Morning Rundown: Derek Shelton relieved of duties, Don Kelly to take over
Pirates make a managerial change
Among a 12-26 start, the Pittsburgh Pirates have fired manager Derek Shelton. Hired before the 2020 season, Shelton has a 306-440 record as the manager for the Pirates.
After back-to-back 76-win seasons, the Pirates are on pace to win 40 games in 2025.
Bench coach Don Kelly will take over as the manager for the remainder of the 2025 season.
Although you could question some of the in-game decisions under his tenure, you can’t argue he wasn’t always dealt the best of hands.
The Pirates have been among the worst offenses in baseball during Shelton’s tenure as manager.
They return home for a three-game weekend series against the Atlanta Braves before heading on the road to face the Mets and Phillies.
Anthony Solometo was transferred to the 60-day injured list this week, with the transaction log citing a shoulder injury.
After a rough 2024 season, Solometo had strung together a couple of strong outings to begin this year before heading to the injured list.
Solometo, 22, had a 1-0 record with a 0.90 ERA and seven strikeouts in 10 innings pitched over two starts this season.
I’m in Bradenton for the start of the FCL season, as well as to catch some Marauders games next week.
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RHP Yulian Quintana assigned to FCL Pirates
Altoona Curve transferred LHP Anthony Solometo from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day injured list
Altoona Curve activated RHP Sean Sullivan
Top Exit Velocity
Nick Solak - IND - 107.7 mph - Triple
Jack Suwinski - IND - 107.6 mph - Flyout
Derek Berg - BRD - 105.8 mph - Flyout
DJ Stewart - IND - 105.6 mph - Home Run
DJ Stewart - IND - 104.4 mph - Flyout
Top Pitch Velocity
Eddy Yean - IND - 98.5 mph
Eddy Yean - IND - 98.5 mph
Eddy Yean - IND - 97.6 mph
Eddy Yean - IND - 97.6 mph
Eddy Yean - IND - 97.4 mph
Most Whiffs
Braxton Ashcraft - IND - 14
Hung-Leng Chang - GBO - 10
Carlos Castillo - BRD - 10
Alessandro Ercolani - ALT - 5
Sean Sullivan - ALT - 5
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Indianapolis Indians - 4 vs Columbus Clippers - 3
Top Hitter - DJ Stewart: 1-3, HR, 4 RBI, R
Top Pitcher - Drake Fellows: 3 IP, 3 K
Altoona Curve - 3 vs Erie Seawolves - 4
Top Hitter - Imanol Vargas: 2-4, 2B, RBI
Top Pitcher - Sean Sullivan: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 5 vs Hub City - 2
Top Hitter - Lonnie White Jr.: 3-5, 2B, RBI
Top Pitcher - Hung-Leng Chang: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R (ER), BB, 6 K
Bradenton Marauders - 1 vs Lakeland Flying Tigers - 5
Top Hitter - Braylon Bishop: 1-4, RBI
Top Pitcher - Inmer Lobo: 3 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K
FCL Pirates - 5 vs FCL Braves - 6
Top Hitter - Edward Florentino: 1-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI
Top Pitcher - Tyler Kennedy: 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K
Just want to take a second to thank everyone.
You all have been fantastic.
Day in and day out you guys show up to talk about a 12-26 team and it means the world to me that you do it here.
Good luck, Donnie. Flip that 12-26 to 26-12 and we might just have something.