Been sick and haven’t been able to post about Pham, I absolutely hated it at first. But he had a pretty good 2023 - 111 OPS+ 774 OPS 16 HR 68 RBI 22 SB 256 AVG 1.5 WAR in 481 PA. That’s a very solid season and if he can do that this year, this will be a really good pick up especially if Suwinski bounces back.
Wish they would have went another direction such as grichuk or hays but Pham could be a good pick up.
MLBTR says that the Padres are about to sign Joe, and I hope he gets a major league deal. I'm okay with the Pham signing but I think I'd rather have Joe.
I'm surprised someone hasn't signed Grandal as a backup yet. Tellez? I'm not surprised that he's still out there.
The Pads are an actual ML team, unlike the Cheringtons. If they thought Pham was better than Joe, they’d have signed him. Bumbling Ben has a unique ability to trade downward.
I like Conor Joe; however thinking on this I wonder if Cook/Suwinski et al are going to get more PT in the outfield then BRey becomes the backup 1b??
Personally I have this vision (probably crazy) that there is some similarity of Henry Davis to Jeff Bagwell.
If Endy and Bart have the catcher position locked down then the righty hitting option for 1b could and should be Davis. He is not a RF, and that power is needed in the lineup. This has to be Andrew's last year as the DH and Davis would make the perfect RH compliment to Horwitz and regular DH/3rd catcher.
Somewhat different situation but it reminds me of last year when we could have brought Santana back, at least according to the reports that he wanted to return, but signed Tellez instead. They did save $2MM in that switch but at a cost of nearly 3 WAR.
Could they have anticipated that big of a gap between the two? Isn't that why people get hired for FO positions?
Not too many teams have a roster spot for a back-up 1B/DH anymore, which is too bad. I would have liked to see at bats last year by a CJ Cron or Branon Belt instead of...... never mind.
Very good hitters can maintain their production at age 33.....see Altuve, Lamahieu.
Some hitters are just natural hitters. Can we
put Frazier in that category? Remember some who felt Frazier was a future batting champ. Maybe he would have been if BC didn't trade him in '21. He may be that PH in late innings that gets the clutch hit. A reunion in Pittsburgh and we may get a nice season out of him. Hope runs amuck.
Justin: No actual question here. Just sharing a fun fact. By Roster Resource projected starting lineups, the Pirates currently have the 3rd oldest in baseball. Nothing wrong with that per se – if you can play, you can play. The Phillies and Dodgers prove that – but seems not great spot for a rebuilding middling team!
2:47
Avatar Jason Martinez: That’s mostly because of Cutch and Pham. And I really do love what those two bring to a lineup/clubhouse. If you’re gonna rely on mostly unproven/young players, having those two guys leading the way is important. Overall numbers won’t be great but I think quality of at-bats, preparation, etc. will pay off.
"The Pittsburgh Pirates finally addressed their outfield situation, signing free-agent Tommy Pham to a one-year deal that is worth $4,025,000."
I'm okay with the signing because Pham is an interesting personality, not someone who just speaks in cliches. But I'm not quite on board with BOD in saying they've "addressed their outfield situation". ;)
From a writer at Fansided on the Pirates expected lineup:
"While it’s a vast improvement over last year’s batting order, it still doesn’t appear to be a competitive lineup. But the Pirates do have an ace in the hole. Their rotation is set to be much stronger as Jones settles in and Bubba Chandler is ready to make the jump. It wouldn’t be too surprising to see the Bucs at least rise above last place in the NL Central this coming season."
YES! I can't wait to see what 4th in the division feels like!
Is Pham and Frazier really any better than the young guys we have? I feel like they are wasting money on veteran guys when they could have added 1 solid guy. These 2 signings feel like the front office attempt to get casual fans off their back. Bring back a former fan favorite and sign a washed up guy that once had some stats.
Yeah, this is where criticism of the FO should be more nuanced. If Cherington doesn’t have the budget to sign a Conforto and still address other needs like the bullpen, that’s on Bob. And Bob deserves an equal amount of blame. (Seriously, there is not enough local coverage asking why there isn’t more $ available in years where they should be trying to contend in a weaker division when they were running sub-$80M payrolls during the rebuilding years. Where’d that excess revenue go?)
What I have a problem with is Cherington handing out major league deals to Frazier and Pham. If those are his only options, maybe run with guys you’ve already drafted (Davis, Gonzales, Triolo, Termarr eventually) or traded for (Yorke, Cook, and to a lesser extent Peguero) than sign those guys. I’d be fine with bringing in Frazier and Pham on minor league deals in the event all of the above crap the bed out of spring training and they perform well, but those two signings either make no sense or are an indictment on they young guys they previously went out of their way to obtain.
Not here to stick up for the FO, but if you're Frazier and Pham would you sign a minor league deal with Pittsburgh?
If Frazier and Pham are signed as the 25th and 26th man of the roster, it's ok. If they're being overexposed and playing more like regulars, then you have a big problem.
Maybe the FO likes the fact that both Pham and Frazier have been to the postseason recently and want them around the kids.
Pham and Frazier aren't going to block Davis, Gonzales, Triolo or Termarr.
A minor league deal is probably all Frazier would get from anyone. He hasn't done anything in years. Pham may have gotten a mlb deal with someone, but we are seeing more teams just go with young guys than waste money on old washed up guys. Those 2 might not block anyone but they will take abs away. This team has proven they love running those underachieving vets out there, day after day. All we can do is hope they both found the fountain of youth in the off season.
The weighted average age for a hitter in MLB in 2024 was 27.9 years. Only five of these are below that, two just barely, none except Endy, who may not make the team, more than two years under. Seven are older than that, two by three years, one by six and two by 10-11. This group will probably end up as one of the older ones in MLB.
So if you cherry pick, it still isn't a young team.
What really matters here is that hitters typically peak around age 26-29, which is why the average hitter in MLB is 27. (Pitchers average 29.) The assumption when people talk about the Pirates as a young team is that they have a bunch of guys still in their developing years who may improve a lot. But they'll have only 2-3 players under 26, only one a regular and he's 25. This isn't a young, developing team on the position side. As a group, they're probably already as good as they're going to get.
I'm probably the most anti "play the kids" dude on this site, because the kids are usually like f*ckin Bligh Madris or whatever. And maybe I'm wrong on this, but I genuinely believe the young quality they have now is a level up.
Yet instead of addressing the easiest part of the roster to make legit gains, they've dumped money and playing time into duds.
That’s what they did last offseason and why I bitched non-stop all of last summer.
On the positive side, they spent less money on the duds this year and have more depth to push them off the roster if they struggle. Hopefully we don’t have Tommy Pham OPS’ing .523 in the middle June and still rostered.
I'm not sure that they anything in terms of "youth" this year beyond Cooke and Yorke. Next year, maybe Johnson. You just can't do so poorly on the position side in the draft and have nothing from the Latin or Asian systems for years without consequences.
Signing guys who would have retired and are replacement-level players of similar quality to anyone that they could have acquired off the waiver wire does nothing to improve the situation. In fact, it makes it worse, because now they will not be searching the waiver wire to fill these spots. At least with the waiver wire, there is a chance of finding a youngerish player who is out of options with upside. There is no upside to Pham and Frazier. Need I point out that the single most significant Cherington addition to the current roster of position players was a waiver wire claim?
First, I have to say I thought Bligh would become a guy, so always take my opinions with a grain of salt.
Second, whether the young guys will perform at the major league level or not, I think Cherington, in year six, is obligated to be married to these dudes and ride or die, to an extent. Like one should expect, he was given years to put this team in a position where signings like Pham or Frazier were not necessary and he could go bigger game hunting to fill a gap or two to make the club a contender.
His ability to find and develop promising arms is to be commended, but he hasn’t been able to finish the picture. It may be a near impossible job, but I personally have lost confidence in his ability to win under Nutting.
Most teams that spend 1.5 million on a bad signing aren't afraid to cut them, but the Pirates don't seem to be one of those teams. I still (may be the ony person) like trying Pham on the team, but the more I think about it, the $4 million dollar price tag scares me. If he doesn't produce, I think the Pirates will keep throwing him out there,
By coincidence, Keith Law dropped his Pirates top 20 today at the Athletic. As indicated previously from his overall top 100, his top four Pirates are Chandler, Yorke, Termarr, and Griffin. A few notes of interest:
1) He has Carlson Reed at #8 and has him as the system sleeper as well. He isn’t thrilled about the delivery but he likes the stuff.
2) He has Barco at #15 due to lack of secondary pitches. Projects him as a reliever.
3) Mueth is not in the top 20; in others of note he mentions problems with lefties due to his sidearm delivery.
4) Solometo is his fallen prospect; it all fell apart in 2024 as we know and unless his stuff ticks up again he’s not going to amount to anything.
He joins others here in being a big Wyatt Sanford fan. He also mentions being totally mystified by the Adam Frazier signing, which will take at bats away from Yorke, who he feels his ready to start in the majors on Day 1 this year.
So pretty big disagreements between Law and the writers here on Barco, Reed, and especially Mueth, though perhaps with a tiered approach the disagreements wouldn't seem as big. In any case, I guess one will be a check of the other.
Hard to say much more of the plight of the 2025 Buc's, so neat article in BA identifying 11 mid-major Draft Prospects. My best 3 are
Trace Phillips, Draft eligible Soph at Middle Tennessee State, Murfreesboro, TN (Remember Pirate Coach Rick Renick - his son Josh played at MTSU and is still one of their best all time hitter's.) Phillips is 6'3" 185 and as a hitter last year he hit 304/360/547/907 OPS, 13 HR, 47 RBI. As a Pitcher he has made big strides in the Fall - FB 96, and best pitch is a plus Changeup around 80 mph. Also a mid 80's Slider thought to be above average.
Grant Richardson, LHP Grand Canyon. 6'3" 220 with a FB sitting 92-95 and reaching 97. Also throws a mid 80's "Gyro" Slider that was an above average pitch last year. He lacks a 3rd pitch.
Jaden Gustafson, OF, Wichita State. 6'3" 215. Last Spring he was 296/367/403/770 OPS, 15 EBH. Summer Jayhawk League 391/439/626 17 EBH, 12 BB/2 K in 115 AB. Described as having "double plus bat-to-ball skills, 90th percentile exit velo of 104/has the bat speed but needs to put more lift into it.
Just a few words about Josh Renick - Operates a Baseball Instructional Facility in Murfreesboro and his "house" competitive teams are called Blueprint Baseball. Very strong in their upper age levels - VG baseball in Middle TN - ask Mookie Betts and David Price.
One more thing: he has Ashcraft at #5 and feels he is the most likely to emerge as a long-term starter (vs. Harrington and Burrows) if he stays healthy.
Don't be surprised if 1 or 2 of these guys begin the year o the IL, even if they just have a cough. I think a good spring out of Yorke, Henry or Jack will get get them a spot, while and outstanding spring by Peggy, Palacios, or Bae could get them a spot.
I miss the days with 15 or 16 hitters on a roster. It would be good for baseball to find a way to get an extra hitter on the roster in the next CBA, since they probably are never going with less pitchers.
I would guess and hope that Pham is the weak side of a platoon, with Jack being the heavy side.
I think Frazier is going to be the guy coming off the bench late in games to face a tough righty. Maybe they'll let him start at 2b once per month on a Sunday.
You're basically filling out your roster with Pham and Frazier.
Bench is probably something like Endy, Frazier, Pham and Triolo.
Frazier and Pham are essentially replacing Cook and Yorke. Again, guessing here, they probably want to see Yorke bounce all over the diamond in AAA and see if Cook can limit the K's before they get a seat at the table.
They are about as lopsided as splits I have seen from a player. I hope they are working with him on that. Usually the bigger the sample, the closer the splits get.
I Tink they'll Want a lefty beach OF, so Suwinsky or Palacios will be in. With the AWFUL Sanchez signing, probably Cook or Triolo headed to AAA. Mind Bogling!!!
Tommy Pham, further confirmation that this organization is a joke. Any chance people get, they should throw tomatoes at this owner. I know the prices are rising, but maybe some eggs as well.
If free agent signings actually make the team worse they were done for other reasons than team improvement. Maybe so people can’t say they did did nothing? “We tried”
We have young players who need PT at the MLB level, but Pham eliminates a lot of opportunities for Billy Cook, Nick Yorke, and others. Have no idea what we have in mind for Frazier, but we did not sign he or Pham to sit the bench.
And, while all of this sleight of hand is going on, nobody has even mentioned that we are going into our 6th year with Derek Shelton as our Manager - already through 5 years with a Won-Loss of 294 - 414, .415 winning %age. He's still our Manager because our GM thinks he is doing a good job - yep, that same guy that just gave away that $5.5 mil. We are again playing for the Trade deadline deals.
It's really criminal that Cook and Yorke will be pushed out of the roster and you are on point with Shelty being the disaster that just wont leave. Absolutely kills the development of younger players, never plays the hot streak, sticks to some damn stupid schedule of days off for players that is just rediculous.
Been sick and haven’t been able to post about Pham, I absolutely hated it at first. But he had a pretty good 2023 - 111 OPS+ 774 OPS 16 HR 68 RBI 22 SB 256 AVG 1.5 WAR in 481 PA. That’s a very solid season and if he can do that this year, this will be a really good pick up especially if Suwinski bounces back.
Wish they would have went another direction such as grichuk or hays but Pham could be a good pick up.
MLBTR says that the Padres are about to sign Joe, and I hope he gets a major league deal. I'm okay with the Pham signing but I think I'd rather have Joe.
I'm surprised someone hasn't signed Grandal as a backup yet. Tellez? I'm not surprised that he's still out there.
Now saying it’s a one-year, ML deal.
The Pads are an actual ML team, unlike the Cheringtons. If they thought Pham was better than Joe, they’d have signed him. Bumbling Ben has a unique ability to trade downward.
I like Conor Joe; however thinking on this I wonder if Cook/Suwinski et al are going to get more PT in the outfield then BRey becomes the backup 1b??
Personally I have this vision (probably crazy) that there is some similarity of Henry Davis to Jeff Bagwell.
If Endy and Bart have the catcher position locked down then the righty hitting option for 1b could and should be Davis. He is not a RF, and that power is needed in the lineup. This has to be Andrew's last year as the DH and Davis would make the perfect RH compliment to Horwitz and regular DH/3rd catcher.
Somewhat different situation but it reminds me of last year when we could have brought Santana back, at least according to the reports that he wanted to return, but signed Tellez instead. They did save $2MM in that switch but at a cost of nearly 3 WAR.
Could they have anticipated that big of a gap between the two? Isn't that why people get hired for FO positions?
Not too many teams have a roster spot for a back-up 1B/DH anymore, which is too bad. I would have liked to see at bats last year by a CJ Cron or Branon Belt instead of...... never mind.
Roansy claimed by Orioles (again)! 5th team of offseason. He better plan on a hotel suite rather than a 6 month rental home in Balt.
Very good hitters can maintain their production at age 33.....see Altuve, Lamahieu.
Some hitters are just natural hitters. Can we
put Frazier in that category? Remember some who felt Frazier was a future batting champ. Maybe he would have been if BC didn't trade him in '21. He may be that PH in late innings that gets the clutch hit. A reunion in Pittsburgh and we may get a nice season out of him. Hope runs amuck.
The Pirates need a setup man/backup closer badly. Player still available:
David Robertson
Kenley Jansen
Craig Kimbrel
Kyle Finnegan
Hector Neris
Let’s get something done!
Which of them will play for league minimum and a coupon for free Primanti sandwiches?
I would like Kimbrel, then trade him before the deadline even if we are in first place.
I want to see what Tanner Rainey has with a full year behind him after TJ. Glad the Pirates giving him a NRI look.
From today's roster resource chat
Justin: No actual question here. Just sharing a fun fact. By Roster Resource projected starting lineups, the Pirates currently have the 3rd oldest in baseball. Nothing wrong with that per se – if you can play, you can play. The Phillies and Dodgers prove that – but seems not great spot for a rebuilding middling team!
2:47
Avatar Jason Martinez: That’s mostly because of Cutch and Pham. And I really do love what those two bring to a lineup/clubhouse. If you’re gonna rely on mostly unproven/young players, having those two guys leading the way is important. Overall numbers won’t be great but I think quality of at-bats, preparation, etc. will pay off.
Some commenter at DKPS referred to the “Pham-ine.” Gonna remember that one.
You're not reading your own site:
"The Pittsburgh Pirates finally addressed their outfield situation, signing free-agent Tommy Pham to a one-year deal that is worth $4,025,000."
I'm okay with the signing because Pham is an interesting personality, not someone who just speaks in cliches. But I'm not quite on board with BOD in saying they've "addressed their outfield situation". ;)
From a writer at Fansided on the Pirates expected lineup:
"While it’s a vast improvement over last year’s batting order, it still doesn’t appear to be a competitive lineup. But the Pirates do have an ace in the hole. Their rotation is set to be much stronger as Jones settles in and Bubba Chandler is ready to make the jump. It wouldn’t be too surprising to see the Bucs at least rise above last place in the NL Central this coming season."
YES! I can't wait to see what 4th in the division feels like!
Six years to rise a spot in the Central so by 2043 we're division champs!
But what's another 18 years when it's been 23 since we last won a division?
You mean 33 years......I know, they all start to run together.
Not the first time I've lost track of a decade!
"at least rise above last place"
Bob and Ben will be ecstatic if they read this. It's setting the bar exactly where they want it.
Is Pham and Frazier really any better than the young guys we have? I feel like they are wasting money on veteran guys when they could have added 1 solid guy. These 2 signings feel like the front office attempt to get casual fans off their back. Bring back a former fan favorite and sign a washed up guy that once had some stats.
They've spent less than 15M on 5 guys. Take Cutch out and they've spent less than 10M for 4 guys.
Michael Conforto would classify as one solid guy, and he signed for 17M to play for the Dodgers.
How much more do you suppose the Pirates would need to outbid the Dodgers to land Conforto? >20M?
Yeah, this is where criticism of the FO should be more nuanced. If Cherington doesn’t have the budget to sign a Conforto and still address other needs like the bullpen, that’s on Bob. And Bob deserves an equal amount of blame. (Seriously, there is not enough local coverage asking why there isn’t more $ available in years where they should be trying to contend in a weaker division when they were running sub-$80M payrolls during the rebuilding years. Where’d that excess revenue go?)
What I have a problem with is Cherington handing out major league deals to Frazier and Pham. If those are his only options, maybe run with guys you’ve already drafted (Davis, Gonzales, Triolo, Termarr eventually) or traded for (Yorke, Cook, and to a lesser extent Peguero) than sign those guys. I’d be fine with bringing in Frazier and Pham on minor league deals in the event all of the above crap the bed out of spring training and they perform well, but those two signings either make no sense or are an indictment on they young guys they previously went out of their way to obtain.
Not here to stick up for the FO, but if you're Frazier and Pham would you sign a minor league deal with Pittsburgh?
If Frazier and Pham are signed as the 25th and 26th man of the roster, it's ok. If they're being overexposed and playing more like regulars, then you have a big problem.
Maybe the FO likes the fact that both Pham and Frazier have been to the postseason recently and want them around the kids.
Pham and Frazier aren't going to block Davis, Gonzales, Triolo or Termarr.
A minor league deal is probably all Frazier would get from anyone. He hasn't done anything in years. Pham may have gotten a mlb deal with someone, but we are seeing more teams just go with young guys than waste money on old washed up guys. Those 2 might not block anyone but they will take abs away. This team has proven they love running those underachieving vets out there, day after day. All we can do is hope they both found the fountain of youth in the off season.
Kids? This is an old team. As of opening day:
C - Bart (28)
1B - Horwitz (27)
2B - Gonzales (25)
3B - Hayes (28)
SS - Kiner-Falefa (30)
LF - Reynolds (30)
CF - Cruz (26)
RF - Pham (37)
DH - McCutchen (38)
Bench -
Davis (25) or Rodriguez (24)
Triolo (27)
Frazier (33)
??
The weighted average age for a hitter in MLB in 2024 was 27.9 years. Only five of these are below that, two just barely, none except Endy, who may not make the team, more than two years under. Seven are older than that, two by three years, one by six and two by 10-11. This group will probably end up as one of the older ones in MLB.
Collectively, they average 29.07 years.
Pham, Cutch & Frazier are the deviation of the mean. Subtract those 3 players and the average becomes 27
So if you cherry pick, it still isn't a young team.
What really matters here is that hitters typically peak around age 26-29, which is why the average hitter in MLB is 27. (Pitchers average 29.) The assumption when people talk about the Pirates as a young team is that they have a bunch of guys still in their developing years who may improve a lot. But they'll have only 2-3 players under 26, only one a regular and he's 25. This isn't a young, developing team on the position side. As a group, they're probably already as good as they're going to get.
My man Amos is mentioning kids like Davis & Johnson
Pham and Frazier will never be in the same clubhouse as Termarr, and maybe not Davis.
That’s fair. I just would have dedicated the $5.5M (and preferably more) to a BP piece and went with the young guys.
Hopefully, Pham and Frazier produce, prove me wrong and we have a fun year watching the team!
Or, I dunno, save the dough if you’ll be able to use it at the deadline?
This is what truly blows my mind.
I'm probably the most anti "play the kids" dude on this site, because the kids are usually like f*ckin Bligh Madris or whatever. And maybe I'm wrong on this, but I genuinely believe the young quality they have now is a level up.
Yet instead of addressing the easiest part of the roster to make legit gains, they've dumped money and playing time into duds.
That’s what they did last offseason and why I bitched non-stop all of last summer.
On the positive side, they spent less money on the duds this year and have more depth to push them off the roster if they struggle. Hopefully we don’t have Tommy Pham OPS’ing .523 in the middle June and still rostered.
I'm not sure that they anything in terms of "youth" this year beyond Cooke and Yorke. Next year, maybe Johnson. You just can't do so poorly on the position side in the draft and have nothing from the Latin or Asian systems for years without consequences.
Signing guys who would have retired and are replacement-level players of similar quality to anyone that they could have acquired off the waiver wire does nothing to improve the situation. In fact, it makes it worse, because now they will not be searching the waiver wire to fill these spots. At least with the waiver wire, there is a chance of finding a youngerish player who is out of options with upside. There is no upside to Pham and Frazier. Need I point out that the single most significant Cherington addition to the current roster of position players was a waiver wire claim?
First, I have to say I thought Bligh would become a guy, so always take my opinions with a grain of salt.
Second, whether the young guys will perform at the major league level or not, I think Cherington, in year six, is obligated to be married to these dudes and ride or die, to an extent. Like one should expect, he was given years to put this team in a position where signings like Pham or Frazier were not necessary and he could go bigger game hunting to fill a gap or two to make the club a contender.
His ability to find and develop promising arms is to be commended, but he hasn’t been able to finish the picture. It may be a near impossible job, but I personally have lost confidence in his ability to win under Nutting.
Most teams that spend 1.5 million on a bad signing aren't afraid to cut them, but the Pirates don't seem to be one of those teams. I still (may be the ony person) like trying Pham on the team, but the more I think about it, the $4 million dollar price tag scares me. If he doesn't produce, I think the Pirates will keep throwing him out there,
It only took them until 9/25 to dump Taylor last year, and they paid him $4M, so that extra $25k might get Pham to the end of the season....lol
By coincidence, Keith Law dropped his Pirates top 20 today at the Athletic. As indicated previously from his overall top 100, his top four Pirates are Chandler, Yorke, Termarr, and Griffin. A few notes of interest:
1) He has Carlson Reed at #8 and has him as the system sleeper as well. He isn’t thrilled about the delivery but he likes the stuff.
2) He has Barco at #15 due to lack of secondary pitches. Projects him as a reliever.
3) Mueth is not in the top 20; in others of note he mentions problems with lefties due to his sidearm delivery.
4) Solometo is his fallen prospect; it all fell apart in 2024 as we know and unless his stuff ticks up again he’s not going to amount to anything.
He joins others here in being a big Wyatt Sanford fan. He also mentions being totally mystified by the Adam Frazier signing, which will take at bats away from Yorke, who he feels his ready to start in the majors on Day 1 this year.
So pretty big disagreements between Law and the writers here on Barco, Reed, and especially Mueth, though perhaps with a tiered approach the disagreements wouldn't seem as big. In any case, I guess one will be a check of the other.
Hard to say much more of the plight of the 2025 Buc's, so neat article in BA identifying 11 mid-major Draft Prospects. My best 3 are
Trace Phillips, Draft eligible Soph at Middle Tennessee State, Murfreesboro, TN (Remember Pirate Coach Rick Renick - his son Josh played at MTSU and is still one of their best all time hitter's.) Phillips is 6'3" 185 and as a hitter last year he hit 304/360/547/907 OPS, 13 HR, 47 RBI. As a Pitcher he has made big strides in the Fall - FB 96, and best pitch is a plus Changeup around 80 mph. Also a mid 80's Slider thought to be above average.
Grant Richardson, LHP Grand Canyon. 6'3" 220 with a FB sitting 92-95 and reaching 97. Also throws a mid 80's "Gyro" Slider that was an above average pitch last year. He lacks a 3rd pitch.
Jaden Gustafson, OF, Wichita State. 6'3" 215. Last Spring he was 296/367/403/770 OPS, 15 EBH. Summer Jayhawk League 391/439/626 17 EBH, 12 BB/2 K in 115 AB. Described as having "double plus bat-to-ball skills, 90th percentile exit velo of 104/has the bat speed but needs to put more lift into it.
Just a few words about Josh Renick - Operates a Baseball Instructional Facility in Murfreesboro and his "house" competitive teams are called Blueprint Baseball. Very strong in their upper age levels - VG baseball in Middle TN - ask Mookie Betts and David Price.
One more thing: he has Ashcraft at #5 and feels he is the most likely to emerge as a long-term starter (vs. Harrington and Burrows) if he stays healthy.
Thoughts on how Frazier and Pham alter the roster construction?
C- Endy/Bart
1B- Horwitz
2B- Gonzales
3B- Hayes
SS- IKF
LF- Reynolds
CF- Cruz
RF- Pham (presumably)
DH- Cutch
So that leaves spots for Frazier, Triolo and 1 more player? Presumably Cook?
Don't be surprised if 1 or 2 of these guys begin the year o the IL, even if they just have a cough. I think a good spring out of Yorke, Henry or Jack will get get them a spot, while and outstanding spring by Peggy, Palacios, or Bae could get them a spot.
I miss the days with 15 or 16 hitters on a roster. It would be good for baseball to find a way to get an extra hitter on the roster in the next CBA, since they probably are never going with less pitchers.
I would guess and hope that Pham is the weak side of a platoon, with Jack being the heavy side.
I think Frazier is going to be the guy coming off the bench late in games to face a tough righty. Maybe they'll let him start at 2b once per month on a Sunday.
You're basically filling out your roster with Pham and Frazier.
Bench is probably something like Endy, Frazier, Pham and Triolo.
Frazier and Pham are essentially replacing Cook and Yorke. Again, guessing here, they probably want to see Yorke bounce all over the diamond in AAA and see if Cook can limit the K's before they get a seat at the table.
Ok so you’re bumping Cook then. Who platoons with Horwitz? Triolo, or do they just roll with him?
I would guess they'll roll with Horwitz until he proves he can't hit lefties.
Reynolds.
They are about as lopsided as splits I have seen from a player. I hope they are working with him on that. Usually the bigger the sample, the closer the splits get.
I Tink they'll Want a lefty beach OF, so Suwinsky or Palacios will be in. With the AWFUL Sanchez signing, probably Cook or Triolo headed to AAA. Mind Bogling!!!
Who is Sanchez?
Freddy Sanchez and Adam Frazier are basically the same dude.
I mean if Adam Frazier won a batting title this year then I’d like the signing a whole lot more lol
Tommy Pham, further confirmation that this organization is a joke. Any chance people get, they should throw tomatoes at this owner. I know the prices are rising, but maybe some eggs as well.
I feel like I need more hearts for this comment. Why just one? 'Cause I'd blow $50 worth of eggs at that guy.
So . . . two eggs.
FO going into 2025 as confident with the starting rotation as they were in 2024 with the bullpen. Does this not scare the shit out of anyone?!
Last year, I was a little more confident with our offense because I thought Hayes and Henry were going to be good.
Thankfully we’ve got a small handful of AAA guys that project to be ready to contribute this year so that’s some decent depth
Pham and Frazier signings show the Pirates have no interest in spending what is needed to get better.
If free agent signings actually make the team worse they were done for other reasons than team improvement. Maybe so people can’t say they did did nothing? “We tried”
🛎️🛎️🛎️
Not only is it a waste of $5.5m, they also burn two roster spots 🤔
We have young players who need PT at the MLB level, but Pham eliminates a lot of opportunities for Billy Cook, Nick Yorke, and others. Have no idea what we have in mind for Frazier, but we did not sign he or Pham to sit the bench.
And, while all of this sleight of hand is going on, nobody has even mentioned that we are going into our 6th year with Derek Shelton as our Manager - already through 5 years with a Won-Loss of 294 - 414, .415 winning %age. He's still our Manager because our GM thinks he is doing a good job - yep, that same guy that just gave away that $5.5 mil. We are again playing for the Trade deadline deals.
It's really criminal that Cook and Yorke will be pushed out of the roster and you are on point with Shelty being the disaster that just wont leave. Absolutely kills the development of younger players, never plays the hot streak, sticks to some damn stupid schedule of days off for players that is just rediculous.
Moncada would have been a much better fit than Frazier, at least there’s ceiling
Agree here; however Yorke is a better version of Moncada at this point and he's pushed out be Frazier.