Morning Rundown: The Kids Keep On Coming For Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates continue youth movement with multiple planned call ups.
When the Pittsburgh Pirates take the field Monday night against the Cleveland Guardians, they will have their first round picks from 2019-2021 all on the same roster for the first time.
Henry Davis (2021) was called up first, followed by Nick Gonzales (2020) and now Quinn Priester (2019) is expected to make his major league debut.
You can throw in Carmen Mlodzinski as well, as he was a competitive balance pick back in 2020 as well.
Things are trending in the wrong direction after a 20-8 start in April, and the team seems on their way to yet another losing season.
They are hoping to get a spark from their prospects, and Priester isn’t coming alone, as he is going to be joined by Liover Peguero and Endy Rodriguez.
I talked about what each of the three latest prospects to get the call and what they can bring to the major league team right now.
Depending on what the lineup looks like, the Pirates could have four players starting on Monday that they drafted and developed themselves, with four more that were traded for and made their debut with them.
Maybe it won’t lead to more wins immediately, but this seems to be a set up for the long-term.
Termarr Johnson Stays Hot
While the organizations first picks from 2019-2021 are set to converge in Pittsburgh, their 2022 selection Termarr Johnson wrapped up an incredible weekend of baseball with another great game - as well as a little bit of a scare.
Termarr hit his 11th home run of the season, one that was measured at 471 feet, and with an exit velocity of 111 mph off the bat. He’s been an exit velocity darling in his first full season, posting metrics you’d want to see out of major leaguers, let alone a 19-year-old in Single-A.
Over the weekend, Johnson picked up six hits - three home runs - along with four walks in three games. He also left Sunday’s contest early, with turned out to be a cramp in the calf. It looked worst to start, turned out to be good, that’s why we should never jump the gun on anything.
Wilber Dotel Pitches Nearly Six Shutout(ish?) Innings
Dotel has been an interesting player to watch this year. He’s got some intriguing stuff, but has struggled with his control. He got the fastball up to 97 on Sunday, and got some swing and miss with the slider.
More importantly, he didn’t allow a walk and didn’t surrounded an earned run - although four runners did score unearned.
After Sunday his season ERA dipped below three, now down to 2.79.