 2024 season to reflect on for Chandler, perhaps none better than his two-game stretch in Double-A, where he recorded double-digit strikeouts in each.

Facing Bowie and then Akron, Chandler combined to strike out 21 batters over 13.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks.

The 21 strikeouts were impressive, but what made the starts so dominant was the fact he walked just one batter in each game. Control had been one of his biggest hang-ups, but after a short IL stint, it came together (outside a blow-up here and there).

At his peak, Chandler has been one of the more exciting players to watch, and this was him dealing at some of his best.

Omar Alfonzo's four-hit Greensboro debut

I mentioned yesterday, and I guess whenever I can, that I’ve been fairly high on Omar Alfonzo over the last couple of years. So, it was fun seeing him live twice (more on that later) and talking to him while in Greensboro.

In between that, Alfonzo got off to about as good a start after getting promoted to Greensboro, collecting four hits—including a home run—and a walk in his Grasshopper debut.

His performance at the plate was good enough that I did a video breakdown of each plate appearance.

Omar Alfonzo picks up four hits, including a home run, in his Greensboro debut

It was a great game from a prospect who took a strong step forward in 2024.

Thomas Harrington nearly throws a ‘Maddux’

Drafted in 2022, Thomas Harrington sky-rocketed through the minors, reaching Triple-A this past season and could make his major league debut in 2025.

More of a crafty pitcher, Harrington has certainly racked up his fair share of strikeouts in the minors, but his stand-out performance of 2024 was one where he only punched out a pair of hitters.

A great display of his pitchability, Harrington was on pace to be able to throw a complete game shutout, potentially a ‘Maddux.’ Through seven innings pitched, he had allowed just two hits and needed just 63 pitches (50 strikes) to get to that point.

That means he had 36 pitches to get the final six outs to stay under 100 thrown. Ryan Borucki was scheduled for a rehab appearance that day, so his start was ended after those seven innings.

Even though it was interrupted, it was one of the more masterful performances and showed ways to succeed even when you aren’t striking out a bunch of hitters.

Second Greensboro trip

I spent a week in Greensboro towards the end of the season, talking to some more players and Blake Butler, the Grasshoppers manager.

It was a great experience, added more by the fact my girlfriend was able to take the week off to go with me. She made it a point to remind me that this was a ‘vacation’ for her while it was a ‘work trip’ for me.

If watching baseball and talking to players/coaches about the game is a ‘work trip,’ sign me up for that every day of the week.

The moment that stood out the most was when I went to First National Bank Field to do my interviews. A group of the players had begun their work, so they sat me in the dugout to wait. It’s where I did my interviews the year prior, but it was before any players were on the field.

So, for a brief time, while I waited, I just sat in the dugout and watched some of the hitters taking batting practice.

It was a surreal moment to sit in the dugout and watch baseball.

Michael Kennedy and Carlson Reed took no-hitters deep into their starts. Omar Alfonzo hit a home run (as he did when I was in Bradenton), and I got to see other prospects I’ve talked about, like Alessandro Ercolani and Wilber Dotel.

I’m currently planning when my Greensboro visit will take place in 2025.

Bradenton Trip

This one was special and is easily at the top of my list for 2024. Spending a week in Florida to do nothing but watch baseball was a fantastic experience.

I moved things around to wait for the Florida Complex League to start, so there were several days I went to two games. One day, I went to an FCL game, went to LECOM for some interviews, and then was back in the evening to watch the Marauders.

The two players I talked to, Michael Kennedy and Khristian Curtis, were players I was high on and getting to learn more about them was awesome.

Getting to see players like David Matoma and Estuar Suero, players with hype but limited ways to watch them currently, was fun, and learning more about some of the prospects I’ve been watching was even better.

I literally hopped off the plane in Sarasota and drove to an Orioles/Rays FCL game. It was an incredible time, and I already have two trips planned for down there this upcoming year, one of which is during Spring Training.

There were more out there, but these were the ones that really stood out for me when reflecting on 2024.

WTM

• Jared Jones making the Opening Day roster.

• Paul Skenes’ second major league game—six innings, no hits, 11 strikeouts against the Cubs.

• Andrew McCutchen’s 300th career home run.

• Seeing FCL catcher Richard Ramirez throw out five baserunners in the first three innings of a game.

• Zander Mueth’s stretch of six straight starts in which he went exactly five innings in each and allowed a total of just 20 hits and two earned runs.

• Jhonny Severino hitting for the cycle in a game for Bradenton.

NolaJeffy

• Murphy getting in-person velocity readings for Alessandro Ercolani, so we knew the stuff was actually matching what we were seeing.

• Getting to see FCL standouts make their full-season livestream debuts: Jhonny Severino, Carlos Caro, etc…

• Cutch finally hitting #300

• Seeing the Pirates’ development of pitching finally come to fruition (now for hitting).

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