111 Comments

Anthony, Wilbur and NolaJeffy, I just want to offer a belated congrats on creating Bucs on Deck. I joined you on P2 occasionally. My contributions fell off over the last year, but I look forward to reading your work here. If I can ever be helpful, please let me know.

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Nats got much less than i expected for candelario

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Jk, i thought he had control not on a 1 yr deal... they did fine then

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Ex pirate legend mark mathias on the move from seattle to san fran

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Start printing the world series tix!

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Why?? Why would the Giants want wither him or Pollock?

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Honestly no idea lol, think its a win for the mariners to get pollock off their roster but otherwise i got nothing

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Big win to lose both Pollock and Mathias from their roster and actually get the Giants to give them anything back. Boggles the mind!

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I think yaz just went on the IL so for some reason maybe they thought that would be the best way to replace his production? i dunno

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Manzardo for Civale? Trust your system of pitchers and SELL! SELL! SELL! SELL! for hitters.

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This is both a great trade for the rays and also a perfect indication of how the guardians do business to stay relevant. That said, i wouldnt mind seeing heston Kjerstad+ in a bucs uniform lol

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That’s what Billy Ray Valentine, Capricorn, was yelling as he and Lewis Winthorpe III were bankrupting the Duke’s 🤣🤣🤣

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I don't know if anyone has talked about it, but...

That 9-2-6-2 double play was phenomenal. Flawless execution

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If not for Joe trying to hold the bag and catch the high and wide throw from Triolo, that play never happens. Glad he made that lapse in judgement so that we could witness the greatness 3 absolutely perfect throws to nail Harper at the plate.

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Mackey didn’t even mention it in his article. 😵‍💫😵‍💫

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I don't think Nick Gonzales got enough credit for how he played that. Immediately coming towards the throw to shorten his throw, then making a perfect throw to the plate. All I saw was people praising the throw by Davis, and that play only worked due to Gonzales

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I praise all 3 throws. 3 throws that all were perfect. Each throw set the next one up and as you say, brilliant execution by Gonzales to return the throw as quickly as he did and perfect positioning by Gonzales as well.

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It was like a perfectly orchestrated fastbreak.

It worked because of all 3 parties involved. All 3 of those dudes seemingly have very high baseball IQ's. I don't think I've seen a catcher with the agility and athleticism that Endy has, man he's fun to watch. I'm hesitant to say he'll be a star, but I could see him as a 3-4 fWAR guy annually.

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For the Pirates, that qualifies as a star.

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Pirates are in Major League Baseball.

3-4 fWAR is not a star player.

When the Pirates were last relevant, they had Cutch posting between 6-8 fWAR, that's a star player. They also had an army of 3–4-win players to complement their star.

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Well......Cutch at 6-8 isn't a "star player" thats the next echelon, an MVP candidate. or......super star. An army of 3-4 WAR players? Outside of pitching, they had marte and nothing else producing that. Sorry to realign you back to reality.

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I can see Endy developing into a star. I can see a couple of guys developing into stars. Will be fun if not anyway as they very well may have an army of 3-4 win players to complement a star or two.

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can say that about six or seven guys in the lineup these days

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I think of the group of prospects in the show now, Endy is the best one. I think Cruz has to be your star if this thing is to work out.

Endy, Keller, Hayes, Reynolds, Suwinski are very good compliment pieces that should be 3-4 fWAR players.

I'm not sure what they'll do with Davis, I'd probably flip him and make a baseball trade.

Out of the dozens of dudes that have auditioned in the middle infield, I think Peguero has the highest ceiling, but really needs to work on the approach. If Bae settles down, he could be a valuable utility piece. I thought Triolo could be the Pirates version of DJ LeMahieu, but he can't hit.

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a baseball trade (of Davis) that brings you back the power we sorely lack throughout the system with any hit tool? Yeah, i don't see it. We need him, and we need him hitting 30 hR along with Jack and Oneil.

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If Seattle (who needs a bat) asks for Davis with Logan Gilbert as the return, would you say no?

Cherington would have to throw in a sweetener, but I wouldn't hesitate. A rotation of Skeenes, Gilbert and Keller is something you can really build around.

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He doesn't have a position. He's played about a quarter of a season and so far the returns have been pretty underwhelming for a 1-1. He needs to make adjustments as big league arms are eating him up right now.

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Agree with much of this, except for flipping davis unless we have a clear hole in our development pipeline and he somehow becomes redundant

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Why flip Davis? Keep him in RF.

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That sounds like potential to be a top 5-10 lineup in the league if it hits

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Hill and Keller for Harrison and Bednar sure is tempting

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I heard hill for bednar straight up, can choose from our 2b logjam too if they want

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SS logjam, too?

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We have no Shortstop logjam. We have 2nd baseman playing shortstop due to Cruz being injured, otherwise its just Peguero and now williams as depth which we just proved.....we need.

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I like Peguero and Williams, with his new batting stance and elite defense (best of the three) makes it a log jam.

At 2b we have Nicky G and his 72 OPS+ and Bae when he comes back. I agree that Peguero and Williams can play 2b, but I think Cruz could easily move to 1b or even 3b if Hayes can’t stay healthy.

I wonder if Henry Davis can play 3b? 🤣🤣🤣

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no.....at 2B we have prospects that need to play and make adjustments to reach their potential, and their current production is one of the most irrelevant things ever. I could see Cruz more willing to move to 3rd than outfield or 1st as that won't hurt his value and still allows him to use that canon. Its definitely less ridiculous of an idea especially "if" his range is affected by the injury

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Carlos Lomeli was released yesterday, for those who are keeping up with the minor league rosters.

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Dang. He was in my Top 300! 🤣🤣

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Any words being written out there on Cheng's time in Altoona?

Quietly hitting .300 over the last couple weeks.

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I'm going down Saturday to get a glimpse.

This is probably the least talented group at Altoona in a long time...at least since I've been going and that goes back to the Glasnow days.

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If I was still able to drive long distances I’d meet up with you. Or, you can look at it as “I dodged a bullet”.

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Love making that Altoona trip! I usually stay up on the hill at the Marriott, it has a nice outdoor patio.

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I used to stay there when I had points.

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Try to get a solometo or ashcraft start if you can!

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I'd love if it was Solo...I'll be right behind the dish.

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I never say any where else. Met up with Wabbit Season one time and we sat there.

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Sat!

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He struggled mightly and has taken off the last few weeks for sure, good call

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Give 'er about 2 mins lol

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trade centerpiece

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PBN has an article on Mr Williams, our newest SS. https://pittsburghbaseballnow.com/alika-williams-pittsburgh-pirates-defense-glove-major-league-baseball-shortstop/

What is his Pirate future? Limited ceiling of utility man? Possible starter at SS with Peguero moving to SS? That’d really improve our defense. Where do we move Cruz? 1b? THIRD base?

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The best way to improve our Defense is to allow Cruz to keep getting better there. He provides more value at short than anywhere else. Moving Cruz to third base with some of the best speed and range in the entire league is beyond ridiculous, and there's no way he'd ever agree to it. none. Imagine your boss coming up to you and telling you they need you in a different department where your potential for advancement (pay increases) has a ceiling 1/3 as high as where you are now- what would you say?

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You are assuming that Cruz WILL get better. Sometimes players don’t. In fact, it is the rule more often than not. They usually are what they are defensively. You can tweak them, but many, like Ronny Cedeno, Castro, et al, can only improve so much.

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I'm assuming something will happen that was already happening. I'm expecting a trend to continue. Nothing more. Players that are young tend to get better, not worse. I'd disagree wholeheartedly. Guess what, Jack Wilson and Jordy Mercer both increased their status defensively significantly. Getting better defensively is actually very very common as it tends to be more putting in work that it is a talent issue. He has an arm, he has range.....his issue is/has been footwork and any coach will tell you that is one of the easiest things to work on and correct.

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Eno sarris is a non believer in williams, but im sure hes not nearly in touch with actual scouting, more so a data based opinion

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is he really any better than Nick?

all of this is passed along when Termarr break camp with the big league club next April

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Do you mean Nick with the 72 OPS+?? Not a high bar for sure.

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If termarr breaks camp with the big league club next year i will drink his age in IC lights on opening day

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I'll go farther and drink 20 natty lights.......in between sessions of vomiting.

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Milwaukee hungry for more bucs bats with Choi also going to the Brewers for Robert Gasser

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I watched him in Nashville while I was visiting. Now while I say watched, he was pitching for Nashville, but I was too busy running down a toddler.

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Hopefully this wasnt just some random toddler... lol

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I like scaring children.

But also, no it wasn't lol it was my son

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My first thought, too. Great minds……

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sources say Bae to the Braves for Allan Winans

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there is another polish oviedo out there that just needs a little more polish

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@melkel, if you are around, care to comment on schanuel already in AA for the angels lol

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Pshh, Zach Neto already had 2 years of service by this point. Why do they hate Schanuel.

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I would imagine life as an angels minor leaguer can be quite black and white- if you are in the majors within your first month in the org then they believer in you

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Sounds like business as usual for the Angels, if you ask me lol

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Oh most definitely is, wouldnt be surprised if they push him for the big leagues if he hits over the next few weeks lol. Melkel was super on the schanuel train so im sure hes hyped/wishes we found a way to get him still

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They traded for CJ Cron, so may guess would be they setting up for him to take over at the beginning of 2024. But with the Angels I guess anything can happen lol

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Or if cron struggles for a month maybe they are preparing to have a short leash. If he mashes, im sure they will find a way to put him in

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If Hill is traded, who replaces him? Ortiz? Allred? I doubt that they’d push Jones. Somebody else? And either Contreras?

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Ortiz would probably be the safe bet. He'd be available to pitch on Hill's next scheduled day too. I'm sure Contreras factors in at some point, just not sure rotation or bullpen. Alldred would be a perfect filler at end of season to fill some innings if need be. Won't be pretty innings, but they will get filled nonetheless

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Any idea how progress goes with Roansy? No word of him in a few weeks

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He's being rebuilt like Robocop. Doesn't matter how long he's there as long as he comes out in the 2022 version of himself.

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Knuckleman pls

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He was released :(

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Double sigh....

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Why was Lonnie White PR’d for yesterday? Is he hurt……again??!!

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Announcer made a comment that Lonnie grimaced after reaching on an infield single in 6th, but it looks like it may have been a tweak when he held up on the Alfonzo single. All-in-all, it looked an innocent tweak, but with him, you never know. We'll see Tues/Weds if he plays.

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Ugh that dude either has the worst luck or needs to rework his conditioning to include more injury prvention

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It's such a hard area to really navigate. Injuries and the human body itself are so fickle.

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Another TSwag?

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Sigh....

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It seems that ever one is crying for Andujar to be promoted. What about Domingo Leyba? Actually, I think they’re both AAAA players, but can’t Leyba get some love?

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Just for grins and giggles…..Sent this to Anthony. He said it gave him an idea. Maybe a round table in the future? I’m sure the guys will do a much better job than me.

Pirates Top 10 (sorta)

There are 20 names listed here of Pirate Prospects who have NOT played a game in the majors. I know that many of our MLB rookies have prospect status remaining, but for this exercise, I wanted to list those who have never sniffed the PNC grass in a regular season game and remain in the minors as of this writing, Did I miss anyone?

1 Termarr Johnson - The bat appears to be for real. He will only get better with experience.

2 Paul Skenes - I refuse to rank anybody #1 who has never played a professional game! Besides, I wanted Crews. :) :)

3 Jared Jones - Has all of the weapons. Just needs to continue to refine his control/command.

4 Anthony Solometo - If he had a 95 MPH+ FB, he’d be ahead of Jones.

5 Bubba Chandler - Classic Boom or Bust candidate. Has the ceiling of a #1 SP. But…..long way to go to reach that ceiling.

6 Malcolm Nunez - I was torn between he and Cheng, but gave it to Nunez because he has a spot open and I think he will hit.

7 Tsung-Che Cheng - Still needs to prove that bat is for real as he goes higher. If he does, where does he play? Trade bait?

8 Mike Burrows - One of my top SP candidates before the TJ. So, it is a question how much of it will still be there. Hopefully all.

Outside of Jebb and Sightlar, you can throw a baseball cap over the rest of these guys for #9 and 10. Jebb and Sightlar are in the ‘are the outlandish numbers for real’ category and I just can’t rank them.

But, if someone put a radar gun to my head, I would choose Brannigan and White. Both have impressive bat and fielding potential. White has the edge in power, Brannigan in fielding and average.

Mitch Jebb - see note above.

Braxton Ashcraft - Lots of raw potential.

Abraham Gutierrez - Endy lite?

Thomas Harrington - Needs lots more refinement.

J P Massey - See Harrington

Jack Brannigan - See note above. #9?

Josiah Sightless - See note above.

Owen Kellington - Does he have enough to be anything more than a backend SP?

Shalin Polanco - Has Gregory P potential, but too far away at this point

Lonnie White - See note above. #10?

Johnny Severino - The shiny new toy.

This is #20 - Any new lotto ticket we trade for. If none, then pick a favorite.

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Would add in yordany and shim for pure ceiling purposes. Also, barco has such a small sample but still has top 10 potential if not higher

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Cheng is way too high on this list. Same with Nunez

Jebb is a better prospect than Cheng & Nunez

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I disagree. Jebb is just another Bae. Disappoint me once……

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If Jebb is another Bae, then what is Cheng? Poor man's Bae?

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Cheng has shown some pop and is starting to be rated higher by prospect watchers. Neither Jebb or Bae have pop. Additionally, Cheng is a top fielder at SS and 2b.

I hope he ‘Chengs’ your mind about him. 🤓🤓

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Until Nunez shows his power will actually play in games, I can't have him too high myself. He's too limited in all other aspects for him to be another Key-profile hitter: hits it hard, but everything is beaten into the ground.

Jebb is going to be an interesting one to follow. The contact is definitely there, and he's had a couple drives where I was surprised he got the EV it showed. I'm just unsure how the swing and contact will fair as he moves up.

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Tbh, in hindsight, after 5 it got really tough. Forgot about YDLS.

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Im hoping they saw something in jebb that we have not heard about because otherwise his ceiling seems rather limited

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I think part of it is he showed better EVs than it appears to the eye. Even a couple he's hit already looked like low 70's liners, but ended up being closer to 90's or above. Not sure if they'll do anything to tweak the swing, but I imagine as is, he'll have to be someone who'll have to use his advanced eye and discipline to be someone who hit fastballs to the gaps, and punishes hanging breakers.

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He seems to utilize a Japanese like swing.

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