Morning Rundown: Estuar Suero breakout candidate, when could JT Brubaker return?
MLB Pipeline gave their breakout Pirates prospect, and an update on JT Brubaker
I missed this the other day; MLB Pipeline did their annual ‘breakout’ prospect article for the 2024 season. Last year, they picked Shalin Polanco, which looked like it would hit until injuries slowed things down.
This year, they are going with another young, projectable outfielder - Estuar Suero.
Acquired in the Ji-Man Choi and Rich Hill trade, Suero played in the Complex League for the Pirates, getting nearly 60 plate appearances and drawing walks 20% of the time.
He walked (12) just as many times as he struck out (12), picking up a pair of extra-base hits
Pipeline mentions his long frame (6’5”) with excellent bat speed, which should provide more power as he gets reps. They also highlight how he cut his strikeout rate by 10% after coming to the Pirates.
Suero, 18, is currently ranked the 29th-best prospect in the system by MLB Pipeline.
JT Brubaker was having a fantastic Spring Training before getting hurt and eventually needing Tommy John, ending his 2023 season before it started.
While getting the procedure near the beginning of the season cut down the amount of time he’d miss in 2024, he would never be ready on day one.
On DKPittsburghSports, he mentions that he’s looking at a return around the All-Star game.
The Pirates added Marco Gonzales and Martin Perez to the rotation this off-season, two pitchers coming off down years that either saw them get injured or pushed to the bullpen.
A late-season addition of Brubaker could be a nice boost for the staff, especially seeing how he looked before he got hurt.
Every Monday during the offseason, we will be doing a mailbag article. Please send in your questions to have them answered! Either comment below with ‘mailbag’ entered in the message or email us at bucsondeckqa@gmail.com.
I look forward to answering what you guys have!
Wil Crowe signed in Korea.
For the mailbag AM: who would win in a brawl of all of the mascots in the division? This is inspired by a post I saw that has Steely McBeam as an S tier fighter in the NFL