Yesterday, we took a look at where the Pirates picked up all of their minor league starting pitchers for the four full-season clubs. I did that article because I was able to compare it to an article I did exactly a year earlier. On April 13th last year, I followed up the pitcher article with a look are where the Pirates got all of the position players on the Opening Day rosters. It only makes sense that today’s Morning Report is a follow up to that article.
Last year’ numbers included some players on the disabled list, so there were 63 total players for the four teams. It included 34 draft picks, 14 international free agents, 14 players acquired via free agency and one player signed as a non-drafted free agent. Due to the number of players, I won’t list each individual player like yesterday. I’ll break it down by team instead.
Indianapolis (includes Elias Diaz) has six draft picks, four international signings, three minor league free agents and one played acquired via trade.
Altoona (includes Austin Meadows and Wyatt Mathisen) has ten draft picks, four international signings and one minor league free agent.
Bradenton has ten draft picks, three international signings and one non-drafted free agent.
West Virginia has nine draft picks, three international signings and a minor league Rule 5 pick.
The numbers is a little smaller this year because they don’t have as many players on the disabled list. You could include Cole Tucker, Kevin Krause and Carl Anderson too because they would be on full-season rosters if healthy. They are still recovering from injuries that happened during last year though, not late Spring Training like the other three players noted above. For that reason, I didn’t include them.
Of the 56 players, 35 were draft picks, 14 were international signings, four were free agents, one was a trade, one a non-drafted free agent and one minor league Rule 5 pick. With seven less players, the Pirates still have one extra player who was originally signed by them, meaning this season is much more homegrown than last year. The amount of minor league free agents is extremely low, as AAA rosters usually have more AAAA-type players as depth options. The Pirates didn’t need to sign that many position players this off-season because they have a roster loaded with prospects at Indianapolis.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates lost 8-2 to the Tigers on Tuesday afternoon. The Pirates and Tigers now move the series to Pittsburgh, where they will play two games. Francisco Liriano was supposed to get the start tonight, but he has right hamstring discomfort. Ryan Vogelsong will start in his place. He has pitched just two innings this year, allowing two runs (one earned). Shane Greene will start for the Tigers. He has pitched just one inning so far this season, picking up a save with a scoreless frame.
In the minors, Jameson Taillon pitches for the first time since the end of the 2013 season. He got in six starts at Triple-A that year, plus a playoff appearance. After recovering from Tommy John surgery during the 2014 season, he was just days away from making his first regular season start last June when he suffered a hernia that required surgery. Taillon was up to five innings in Extended Spring Training at that point. He started pitching simulated games three months earlier, plus he returned to the mound during the Fall Instructional League, so Taillon got his share of innings last year despite none showing up in the boxscores. He is finally back on track and anxious for this start.
In Altoona, Jason Creasy went six innings last Thursday, which was the longest start for any Pirates’ minor league starter the first time through the rotation. For Bradenton, Brandon Waddell makes his second start, coming off five shutout innings last Friday. His start got overshadowed because Logan Sendelbach threw five perfect innings that night. Sendelbach gets his second start tonight. West Virginia starters have combined to allow one run over 31 innings so far this season.
MLB: Pittsburgh (5-3) vs Tigers (4-2) 7:05 PM
Probable starter: Ryan Vogelsong (4.50 ERA, 2:0 BB/SO, 2.0 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (1-2) @ Toledo (2-0) 6:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Jameson Taillon (NR)
AA: Altoona (1-4) vs Akron (5-0) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Jason Creasy (3.00 ERA, 2:1 GO/AO, 6.0 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (2-4) @ Tampa (5-1) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Brandon Waddell (0.00 ERA, 0:4 BB/SO, 5.0 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (4-2) @ Greenville (4-2) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Logan Sendelbach (0.00 ERA, 0:4 BB/SO, 5.0 IP)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here we have the tenth strikeout from Mitch Keller’s spectacular pitching performance on Monday night. Video has all four pitches of the at-bat.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
4/11: Pirates release John Holdzkom.
4/6: Tampa Bay Rays claim Jake Goebbert off waivers from Pirates.
4/2: Pirates designate Pedro Florimon, John Holdzkom and Jake Goebbert for assignment.
4/2: Pirates place Jung-ho Kang, Jared Hughes and Elias Diaz on the disabled list retroactive to March 25.
4/2: Pirates release Jose Batista and Jandy Vasquez.
4/1: Pirates release Gerardo Navarro, Christopher De Leon and Enyel Vallejo.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
There have been six former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date. Included in the group is a catcher for the 1909 World Series champions, one of his teammates for three seasons and someone who is now in the front office.
We start with catcher Mike Simon, who spent five season with the Pirates, the first as a rookie during the 1909 season when the Pirates won their first World Series title. The most impressive thing about that season for Simon is the fact he caught just 50 innings all season, and that is because starting catcher George Gibson caught 150 games. Simon actually had a third catcher behind him (Paddy O’Connor) and between the two backups, they batted 38 times all year. Simon spent five seasons with the Pirates, before jumping to the Federal League in 1914. Like most players that decided to jump to the new league, Simon was without a Major League job when the league folded after two years.
For Simon’s last three years in Pittsburgh, he caught pitcher Claude Hendrix, who was born exactly six years after Simon. In 1912, Hendrix, in his second year in the Majors, won 24 games and lost just nine times. He pitched almost as well the following season, posting a similar ERA and WHIP, but finished with a 14-15 record. Hendrix also made the jump to the Federal League and led the league with 29 wins and a 1.69 ERA. Unlike Simon, Hendrix was able to get a job in the NL after the FL folded. He finished his career playing his last five years(1916-20) with the Cubs. Despite putting up a decent ERA each year, he had a losing record in four of those seasons.
Also born on this date is Doug Strange, who played for the 1998 Pirates and has been in the front office for the team since 2002.
On this date in 1955, the Pirates lost their season opener by a 6-1 score to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sitting on the bench that day, four days away from his big league debut, was Roberto Clemente. You can see the boxscore here, which is loaded with Hall of Famers on the wrong side.
Exactly 100 years ago, Babe Adams threw a one-hit shutout against the Cardinals and the only hit was very controversial. The Pittsburgh Press called the only hit an easy roller that second baseman Joe Schultz just booted and only the official scorer thought it was a hit. Adams never threw a no-hitter in his career.
