With Endy hurt, now is the time for Hank to do what essentially no other positional prospect has been able to do in the last 3+ years: take advantage of the opportunity and prove he belongs in the majors.
I'd give Nunez a break on that 4th Time at AAA - he came to the Pirates in AA as a 21 year old I think, and the Pirates put him in AAA for a whole 13 AB's that year. He is also the victim of being traded from a fast-moving MiLB System with the Cardinals to a slow-moving MiLB System of the Pirates. They had Hayes at 3B and Santana at 1B in 2023, so they had to pump the brakes on the kid, and that often ends with a negative result. This would be a good time to get him some looks as our RH hitting 1B - he was .992 fldg % at 1B in 40 games at AAA in 2024, so he can represent.
Needs to improve on his utter dominance at AAA last year? Hmmmm…seems to me he should be starting for the Pirates and working on whatever needs to be worked on here…
I'm a huge Chandler fan, his stuff is dominant. His control is greatly improved, yet he still has moments when he isn't in the strike zone. Swing and misses in triple A might be walks in the majors and center cut fastballs to get back into counts turn into hits in the majors more often. The kid is getting better, no need to rush him. I'd rather him be up for good than have to be sent back down. It's also easier to control his workload in the minors, he will hopefully get 150 or slightly more innings this year.
With Endy hurt, now is the time for Hank to do what essentially no other positional prospect has been able to do in the last 3+ years: take advantage of the opportunity and prove he belongs in the majors.
Endy to IL, Shugart recalled.
I'd give Nunez a break on that 4th Time at AAA - he came to the Pirates in AA as a 21 year old I think, and the Pirates put him in AAA for a whole 13 AB's that year. He is also the victim of being traded from a fast-moving MiLB System with the Cardinals to a slow-moving MiLB System of the Pirates. They had Hayes at 3B and Santana at 1B in 2023, so they had to pump the brakes on the kid, and that often ends with a negative result. This would be a good time to get him some looks as our RH hitting 1B - he was .992 fldg % at 1B in 40 games at AAA in 2024, so he can represent.
Why is Bubba Chandler in the minors?
Just working out his command/control, he's very close. The command is getting better.
Needs to improve on his utter dominance at AAA last year? Hmmmm…seems to me he should be starting for the Pirates and working on whatever needs to be worked on here…
I'm a huge Chandler fan, his stuff is dominant. His control is greatly improved, yet he still has moments when he isn't in the strike zone. Swing and misses in triple A might be walks in the majors and center cut fastballs to get back into counts turn into hits in the majors more often. The kid is getting better, no need to rush him. I'd rather him be up for good than have to be sent back down. It's also easier to control his workload in the minors, he will hopefully get 150 or slightly more innings this year.
I don’t fully agree but your take is completely reasonable.
Braylon Bishop earned an honorable mention, with 6 hits in 15 at bats (.400) and his defense mentioned yesterday.
Hunter Barco with honorable mention on the pitching side.
I vote in the affirmative - the kid has struggled mightily and needs a little pat on the back for how he has continued to work hard.
He was one of my last cuts. Was actually pretty hard to come up with just three hitters this week. Which I guess is a good sign