Morning Rundown: Unlucky 13: They Wore A Pirates Uniform, Pirates split doubleheader
Morning Rundown: Unlucky 13: They Wore A Pirates Uniform, Pirates split doubleheader
New book from John Dreker, Michael A. Taylor deal official, Pirates split split squad games.
Before we get to the usual rundown from yesterday, John Dreker currently has a new book out, available on Amazon.
Like with his previous book on Dots Miller, John sent a brief rundown of his latest project.
From John -
I worked on three books over the second half of last year. My passion project was the Dots Miller book, as I wanted to tell the story of my hometown hero, who just happened to play for the Pirates.
It also helped that we have ten relatives in common. I also worked on the 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Guide with six other people, including Anthony Murphy, Wilbur Miller and Jeff Reed from Bucs on Deck.
My third book was something I wanted to dive into for a long time. I present to you Unlucky 13: They Wore a Pirate Uniform. It tells 13 short stories of players who were with the Pirates during the regular season, but for one reason or another, they never got into a game.
Their stories range from a future Hall of Famer down to a guy who never played a game of pro ball. You also have a guy who finished with a .025 average, another who has valuable baseball cards showing him in a Pittsburgh uniform, career minor leaguers and a war hero who met a tragic ending.
A lot of research went into getting minor details to help tell their stories. It's an easy to read book, kept between 1,200-2,000ish words each, as some of these players are unknown to the most knowledgeable baseball history buffs.
The price matches the size of the book, but not the amount of research that went into it. I used all Pirates players, though these stories really work for baseball fans in general. You get to read the stories of these players getting so close to their dreams, then have it slip through their fingers. Some turned into feel good stories later on, but each story is unique.
The Pittsburgh Pirates made official the signing of Michael A. Taylor to a one-year deal.
To make room for him on the 40-man roster, they placed Dauri Moreta on the 60-day Injured List.
Taylor hit a career high 21 home runs last year while playing for the Minnesota Twins. While he may not reach that number again, his calling card is his defense, which he has remained elite at throughout his career.
Behind four shutout innings from Jared Jones, the Pirates won on the road against the Atlanta Braves.
Fighting for a rotation spot despite being a non-roster player and having yet to make his major league debut, Jones faced a good amount of the regulars of a very good Braves lineup.
He allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out four batters. Jones has yet to allow an earned run this Spring.
Brent Honeywell Jr. and Hunter Stratton both came in and pitched scoreless innings behind Jones.
Offensively, Jack Suwinski and Billy McKinney combined for five of the Pirates’ eight hits, which included going deep each.
Back in Bradenton, Mitch Keller pitched four shutout innings, but Bailey Falter was roughed up, with the Pirates eventually blowing a lead and losing to the Detroit Tigers.
Ke’Bryan Hayes, Gilberto Celestino, and Andrew McCutchen all had multiple hits while Henry Davis had a two-run double.
Falter allowed five earned runs on seven hits across 2.2 innings pitched.
The Pirates will face the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, with Josh Fleming currently projected to start.
Top Exit Velocity
Aaron Shackelford - 104.9 mph - Lineout
Dustin Peterson - 101.2 mph - Home Run
Gilberto Celestino - 100.7 mph - Single
Ke’Bryan Hayes - 98 mph - Single
Gilberto Celestino - 97.5 mph - Double
Top Pitch Velocity
Wily Peralta - 95.7 mph
Mitch Keller - 95.2 mph
Mitch Keller - 95.2 mph
Mitch Keller - 94.8 mph
Mitch Keller - 94.7 mph
Most Whiffs
Mitch Keller - 6 (22%)
Kade McClure - 5 (50%)
Bailey Falter - 5 (18%)
Wily Peralta - 4 (40%)
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Cherington gave a good interview yesterday with Brown and Wehner, and for those who didn't hear it, a few things that stood out to me were:
1. They'll probably roster more than five starters, which to me implies we'll see some games like the Priester/Ortiz game but also might be a reference to keeping Contreras and/or Falter, even if they're coming out of the pen. They do not plan to use openers.
2. However, there will be some pitchers who begin in AAA and "won't be happy about it" but of course they don't want players to be happy about being sent to AAA. Does this refer to Jones or Ortiz or Priester, or maybe the NRI veterans (though Lauer doesn't appear to be on a schedule to be ready so it would just be Anderson and maybe Peralta)?
3. He noted that the good Pirates teams in PNC have had two CF-quality outfielders, which is why they're excited to bring MAT in (as an aside, the article at pirates.com quotes Keller's strong endorsement of adding MAT).
4. They'll probably rest guys more frequently in April as they build guys up, which was made in reference to whether MAT could be ready by Opening Day (i.e., he doesn't have to be ready to play every day).
I may have missed it, but I don't think the catching situation came up (I was also trying to watch Jones during this time).
I’m starting to think this is the 26:
Rotation:
1. Keller 2. Perez 3. Ortiz 4. Gonzales 5. Priester
Bullpen: 1. Bednar 2. Chapman 3. Holderman 4. Mlodinzski 5. Borucki 6. Hernández 7. Honeywell 8. Contreras
Lineup: SS Cruz LF Reynolds 3B Hayes RF Suwinski DH McCutchen 1B Tellez C Davis 2B Triolo CF Taylor
Bench: C Delay, 1B/OF Joe, 1B/OF McKinney, SS/2B Peguero
DFA: Falter and CSN
IL: Brubaker 60, Burrows 60, Moreta 60, Grandal 10
German, Jones, and Lauer replacing whoever doesn’t pitch well the first month of the season.