From the Backfields: Endy on First
Are sidearm throwers the new market efficiency?
The Pirates took on the Orioles (it’s ALWAYS the Orioles thanks to the closeness of Sarasota) in a couple of lower level minor league exhibitions on Sunday.
The biggest news at the time was Endy Rodriguez starting one game at first. Of course, it’s since been followed up by reports that Derek Shelton has said he’ll get playing time there. Anyway, he played about five innings, then was replaced by Edward Florentino, who continues to get an extended look.
Lefty Connor Wietgrefe started the “Endy game.” I thought that might signal that he’ll be in the Greensboro rotation, but he threw only one inning. It was a somewhat long one, as he walked two, but he pitched out of it.
Wietgrefe was followed by J.P. Massey, Carlos Jimenez and Emmanuel Chapman for two innings each, as I wondered whether the team might be trying to figure out who should start games for the Hoppers. They were followed by Jaden Woods, Ryan Harbin, and Blake Townsend for an inning each, which makes ten innings, so I guess both teams wanted to get their pitchers some work. There weren’t a lot of great revelations here. All of these guys except Woods, who had a very quick inning, had some control problems.
Two of these guys I hadn’t seen before: Chapman and Townsend. The Pirates signed Chapman out of Cuba a little over a year ago. He had a good ERA with a somewhat low K rate for Altoona last year. He wasn’t great in this game, scuffling through his first inning because he wasn’t throwing strikes. That was accompanied by a lot of pacing around and cursing on his part. His second inning went a lot better. Chapman threw an average-ish fastball for an RHP, maybe around 94 or so (no gun readings available today). He didn’t show an impressive secondary pitch, and his command was below average.
Townsend is a big lefty whom Seattle signed out of Australia back in 2018. He didn’t pitch very much until 2023. He pitched well in low A that year and high A in 2024, but the Mariners released him in August. The Pirates signed him, and he pitched briefly for Altoona, then they re-signed him for 2025. He looks like something of a left-handed version of Justin Lawrence, with a short, quick sidearm motion from a slightly higher slot than Lawrence’s. He didn’t throw as hard, maybe low 90s, with a breaking ball. He got a bunch of weak ground balls, two of which went for infield hits. He picked one of those guys off.
As a sidebar here, pretty much all the pitchers I’m seeing are attempting a lot of pickoffs, at all bases. This is quite a change from before the new rules when the Pirates didn’t seem to want young pitchers worrying about runners all that much. Many of these young guys have good moves and most are at least decent at it.
I’ve been seeing Will Taylor a lot, but not in game action. I finally saw him bat three times today. The first time, he walked and stole second, then he lined a double into the right field corner, and finally, he grounded out. Taylor doesn’t have Konnor Griffin-level speed — although he supposedly did before he messed his knee up — but he runs very well.
Clevari Tejada started the other game. Anthony Murphy reported a week and a half ago that Tejada was hitting 95 mph, and he was probably throwing at least that hard on Sunday. He also showed a slider with a very late break. He struggled, though, with his control. It cost him a run in the first. He had a quick second but got chased in the third without retiring anybody. The Pirates are pushing Tejada aggressively. He’s a recent convert to pitching but went from the DSL (just four games) in 2023 to the FCL and Bradenton in 2024. The stuff seems to be there.
The only other pitcher I watched much in that game was Jesus Clode, who threw the last inning. He spent three years in the DSL and pitched well in the last two, although he didn’t throw a lot of innings due at least in part to injury. He’s yet another sidearm thrower, probably about halfway between straight sidearm and three-quarters. He’s not overpowering, but he got some good arm-side run on his fastball (one of which had a bit too much run and caught the hitter) and showed a good breaking ball. His command was better than some of the other pitchers Sunday and he had an easy inning.
Griffin played short in that game; no sign of Wyatt Sanford. I saw Griffin bat twice. The first time he walked, which ordinarily means for sure that he’s going to second. I have yet to see anybody come close to throwing him out. He didn’t have to bother this time, because the first two pitches were wild. The second time, he flew out.
I also caught up with Estuar Suero for the first time this spring. I saw him bat twice. It could have gone better; both times he struck out on breaking balls down around his shoe tops.
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Great info!
"it’s ALWAYS the Orioles thanks to the closeness of Sarasota"
this made me wonder, is there anything distinguishable between Oriole and Pirate hitters? The former has a rep for developing hitters that the latter does not. Also wouldn't be surprised if your attention was more on Pirate pitchers than opposing hitters for obvious reasons.