It seems like every game the Pirates play is either 1-0, 2-1, or 3-2. I took a couple minutes and went through the season scores so far. Out of 72 games, 17 (or almost 24%) have been decided by one run with five or fewer runs scored:
1-0 games: the Pirates record is 2-1
2-1 games: their record is 5-4
3-2 games: their record is 1-4
This profound statistical analysis doesn’t tell us anything that we didn’t already know, namely that they have excellent starting pitching and one of the worst offenses in baseball. And it’s not improving.
Any of those that watch prospects more than I do, does Griffin look like hes just too good for the level or like he might actually have a chance to be special?
Both. He just has dominant abilities in all areas. It's like in fourth grade, where there was a kid who was just a really good athlete and could run rings around everybody else.
But it's not like he's just physically more mature than the other players. He's three years younger than the average hitter in that league and four years younger than the average pitcher. And ages are more compressed, with less differential, in class A than in higher levels, so 3-4 years is a big difference. He's still learning. I saw him go through adjustments -- very rapidly -- in his limited time in Bradenton. Whether the adjustments will continue all the way through we can't know yet, but he's answering questions way more quickly than anybody seems to have expected.
Griffin looks like the best shortstop defensively in the Pirates sytem. He looks like a gold glove center fielder right now. He lookls like one of the top base runners in the majors. He absolultely crushes minor league pitching. The only problem he still gets fooled on some off speed pitches, but is improving.
I have always said "Don't rush the guys to the majors." I am also wondering if he would learn better in the majors. Probably not, but I am wondering.
I'm not referring to the children when I say this, because they are children and it's not their fault. I do not see one single good looking person in that Rome, Georgia crowd. That's crazy!
That sums it up. There are tools that stand out at showcase events and then there are tools that are actually used to influence games. Griffin seems to have an uncanny ability to impact games, and they show almost every day. He appears to have needed no adjustment period to High A at all.
I’ve been highly skeptical of Jack for a long time now, but between him and Phamine, what possible reason is there for stumbling along like this? The team so desperately needs adult management.
A $4 million dollar mistake is nothing in baseball, except for the Pirates. I would bet that the Pirates have one of the highest percentage of the their payroll taken up by active players.
There's a none zero chance he might be the pirates shortstop next year. Three weeks ago that would have been crazy talk when he was still doing excellent. His play goes to 11!!
Happy that they are making sure that the best pitchers on the roster are up (Chandler not on roster). But now we have to do the same with the hitters, Pham is the obvious target, Canario and even Horwitz should be replace and try out Suwinski, Cook and York for a while. Even if they amass 0 WAR is still better than what we are currently getting.
Pham and Canario I can agree but not at all on Horwitz. He hasn't even had an April's worth of at bats yet. Has he had a very slow start - yes - but he was a VERY good (not star) hitter last year at the major league level. While Cook has been hot and Yorke has been improving some, it's not like they are setting things on fire in AAA. So use them to replace Pham (full on board) or Canario (probably on board) and I am ok. I skipped Jack on purpose as his 2024 and 2025 major league stats have me not wanting to see him in Pittsburgh until he has 3 -4 months of success in the minor leagues. He has been given plenty of opportunity and I hope he gets another shot but not this soon and definitely not to replace Horwitz.
I get that, but the days of players trying to find themselves in the bigs at the cost of the team should stop, he needed more time in AAA and should go back to find it.
I'll fire one more response then stop because I truly get your point/.frustration. Bringing up any of the three you mentioned comes with them trying to 'find it' at the MLB level. Look how much Hank, Endy, and Nick struggled or are still struggling and they all hit very well in AAA vs. the three you mention are hitting 'ok' at best not 'owning' AAA. Horwitz has already proven he can hit at the MLB level, I personally have much more confidence he will contribute than 3 guys who are just decent in AAA. If we had a 1B in AAA just crushing it (think Griffin in low A) then I could see considering it.
Great discussion. Imo, this all points to the need to trade for legit bats. They have the pitching to make it happen. I'd trade Keller. Love the guy but it looks like Burrows, Ashcraft, Chandler, Barco, Oviedo, Jones next year....plenty of depth to move him and get a controllable bat in return.
Regarding Pham (or any player getting to 10 years of service time), here's a handy summary of health and pension benefits for MLB players that I found ... good to see these guys get taken care of after their days are over, depending on service time (and now some MiLB players too).
Briefly, for Pham, getting that full 10 years maxes out his future pension benefits. Each year of service time adds (currently) $27,500 to a player's future pension (full benefits start at age 62). So keeping him around to hit this mark bumps his pension at age 62 from $250,000 per year to $275,000 per year.
Good for him. I'm willing to buy him a watch, too, if it means he'll simply go away.
And why should anyone except Tommy Pham give a damn about any of this. The Pirates already paid him $4 million dollars more than his value (which is more money than many people make in a lifetime) and in return, he was a major contributor to the destruction of their season. I could care less whether Tommy, washed-up bum Pham, gets his full pension or not. and the only free agents that this will help the Pirates sign in the future are more washed up bums trying to max out their pensions. Awful... just awful.
It seems like every game the Pirates play is either 1-0, 2-1, or 3-2. I took a couple minutes and went through the season scores so far. Out of 72 games, 17 (or almost 24%) have been decided by one run with five or fewer runs scored:
1-0 games: the Pirates record is 2-1
2-1 games: their record is 5-4
3-2 games: their record is 1-4
This profound statistical analysis doesn’t tell us anything that we didn’t already know, namely that they have excellent starting pitching and one of the worst offenses in baseball. And it’s not improving.
I hate to say this because I respect the player greatly but no competitive team can be a consistent winner if their best hitter is a 38 year old DH.
Nelson Cruz?
Any of those that watch prospects more than I do, does Griffin look like hes just too good for the level or like he might actually have a chance to be special?
Both. He just has dominant abilities in all areas. It's like in fourth grade, where there was a kid who was just a really good athlete and could run rings around everybody else.
But it's not like he's just physically more mature than the other players. He's three years younger than the average hitter in that league and four years younger than the average pitcher. And ages are more compressed, with less differential, in class A than in higher levels, so 3-4 years is a big difference. He's still learning. I saw him go through adjustments -- very rapidly -- in his limited time in Bradenton. Whether the adjustments will continue all the way through we can't know yet, but he's answering questions way more quickly than anybody seems to have expected.
Griffin looks like the best shortstop defensively in the Pirates sytem. He looks like a gold glove center fielder right now. He lookls like one of the top base runners in the majors. He absolultely crushes minor league pitching. The only problem he still gets fooled on some off speed pitches, but is improving.
I have always said "Don't rush the guys to the majors." I am also wondering if he would learn better in the majors. Probably not, but I am wondering.
More importantly, how much will I make if I bet $100 on him to win the 2026 NL ROY?
I'm not referring to the children when I say this, because they are children and it's not their fault. I do not see one single good looking person in that Rome, Georgia crowd. That's crazy!
You’re talking about Southern Belle’s being ugly?
Shame on you!
Time to revise the quote from Moneyball: "Ugly crowd means no confidence."
KG smokes another single. 🤣
And got his 30th stolen base.
Add a walk and run scored
He’s scored four. Stuff just happens whenever he’s on the field.
That sums it up. There are tools that stand out at showcase events and then there are tools that are actually used to influence games. Griffin seems to have an uncanny ability to impact games, and they show almost every day. He appears to have needed no adjustment period to High A at all.
I’m trying hard not to get too excited, but damn it’s hard!
Future MVP type talent!
Infield in and KG threw a runner out trying to score. Offense, defense... Beast! Send him to Chicago. We need some offense to get Mitch a win.
Suwinski hit a homer. Added a double and scored.
I’ve been highly skeptical of Jack for a long time now, but between him and Phamine, what possible reason is there for stumbling along like this? The team so desperately needs adult management.
I have also been highly skep on Suwinski, especially last year when they sent him to the minors. He looked to same struggling as he did in the majors.
This year he looks different. I know it is triple A, but I think he could be solid and a huge plus defensively.
Either way, he's on the freaking roster. If you can't call him up to replace a guy who's struggling to keep his OPS over .500, why keep him there?
Ben is afraid to tell Bob that he made a $4 million mistake....
A $4 million dollar mistake is nothing in baseball, except for the Pirates. I would bet that the Pirates have one of the highest percentage of the their payroll taken up by active players.
“Active” is doing some heavy lifting there, but yes I’m sure you’re right.
I re-wrote that a few times trying to not set myself up, but you still got me with the word active. :)
Which leaves Bob as the only person this side of Jakarta who doesn’t already know.
Bob’s busy. Giant Eagle’s running a sale tomorrow on boxed granola and he doesn’t want to only get two boxes like last time.
Griffin is an absolute unit:
Trout 1st full season A/A+:
.341/.428/.490 10 HR 56 SB
Griffin so far A/A+:
.344/.399/.555 10 HR 29 SB
KG led off the Greensboro game with his first HR at the level.
https://x.com/MLBPipeline/status/1934027793366692352
KG 1st highA homer
Slider?
RBI single next time up.
Batting .429. Lord, just send him to AAA before he gets bored.
Trade him while his hot, we are running out of non hitting utility players and washed up veterans!
Too soon to start calling him Konnor Griffey, Jr.?
There's a none zero chance he might be the pirates shortstop next year. Three weeks ago that would have been crazy talk when he was still doing excellent. His play goes to 11!!
Greensboro is back in Asheville in early August so I am not hoping for an early promotion to AA.
I kinda want to see him against AA pitching. That's the first level at which the pitchers start to show some craft.
Some guys really do just eat up levels like it's no trouble, but most of those dudes aren't 19.
Scored on an overthrow at 2nd on a steal.
He smoked that single. He's a man amongst boys. Agree, promote him and challenge him.
Then stole second and came around to score when they threw the ball around.
MLB extra innings won't let me rewind. Ugh!
I can rewind on a laptop or desktop, but not on a phone.
I'm using the TV app. Not happening.
Haven't tried that.
Happy that they are making sure that the best pitchers on the roster are up (Chandler not on roster). But now we have to do the same with the hitters, Pham is the obvious target, Canario and even Horwitz should be replace and try out Suwinski, Cook and York for a while. Even if they amass 0 WAR is still better than what we are currently getting.
IDK man, I won’t be able to stand watching Jack rack up sombreros. He’s the most disappointing of a metric fuck ton of disappointments.
The options are shite, but when you compare it to what we currently have, can’t keep marching the same group out there and expect something different.
Fair
Pham and Canario I can agree but not at all on Horwitz. He hasn't even had an April's worth of at bats yet. Has he had a very slow start - yes - but he was a VERY good (not star) hitter last year at the major league level. While Cook has been hot and Yorke has been improving some, it's not like they are setting things on fire in AAA. So use them to replace Pham (full on board) or Canario (probably on board) and I am ok. I skipped Jack on purpose as his 2024 and 2025 major league stats have me not wanting to see him in Pittsburgh until he has 3 -4 months of success in the minor leagues. He has been given plenty of opportunity and I hope he gets another shot but not this soon and definitely not to replace Horwitz.
I get that, but the days of players trying to find themselves in the bigs at the cost of the team should stop, he needed more time in AAA and should go back to find it.
I'll fire one more response then stop because I truly get your point/.frustration. Bringing up any of the three you mentioned comes with them trying to 'find it' at the MLB level. Look how much Hank, Endy, and Nick struggled or are still struggling and they all hit very well in AAA vs. the three you mention are hitting 'ok' at best not 'owning' AAA. Horwitz has already proven he can hit at the MLB level, I personally have much more confidence he will contribute than 3 guys who are just decent in AAA. If we had a 1B in AAA just crushing it (think Griffin in low A) then I could see considering it.
Great discussion. Imo, this all points to the need to trade for legit bats. They have the pitching to make it happen. I'd trade Keller. Love the guy but it looks like Burrows, Ashcraft, Chandler, Barco, Oviedo, Jones next year....plenty of depth to move him and get a controllable bat in return.
But would Keller bring back more than a Jack Suwinski type prospect
Yes if you go by Baseball Trade Value. Many complaints about the accuracy of that site, but I think they do good job.
Regarding Pham (or any player getting to 10 years of service time), here's a handy summary of health and pension benefits for MLB players that I found ... good to see these guys get taken care of after their days are over, depending on service time (and now some MiLB players too).
https://www.momentprivatewealth.com/post/mlb-benefits-explained
Briefly, for Pham, getting that full 10 years maxes out his future pension benefits. Each year of service time adds (currently) $27,500 to a player's future pension (full benefits start at age 62). So keeping him around to hit this mark bumps his pension at age 62 from $250,000 per year to $275,000 per year.
Good for him. I'm willing to buy him a watch, too, if it means he'll simply go away.
And why should anyone except Tommy Pham give a damn about any of this. The Pirates already paid him $4 million dollars more than his value (which is more money than many people make in a lifetime) and in return, he was a major contributor to the destruction of their season. I could care less whether Tommy, washed-up bum Pham, gets his full pension or not. and the only free agents that this will help the Pirates sign in the future are more washed up bums trying to max out their pensions. Awful... just awful.
On the bright side, that extra cash should trickle down to a lot of hard working independent contractors.
They'll love rainy days with Pham around in retirement.
Five runs in the series. 36 in the last 12 games, and ten of those came in one game.
Rumors of the demise of the Cherington offense have been greatly exaggerated.
Tough lose. We have been shutting down one of the best offenses in baseball and our offense is so inept. Can we please do something Ben.
Can we please do something WITH Ben.
For God's sake trade some of this good surplus pitching for a couple hitters. BC get off your ass!
There’s just so little that can be done when Cruz and Reynolds simul-suck.
Offensive ineptitude. It's the Pirate Way.
Barely threatened after the first inning homer. That was ugly today.