Morning Rundown: Pirates trim major league camp roster with several moves
Pirates make roster moves, beat Yankees behind Paul Skenes' four innings
The Pittsburgh Pirates' offense scored nine runs on the New York Yankees and broke their three-game losing streak.
Paul Skenes allowed one run, a Trent Grisham solo home run, on four hits and two walks, but struck out five over four innings pitched. He threw 74 pitches on the day, as he struggled with his control for parts of his start.
He picked up six of his 11 whiffs with his fastball that averaged 98.7 mph. Statcast didn’t have him throwing his cutter or two-seam fastball.
Colin Holderman struck out two in his inning of relief, pitching after Skenes. Kyle Nicolas, Yohan Ramirez, Chase Shugart, and Eddy Yean all pitched behind to finish out the game.
Offensively, Ji Hwan Bae continued his strong spring, picking up two hits (both doubles), scoring twice and driving in a run.
Oneil Cruz hit a massive three-run home run that registered 114.9 mph off the bat. Billy Cook also hit a home run, his first of the spring, while playing first base. Nick Gonzales was the last of the two-hit group (joining Cook and Bae), hitting a double and driving in a pair.
The Pirates have a rare off day on Wednesday and then head to Fort Myers to face the Minnesota Twins. After the game, they made quite a few roster moves, which can be found below.
The Pirates have signed two pitchers through the international market over the last couple of days. John Dreker was able to get video of both of them.
The first video shows Jose Rondon, a righty out of Venezuela who is 19 years old. According to his MiLB page, Rodon stands 6’5” and 241 pounds.
This video is of Mauricio De La Cruz, another right-handed pitcher, but from the Dominican Republic. He’s listed at 6’3” and 180 pounds.
More on the two players from Dreker:
The Pittsburgh Pirates spent their entire international bonus pool on day one of the signing period this year, but that hasn't stopped them from adding players. Teams are able to sign players for up to $10,000 and not have it count towards the pool. We announced two recent signings two weeks ago, which were both right-handed pitchers. The Pirates added two more right-handed pitchers in the last two days.
Jose Rondon is a 19-year-old from Venezuela, who trained in the Dominican. He stands in at 6'5", 241 pounds. He throws 88-93 MPH now, but there's plenty of projection in his large frame. He has displayed a solid curveball already. He's a strike-thrower.
Mauricio de la Cruz is also 19 years old, hailing from the Dominican. He's 6'3", 180 pounds. The Pirates signed him after he made a lot of recent progress, specifically in the last two months, so he's a late bloomer. He's in the same mold as Rondon, with a large frame, plenty of projection and the current ability to throw strikes.
The Pirates have added a lot of pitching now this year, looking for specific types of pitchers with solid frames, projection, and the current ability to throw strikes. They have also been able to find fresh arms that fit that same mold, finding players who recently moved to the mound.
The following players have been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis after Tuesday’s game:
RHP Braxton Ashcraft
RHP Mike Burrows
RHP Chase Shugart
INF Liover Peguero
UT Enmanuel Valdez
SS Tsung-Che Cheng
On top of that, these players were reassigned to minor league camp as well:
RHP Isaac Mattson
RHP Ryder Ryan
RHP Eddy Yean
C Aaron McKeithan
C Omar Alfonzo
1B/3B Malcom Nunez
Top Exit Velocity
Oneil Cruz - 114.9 mph - Home Run
Matt Gorski - 108.9 mph - Single
DJ Stewart - 105.8 mph - GIDP
Billy Cook 103.7 mph - Single
Liover Peguero - 102.5 mph - Single
Top Pitch Velocity
Paul Skenes - 99.9 mph
Paul Skenes - 99.6 mph
Paul Skenes - 99.5 mph
Paul Skenes - 99.3 mph
Paul Skenes - 98.8 mph
Most Whiffs
Paul Skenes - 11
Kyle Nicolas - 5
Colin Holderman - 3
Yohan Ramirez - 3
Eddy Yean - 3
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