In 2021, the Milwaukee Brewers won first place in the NL Central, despite having the 19th best wOBA and the 23rd best wRC+ in baseball. They were eliminated by the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS in...
The Pittsburgh Pirates look like they need a day off. Fortunately for Pirates fans, Thursday's action will feature top prospects Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler on the mound.
That might take the sting off the series sweep...
Hunter Barco has been worth the wait so far.
The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Barco in the second round of the 2022 draft, despite the left-handed pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery. I wrote about Barco in this...
Each week in Statcast Heroes, I’ll be recapping the weekly leaders at each level of the Pittsburgh Pirates system that has data available. That includes the Major Leagues, Triple-A, and Single-A. The results give a quick...
The Pirates lost 3-1 to the Mets on Tuesday, overshadowing a truly fantastic start from rookie pitcher Jared Jones.
Jones was on a restricted pitch count, throwing five shutout frames with no walks, one hit, and seven...
Tsung-Che Cheng had a day for Altoona. The shortstop went 3-for-3 at the plate with his first home run of the 2024 season.
Batting fifth in the lineup, Cheng singled on a line drive in the second...
In my premium column for Patreon subscribers, I looked at the cautious approach the Pirates are taking with Paul Skenes. I agree with the approach, but broke down how it could have limits that would call for him being up before the Super Two dates pass.
Nick Gonzales was taken seventh overall in the 2020 draft. He's dealt with swing and miss issues, which have kept him in Triple-A. In the early part of the season, he's showing positive overall improvements with his strikeout rates, while still having some underlying concerns about swing and miss.
Malcom Nunez is a stocky corner infield prospect who can play third, but has the power for first base. After hitting three home runs to start the season, I looked deeper at the power bat of Nunez, and his brief history in Triple-A already as a 23-year-old prospect.
The Pirates drafted Hunter Barco in the second round of the 2022 draft, while the lefty from Florida was out with Tommy John. Now fully recovered, Barco is pitching in Greensboro, and has thrown seven shutout frames in his first two starts of the season, with an advanced mix of pitches.
Alessandro Ercolani is a 19-year-old pitcher from the small country of San Marino, with a mix of six pitches that all show promise. The Pirates gave him the assignment of pitching in High-A Greensboro, which he embraced with four shutout innings in his debut.
Patrick Reilly was drafted as a reliever out of Vanderbilt last season, but with a mid-90s fastball that gets up to 98, and a plus slider, it's easy to see why the Pirates are giving him a shot in the rotation. He's showing promising control results in the early games, reversing the issue that has held him back the most.
