I'm going to soften my opposition to bringing Tellez back after reading today's story in the PG (not so much due to the stats but due to the humility).
However, though Noah Hiles notes that he's 8th in wRC+ among first basemen since June 1, it should also be noted that he's only 20th in WAR over that time. Part of that is that he has fewer PAs than many on the list, but he also ranks 20th in defensive value and 19th in baserunning value.
An interesting comparison: Tellez and Santana have nearly identical wRC+ values (128 vs. 129) yet in only 70 more PAs (328 vs. 258) Santana has been worth 2.3 WAR since June 1 vs. Tellez's 0.9 WAR. Much of that difference is defensive value. So, my bigger picture concern about our FO's ability to identify value remains.
Anyway, here's the link to the nice article about Rowdy:
I'm not sure if anyone tuned into MLB Network to watch Kumar's debut, but I'm glad I did.
FB sat 96-97, but the story was the slider. I can't remember a pitcher making MLB hitters look that bad. Also, great demeanor on the mound and smooth repeatable delivery. Rooting for the guy.
That and teams that dont draft guys because they are 18 years 6 months instead of 17 years 9 months never made sense to me. I know hes floundered at the MLB level but Baty for the mets slid down boards because he was older for his class. Maybe i can see the argument for 18yo that looks like a grown ass man vs an 18yo that is barely shaving yet but pure age curves are silly imo
BC has not made a manpower move since Sep 8 - 5 days ago. Nice to see Liover Peguero remaining at SS in AAA while Alika Williams stays on the Active Roster for the Pirates. Does that make any sense whatsoever? So shift the topic of conversation by talking about "expecting" Shelton to return as Manager in 2025. Peguero, Suwinski, Yorke - put some emphasis on what this team might look like in 2025.
When this GM speaks about wanting to win, I always wait for the HOWEVER, and then an explanation as to why we cannot do what the other teams in baseball seem to be able to do. We have Pitching, Catching, and a boatload of MI's - we need to find a few OF's and First Basemen who can field and hit for average and power. We have tradeable assets that can be used to access folks who can help us win in the future.
Bringing up again the absolutely bizarre hyping-up of Alika Williams by Brown and Wehner out of nowhere the other day during the broadcast. BC clearly whispering in their ears. He will be here next year, hogging up a roster spot.
Time to move on. -.7 fWAR for his career, 45 wRC+, the statcast is pretty much all blue except for LA sweet spot. The arm strength is 18th percentile, which you don’t want from a SS.
Yeah, there is. The idea that a prospect can never spend too much time in AAA has never made the slightest sense to me. Why do you think there are guys who tear up AAA pitching for years but never hit ML pitching? They get too locked into taking advantage of the weaknesses at a lower level and can’t adjust to the higher level. Nobody learns to hit ML pitching by not facing ML pitching.
As opposed to Alika’s 47 in the majors? The choice isn’t Peguero vs a solid major leaguer. It’s Peguero vs a guy who’s managed to put up -0.3 WAR in just 25 games. Heaven forbid the point should ever be just to make the team better. No, that’s not The Pirate Way.
I would guess it is more of what they think of Alika. He plays once or twice per week. They don't want Lio to come up and not play, they want him to keep developing.
I won’t speak for Catch, but has Peguero shown enough during a full season at AAA to be knocking down that door?
For me, the term marinade at AAA doesn’t mean being absolutely ready to succeed at the MLB level and being blocked. I think Peggy could use the additional time to hopefully further develop. The additional option year just means the club’s hand won’t be forced either way.
(Also agree that Alika is not an MLB player, even as a defensive replacement.)
The only sense I can make is Peguero gets to play everyday there and Alika sits up here. At least I hope that's what they are doing and they don't actually believe Alika is better than Peguero.
Peguero has not really done anything at AAA this year that merits being called up. I'm not sure why everyone is so excited to see him fail. He clearly needs more work hitting higher level pitching. Not every 22-or-23-year old prospect needs to be in the majors now.
But, is the 29 year old IKF going to be the Pirates SS for $7+ mil next year? Peguero, 23, is fielding .970 at SS and .990+ at 2B and he can hit for power. In 472 AB he has 29 doubles, 4 triples, 13 HR, 78 RBI's, and 14 of 17 in SB. Why can we not appreciate his game?
Interesting stats in that the only one of the Top Velo's resulted in a hit - a single by Liover Peguero at No. 5. The first 4 all resulted in outs - Suwinski hitting for big exit velo twice, but nothing to show but flyouts. Making contact, the hits will come. Also interesting that our Top Pitching Velo was only 94.4!
Nice work by Dotel and McMillan at A+ combining for 8 IP, 22 Whiffs. Is it Michael Kennedy tonight?
I believe there has only been one day that none of the top five velocities resulted in a hit, and maybe three days where only one. Part of the problem with yesterday is only three teams played, when most days have been five teams. When you get five teams playing, you get a better pick of hits from each game.
Someone on Twitter didn't believe that there were more 4-5 hit days among the top five velocities than any other result. That was after I shared that only zero hit day. I told them I've been following daily since Opening Day, and whenever all of the teams play, there are definitely more 4-5 hit games than anything else. That discussion happened about 25 days ago, and slightly more than half since then have been four-hit days. Two days had five hits, about seven had three hits and one day had two hits (a few days only had Pirates games). If you count this one, it's the first day with one (or zero) since that discussion. All it took was two teams not playing to find that first 0-1 day.
I just saw where our old friend Jacob Stallings had a big game yesterday which prompted me to check on his season, and I am happy to see that he's had a great bounce-back (partial) season after his struggles with Miami. In just 74 games with Colorado he's put up a .799 OPS (park-adjusted OPS+ of 115) and 1.5 WAR.
I'm going to soften my opposition to bringing Tellez back after reading today's story in the PG (not so much due to the stats but due to the humility).
However, though Noah Hiles notes that he's 8th in wRC+ among first basemen since June 1, it should also be noted that he's only 20th in WAR over that time. Part of that is that he has fewer PAs than many on the list, but he also ranks 20th in defensive value and 19th in baserunning value.
An interesting comparison: Tellez and Santana have nearly identical wRC+ values (128 vs. 129) yet in only 70 more PAs (328 vs. 258) Santana has been worth 2.3 WAR since June 1 vs. Tellez's 0.9 WAR. Much of that difference is defensive value. So, my bigger picture concern about our FO's ability to identify value remains.
Anyway, here's the link to the nice article about Rowdy:
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2024/09/13/david-bednar-booing-derek-shelton/stories/202409130066
Off Topic.
I'm not sure if anyone tuned into MLB Network to watch Kumar's debut, but I'm glad I did.
FB sat 96-97, but the story was the slider. I can't remember a pitcher making MLB hitters look that bad. Also, great demeanor on the mound and smooth repeatable delivery. Rooting for the guy.
He's a great story, and I'm also rooting for him. He could be a big part of a major Rangers rebound next season.
Love these stories.
Lots of teams looking silly for fear of arm injuries.
That and teams that dont draft guys because they are 18 years 6 months instead of 17 years 9 months never made sense to me. I know hes floundered at the MLB level but Baty for the mets slid down boards because he was older for his class. Maybe i can see the argument for 18yo that looks like a grown ass man vs an 18yo that is barely shaving yet but pure age curves are silly imo
BC has not made a manpower move since Sep 8 - 5 days ago. Nice to see Liover Peguero remaining at SS in AAA while Alika Williams stays on the Active Roster for the Pirates. Does that make any sense whatsoever? So shift the topic of conversation by talking about "expecting" Shelton to return as Manager in 2025. Peguero, Suwinski, Yorke - put some emphasis on what this team might look like in 2025.
When this GM speaks about wanting to win, I always wait for the HOWEVER, and then an explanation as to why we cannot do what the other teams in baseball seem to be able to do. We have Pitching, Catching, and a boatload of MI's - we need to find a few OF's and First Basemen who can field and hit for average and power. We have tradeable assets that can be used to access folks who can help us win in the future.
Bringing up again the absolutely bizarre hyping-up of Alika Williams by Brown and Wehner out of nowhere the other day during the broadcast. BC clearly whispering in their ears. He will be here next year, hogging up a roster spot.
Time to move on. -.7 fWAR for his career, 45 wRC+, the statcast is pretty much all blue except for LA sweet spot. The arm strength is 18th percentile, which you don’t want from a SS.
I think the fact that Peguero probably does not even get a cup of coffee this year is fairly indicative of how they feel about his future.
Apparently, he was granted an additional option for next season. Nothing wrong with letting him marinate.
I had forgotten about the option, I believe John Dreker pointed that out last week? If he has another option it makes more sense.
I’m agnostic on the topic of letting him marinate. If they feel he still has boxes to check that’s ok, and given his performance he might.
I think that was Ethan.
Yeah, there is. The idea that a prospect can never spend too much time in AAA has never made the slightest sense to me. Why do you think there are guys who tear up AAA pitching for years but never hit ML pitching? They get too locked into taking advantage of the weaknesses at a lower level and can’t adjust to the higher level. Nobody learns to hit ML pitching by not facing ML pitching.
91 wRC+ doesn't quite inspire confidence
As opposed to Alika’s 47 in the majors? The choice isn’t Peguero vs a solid major leaguer. It’s Peguero vs a guy who’s managed to put up -0.3 WAR in just 25 games. Heaven forbid the point should ever be just to make the team better. No, that’s not The Pirate Way.
I would guess it is more of what they think of Alika. He plays once or twice per week. They don't want Lio to come up and not play, they want him to keep developing.
lolol
I won’t speak for Catch, but has Peguero shown enough during a full season at AAA to be knocking down that door?
For me, the term marinade at AAA doesn’t mean being absolutely ready to succeed at the MLB level and being blocked. I think Peggy could use the additional time to hopefully further develop. The additional option year just means the club’s hand won’t be forced either way.
(Also agree that Alika is not an MLB player, even as a defensive replacement.)
The only sense I can make is Peguero gets to play everyday there and Alika sits up here. At least I hope that's what they are doing and they don't actually believe Alika is better than Peguero.
Peguero has not really done anything at AAA this year that merits being called up. I'm not sure why everyone is so excited to see him fail. He clearly needs more work hitting higher level pitching. Not every 22-or-23-year old prospect needs to be in the majors now.
Yeah, I'm on board with this. Lio might have some late bloomer traits. Let him get some sustained success.
But, is the 29 year old IKF going to be the Pirates SS for $7+ mil next year? Peguero, 23, is fielding .970 at SS and .990+ at 2B and he can hit for power. In 472 AB he has 29 doubles, 4 triples, 13 HR, 78 RBI's, and 14 of 17 in SB. Why can we not appreciate his game?
I, for one, would suggest they replace IKF with a player who isn't performing worse than him at a lower level.
Trade him this offseason, can get what he provides for much cheaper. Need to save all our pennies for our big soto offer
Lets send in the ringers and get a win in greensboro. Send down bubba, burrows, yorke, gorski, peggy, etc and bring home a banner!
Interesting stats in that the only one of the Top Velo's resulted in a hit - a single by Liover Peguero at No. 5. The first 4 all resulted in outs - Suwinski hitting for big exit velo twice, but nothing to show but flyouts. Making contact, the hits will come. Also interesting that our Top Pitching Velo was only 94.4!
Nice work by Dotel and McMillan at A+ combining for 8 IP, 22 Whiffs. Is it Michael Kennedy tonight?
I believe there has only been one day that none of the top five velocities resulted in a hit, and maybe three days where only one. Part of the problem with yesterday is only three teams played, when most days have been five teams. When you get five teams playing, you get a better pick of hits from each game.
Someone on Twitter didn't believe that there were more 4-5 hit days among the top five velocities than any other result. That was after I shared that only zero hit day. I told them I've been following daily since Opening Day, and whenever all of the teams play, there are definitely more 4-5 hit games than anything else. That discussion happened about 25 days ago, and slightly more than half since then have been four-hit days. Two days had five hits, about seven had three hits and one day had two hits (a few days only had Pirates games). If you count this one, it's the first day with one (or zero) since that discussion. All it took was two teams not playing to find that first 0-1 day.
I just saw where our old friend Jacob Stallings had a big game yesterday which prompted me to check on his season, and I am happy to see that he's had a great bounce-back (partial) season after his struggles with Miami. In just 74 games with Colorado he's put up a .799 OPS (park-adjusted OPS+ of 115) and 1.5 WAR.
Glad to see him rebound - good guy.
They sure love ex-Pirates catchers out there.