Spring Breakout observations: Pitching shines in one-hit victory
Pirates pitching held the Orioles hitters to just one run in the inaugural Spring Breakout.
The Pirates prospects, led by their pitching, thoroughly handled the Orioles, led by Jackson Holliday, in the first annual Spring Breakout.
Baltimore, who has perhaps the best collection of minor-league-hitting prospects, was held to just one hit.
Overall, 18 prospects from the Pirates’ organization played in the actual game, and while it was only a seven-inning game, there were plenty of takeaways.
-I wrote about Paul Skenes last week, about how his pitch sequencing and command impressed me more than the velocity in his latest Spring outing.
Well, that may still be the case, but it’s also okay to sit back and marvel at him pumping triple-digit fastballs one after another and watching the hitters struggle to keep up.
Skenes needed just 11 pitches to get through the first inning, and he got five whiffs among them across just seven total swings. He threw three straight cutters/sliders to hitters and got whiffs on each.
He even flashed a really good change-up that got a whiff as well.
Pitch shape and other factors are important, but a tad less so when throwing (and locating) up to five different pitches.
I think that was the first time any of us had seen Tony Blanco Jr. in a batter’s box during actual gameplay, and my goodness, he’s a massive human being. Add in the fact that he’s just 18 years old, that’s just insane.
He impressively slapped a two-strike pitch to the other way for a single. There perhaps isn’t a player with his raw power in the minors right now, the big test will be making enough contact in the future.
One at-bat isn’t enough to say either way, but it's good to see nonetheless.
The ‘slap the other way’ single, by the way, went 106.1 mph off the bat.
The Pirates took many reliever-type pitchers in the 2023 draft. All had strong stuff but struggled with control.
Two players got to pitch in the Breakout game - Khristian Curtis and Patrick Reilly.
Curtis hit 97.6 mph, and his change-up showed good fade and bite. He just struggled with throwing strikes. The Pirates gave him an over-slot deal as a 12th-round pick out of Arizona State, so they see some potential in his arm.
Reilly had four pitches of 97 mph or better, getting a whiff and not allowing a ball in play, striking out the side. He faired much better, keeping it in the strike zone and throwing five called strikes among his 16 pitches.
If the Pirates keep him in the bullpen as a reliever and he throws strikes, he could fly through the system.
Facing Skenes and Bubba Chandler on back-to-back nights will seem completely unfair in a few years. Chandler threw five pitches at 97 mph or better, including two at 98.
His fastball is electric, and its late movement makes it miss bats easily. He threw one up, and it was swung and missed, where the batter had no shot at touching.
I feel that when I do the ‘best tools’ series next year, Hunter Barco will either have the best or, at the very least, be listed among the best regarding the change-up.
He threw 50% of the time, got a whiff and three groundouts with it, and pitched so efficiently that he was the only pitcher on the Pirates staff who got a second inning of work.
His fastball also hit 95 mph, which is good to see after being mostly 90-92 (averaged 91) during his time in Bradenton.
Jase Bowen just shows up on the big stage, doesn’t he? He lit up the Arizona Fall League and was the only player on both teams to pick up multiple hits on the night.
Going into this game and season, I wanted to see what Garret Forester could do while swinging the bat.
So, it’s only natural that he walked in both his plate appearances. He did plenty of that in his brief stint in Bradenton last year.
The Pirates had two prospects draw over 100 walks last season (Termarr Johnson and Jesus Castillo); I feel like Forrester could certainly push that envelope in 2024.
Pirates sign Domingo German to MiL deal.
Includes major league option for 2025.
Taylor!!!!