Aug 30, 2023·edited Aug 30, 2023Liked by NolaJeffy(BnP)
It has been lots of fun chatting here. But, since Tedwins, who we ran off of the Asylum for his antagonistic comments there (not just to me) and Catch 22 who seems to have morphed our disagreements over Keller and Skenes/Crews into a personal vendetta are now taking potshots at me, I will be taking my leave.
I have NO idea who this Tim guy is, but apparently I have ticked him off in a previous ‘life’, too.
Since leaving the Asylum myself a few years back, I have had a small email list of about 10-12 folks who I know are good people and I can talk Buccos with them. They don’t get angry if you disagree with them and we can joke around with each other. Life overall is less stressful.
It appears that all of you seem to enjoy talking with both of them, so my absence will be mitigated greatly. So, it appears Ted and Catch have both gotten their revenge and run me the heck outta town. C’est la vie. I hope they have a good time here. I truly do. I harbor no Ill will towards them. But, I am blessed to have enough good friends that I don’t have to put up with them if they don’t like me. Ya can’t get along with everybody.
It was fun while it lasted. I will still support Anthony’s great site monetarily. I just won’t join in on the comments. Goodbye to the vast majority of you whom I DID enjoy bantering with. Hosta Luh Veesta. 😁
This is right where Triolo comes in. Hayes obviously needs to be 100% to be productive. If getting something close to this version of Hayes means he plays, say, five games a week at times, fine. With Triolo you still have elite defense and competent offense.
Triolo is less of a 3B than Hayes defensively, and way less offensively. Zero chance Triolo could sustain a .568 slugging % over a 45 day timeframe no matter how lucky his BABIP number is.
Not hard to understand the value of Jared Triolo. His glove at 3B was recognized by league Managers as the Best 3B at 2 levels of the minors, and has also been used in the MI by the Pirates. Most importantly he is a RH hitter who can play multiple defensive positions well, cleaned up his BB/K at Altoona in 2022 with 63 Walks/87 K's to go along with 24/29 SB's.
As long as he doesn't cut into Hayes' playing time. If Hayes is healthy he should be out there 90-95% of the time. The most games played in a season for Hayes is 136 and he won't play in that many games this season. So, it makes sense to have a backup like Tri.
Maybe a team further into a rebuild would want to try to work on him. Less value than Triolo for sure. I was expecting Nick to be a disaster all the way around, but his defense looked better than I thought. That’s all I got.
My thought in all this is that Peggy seems like he offers more than any of the others at second and thinning out some of the infield parts for areas of need is a good way to go.
Winding down the year and the best players are Keller & Hayes. They can build around guys like this and they might have something with a full season of Cruz and some of the rooks they called up this year.
Who had Connor Joe as the Pirates best hitter going into this season? Nobody. And here he is with a 111 wRC+. He's a very valuable bench piece on a contending team.
The problem with Joe, like everyone else on Pirates roster, is he’s way too streaky.
I think it’s a byproduct of Haines and/or Shelton influencing all of these guys to be overly selective. Without looking it up, I’d wager the Pirates in zone swing % is at or near the bottom of the league. It certainly appears to me they’re telling these guys a walk is as good as a hit.
I think joe could really shine on this team if he starts against all LHP, LHP pinch hitter, and every week or two a spot start against RHP. That feels like his sweet spot
Very encouraging outing by Ortiz, still not at peak 2022 Luis, but that was the best I've seen him this season. I'm almost all in on Peguero, I just want to see how he adjust when the league punches back. He appears to be the best bet out of the 17 different tryouts they've conducted at 2b over the last 3 years.
Also, love Selby, he has legit back of the pen stuff.
The Athletics are in a much worse situation than the Royals, and their farm system is even worse. The As really are in the worst position of any team in recent memory... nothing at the MLB level... nothing in the minors... no money... no attendance... no interest... and leaving soon for Las Vegas. Just goes to show that Billy Bean really did hold that organization together for years, and without him, they are a trainwreck.
KC still has some gas in the prospect tank. Alec Marsh still has potential to be a mid-late rotation starter. The guy the Royals are pitching tonight, Zerpa, is a very interesting pitch-to-contact guy who might perform well at Kaufmann if the Royals would stop doing things like playing their best SS at 3B and their 3Bman at SS and stop playing C in the OF. They have the potential for the bottom of the rotation with Ragans, Marsh, and Zerpa. Trading Perez frees up 20 million, and I have no idea why they have not done so. Dozier and Greinke coming off the books frees up another 20 million. For this money they can pick up 2 starters and a 2 WAR OF in the off-season. If they move Singer to the bullpen, which should have been done yesterday, they have what should be a good bad-end piece.
There are still some shreds of their great prospect class that can be cobbled together. Oakland has nothing... absolutely nothing.
The defensive alignment of KC’s 3B/SS is about 15th on their list of problems. Perez is untradeable. He basically got a lifetime achievement award with that contract. Their pitching staff has been hit by injuries, but I’m not sure why you’d put Singer in the pen when he’s been their best starter the past two years. In fact, he’s the only college arm of the many they’ve drafted in recent years who hasn’t blown up. Things are still pretty shitty.
All this said, they’re still better off than Oakland. They do have some talent recently graduated from prospectdom that “could” improve. Plus they’re in a much easier division.
If we think our team’s rebuild has stalled out, all we need to do is look at KC. Witt aside, almost all of their young guys have gone backwards, although Ragan was a nice pick up. Couple that with a farm system that the industry thinks is bottom-five. FG doesn’t even have a single 50 in their system. Yeesh.
That is why Sherman fired Moore. In Moore's defense, he thought he had a good farm, and the industry thought he had done a brilliant rebuild coming into last season... having a bunch of highly ranked prospects arrive simultaneously with solid "veteran presence" in Benintendi, Mondesi, Greinke, Perez, and Dozier. Everyone, not just Moore, thought that they would be competitive last year and starting to make renewed championship pushes this year and next.
The Royals are a lesson in not trusting "industry rankings" of farm systems. As to their current farm system, I have to agree with you and the industry, there just does not seem to be anything worth while above the A-ball level.
Interesting how when highly-touted Pirate prospects fail it's the coach's fault but when highly-touted Royals prospects fail it's the industry's fault.
The article doesnt state he wasnt drafted by the D'backs, and I assume it didnt have to, because most here know that, implied by the author to his thoughtful audience🤷♂️
Ted, I've been around you for years over at the other site and I've never seen any of the behavior that the site martyr is saying about you. Lee fool is a martyr and a troll and has been doing these things for decades. Who tf calls someone a drunk on a baseball blog? Hang in man, you've always been a ray of sunshine and never stepped out of line.
Excellent outings on the mound from Aaron Shortridge at AA and Derek Diamond at A+, both of whom are guys who could play a part in the Pirates future. Shortridge is already 26, but the pandemic cost him 2020 and TJ Surgery in January 2021 caused him to miss all of 2021 and most of 2022. So, pitching on a young arm, he has already doubled the number of innings pitched this year up to 127 IP and regularly goes 5+ innings per start. He will probably start 2024 at AAA and be a possible call-up when needed for the Pirates. Not a power pitcher, but seems to know how to manage the game.
Derek Diamond was the Pirates 6th Round pick out of the U of Mississippi in 2022, so 2023 is his first real exposure to professional baseball. He has already thrown 100+ innings this year between A and A+ and could start 2024 at AA Altoona.
Broken record here, but why is Jase Bowen still at A+? Already passed the 20/20 HR/SB mark and closing in on 25/25. There are decisions that will have to be made regarding the present OF's at AA, but getting Bowen 2 or 3 weeks of exposure at AA should be our first consideration.
I'm very curious to see Shortridge make it to Indy so we can get some metrics on him. It's been a toss-up in my mind of how he's perceived. On one hand, he's been left in Altoona all year, but on the other, he's been left in Altoona all year. Indy has clearly needed innings for majority of the year, and they didn't push him to fill that shortfall. Soooo, part of me feels they do still see a potential path for him.
On the reverse side, the Jase saga has been interesting. Biggest aspect is he shaved 8% off his K-rate while boosting the PAHR!!!! I'd thought maybe cause Greensboro did still have a minor shot in the division race they were leaving him for a playoff run, but that's just about over now. So, I wonder if he does get moved up shortly with that in mind.
With Diamond, next year is going to be interesting. We could probably have a fun discussion surrounding just who could fill out the Triple-A/Double-A rosters.
It has been lots of fun chatting here. But, since Tedwins, who we ran off of the Asylum for his antagonistic comments there (not just to me) and Catch 22 who seems to have morphed our disagreements over Keller and Skenes/Crews into a personal vendetta are now taking potshots at me, I will be taking my leave.
I have NO idea who this Tim guy is, but apparently I have ticked him off in a previous ‘life’, too.
Since leaving the Asylum myself a few years back, I have had a small email list of about 10-12 folks who I know are good people and I can talk Buccos with them. They don’t get angry if you disagree with them and we can joke around with each other. Life overall is less stressful.
It appears that all of you seem to enjoy talking with both of them, so my absence will be mitigated greatly. So, it appears Ted and Catch have both gotten their revenge and run me the heck outta town. C’est la vie. I hope they have a good time here. I truly do. I harbor no Ill will towards them. But, I am blessed to have enough good friends that I don’t have to put up with them if they don’t like me. Ya can’t get along with everybody.
It was fun while it lasted. I will still support Anthony’s great site monetarily. I just won’t join in on the comments. Goodbye to the vast majority of you whom I DID enjoy bantering with. Hosta Luh Veesta. 😁
I was fully expecting to see N/A listed as the Offensive Player of the Game for Indy.
Hayes 1st half: 252/299/393
2nd half: 320/368/588
he has responded to my pep talk
So I guess he is better than Triolo? Glad that discussion/debate is behind us🙏
This is right where Triolo comes in. Hayes obviously needs to be 100% to be productive. If getting something close to this version of Hayes means he plays, say, five games a week at times, fine. With Triolo you still have elite defense and competent offense.
Triolo is less of a 3B than Hayes defensively, and way less offensively. Zero chance Triolo could sustain a .568 slugging % over a 45 day timeframe no matter how lucky his BABIP number is.
You may have that with Triolo in MLB, not sure he has shown such🤔
You can't play both and Hayes is clearly the better option. Package Tri and make a baseball trade.
That’s not the point. Triolo is backup 3B and UT guy.
Not hard to understand the value of Jared Triolo. His glove at 3B was recognized by league Managers as the Best 3B at 2 levels of the minors, and has also been used in the MI by the Pirates. Most importantly he is a RH hitter who can play multiple defensive positions well, cleaned up his BB/K at Altoona in 2022 with 63 Walks/87 K's to go along with 24/29 SB's.
As long as he doesn't cut into Hayes' playing time. If Hayes is healthy he should be out there 90-95% of the time. The most games played in a season for Hayes is 136 and he won't play in that many games this season. So, it makes sense to have a backup like Tri.
Maybe Tri and Nick G for an arm?
I probabaly have more value in my left nut than NG
This made me lol
Maybe a team further into a rebuild would want to try to work on him. Less value than Triolo for sure. I was expecting Nick to be a disaster all the way around, but his defense looked better than I thought. That’s all I got.
My thought in all this is that Peggy seems like he offers more than any of the others at second and thinning out some of the infield parts for areas of need is a good way to go.
Winding down the year and the best players are Keller & Hayes. They can build around guys like this and they might have something with a full season of Cruz and some of the rooks they called up this year.
Who had Connor Joe as the Pirates best hitter going into this season? Nobody. And here he is with a 111 wRC+. He's a very valuable bench piece on a contending team.
The problem with Joe, like everyone else on Pirates roster, is he’s way too streaky.
I think it’s a byproduct of Haines and/or Shelton influencing all of these guys to be overly selective. Without looking it up, I’d wager the Pirates in zone swing % is at or near the bottom of the league. It certainly appears to me they’re telling these guys a walk is as good as a hit.
The Pirates have the 12th best zone swing rate in the league.
12th in NL seems right to me. 12th in MLB is a whole nutha thing.
There's like a 2% spread between 20 teams or something. Very little actual difference across the board.
I think joe could really shine on this team if he starts against all LHP, LHP pinch hitter, and every week or two a spot start against RHP. That feels like his sweet spot
A platoon of Joe and Jack.
Also would add, keep playing
him anytime he gets on hot streak. As soon as he has a couple strikeouts or bad at bats give him a couple days off unless a lefty is on the bump.
Over the course of 162 everyone is streaky.
Technically true, but not to the degree we see with our hitters.
Exactly correct.
Very encouraging outing by Ortiz, still not at peak 2022 Luis, but that was the best I've seen him this season. I'm almost all in on Peguero, I just want to see how he adjust when the league punches back. He appears to be the best bet out of the 17 different tryouts they've conducted at 2b over the last 3 years.
Also, love Selby, he has legit back of the pen stuff.
HUGE amount of positive defensive development by Peguero over the past calendar year.
Dude was simply rushed and had to grow up.
Still young and the first of the roughly 3k 2b prospects that have come through that I have real belief in
Yes it was, it was the Royals and not let’s say the Cubs, but the pitching in this series has been great , so far!
That Royals team is one of the worst teams I can remember. They have Bobby Witt and 8 other guys
The Athletics are in a much worse situation than the Royals, and their farm system is even worse. The As really are in the worst position of any team in recent memory... nothing at the MLB level... nothing in the minors... no money... no attendance... no interest... and leaving soon for Las Vegas. Just goes to show that Billy Bean really did hold that organization together for years, and without him, they are a trainwreck.
Honestly brother, I don't know how anyone can be in a *much* worse situation than KC.
KC still has some gas in the prospect tank. Alec Marsh still has potential to be a mid-late rotation starter. The guy the Royals are pitching tonight, Zerpa, is a very interesting pitch-to-contact guy who might perform well at Kaufmann if the Royals would stop doing things like playing their best SS at 3B and their 3Bman at SS and stop playing C in the OF. They have the potential for the bottom of the rotation with Ragans, Marsh, and Zerpa. Trading Perez frees up 20 million, and I have no idea why they have not done so. Dozier and Greinke coming off the books frees up another 20 million. For this money they can pick up 2 starters and a 2 WAR OF in the off-season. If they move Singer to the bullpen, which should have been done yesterday, they have what should be a good bad-end piece.
There are still some shreds of their great prospect class that can be cobbled together. Oakland has nothing... absolutely nothing.
The defensive alignment of KC’s 3B/SS is about 15th on their list of problems. Perez is untradeable. He basically got a lifetime achievement award with that contract. Their pitching staff has been hit by injuries, but I’m not sure why you’d put Singer in the pen when he’s been their best starter the past two years. In fact, he’s the only college arm of the many they’ve drafted in recent years who hasn’t blown up. Things are still pretty shitty.
All this said, they’re still better off than Oakland. They do have some talent recently graduated from prospectdom that “could” improve. Plus they’re in a much easier division.
If we think our team’s rebuild has stalled out, all we need to do is look at KC. Witt aside, almost all of their young guys have gone backwards, although Ragan was a nice pick up. Couple that with a farm system that the industry thinks is bottom-five. FG doesn’t even have a single 50 in their system. Yeesh.
Half that roster is kids that were Top 100 last year lol
As a team they've accumulated 13.1 f WAR
Of that 13.1 fWAR, Witt is responsible for 37%. That is uneffingbelievable
Ragan was a real nice pickup, but with a caveat...He's already had 2 TJS.
I'm not sure how you can be that bad on the MLB level for as long as they have and have not a single 50 in the farm. Dereliction of duties
That is why Sherman fired Moore. In Moore's defense, he thought he had a good farm, and the industry thought he had done a brilliant rebuild coming into last season... having a bunch of highly ranked prospects arrive simultaneously with solid "veteran presence" in Benintendi, Mondesi, Greinke, Perez, and Dozier. Everyone, not just Moore, thought that they would be competitive last year and starting to make renewed championship pushes this year and next.
The Royals are a lesson in not trusting "industry rankings" of farm systems. As to their current farm system, I have to agree with you and the industry, there just does not seem to be anything worth while above the A-ball level.
Interesting how when highly-touted Pirate prospects fail it's the coach's fault but when highly-touted Royals prospects fail it's the industry's fault.
Just for clarification: Malone WAS drafted in 2019, but by the D’backs. 😇😇
The article doesnt state he wasnt drafted by the D'backs, and I assume it didnt have to, because most here know that, implied by the author to his thoughtful audience🤷♂️
LeeFool really thinks highly of himself.
I had to triple check my gramnar before posting or he would correct me while stating his degrees, honestly im still worried😥
Ted!! Are you still getting drunk and picking fights with people? That’s why we ran you off of the Asylum. Sorry to see that you’re on here.
Those who throw stones should NOT live in glass houses.
However, that being said, I hope that you found sobriety.
Should have a semicolon and not a comma between that and implied. ;)
Imagine my shame, thank you👍
Ted, I've been around you for years over at the other site and I've never seen any of the behavior that the site martyr is saying about you. Lee fool is a martyr and a troll and has been doing these things for decades. Who tf calls someone a drunk on a baseball blog? Hang in man, you've always been a ray of sunshine and never stepped out of line.
We got a Malone sighting!!! Would be thrilled if that kid could put the injuries behind him and actually show people what he's capable of
at this point i'll be thrilled if he can make it as a reliever
Excellent outings on the mound from Aaron Shortridge at AA and Derek Diamond at A+, both of whom are guys who could play a part in the Pirates future. Shortridge is already 26, but the pandemic cost him 2020 and TJ Surgery in January 2021 caused him to miss all of 2021 and most of 2022. So, pitching on a young arm, he has already doubled the number of innings pitched this year up to 127 IP and regularly goes 5+ innings per start. He will probably start 2024 at AAA and be a possible call-up when needed for the Pirates. Not a power pitcher, but seems to know how to manage the game.
Derek Diamond was the Pirates 6th Round pick out of the U of Mississippi in 2022, so 2023 is his first real exposure to professional baseball. He has already thrown 100+ innings this year between A and A+ and could start 2024 at AA Altoona.
Broken record here, but why is Jase Bowen still at A+? Already passed the 20/20 HR/SB mark and closing in on 25/25. There are decisions that will have to be made regarding the present OF's at AA, but getting Bowen 2 or 3 weeks of exposure at AA should be our first consideration.
I'm very curious to see Shortridge make it to Indy so we can get some metrics on him. It's been a toss-up in my mind of how he's perceived. On one hand, he's been left in Altoona all year, but on the other, he's been left in Altoona all year. Indy has clearly needed innings for majority of the year, and they didn't push him to fill that shortfall. Soooo, part of me feels they do still see a potential path for him.
On the reverse side, the Jase saga has been interesting. Biggest aspect is he shaved 8% off his K-rate while boosting the PAHR!!!! I'd thought maybe cause Greensboro did still have a minor shot in the division race they were leaving him for a playoff run, but that's just about over now. So, I wonder if he does get moved up shortly with that in mind.
With Diamond, next year is going to be interesting. We could probably have a fun discussion surrounding just who could fill out the Triple-A/Double-A rosters.
You are an excellent poster, btw👍
Im tedwins from other sites, must have messed up the setup🤷♂️
Good to see you here.
The emojis gave it away mate!
Better emojis than GIF's🤷♂️