Morning Rundown Week in Review: Breakout candidates, Bubba Chandler feature, pre-camp bullpen picture
A look back at the previous week on the site
It was a slow weekend of baseball action, so here’s a look back at some of what happened over the past week here at Bucs on Deck.
(Update: I scheduled this 15 minutes before the Jack Flaherty news. He’s back with Detroit, two years, $35 million, can opt out after the first year)
We kicked off our Pirates’ Top 25 prospects week on Sunday, as WTM, NolaJeffy, and I each selected a potential breakout prospect from the list that will be released on Friday.
We will have more tie-in features throughout the week leading up to the release. Later today, we will each select another breakout player, but this time a player that didn’t make our initial Top-25 list.
In our weekly premium feature, I discuss Bubba Chandler, his elite fastball, and the rest of his arsenal.
It’s easy to see why he has emerged as one of the best pitching prospects in the minors and should make an impact in the majors at some point this season.
WTM looked at how the bullpen picture stood before we headed into camp. Who are the locks? Who is on the bubble? Which non-roster player could make the jump and make the team?
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I actually reasonably like how the reds have handled their offseason which makes me sad
Last full week before Early Reports for Pitchers and Catchers. It will probably be a very slow week for the Pirates unless some team calls BC in a panic and wants to give away some awesome hitting talent for Pitching. "Gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em" and BC is still sitting at the table - it's what to do when you are holding pocket Aces! Only time will tell.
Excellent piece by Stumph that I read today on MLB. A recounting of the 2018 matchup between the Paul Skenes El Toro HS Team and the Jared Jones La Mirada HS Team. Skenes was a Freshman and Jones was a Sophomore.