28 Comments

Skenes got ump-showed on at least 5 pitches. That fastball was a 2 seamer for sure.

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You can be sure Skenes has texted and will talk with his LSU pitching coach, whose resume is highly thought of. IIRC he has professional coaching experience. The movement on his FB is encouraging. But he needs to also throw and make a living off a high FB.

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Johnson is batting just .206 at Greensboro in 83 PAs. However, he has a .390 OBP! He has 4 HRs but no other extra base hits. Weird stats.

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Part of the fun in playing for Greensboro is the small outfield. That makes it easier to hit homers, but harder to get extra-base hits. The outfielders are basically playing no doubles defense just in their regular positioning

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Contreras’ fastball averaged 92.2 mph and had an average exit velocity against of 87.5 mph with seven balls put into play.

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Two years ago he was throwing his FB 63% and averaging 96.4; over the last two years he has dropped usage of the FB down to 40% and is averaging 94.4. His most used pitch now is the Slider that went from 23.9% usage in 2021 to 44.3% usage in 2023.

Just facts - can reliance on off speed cause or partially be the cause of less velo? Obviously, he is still dropping MPH on his FB if he was averaging 92.2 last night.

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But, they said he could pitch in the majors right now!

Gonna be interesting to see how he does the rest of the way now that he’s gotten cuffed around.

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Crews in 5 AA games is hitting.118

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I assume that you missed my post saying that Dylan Crews was also struggling in AA??

You must have. Or maybe you posted it because you still think that I have a ‘hard on’ for him? You must, or why else would you post Crews’ stats TWICE!!

You need to get over it, man. Crews plays for the Senators. I root for Skenes now. DON’t you? Personally, I hope that BOTH have great careers. Obviously you revel in the struggles of that young kid??

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Isn’t this what you do with Keller? Thought I’d give you a taste of your own medicine. Enjoy the rest of this beautiful Sunday evening

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Huhn? What does Keller have to do with Skenes and Crews? And what is ‘this medicine’ that you’re giving back to me about Keller? You make zero sense.

I gotta quit replying to you. Your logic is illogical. 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

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'Which Keller is going to show up today' You before each of Mitch's starts.

Then you post garbage about QS without any context and call him a 6th starter amongst other bs. This was going on for days on end. But, when someone calls you out you can't control your emotions. And, how dare anyone say anything about Crews. lol

The redundancy of your love affair for Crews over at the other site leading up to the draft, the subsequent selection of Skenes and your child-like fits after the draft. Then, you move onto the Keller shenanigans.

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I'm kinda glad he got an inning like this in his first taste of advanced professional ball, it'll make a guy like him work even harder. A little adversity can help put things back in perspective and see areas to work on.

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But, he didn’t get an inning in. 😹😹😹

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Crews debut 0-5, 3ks

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As much as I want all of our players to have strong numbers in the minors, I dont think its a bad thing for him to get punched in the mouth a bit early on. Learning how to fail is important

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Agree. Those that don’t learn from their failures are doomed to repeat them. And sadly, some people hide from them as if they’re the only ones who have ever failed.

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Paul Skenes with a rough outing - wonder how long the Pirates will keep him throwing competitively this year? The evaluation of the pitches sounded positive. Definitely things to work on physically and mentally during the off-season. I'd prefer a very conservative approach for the rest of 2023.

Mitch Keller (163 IP) and Johan Oviedo (145 IP) are both at high marks for innings pitched in a season. Keller threw 159 innings in 2022, Oviedo around 127 innings between the Pirates and St Louis including innings at AAA for both. Time to really start to see some guys from AA/AAA who could help with a start or two in the last 30+ games. And, the Pirates are loaded with RP's who could share some starts - even more than they have been.

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It's Jackson Wolf time!

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I think Falter and Jackson are going to see more starts, and Jackson Wolf or Cam Alldred could also see a start or two. Not sure it would be wise to push more innings out of Priester, who has already thrown 135 innings. Kyle Nicolas? Mlodzinski?

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His fastball basrely touches the upper 80s. Just another soft tossing lefty who does well in AA?

Altho, if our current rate of SP attrition keeps going, he may get a start or two out of necessity.

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Just thinking he might be at least better than bido? Or a different name to blame poor pitching on lol

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Both! 🤣

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It'll depends on his command with his fastball, he has good offspeed pitches and a very deceptive delivery. He could end up a good 4 starter inning eater.

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Big boi too, assuming he gets decent extension he probably makes for some uncomfy ABs

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I think Skenes can continue pitching on a six-day schedule because they are keeping his pitch count limited. That schedule would give him three more starts this year, so possibly he has six innings left. The benefit would be getting him used to a shorter break between outings, while having him pitch into September. They already announced that he's pitching Friday in Erie.

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Blass or Walk have anything left?

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