Little frustrated looking at the Michael Busch trade to the Cubs. The Pirates have been searching for what seems like forever for a long term 1b. Each of the last two offseasons they have jumped early into mediocre veteran 1b with warts one 1 year deals. Meanwhile the Cubs send a young long term lotto ticket to the Dodgers for a legit, young 1b who will be a thorn in our sides for several years. This trade would have been Mueth or maybe Kennedy from the Pirates. These are exactly the types of trades Cheringron should be looking at rather than jumping at mediocracy! Time to step up BC
I hope BC would target Basallo from the Orioles as a long-term 1st base option. Unlikely to happen, but prospect wise we have pitchers they have hitters at the top.
I would love for us to get a longterm solid first baseman in the system. I also would hate to see any Cub do well against the Pirates. I am not sold as Busch being a legit young first baseman for several years, even though it is a possibility. He is 26 years old and a .167 major league hitter in his 72 at bats. He also has only played first base 22 games at any level. I know he was a #3 to #8 prospect in the Dodgers system and tore it up in the minors last year. Definetly worth the gamble though.
I guess the larger issue for me is the big picture from a Pirate perspective. Cheringron has had 5 years to develop a system and find a 1b! We keep drafting and trading for these light hitting middle infielders and totally neglect a position where most teams have mashers that anchor a lineup. Whether or not we believe Busch is going to be a star is irrelevant. I feel like he has a better chance of being a solid Major leaguer than Meauth or Kennedy but the Pirates don’t seem to have any creativity in looking for deals like this. The Pirates have to start filling holes and dealing from a surplus appears to be a way to do this since spending big money is not on the table.
Your points are very well understood and I can even build on them.
-I was fine with drafting middle infielders because they are athletic and can change positions easily, but I guess none for first base.
-We traded for quantity over quality a few years back, but that fills up our roster. So we either have to rush guys to the majors or cut them before they have a chance to develop.
-If the Pirates made a trade for Michael Busch, then they have to cut a player that we just invested in, such as guys like Kranick, Marcano, Castillo, Andujar, Jackson, etc keep getting cut. That is the downside of the quantity over quality strategy the Pirates have.
-I couldn't agree more about the Pirates lack of creativity when it comes to trading.
All in for jack to be more aggressive on the basepaths, but more importantly, I think that is necessary for the team to do. It felt like our hot start was at least partially fueled by causing chaos on the bases and then we just stopped doing that. Im not saying run stupid, but we have enough athletes on this team that we can certainly pick more spots and make things happen
Never was much of a fan of DK, but he has put together an interesting site for all three of the professional teams in Pittsburgh, and Alex Stumph is an excellent writer.
Nice to see a plan for discussion regarding Quinn Priester and looking forward to your article on Tuesday. The positive about Priester's exposure to MLB in 2023 was his 3-3 record in 10 G, 50 IP, and the fact he did that while he was still only 22 years of age. The negative starts with the 7.74 ERA, and goes from there.
The first time I saw Priester pitch in Indy, he made batters look so stupid. Hitters were swinging like David Spade from Benchwarmers. The next game was awful. I didn't know innings could drag on so long with a pitch clock. His inconsistency would support a 3-3 win loss record with a high ERA.
Exactly, having a .500 record with a 7.74 ERA means the pitcher stayed out there and took the punishment to get the team a few more innings pitched. So, I admire his fight, but wish he did not need to show it so often! Overall he pitched well coming through the minors and deserves more opportunities to figure it out at the MLB level.
Being proficient at stealing bases is a whole lot more complex than just sprint speed. A base runner has to first be good at taking a lead off the base. Then he has to excel at reading Pitchers first move. Then he has to be adept at sliding into the base. If a fast runner, like Jack, is mediocre or worse in any of these areas, he will see that 86% success rate plummet if he becomes more aggressive.
I’m not saying he shouldn’t have more stolen base attempts next year, only that he needs to first prepare his mind and body for the task, or it will backfire.
Good points. It's all about the jump - if the runner cannot get a quick jump, foot speed cannot overcome the late break. And, how good is the pitcher at holding runners and getting the ball to the Catcher in 1.3 sec or under. I watched games last year where opposing pitchers were going to high leg kicks from the stretch, getting the ball to the Catcher in 1.6+ time and our runner at first would just be watching.
The other thing I worry about a bit is the toll it would take on Jack--maybe a few extra stolen bases aren't worth the extra energy it takes to not only sprint (and sometimes multiple times if there are foul balls) but to focus so intently on the pitcher. At least it's easier now than when a pitcher could throw over multiple times.
I recall reading an article about Rickey Henderson during the year he broke Lou Brock’s record.
What stands out after all these years is the writer’s equating the slide as diving out of a car going 20 mph.
Now, there are obvious flaws in that analogy but the point is, head first slides are hard on the body. IIRC, Dave Parker was discouraged from frequent base stealing.
I am very happy with a guy who leads our team in HR's being athletic enough to steal a base and help the club by getting into scoring position, but not on a continuous basis. 26 HR, 13 of 15 SB's is as much as I want to see him running - reaching 20 SB means squat unless being a 20-20 guy means something to him. If he met the 20-20 does anybody think the Pirates would have given him a bonus? So. there you go!!
Little frustrated looking at the Michael Busch trade to the Cubs. The Pirates have been searching for what seems like forever for a long term 1b. Each of the last two offseasons they have jumped early into mediocre veteran 1b with warts one 1 year deals. Meanwhile the Cubs send a young long term lotto ticket to the Dodgers for a legit, young 1b who will be a thorn in our sides for several years. This trade would have been Mueth or maybe Kennedy from the Pirates. These are exactly the types of trades Cheringron should be looking at rather than jumping at mediocracy! Time to step up BC
I hope BC would target Basallo from the Orioles as a long-term 1st base option. Unlikely to happen, but prospect wise we have pitchers they have hitters at the top.
I would love for us to get a longterm solid first baseman in the system. I also would hate to see any Cub do well against the Pirates. I am not sold as Busch being a legit young first baseman for several years, even though it is a possibility. He is 26 years old and a .167 major league hitter in his 72 at bats. He also has only played first base 22 games at any level. I know he was a #3 to #8 prospect in the Dodgers system and tore it up in the minors last year. Definetly worth the gamble though.
I guess the larger issue for me is the big picture from a Pirate perspective. Cheringron has had 5 years to develop a system and find a 1b! We keep drafting and trading for these light hitting middle infielders and totally neglect a position where most teams have mashers that anchor a lineup. Whether or not we believe Busch is going to be a star is irrelevant. I feel like he has a better chance of being a solid Major leaguer than Meauth or Kennedy but the Pirates don’t seem to have any creativity in looking for deals like this. The Pirates have to start filling holes and dealing from a surplus appears to be a way to do this since spending big money is not on the table.
Your points are very well understood and I can even build on them.
-I was fine with drafting middle infielders because they are athletic and can change positions easily, but I guess none for first base.
-We traded for quantity over quality a few years back, but that fills up our roster. So we either have to rush guys to the majors or cut them before they have a chance to develop.
-If the Pirates made a trade for Michael Busch, then they have to cut a player that we just invested in, such as guys like Kranick, Marcano, Castillo, Andujar, Jackson, etc keep getting cut. That is the downside of the quantity over quality strategy the Pirates have.
-I couldn't agree more about the Pirates lack of creativity when it comes to trading.
I feel your pain.
What about Nunez? Could he be the long-term solution?
He played 1st at UNC, he has some prior experience there.
All in for jack to be more aggressive on the basepaths, but more importantly, I think that is necessary for the team to do. It felt like our hot start was at least partially fueled by causing chaos on the bases and then we just stopped doing that. Im not saying run stupid, but we have enough athletes on this team that we can certainly pick more spots and make things happen
someone needs to remind Bae why he’s on the team. he should be running every chance he gets
Definitely agree with this sentiment. Having a healthy Cruz should help immensely.
Congrats on the move AM! I know thats not a small undertaking, but hoping for all the best as you get settled in
Never was much of a fan of DK, but he has put together an interesting site for all three of the professional teams in Pittsburgh, and Alex Stumph is an excellent writer.
Nice to see a plan for discussion regarding Quinn Priester and looking forward to your article on Tuesday. The positive about Priester's exposure to MLB in 2023 was his 3-3 record in 10 G, 50 IP, and the fact he did that while he was still only 22 years of age. The negative starts with the 7.74 ERA, and goes from there.
The first time I saw Priester pitch in Indy, he made batters look so stupid. Hitters were swinging like David Spade from Benchwarmers. The next game was awful. I didn't know innings could drag on so long with a pitch clock. His inconsistency would support a 3-3 win loss record with a high ERA.
Exactly, having a .500 record with a 7.74 ERA means the pitcher stayed out there and took the punishment to get the team a few more innings pitched. So, I admire his fight, but wish he did not need to show it so often! Overall he pitched well coming through the minors and deserves more opportunities to figure it out at the MLB level.
Being proficient at stealing bases is a whole lot more complex than just sprint speed. A base runner has to first be good at taking a lead off the base. Then he has to excel at reading Pitchers first move. Then he has to be adept at sliding into the base. If a fast runner, like Jack, is mediocre or worse in any of these areas, he will see that 86% success rate plummet if he becomes more aggressive.
I’m not saying he shouldn’t have more stolen base attempts next year, only that he needs to first prepare his mind and body for the task, or it will backfire.
Good points. It's all about the jump - if the runner cannot get a quick jump, foot speed cannot overcome the late break. And, how good is the pitcher at holding runners and getting the ball to the Catcher in 1.3 sec or under. I watched games last year where opposing pitchers were going to high leg kicks from the stretch, getting the ball to the Catcher in 1.6+ time and our runner at first would just be watching.
We need to get a good baserunning coach in to teach the vault lead: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/anthony-volpe-brings-the-vault-lead-to-mlb/
The other thing I worry about a bit is the toll it would take on Jack--maybe a few extra stolen bases aren't worth the extra energy it takes to not only sprint (and sometimes multiple times if there are foul balls) but to focus so intently on the pitcher. At least it's easier now than when a pitcher could throw over multiple times.
I recall reading an article about Rickey Henderson during the year he broke Lou Brock’s record.
What stands out after all these years is the writer’s equating the slide as diving out of a car going 20 mph.
Now, there are obvious flaws in that analogy but the point is, head first slides are hard on the body. IIRC, Dave Parker was discouraged from frequent base stealing.
I am very happy with a guy who leads our team in HR's being athletic enough to steal a base and help the club by getting into scoring position, but not on a continuous basis. 26 HR, 13 of 15 SB's is as much as I want to see him running - reaching 20 SB means squat unless being a 20-20 guy means something to him. If he met the 20-20 does anybody think the Pirates would have given him a bonus? So. there you go!!
Reigns or reins, lol.
He took over the reins from Kovacevic's reign but please don't rain on his new reign.
I hope I didn't rain on his parade, lol.