I could easily see it end up being more. There's several draft eligible sophomores that could really jump up boards. I really like Jared Thomas from Texas. Played 1st as a freshman but is playing CF, if his projected power shows up and he's good defensively he'll fly up the prospect lists.
He played 1st last night, but more like Tre Morgan with a higher ceiling. Plus plus defense at 1st, above average outfielder.
Hitting wise he has a great hit tool, punished a few mistakes last year. Will take walks doesn't strike out much. He went 2 for 3 with 2 walks last night. Needs his power to show up more in games. 3 for 5 had 1 double today.
Texas has some good young outfielders. Wil G started in center as a true freshman last night. Top 100 draft prospect (2023) from Harvard-Westlake I think, who's dad works for the Dodgers.
Yep, nice we need a first basemen. Although I want them to take the best available at pick 9. Definitely a year I prefer picking lower since we didn't get pick 1 or 2.
I have no issues with deals like this. There are several guys like this that ger signed around the league with a few actually shining in ST with no rhyme or reason as to which ones do. Might even be Anderson this year.
I don't think there has been an offseason when I've been more discouraged about our prospects for future success under Nutting. That doesn't mean I don't have hopes for this year's team; in fact it's because I have hopes for this year's team that I'm more down than ever on Nutting and his unwillingness to spend.
Actually, it could be worse. BC has spent $30M AAV in each of the last two offseasons. That's not bad compared to a couple previous winters. How he is spending it is the bigger question/problem.
This offseason has, for me, resembled how I felt around 2004-2007. They look aimless and are trying to throw cheap free agents at the wall to see what sticks. I’d take Neal back at this point.
It’s disheartening because their actions didn’t match their words. They claimed they would do what it took to compete all season, yet they basically took the same tact as last winter even though they won so many more games in ‘23 than ‘22.
Not sure why the Bucs were rumored to be in on Merrifield, but Donovan Solano would be a far cheaper and way more productive option. Not that they need another MI/U player.
First Base is boring as Tellez is the only true 1B. Who else will play there? Joe? Triolo? Grandal? So here is 1B and 3B.
First Baseman
Rowdy Tellez…………100%
.
Third Basemen
Ke’Bryan Hayes……..100%
Jared Triolo……………100%
Jake Lamb………………..5%
Joe Perez………………….5%
Jack Branigan……………0%
.
Tellez and Hayes are locks. I believe Triolo is a lock with his talent and versatility. Lamb and Perez would likely need multiple injuries in front of them coupled with a very strong spring.
Putting Tellez at first simply because there's no one else on the roster specifically designated for the position is a big mistake. His only tool is the ability to occasionally hit the ball into the river, which is fine but not when that's the extent of his possible contributions. He's not good defensively and should be a DH only type player but that's probably McCutchen's primary job. Don't even mention Connor Joe at first because he's such a defensive liability at the position he shouldn't even go near it.
The best first baseman on this team defensively and probably offensively as well is Triolo. He was brought in as a defensive replacement there a few times toward the end of last year and looked very good as he does wherever he plays on the field, but first remains a position in need of a regular contributor. Yes, he's good at third too but unlike first that position's already taken by someone who is actually a good player. Of course BC has said (or at least I think he said as frankly I stopped listening to him because he virtually never does what he says he will) that Triolo will not be playing first base regularly. Perhaps not, but he should be.
Thinking about the Altoona starting rotation and how important it will be to keep these guys together for an extended period of time to start the season…Skenes, Chandler, Solo, Harrington, Ashcraft, Sullivan.
Adding my guesses for your list: AA: Chandler, Solo, Harrington, Ashcraft. AAA: Sullivan. I think where Skenes starts has already been determined IMO with the focus on him adjusting to the 5 man rotation schedule. Venturing a guess I would say he starts in AA but I don't have a lot of logic behind that. I'm not sure about your comment 'keep these guys together'. I don't think that is important. They need to progress / advance as performance dictates and reality says they will not all be in the Pirates rotation come 2025 or 2026. Their paths for good and bad could vary greatly.
I agree with Chandler, Solo, Harrington, and Ashcraft at AA, but Sullivan should start in AAA. Where Skenes starts the season will probably be a call after we see how he handles ST.
Glad to see a team recognize a positional problem and try to address the situation. Such is the case with the Marlins at the SS position. Their primary SS in 2023 was Jon Berti, who is a Utility player at best. Tim Anderson had his worst year of the past 5 with the CWS, but then, just about everyone on the White Sox was terrible in 2023!
The Marlins will probably get him cheap, and it will all be a gamble on him being able to turn that -16 DRS around, and being able to hit more than 1 HR in 400+ AB! No way he can do any worse, and if he is right between the ears, he could return to being an All Star caliber SS.
The Pirates need a CF - cheapest way to go (which is always a primary consideration for the Pirates) would be to inquire about 2 Prospects who saw MLB last year, but will probably not see much more in 2024. They are Ceddanne Rafaela (23) of the Red Sox, and Everson Pereira (22) of the Yankees, both RH hitters and strong defensively. The Sox could probably use a MI, and the Yankees could probably use a RP. The Pirates are very deep in both of those areas so why not?
I hear you, but last year was supposed to be his year to take that position as a 25 year old. He fumbled the opportunity and, if anything, fell back to where he was left unprotected for the R5, IIRC.
Would like to see the Bucs try for Rafaela of the Bosox, or Pereira of the Yankees, who both Aced AAA at much younger ages (22) than Gorski. In 200 AB at AAA Rafaela had a .988 OPS; in 138 AB at AAA Pereira had a .937 OPS. If the price is too high, so be it - we start the year with Bae in CF.
I like the future possibilities of Michael Kennedy, but TJ, Solo, Chandler, Harrington, and Jared Jones have already proven their capabilities as prospects. I'd have had Jones before Solo, with Kennedy a possible 7th or 8th best prospect at this point in his development.
Skenes, Jones and Harrington have college careers behind them, and I think they would be better able to adapt to MLB quicker than our pitching prospects with only HS play in their background.
My bad, thank you. Maybe I should follow-up by saying he has pitched so well at A, A+, AA, and AAA, that I thought he must have been a college draftee.
I know we have some guys with Option issues, but this kid should be an automatic for the Pirate Rotation in 2024. Tell Spencer Strider about only having 2 pitches! If Roansy goes to ST and looks strong, do you think the Pin Stripers would like to have him back as a RP?
I get the Strider comparison regarding using 2 pitches, but there are some clear differences. Strider's 1 MiLB season 6.1 H and 14.6K / 9 innings. Jones 7.6 and 10.4 last year. Plenty to dream on regarding Jones, but IMO his 2 pitches are not as dominant as Striders and he is more likely to need at least a passable third pitch. Strider has 2 pitches that can seem unhittable... Jones is not there yet but hopefully can make some Strides (see what I did there) in AAA this year that gets him to the show.
And another thing about Strider, from a human interest perspective, he went vegan shortly before his breakout and actually credits his diet for his quick recovery from TJ. This probably should get more attention, at least as an alternative path in terms of nutrition from what so many athletes think is necessary.
All the diet fetish people make claims like this. There was a commercial circulating worldwide after the World Cup where the Argentine soccer team was shown eating Asado (beef) and claiming that Argentine beef propelled them to the world championship. (A few members of the team actually made this claim, so it wasn't just a paid endorsement). The add was sponsored (of course) by the Association of Farmers here in Argentina.
I think it is more than that. The explosion of food fetishes in recent times (pushed on from above by a Western elite determined to impoverish the peasants) can really only occur amidst abundance. You don't realize this until you leave the Euro-U.S. region. No one who is poor (really poor) will turn down a steak or a hamburger over some cow fetish, unless they are Hindu, of course.
What's interesting about the Strider example (and Chris Paul and others, to cross sports) is that it counters the perception that you can't consume enough protein through a plant-based diet, as meat producers would have you believe.
Yuck! Body type, exercise, etc., is always most important.
Fads, all of them. It was especially funny when I lived in a wheat producing state and all these women were running around on a gluten-free diet. Red meat, white meat, all wheat, no wheat, it goes on and on.
One thing about Strider is the Braves initially put him as a long man in the pen. I know because I was at one of his initial MLB games. Jesse Chavez was used as an Opener vs Brewers and gave up 2 runs in 1st inning. Strider replaced him and absolutely blew away Brew Crew for next 5 innings.
Might not be a bad idea to take this tact with Jones following someone like Fleming or Falter to get acclimated to MLB?
It's hard to imagine your GM and Manager who both live in a Nutting bubble to emulate others success since in past 5 years they've stayed on the same path to mediocrity.
Two of the Wake starters starting the season strong, Hartle on Friday and Burns today. Kurtz got his first homerun of the year.
CSN dfa'd by Seattle
Lets start a claim war over him.
I think we have an open spot on the 40 when Brubaker is moved to the IL lol
Anyone take a look at the 2024 draft write ups from FG? Pretty ordinary class and certainly better to not be at the top in 2024.
Normally after every draft one or two of those player crack the top 10-20 prospects ranking, this draft might have one, if that!
I could easily see it end up being more. There's several draft eligible sophomores that could really jump up boards. I really like Jared Thomas from Texas. Played 1st as a freshman but is playing CF, if his projected power shows up and he's good defensively he'll fly up the prospect lists.
So he’s Bellinger .2? 1b and CF? I have to think is to up his value.
He played 1st last night, but more like Tre Morgan with a higher ceiling. Plus plus defense at 1st, above average outfielder.
Hitting wise he has a great hit tool, punished a few mistakes last year. Will take walks doesn't strike out much. He went 2 for 3 with 2 walks last night. Needs his power to show up more in games. 3 for 5 had 1 double today.
Texas has some good young outfielders. Wil G started in center as a true freshman last night. Top 100 draft prospect (2023) from Harvard-Westlake I think, who's dad works for the Dodgers.
Good group of college bats this year and it's lacking up the middle.
A lot of those bats have some serious warts though. Approach for Jac/White. A lot of the bats look like they’ll end up at first.
Maybe we can find a good first baseman for the first time since 19 something.
Yep, nice we need a first basemen. Although I want them to take the best available at pick 9. Definitely a year I prefer picking lower since we didn't get pick 1 or 2.
Bucs sign Chase Anderson to a minors deal.
Thankfully it’s a minor league deal.
I have no issues with deals like this. There are several guys like this that ger signed around the league with a few actually shining in ST with no rhyme or reason as to which ones do. Might even be Anderson this year.
The issue isn't deals like this. It's the absence of deals not like this.
Anderson, btw, has been truly awful for four years. Austin-Hedges-hitting-level awful. If he ever sees PNC, they're in major trouble.
Well said WM.
Some Owners, small, medium, or large market, are willing to do ALL that is required to compete for championships. BN, like others, is unwilling.
It just is what it is.
I don't think there has been an offseason when I've been more discouraged about our prospects for future success under Nutting. That doesn't mean I don't have hopes for this year's team; in fact it's because I have hopes for this year's team that I'm more down than ever on Nutting and his unwillingness to spend.
Actually, it could be worse. BC has spent $30M AAV in each of the last two offseasons. That's not bad compared to a couple previous winters. How he is spending it is the bigger question/problem.
This offseason has, for me, resembled how I felt around 2004-2007. They look aimless and are trying to throw cheap free agents at the wall to see what sticks. I’d take Neal back at this point.
It’s disheartening because their actions didn’t match their words. They claimed they would do what it took to compete all season, yet they basically took the same tact as last winter even though they won so many more games in ‘23 than ‘22.
Very disappointing.
Maverick should get opening day start in AAA and Ice Man in AA, but I think it’s more likely Pirates give Jones the ball in Indy and Solo in Altoona.
Not sure why the Bucs were rumored to be in on Merrifield, but Donovan Solano would be a far cheaper and way more productive option. Not that they need another MI/U player.
I think BC just fastens on any veteran player he thinks might come cheap. Filling the team’s needs doesn’t enter into it.
First Base is boring as Tellez is the only true 1B. Who else will play there? Joe? Triolo? Grandal? So here is 1B and 3B.
First Baseman
Rowdy Tellez…………100%
.
Third Basemen
Ke’Bryan Hayes……..100%
Jared Triolo……………100%
Jake Lamb………………..5%
Joe Perez………………….5%
Jack Branigan……………0%
.
Tellez and Hayes are locks. I believe Triolo is a lock with his talent and versatility. Lamb and Perez would likely need multiple injuries in front of them coupled with a very strong spring.
Putting Tellez at first simply because there's no one else on the roster specifically designated for the position is a big mistake. His only tool is the ability to occasionally hit the ball into the river, which is fine but not when that's the extent of his possible contributions. He's not good defensively and should be a DH only type player but that's probably McCutchen's primary job. Don't even mention Connor Joe at first because he's such a defensive liability at the position he shouldn't even go near it.
The best first baseman on this team defensively and probably offensively as well is Triolo. He was brought in as a defensive replacement there a few times toward the end of last year and looked very good as he does wherever he plays on the field, but first remains a position in need of a regular contributor. Yes, he's good at third too but unlike first that position's already taken by someone who is actually a good player. Of course BC has said (or at least I think he said as frankly I stopped listening to him because he virtually never does what he says he will) that Triolo will not be playing first base regularly. Perhaps not, but he should be.
Thinking about the Altoona starting rotation and how important it will be to keep these guys together for an extended period of time to start the season…Skenes, Chandler, Solo, Harrington, Ashcraft, Sullivan.
Adding my guesses for your list: AA: Chandler, Solo, Harrington, Ashcraft. AAA: Sullivan. I think where Skenes starts has already been determined IMO with the focus on him adjusting to the 5 man rotation schedule. Venturing a guess I would say he starts in AA but I don't have a lot of logic behind that. I'm not sure about your comment 'keep these guys together'. I don't think that is important. They need to progress / advance as performance dictates and reality says they will not all be in the Pirates rotation come 2025 or 2026. Their paths for good and bad could vary greatly.
I’m not saying literally keep them together. As a group, I think their development will benefit from competing with each other.
I agree with Chandler, Solo, Harrington, and Ashcraft at AA, but Sullivan should start in AAA. Where Skenes starts the season will probably be a call after we see how he handles ST.
I think Skenes starts in AAA. Chen could be in Altoona. Loaded rotation regardless.
I would want the prep guys to be around Skenes as much as possible. Osmosis or something like that…
I want everybody to be around Skenes.
Except the pitching coaches
Glad to see a team recognize a positional problem and try to address the situation. Such is the case with the Marlins at the SS position. Their primary SS in 2023 was Jon Berti, who is a Utility player at best. Tim Anderson had his worst year of the past 5 with the CWS, but then, just about everyone on the White Sox was terrible in 2023!
The Marlins will probably get him cheap, and it will all be a gamble on him being able to turn that -16 DRS around, and being able to hit more than 1 HR in 400+ AB! No way he can do any worse, and if he is right between the ears, he could return to being an All Star caliber SS.
The Pirates need a CF - cheapest way to go (which is always a primary consideration for the Pirates) would be to inquire about 2 Prospects who saw MLB last year, but will probably not see much more in 2024. They are Ceddanne Rafaela (23) of the Red Sox, and Everson Pereira (22) of the Yankees, both RH hitters and strong defensively. The Sox could probably use a MI, and the Yankees could probably use a RP. The Pirates are very deep in both of those areas so why not?
is it true that Gorski is above average with the glove in center field?
if that´s true, I could care less that he strikes out all the time and bats ninth
I hear you, but last year was supposed to be his year to take that position as a 25 year old. He fumbled the opportunity and, if anything, fell back to where he was left unprotected for the R5, IIRC.
Would like to see the Bucs try for Rafaela of the Bosox, or Pereira of the Yankees, who both Aced AAA at much younger ages (22) than Gorski. In 200 AB at AAA Rafaela had a .988 OPS; in 138 AB at AAA Pereira had a .937 OPS. If the price is too high, so be it - we start the year with Bae in CF.
Add to that bad numbers against lefties, can’t even platoon him with Jack.
That's why I looked for RH High Prospect CF's. Pereira and Rafaela are the best I could find that are ready to take that step to MLB.
I like the future possibilities of Michael Kennedy, but TJ, Solo, Chandler, Harrington, and Jared Jones have already proven their capabilities as prospects. I'd have had Jones before Solo, with Kennedy a possible 7th or 8th best prospect at this point in his development.
Skenes, Jones and Harrington have college careers behind them, and I think they would be better able to adapt to MLB quicker than our pitching prospects with only HS play in their background.
Jones did not go to college, two-way prep player from CA.
My bad, thank you. Maybe I should follow-up by saying he has pitched so well at A, A+, AA, and AAA, that I thought he must have been a college draftee.
I know we have some guys with Option issues, but this kid should be an automatic for the Pirate Rotation in 2024. Tell Spencer Strider about only having 2 pitches! If Roansy goes to ST and looks strong, do you think the Pin Stripers would like to have him back as a RP?
It’s never a good idea to compare a prospect to the one guy in the majors who is performing in a similar way.
If Ro looks strong, why would they trade him away?!
I get the Strider comparison regarding using 2 pitches, but there are some clear differences. Strider's 1 MiLB season 6.1 H and 14.6K / 9 innings. Jones 7.6 and 10.4 last year. Plenty to dream on regarding Jones, but IMO his 2 pitches are not as dominant as Striders and he is more likely to need at least a passable third pitch. Strider has 2 pitches that can seem unhittable... Jones is not there yet but hopefully can make some Strides (see what I did there) in AAA this year that gets him to the show.
And another thing about Strider, from a human interest perspective, he went vegan shortly before his breakout and actually credits his diet for his quick recovery from TJ. This probably should get more attention, at least as an alternative path in terms of nutrition from what so many athletes think is necessary.
I highly doubt that’s the real reason.
This is why it's interesting--most of the public scoffs at the idea.
This is why it's interesting--most of the public scoffs at the idea.
It’s equally likely he’s a superhero!
All the diet fetish people make claims like this. There was a commercial circulating worldwide after the World Cup where the Argentine soccer team was shown eating Asado (beef) and claiming that Argentine beef propelled them to the world championship. (A few members of the team actually made this claim, so it wasn't just a paid endorsement). The add was sponsored (of course) by the Association of Farmers here in Argentina.
Every diet or workout guru is really a snake oil salesman who acts like they’ve broken the code of weight loss, injury recovery, etc.
I think it is more than that. The explosion of food fetishes in recent times (pushed on from above by a Western elite determined to impoverish the peasants) can really only occur amidst abundance. You don't realize this until you leave the Euro-U.S. region. No one who is poor (really poor) will turn down a steak or a hamburger over some cow fetish, unless they are Hindu, of course.
What's interesting about the Strider example (and Chris Paul and others, to cross sports) is that it counters the perception that you can't consume enough protein through a plant-based diet, as meat producers would have you believe.
Yuck! Body type, exercise, etc., is always most important.
Fads, all of them. It was especially funny when I lived in a wheat producing state and all these women were running around on a gluten-free diet. Red meat, white meat, all wheat, no wheat, it goes on and on.
There are a lot of athletes that eat plant-based, you are just hearing about the anomalies.
One thing about Strider is the Braves initially put him as a long man in the pen. I know because I was at one of his initial MLB games. Jesse Chavez was used as an Opener vs Brewers and gave up 2 runs in 1st inning. Strider replaced him and absolutely blew away Brew Crew for next 5 innings.
Might not be a bad idea to take this tact with Jones following someone like Fleming or Falter to get acclimated to MLB?
It's hard to imagine your GM and Manager who both live in a Nutting bubble to emulate others success since in past 5 years they've stayed on the same path to mediocrity.