I saw this on BA and liked what they had to say about Tsung-Che Cheng. His fielding has been excellent at both A and AA, and he seems to have some sneaky power to go along with the ability to hit for average/steal bases. He is exactly 2 years younger than Bae, and has the true MI capability. Under the strong up the middle category - Cheng and TJ as the starting MI at AA along with Gut's behind the plate, and Jase Bowen in CF.
I think Sammy Siani will be promoted to AA, along with Hudson Head. Jack Brannigan could be at 3B; not sure what they do at 1B. A very nice group of strong hitters and defensive players to back up the pitching that should be excellent.
Matoma looked very exciting in limited actions last year in the DR. Obv, you don't want to put too much stock into 16.2 innings of Dominican ball, but anyone who's hitting 100 at age 17 is by definition interesting. Not all that bad of control, but everybody's control looks good in a league where 12 BBs for one side in a game is not abnormal. Also, a 0.00 ERA at any level is interesting.
Too early to go bonkers, but he's been in my list of dudes to watch coming our of the DR.
I'm just glad he made it to Florida, one progression at a time. He's off the island, next step out of the complex. They must feel somewhat confident in the kid to put him on the roster for the Spring Breakout.
Well... if you are going to dream... might as well make it big. BTW.. .that's about what he is in my OOTPB league, except for the control thing. I just looked him up, and his control is only 55. He throws 100+ (which is the highest possible velocity rating) with 80 stuff. His fastball and slider are both 80. His changeup is a disappointing 65. So... if he could only become that!
David Matoma became an absolute monster in my OOTPB game. He is the terror of the national league. I think he had something like a .96 ERA last year with 42 saves. I can't believe he is actually on some "breakout roster."
Remember Brennan Malone? I’m at Pirate City now and he’s chatting with some visitors. I don’t want to repeat stuff I overheard, but he sounds optimistic.
I had actually just talked about him last week wondering if he was even still around or perm. hurt and retired. Man would that be a super sized surprise if we got him back on track.
You got it. Was going back through lists of top Bucs prospects and he was on it. Always thought of him as a poor mans Tike Redman. Or maybe Tike was a poor mans Tony Plush?
I watched Keller warm up. it seemed like he threw a ton of pitches before his start. Many of them pretty hard. I'm not sure how all that figures in with pitch count.
It has to be tempting for a young guy, not even on the 40-man, to air it out to get attention. That may not be fair to Jones, of course, but it does make me think a bit about the buscones training Dominican kids for workouts rather than games.
Then again, Jones has been good in games, so . . . .
The Pirates are 12 games into ST, 17 games remaining and I think they are able to recognize almost all of the position players who will be breaking camp and traveling South this year for the series with the Marlins in Miami. 2 Catchers (Grandal, Davis), 5 IF (Hayes, Cruz, Peguero, Tellez, and Triolo as the Util IF). 2 Specialty ('Cutch is the RH DH, and Joe is an IF/OF). That leaves 4 OF (Reynolds, Suwinski, and pick 2 of Celestino, Olivares, Bae, or Palacios).
Since BC traded to get Olivares, he's probably the closest thing to a lock of these 4. Celestino has opened some eyes in ST and is the answer to the Pirates search for a RH hitting CF, I know that Palacios did hit 10 HR for the Pirates last year, but having both Cruz back in the lineup and Grandal as a Switchhitter, Palacios is excess and will probably not make the final 26. Bae goes back to AAA.
I think Miguel Andujar would be a good option in RF, if we still had him. He hit 2 homers last night. He is leading the Athletics in homers, RBIs, hits and has failed to strike out in 21 at bats.
Of all the AAAA tryout players that passed through, Andujar was, IMO, far and away the best. I have no idea why the Pirates chucked him away in favor of Palacios or Olivares.
I have no idea why they let him rot in triple A. He was the best situational hitter I saw last year, not to mention 86 RBIs and a .338 batting average in over 400 at bats. Even when they let him play with the Pirates in September he basically continued that hitting .306 with 11 RBIs in 16 games.
Just from the eye test the games I saw, he was a pretty good hitter from pitches outside the strike zone. I think that really messes with the pitchers as well. My guess if this coaching staff would try to change the hitting approach of Roberto Clemente, Manny Sanguillen or any free swingers.
Yep... that is exactly why they released him IMO. He did not fit their "philosophy" and was far too aggressive early in the count. Being open-minded and understanding that there are multiple paths to success in baseball has been a difficulty for Pirates' management for some time now.
Ok... look... what do these players have in common. See if you can spot the pattern.... Daniel Vogelsong, Jack Suwinski, Rowdy Tellez, Ji Man Choi, Yasmani Grandall, Andrew Knapp, Carlos Santana, Andrew McCutcheon. Now I know that McCutcheon was Nutting's call, but he fits the pattern. They all take lots of pitches. Andujar does not. Just about every guy that Cherington has acquired is a guy who takes lots of pitches. Just about every guy that he has moved on from does not. It doesn't take a PhD is celestial mechanics to see the pattern in how he operates.
I agree with this, but a reasonable alternative is Bae in the Joe role as an IF/OF and Triolo then getting more time at 1B with Joe being traded for a Moreta replacement. They have plenty of options to replace Moreta and I like Joe, but Bae probably has more upside and long-term value.
I'm not fully buying Joe as a lefty killer yet--in '22 his wRC+ against lefties was only 97, though he clearly has a strong platoon split. He's definitely a solid player and I'm happy with Mel's roster projection, but I'm also not ready to give up on Bae.
I like Bae and he did well for the Pirates last year. But, hard to see a position where he or Nick Gonzales fit now, and Cheng and Johnson have both stepped up in the MI and will be pushing upward from AA. Therefore, the Pirates should shop Gonzales and Bae because they have value, but not to the Pirates. Be nice if either could be used to acquire a young RH hitting CF.
I have been pitching Ceddanne Rafaela of Boston and Everson Pereira of the NYY as RH hitting CF's. Rafaela has done well at ST and I would be surprised if he does not make the final 26. Pereira has struggled at ST and another NYY CF prospect, Spencer Jones, has had an excellent ST. So, with Judge, Grisham, Jasson Dominguez, and Spencer Jones ahead of him in CF, I think Pereira could be had for a reasonable price right now.
The 2 main reasons I think the Pirates started out so well last year were 1) Our starting pitching and 2) the speed on the base paths. Bae was the number one threat on the base paths during that run. Bae did well for the first part of last year, but was tough to watch after that.
I should have added that in the Bae scenario Celestino would start the year in AAA as Bae is the backup/platoon CF (even though Bae is a lefty, he doesn't have pronounced splits (of course in '23 that meant he was bad against both R and L)).
I don't know how Cherington feels about Bae, but I will say that of the 30 teams in MLB, 29 would send a 23-year-old player who puts up an OPS of .600 over 300 ABs back to the minors. There is no reason to carry this guy on the roster when he has options and the Pirates have a minor league affiliate.
Forget the OPS, but the OBP needs to get higher and he needs to steal bases like he did at the beginning of last year. When I was at the Blue Jays Pirates game Tuesday, the Blue Jays pitchers (I think Berrios) was cruising along until Bae singled to reached base. You could tell the pitcher lost his rhythm as his focus was on Bae. The pitcher threw 5 straight balls as Bae stole second. Bae did not do that for the Pirates the last 4 months of the season. I think starting in the minors might light a fire for him.
There is nothing wrong with having a 23-year-old guy in the minors. Triolo was 25 when he made his MLB debut. Not every guy is MLB-ready at age 23 and trying to force it not only hurts the team but probably player development as well. We went from promoting guys 6 months too late to promoting guys 6-12 months too early. Oh... to find a happy medium.
To support your point Tucapita Marcano and Rodolfo Castro are a couple 24 year olds that have a combined 212 MLB hits compared to 26 year old Triolo's 54 MLB hits.
My point is if and when Bae is ready, he can add a baserunning part to the game that doesn't show up in the box scores. Triolo last night advanced from first to second on a single to right. Then he advanced to third on another single. I still want Triolo on the MLB roster, but I'm pretty sure all of the other second basemen would have scored by then.
Sean Sullivan!!! (no not that one ;) )
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/20-up-arrow-mlb-prospects-who-could-solidify-their-stock-at-spring-breakout/
I saw this on BA and liked what they had to say about Tsung-Che Cheng. His fielding has been excellent at both A and AA, and he seems to have some sneaky power to go along with the ability to hit for average/steal bases. He is exactly 2 years younger than Bae, and has the true MI capability. Under the strong up the middle category - Cheng and TJ as the starting MI at AA along with Gut's behind the plate, and Jase Bowen in CF.
I think Sammy Siani will be promoted to AA, along with Hudson Head. Jack Brannigan could be at 3B; not sure what they do at 1B. A very nice group of strong hitters and defensive players to back up the pitching that should be excellent.
Spring Breakout rosters have been announced. Some young kid, David Matoma appears to be on it.
Matoma looked very exciting in limited actions last year in the DR. Obv, you don't want to put too much stock into 16.2 innings of Dominican ball, but anyone who's hitting 100 at age 17 is by definition interesting. Not all that bad of control, but everybody's control looks good in a league where 12 BBs for one side in a game is not abnormal. Also, a 0.00 ERA at any level is interesting.
Too early to go bonkers, but he's been in my list of dudes to watch coming our of the DR.
It's never to early to put unrealistic hopes and dreams on a teenager lol.
Except he's a pitcher. There are only about 20 ways hope can explode on a single play. Most of them in the wrist, elbow and shoulder.
somebody had video on twitter a week ago and he looked gnarly. reminded me of a shorter Tahnaj Thomas, super athletic and legs to his armpits.
I'm just glad he made it to Florida, one progression at a time. He's off the island, next step out of the complex. They must feel somewhat confident in the kid to put him on the roster for the Spring Breakout.
Apparently, he's from Uganda and throws 100 MPH at 17 years old. Yeah... they might have something here.
He's my hope and dream for a unicorn ace, the control of Maddox, stuff of Pedro and the heat and durability of Ryan. I'm not asking for much lol.
I’m waiting for pirates scouts to locate some version of Sydd Finch
Well... if you are going to dream... might as well make it big. BTW.. .that's about what he is in my OOTPB league, except for the control thing. I just looked him up, and his control is only 55. He throws 100+ (which is the highest possible velocity rating) with 80 stuff. His fastball and slider are both 80. His changeup is a disappointing 65. So... if he could only become that!
Again we're not asking for too much. Your OOTPB seems to kind of agree lol.
Tony Blanco, too.
Glad to see him in Florida as well.
David Matoma became an absolute monster in my OOTPB game. He is the terror of the national league. I think he had something like a .96 ERA last year with 42 saves. I can't believe he is actually on some "breakout roster."
In fairness, OOTP fakes stochastic simulation by producing spastic results. It wouldn't be my tenth choice as a barometer of anything.
You know it's a slow day when the board is being hijacked by the merits of keeping Miguel effing Andujar.
Sorry my fault. I'm trying to keep my Andujar comments down to once a month now.
they'll use any excuse to jerk off over their Andy Haines sadism.
Your complaint lies with Ben Cherington. It’s a slow franchise.
Remember Brennan Malone? I’m at Pirate City now and he’s chatting with some visitors. I don’t want to repeat stuff I overheard, but he sounds optimistic.
I had actually just talked about him last week wondering if he was even still around or perm. hurt and retired. Man would that be a super sized surprise if we got him back on track.
Man I just want that guy to have some strings of health for a change
Totally agree. I haven't given up on him. Or Head. Or Siani. Anyone remember "Tony Plush"?
Nyjer Morgan? The former youth hockey player?
You got it. Was going back through lists of top Bucs prospects and he was on it. Always thought of him as a poor mans Tike Redman. Or maybe Tike was a poor mans Tony Plush?
To me he was a poor man’s rajai davis
The former Steelers QB is at PC?
Bugsy Malone, too.
Roster Resource has Jones as the fifth starter and both Falter and Roansy in the pen. Love it.
Kellers velo was down! Sound the alarms!
I watched Keller warm up. it seemed like he threw a ton of pitches before his start. Many of them pretty hard. I'm not sure how all that figures in with pitch count.
90-92. Apparently, he told reporters he was just fine tuning his pitches and will ramp up when it counts.
He had a long hard road to get where he’s at. I’m inclined to think he knows what he’s doing.
In ST, Mitch Keller at 91 is a better sign than Jared Jones at 101.
It has to be tempting for a young guy, not even on the 40-man, to air it out to get attention. That may not be fair to Jones, of course, but it does make me think a bit about the buscones training Dominican kids for workouts rather than games.
Then again, Jones has been good in games, so . . . .
Airing it out.....Giving me flashbacks of Blake Cederlind
Absolutely agreed. A difference in maturity, but one that's understandable given where each is at in their career.
You'd hope Jones has it drilled into him by now that it's the command, not the gas, that'll get him to the show but we are the Pirates, after all.
The Pirates are 12 games into ST, 17 games remaining and I think they are able to recognize almost all of the position players who will be breaking camp and traveling South this year for the series with the Marlins in Miami. 2 Catchers (Grandal, Davis), 5 IF (Hayes, Cruz, Peguero, Tellez, and Triolo as the Util IF). 2 Specialty ('Cutch is the RH DH, and Joe is an IF/OF). That leaves 4 OF (Reynolds, Suwinski, and pick 2 of Celestino, Olivares, Bae, or Palacios).
Since BC traded to get Olivares, he's probably the closest thing to a lock of these 4. Celestino has opened some eyes in ST and is the answer to the Pirates search for a RH hitting CF, I know that Palacios did hit 10 HR for the Pirates last year, but having both Cruz back in the lineup and Grandal as a Switchhitter, Palacios is excess and will probably not make the final 26. Bae goes back to AAA.
I think Miguel Andujar would be a good option in RF, if we still had him. He hit 2 homers last night. He is leading the Athletics in homers, RBIs, hits and has failed to strike out in 21 at bats.
Of all the AAAA tryout players that passed through, Andujar was, IMO, far and away the best. I have no idea why the Pirates chucked him away in favor of Palacios or Olivares.
I have no idea why they let him rot in triple A. He was the best situational hitter I saw last year, not to mention 86 RBIs and a .338 batting average in over 400 at bats. Even when they let him play with the Pirates in September he basically continued that hitting .306 with 11 RBIs in 16 games.
Probably didn’t take enough called third strikes.
Just from the eye test the games I saw, he was a pretty good hitter from pitches outside the strike zone. I think that really messes with the pitchers as well. My guess if this coaching staff would try to change the hitting approach of Roberto Clemente, Manny Sanguillen or any free swingers.
Yep... that is exactly why they released him IMO. He did not fit their "philosophy" and was far too aggressive early in the count. Being open-minded and understanding that there are multiple paths to success in baseball has been a difficulty for Pirates' management for some time now.
You people have become a caricature of yourselves.
Ok... look... what do these players have in common. See if you can spot the pattern.... Daniel Vogelsong, Jack Suwinski, Rowdy Tellez, Ji Man Choi, Yasmani Grandall, Andrew Knapp, Carlos Santana, Andrew McCutcheon. Now I know that McCutcheon was Nutting's call, but he fits the pattern. They all take lots of pitches. Andujar does not. Just about every guy that Cherington has acquired is a guy who takes lots of pitches. Just about every guy that he has moved on from does not. It doesn't take a PhD is celestial mechanics to see the pattern in how he operates.
I resemble that remark.
I agree with this, but a reasonable alternative is Bae in the Joe role as an IF/OF and Triolo then getting more time at 1B with Joe being traded for a Moreta replacement. They have plenty of options to replace Moreta and I like Joe, but Bae probably has more upside and long-term value.
Joe role as a lefty killer should not be downplayed. If given a choice I pick Joe over Bae every time.
I'm not fully buying Joe as a lefty killer yet--in '22 his wRC+ against lefties was only 97, though he clearly has a strong platoon split. He's definitely a solid player and I'm happy with Mel's roster projection, but I'm also not ready to give up on Bae.
I like Bae and he did well for the Pirates last year. But, hard to see a position where he or Nick Gonzales fit now, and Cheng and Johnson have both stepped up in the MI and will be pushing upward from AA. Therefore, the Pirates should shop Gonzales and Bae because they have value, but not to the Pirates. Be nice if either could be used to acquire a young RH hitting CF.
I have been pitching Ceddanne Rafaela of Boston and Everson Pereira of the NYY as RH hitting CF's. Rafaela has done well at ST and I would be surprised if he does not make the final 26. Pereira has struggled at ST and another NYY CF prospect, Spencer Jones, has had an excellent ST. So, with Judge, Grisham, Jasson Dominguez, and Spencer Jones ahead of him in CF, I think Pereira could be had for a reasonable price right now.
Bae did well for the Pirates last year?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?
The 2 main reasons I think the Pirates started out so well last year were 1) Our starting pitching and 2) the speed on the base paths. Bae was the number one threat on the base paths during that run. Bae did well for the first part of last year, but was tough to watch after that.
Choking up and hitting ;)
I should have added that in the Bae scenario Celestino would start the year in AAA as Bae is the backup/platoon CF (even though Bae is a lefty, he doesn't have pronounced splits (of course in '23 that meant he was bad against both R and L)).
I think Bae is the wildcard in the position player roster. Does anyone have any idea how BC feels about him? I know I don’t.
I think it would be best if he started the year in AAA to play more CF, but I’m not convinced BC agrees.
I don't know how Cherington feels about Bae, but I will say that of the 30 teams in MLB, 29 would send a 23-year-old player who puts up an OPS of .600 over 300 ABs back to the minors. There is no reason to carry this guy on the roster when he has options and the Pirates have a minor league affiliate.
Forget the OPS, but the OBP needs to get higher and he needs to steal bases like he did at the beginning of last year. When I was at the Blue Jays Pirates game Tuesday, the Blue Jays pitchers (I think Berrios) was cruising along until Bae singled to reached base. You could tell the pitcher lost his rhythm as his focus was on Bae. The pitcher threw 5 straight balls as Bae stole second. Bae did not do that for the Pirates the last 4 months of the season. I think starting in the minors might light a fire for him.
There is nothing wrong with having a 23-year-old guy in the minors. Triolo was 25 when he made his MLB debut. Not every guy is MLB-ready at age 23 and trying to force it not only hurts the team but probably player development as well. We went from promoting guys 6 months too late to promoting guys 6-12 months too early. Oh... to find a happy medium.
To support your point Tucapita Marcano and Rodolfo Castro are a couple 24 year olds that have a combined 212 MLB hits compared to 26 year old Triolo's 54 MLB hits.
My point is if and when Bae is ready, he can add a baserunning part to the game that doesn't show up in the box scores. Triolo last night advanced from first to second on a single to right. Then he advanced to third on another single. I still want Triolo on the MLB roster, but I'm pretty sure all of the other second basemen would have scored by then.
stinks.
open your windows, and run the fans
There are no windows in the basement.
THAT is a root cellar, for roots and that stuff.