Last year I noticed something about Pirate City. When the major league camp is there, every writer is there. When the major league camp heads over to McKechnie Field, the writers follow, and people rarely come back to Pirate City. Usually it’s just me in an empty media room, with a cooler stocked full of soda, tempting me to break my ban on drinking soda.
The full roster of players reported for minor league camp today. The first workouts for the new players will take place tomorrow. In about a week they’ll be playing actual games at Pirate City. Until then, I’ve been focusing more on major league camp. Sure, I’m still talking to people at Pirate City. Last week I wrote about Josh Bell, Tyler Glasnow, and five breakout candidates for 2013. But there’s only so much you can write about when there’s nothing but live batting practice, unless you want to rehash the 2012 season.
For the next week I’ll be watching some live batting practice everyday. The thing to note about the live BPs is that it’s hard to determine who is performing well. If a pitcher dominates a batter, is it because the pitcher was doing well, or because a batter was really bad? If a batter crushes a pitcher, does it say more about the hitter or the pitcher? I find it’s easier to get a read on the hitters during live BP, mostly because they’re going up against several pitchers all week (whereas the pitchers are throwing to a small group of hitters, and maybe only twice a week). So for the next week, expect the coverage to be geared more toward the hitters at minor league camp. Once the games begin, it will be easier to get a read on how well the pitchers are performing.
Daily Photos
They’re finally throwing live BPs at Pirate City. That’s one step closer to actual games. For now it’s just a bunch of photos, and a few videos which I still have to upload. I was at Pirate City in the morning and McKechnie for the game, so the pictures will go in that order.
Links and Notes
**Pirates Notebook: A Comeback For Jose Tabata, Or A Small Sample Size?
**2013 Could Be the Season Where Jameson Taillon is Finally Unleashed.
**Draft Prospect Watch: Bryant Goes Deep Again.
**WBC Notes: Welch Homers In Opener.
**Pirates Agree to Terms With Their League Minimum Players.
**Prospect Notebook: Looking at a Few 2013 Breakout Candidates.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
