Today (Monday 2/17 spring training practice observations)
1) There were about 300 fans today instead of 100 so it was a little tighter to keep my space and I didn't move around a lot.
2) Tommy Pham shows up today and faces Braxton Ashcraft this morning. First at bat Pham hits one over the 380 foot mark for a homer. The fans cheered as he tried to keep a serious game face on, but actually let a smirk slip out. He was one of the gracious autograph signers today and just said thank you a lot.
3) Termarr who I think looked smooth at short yesterday looked really good at second base at the double play drills. Konnor Griffin at short and Termarr at second.... we can only hope.
4) Henry Davis who is usually stand-offish with the fans heard a kid call his name, so he went over to talk to him. Pretty cool. Maybe Henry has figured out he is not the man anymore. Maybe this will help, assuming he felt pressure before.
5) One of the fans that knows a lot about the Pirates told me he has Phillie fans and asked them about Darick Hall. They both told him they liked Hall that was stuck behind Hoskins, then Harper. Hall hurt his wrist which put him out for some time. That being said, I initially figured he would just take over the Jake Lamb role from last year. However, since he has been practicing with the big dog group that makes me wonder. Last year Lamb practiced with the prospects.
6) Nick Solak looks fine, but doesn't stand out. He has been practicing with the prospects.
7) In a very small sample, Alika Williams and Peguero looked good against live pitching and pretty rusty in the field with their throws.
Griffin at short. I fully expect him to grow out of the position, which is obvious to the entire industry…except the Pirates. He’ll get to the bigs and then they’ll realize he can’t play short. Sound familiar?
I know exactly what you are saying. Also, on your side is by the time Cruz probably leaves the Pirates will be about the same time Konner Griffin steps in. Plus Griffin has experience already in center.
On the other side, he said he thinks of himself as a short. He is better than Cruz. Griffin is 6'4 the same as Carlos Correa and Corey Seager. (Then again they seem to be hurt al the time)
You also struck a nerve how the Pirates will play someone in the minors primarily one position, then switch them in the bigs and expect them to be ready. Henry Davis
Good call on Stewart. I think I heard someone say he was here at least one day last week, but don't know what he looks like yet. I will keep my eye out tomorrow or try to get the scoop. Hoping it will be less crowded. I was spoiled last week with the small crowds.
I heard a rumor that they may be trying Suwinski at first, but haven't seen it yet. Triolo seems like a possible choice too. It seems like they are against having any catcher play first. Would there be any service time advantage for Endy beginning the year in the minors?
First day of full team workouts, Shelton (and Cutch) give the "small things are important" monologue. It's perfectly expected at every team's first meetings. But call me a skeptic after watching Shelton's leadership and ownership in "doing the small things right." Things are actually going to change in year 6?
I would guess 90% of our games we did "small things wrong"!
Exactly, you don’t just start doing the small things right to “win on the margins.” This is the stuff that should be a fundamental principle and core component of your player development process. This is the shit that teams like the Rays, and within division teams like the Cardinals, have done for years. It’s the best, and quite frankly the easiest, way to get consistently average to above average results out of slightly average to below average players.
When I read that I was wondering how Shelton could say that in his 6th year as if this was some revelation and still have any credibility. By year 6, this should have been part of the culture.
The leadership and ownership of the ball club has to start with the manager. Then to have good leadership from certain players, the manager needs to work closely with those specific players to make sure they are all on the same page. Not to mention, those players have to be good players or that leadership doesn't work.
Call me negative here, but it almost seems we have constantly brought in players to do the part of the job that Shelton does not do.
I hate that. Just so absurd. As others have already pointed out, Shelton has been in charge for five years. And the little things and the big things have been pathetic. Get better players! And a better manager.
Yuniesky Betancourt: What do you need to see from Termarr Johnson this year for him to get back into the 50 FV tier?
12:50
Eric A Longenhagen: Still has good raw power for a MIF, really wanna see him tap into it in games (idc if he K’s a bunch, just please do something) and it’d be nice if he got better on defense.
Having 10 catcher's in the top 50 (16 in the 102) is kind of a stretch, only a few of them are good defensively. He also has guys I like, Brito and Morgan in the top 100.
I like EL but he's trying to cover a lot of prospect ground on his own at FG which means that he's releasing his overall top 100 while only having done eight of the team reports. I.e., he's done a lot more research on some teams than others. In any case, he must really not have liked what he saw from Termarr in the AFL as he dropped him from 51 in his updated 2024 rankings to somewhere below 102, though that might just be a drop of one level in FV.
Also, I'm surprised that he didn't take a flyer on Griffin as Griffin seems like the kind of player that prospect evaluators would want to hedge their bets on and say they were on him early.
Oh well, it only matters if other organizations pay attention to the FG rankings when evaluating trade offers and I doubt that they do.
The quality has probably dipped slightly since they lost Kiley.
I think with Termarr the sub .250 BAs throughout the minors is cause for concern. His wRC+ is fine, but it's mostly due to walks. Upper-level arms will come right at him and expose the holes in his zone. I'm not giving up on him, but this is a HUGE year for him. I'm guessing when he does the Pirates reports, Termarr is a 45.
I don't think Eric is comfortable ranking prep kids into his top 100 when they've never played an inning in pro ball.
Other orgs have MLB scouts and execs evaluating trades. They're not using EL's reports
in the aggregate he's been the 31st best pitcher in the game over the past 2 years! That is outstanding and if you think Bubba is going to be appreciably better, you're going to be disappointed.
Definition of "weird adjustment period": one of the most inconsistent
SP's in his first 3 seasons (7.13 era, 2.91 era in covid year, 6.17 era), with a lengthy demotion back to AAA where he continued to suck. When we have only 5-6 years of control, it's kinda important a 2nd/3rd rounder (Mitch and Bubba) are developed enough to get hitters out, eat innings, and stay w the team. Rather than posting - .6 bWAR in first 3 seasons. I agree we should get more out of Bubba given where he's at today.....a lot more.
You would have to assume, and I know I’m taking a big leap here considering this FO, that this was part of THE discussion when bringing him in as a LF. I would also assume Pham’s camp was definitely highlighting this difference, shallow or deep, when marketing his services to all MLB teams.
Really doubtful...... they are trying to win a new contract with a MLB team. They are not discussing nuances of how to hit, how to field, nor what depth to play in the OF. That stuff only happens as of reporting to camp. Pham admitted he had no discussions on whether he'd be playing LF or RF, Sunday was the first day he heard about that.
Was Pham in camp, or did he have to wait until the paperwork was completed?
Appreciated the leads into interviews and articles from some of the Pittsburgh crowd. Looking forward to watch the progression of Braxton Ashcraft. I do not expect that he will crash the Pirate Rotation or even as a multi-inning reliever, but he could be very important to the future of the Pirates. There are plenty of teams that would like to access his talent, but it is extremely important for him to be healthy and ready. Expect he will be sent to AAA to get innings this year, but his work in Spring Training, if positive, could trigger a trade. Healthy last year at Altoona in his age 24 season where he made 10 Starts, 54 IP, 3.69 ERA, 63 K/8 BB (28.6 %/3.6 % K/BB).
The plan of the Pirates is to have Bart and ERod as the Catching tandem this year, and especially with the rehab needed by Spencer Horwitz at 1B. ERod has plenty of experience as a C/1B during his years of development with the Mets and Pirates, and having that switch hitting bat available will benefit the Pirates. Therefore, I see ERod and Billy Cook as the players who will share the time at 1B until Horwitz is ready. Henry Davis will get the looks at Catcher and the ABs, but I see him at AAA out of ST, and possibly with the Pirates later this year or in 2026.
Lots of maybes with this roster, but one thing is for certain, they need to score more runs. Those who can hit will play. Those who can’t will be riding the pine, playing in Indy, or sent packing. Unfortunately, if it’s a veteran like Pham, Frazier, or IKF, they won’t be traded/DFA’d until long after they’ve lost their usefulness.
Today (Monday 2/17 spring training practice observations)
1) There were about 300 fans today instead of 100 so it was a little tighter to keep my space and I didn't move around a lot.
2) Tommy Pham shows up today and faces Braxton Ashcraft this morning. First at bat Pham hits one over the 380 foot mark for a homer. The fans cheered as he tried to keep a serious game face on, but actually let a smirk slip out. He was one of the gracious autograph signers today and just said thank you a lot.
3) Termarr who I think looked smooth at short yesterday looked really good at second base at the double play drills. Konnor Griffin at short and Termarr at second.... we can only hope.
4) Henry Davis who is usually stand-offish with the fans heard a kid call his name, so he went over to talk to him. Pretty cool. Maybe Henry has figured out he is not the man anymore. Maybe this will help, assuming he felt pressure before.
5) One of the fans that knows a lot about the Pirates told me he has Phillie fans and asked them about Darick Hall. They both told him they liked Hall that was stuck behind Hoskins, then Harper. Hall hurt his wrist which put him out for some time. That being said, I initially figured he would just take over the Jake Lamb role from last year. However, since he has been practicing with the big dog group that makes me wonder. Last year Lamb practiced with the prospects.
6) Nick Solak looks fine, but doesn't stand out. He has been practicing with the prospects.
7) In a very small sample, Alika Williams and Peguero looked good against live pitching and pretty rusty in the field with their throws.
Griffin at short. I fully expect him to grow out of the position, which is obvious to the entire industry…except the Pirates. He’ll get to the bigs and then they’ll realize he can’t play short. Sound familiar?
I know exactly what you are saying. Also, on your side is by the time Cruz probably leaves the Pirates will be about the same time Konner Griffin steps in. Plus Griffin has experience already in center.
On the other side, he said he thinks of himself as a short. He is better than Cruz. Griffin is 6'4 the same as Carlos Correa and Corey Seager. (Then again they seem to be hurt al the time)
You also struck a nerve how the Pirates will play someone in the minors primarily one position, then switch them in the bigs and expect them to be ready. Henry Davis
Thanks again for the updates Stats
Seen anything of DJ Stewart? I thought he'd have roughly the same chance as Hall, but I haven't seen him yet.
Good call on Stewart. I think I heard someone say he was here at least one day last week, but don't know what he looks like yet. I will keep my eye out tomorrow or try to get the scoop. Hoping it will be less crowded. I was spoiled last week with the small crowds.
Unless he's changed his look, he has a heavy beard. Not nearly as big as Hall.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stewadj01.shtml
Basically, I figure these guys both have a decent shot now, so I'm hoping they at least can hit some.
I heard a rumor that they may be trying Suwinski at first, but haven't seen it yet. Triolo seems like a possible choice too. It seems like they are against having any catcher play first. Would there be any service time advantage for Endy beginning the year in the minors?
Endy’s service time is 1.077. He’d have to stay in the minors for close to 3 months to stay under 2.
First day of full team workouts, Shelton (and Cutch) give the "small things are important" monologue. It's perfectly expected at every team's first meetings. But call me a skeptic after watching Shelton's leadership and ownership in "doing the small things right." Things are actually going to change in year 6?
I would guess 90% of our games we did "small things wrong"!
Exactly, you don’t just start doing the small things right to “win on the margins.” This is the stuff that should be a fundamental principle and core component of your player development process. This is the shit that teams like the Rays, and within division teams like the Cardinals, have done for years. It’s the best, and quite frankly the easiest, way to get consistently average to above average results out of slightly average to below average players.
When I read that I was wondering how Shelton could say that in his 6th year as if this was some revelation and still have any credibility. By year 6, this should have been part of the culture.
The leadership and ownership of the ball club has to start with the manager. Then to have good leadership from certain players, the manager needs to work closely with those specific players to make sure they are all on the same page. Not to mention, those players have to be good players or that leadership doesn't work.
Call me negative here, but it almost seems we have constantly brought in players to do the part of the job that Shelton does not do.
And the job that Brock does not do at 1B.
"Small things" like getting outscored.
I hate that. Just so absurd. As others have already pointed out, Shelton has been in charge for five years. And the little things and the big things have been pathetic. Get better players! And a better manager.
Yorke's brother is sending him a firstbasemens glove.
We need guys whose brothers send them bats.
Pud Gavin: Noticed no Griffin or Rainer. Just waiting to see some actual game reps?
1:19
Eric A Longenhagen: yep
Yuniesky Betancourt: What do you need to see from Termarr Johnson this year for him to get back into the 50 FV tier?
12:50
Eric A Longenhagen: Still has good raw power for a MIF, really wanna see him tap into it in games (idc if he K’s a bunch, just please do something) and it’d be nice if he got better on defense.
EL's top 100 is up...
2 Bucco prospects made the list. Bubba at 23, FV 55. Ashcraft at 60, FV 50.
That's it.
Seems to be a good time to remind everyone these prospects lists are fluid and don’t mean much of anything.
I would add EL is clearly punishing Pirates for the piss poor job of developing hitters under BC.
Having 10 catcher's in the top 50 (16 in the 102) is kind of a stretch, only a few of them are good defensively. He also has guys I like, Brito and Morgan in the top 100.
I like EL but he's trying to cover a lot of prospect ground on his own at FG which means that he's releasing his overall top 100 while only having done eight of the team reports. I.e., he's done a lot more research on some teams than others. In any case, he must really not have liked what he saw from Termarr in the AFL as he dropped him from 51 in his updated 2024 rankings to somewhere below 102, though that might just be a drop of one level in FV.
Also, I'm surprised that he didn't take a flyer on Griffin as Griffin seems like the kind of player that prospect evaluators would want to hedge their bets on and say they were on him early.
Oh well, it only matters if other organizations pay attention to the FG rankings when evaluating trade offers and I doubt that they do.
Last paragraph says it all. Meaningless in the scope of things.
The quality has probably dipped slightly since they lost Kiley.
I think with Termarr the sub .250 BAs throughout the minors is cause for concern. His wRC+ is fine, but it's mostly due to walks. Upper-level arms will come right at him and expose the holes in his zone. I'm not giving up on him, but this is a HUGE year for him. I'm guessing when he does the Pirates reports, Termarr is a 45.
I don't think Eric is comfortable ranking prep kids into his top 100 when they've never played an inning in pro ball.
Other orgs have MLB scouts and execs evaluating trades. They're not using EL's reports
Tough but also Ashcraft all the way at 60 means he’s gotta be the highest on him right?
Yeah, that is way high. I thought Johnson and Harrington would be 50 FV's, but not so much. 50 FV basically = 2 WAR.
Bubba tracking like Keller did as a prospect.
Would absolutely take a Keller outcome but I’ll be greedy and hope for more!
I would fall somewhere between disappointed and devastated if Chandler only ends up as good as Keller 5 years into his MLB career.
Man, you gotta be realistic. Look at what Catch put up there for some context. Prospects will break your heart.
In 2023 Mitch was the 23rd best pitcher per fWAR
In 2024 Mitch was the 40th best pitcher per fWAR
in the aggregate he's been the 31st best pitcher in the game over the past 2 years! That is outstanding and if you think Bubba is going to be appreciably better, you're going to be disappointed.
1. You are severely underestimating my fandom of Bubba.
2. I said the first 5 years of Keller, not the last two.
I just hope he doesn't have the weird adjustment period Keller had.
Definition of "weird adjustment period": one of the most inconsistent
SP's in his first 3 seasons (7.13 era, 2.91 era in covid year, 6.17 era), with a lengthy demotion back to AAA where he continued to suck. When we have only 5-6 years of control, it's kinda important a 2nd/3rd rounder (Mitch and Bubba) are developed enough to get hitters out, eat innings, and stay w the team. Rather than posting - .6 bWAR in first 3 seasons. I agree we should get more out of Bubba given where he's at today.....a lot more.
Pham wants to play shallow (to improve his DRS stat). Will be interesting how that aligns with Shelton. Does Pham know PNC has one of the largest OFs?
You would have to assume, and I know I’m taking a big leap here considering this FO, that this was part of THE discussion when bringing him in as a LF. I would also assume Pham’s camp was definitely highlighting this difference, shallow or deep, when marketing his services to all MLB teams.
Really doubtful...... they are trying to win a new contract with a MLB team. They are not discussing nuances of how to hit, how to field, nor what depth to play in the OF. That stuff only happens as of reporting to camp. Pham admitted he had no discussions on whether he'd be playing LF or RF, Sunday was the first day he heard about that.
And even more interesting if Pham doesn't agree with Shelton ;)
Yep, that was my thought as well. Pham seems like he'd be outspoken in his opinions.
Could make for some drama especially when we fall to 10 games under......!
Great interview with Griffin.
give it to Triolo and let Peguero break camp with the team
Triolo will be Super U guy to start the year.
then what is IKF?
You’re right, IKF should be the Super U.
Allegedly he's the starting shortstop.
Billy Cook!!!!!
Who’s that?
Our savior. He has his own fan club with growing popularity and the absolute best refreshment table around!
I’ll take a Crown Royal Apple over ice, please.
Let Billy cook!
Free drinks? Sold, I’m joining the club!
Was Pham in camp, or did he have to wait until the paperwork was completed?
Appreciated the leads into interviews and articles from some of the Pittsburgh crowd. Looking forward to watch the progression of Braxton Ashcraft. I do not expect that he will crash the Pirate Rotation or even as a multi-inning reliever, but he could be very important to the future of the Pirates. There are plenty of teams that would like to access his talent, but it is extremely important for him to be healthy and ready. Expect he will be sent to AAA to get innings this year, but his work in Spring Training, if positive, could trigger a trade. Healthy last year at Altoona in his age 24 season where he made 10 Starts, 54 IP, 3.69 ERA, 63 K/8 BB (28.6 %/3.6 % K/BB).
The plan of the Pirates is to have Bart and ERod as the Catching tandem this year, and especially with the rehab needed by Spencer Horwitz at 1B. ERod has plenty of experience as a C/1B during his years of development with the Mets and Pirates, and having that switch hitting bat available will benefit the Pirates. Therefore, I see ERod and Billy Cook as the players who will share the time at 1B until Horwitz is ready. Henry Davis will get the looks at Catcher and the ABs, but I see him at AAA out of ST, and possibly with the Pirates later this year or in 2026.
Lots of maybes with this roster, but one thing is for certain, they need to score more runs. Those who can hit will play. Those who can’t will be riding the pine, playing in Indy, or sent packing. Unfortunately, if it’s a veteran like Pham, Frazier, or IKF, they won’t be traded/DFA’d until long after they’ve lost their usefulness.
Pham and IKF are here to stay - Frazier possibly not.
Dream on! Someone clearly believes Frazier will put butts in seats.
It is hard not to like Frazier as a player, hitter, professional, quality guy.