The Pittsburgh Pirates lost their weekend series to the Braves, but the minor league system completed a 4-0 sweep on Sunday.
QUICK PIRATES RECAP
PIRATES (66-77) AT Braves
Score: Braves 5, Pirates 2
Pittsburgh Starter: Luis Ortiz, RHP (4.66)
–Line: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Ortiz
Attendance: 39,071
Notable Performers
- Bryan Reynolds, LF (2-for-4, 2B, RBI)
- Jack Suwinski, CF (1-for-4, 2B, RBI)
- Joshua Palacios, RF (2-for-4, 3B)
One Sentence Recap: The Pirates had a 2-1 lead until a four run seventh inning off Colin Selby and Thomas Hatch.
AROUND THE SYSTEM
Two teams wrapped up their minor league seasons on Sunday, and all four minor league teams won their games, with a few walk offs.
SUNDAY’S HOME RUNS
- Chris Owings, SS, Indianapolis (14)
- Nick Cimillo, 1B, Greensboro (3)
PERFECT DAY FOR HENRY DAVIS
Making his second rehab appearance with Indianapolis, Henry Davis started as the designated hitter, and went a perfect 3-for-3 with two walks on the day. After playing a shortened game yesterday, in which he hit a home run, Davis played an entire game as a hitter-only. Indianapolis won 5-2, with Wil Crowe allowing two runs in four innings, and Beau Sulser, Kyle Nicolas, and Osvaldo Bido combining for the final five shutout frames. Chris Owings picked up a double and a home run, while Matt Gorski added two more hits in his recent move to Triple-A.
HUGE DAY FOR CARTER BINS
One of the best defensive catchers in the system, and a highly adaptable catcher to any new pitcher, Carter Bins has been bringing the bat lately. Yesterday he went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in Altoona’s 5-4 win, including delivering a walk-off RBI double in the ninth. Bins also previously tied the game at 4-4 with his second hit of the day. Behind the plate, Bins has been in charge of catching Paul Skenes and his upper 90s stuff. On Sunday, he caught lefty Jackson Wolf, who is a softer throwing lefty with deception. Wolf allowed three runs in five innings of work, with two of the runs coming on a home run. Altoona went 6-for-7 on stolen bases on the night. Recently promoted Jase Bowen went 1-for-4 with a triple.
CIMILLO DRIVES GREENSBORO TO COMEBACK WIN
The Grasshoppers won their final game of the year by a score of 6-5. They entered the ninth inning down 5-3. Hudson Head and Sammy Siani reached base, bringing up first baseman Nick Cimillo with two outs. The 2022 16th rounder hit his third homer of the year to give Greensboro a walkoff 6-5 win. Jack Brannigan picked up two hits, including a double. Maikol Escotto doubled twice. Thomas Harrington got the start, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks in three innings, with five strikeouts.
MARAUDERS WIN FINAL GAME OF THE SEASON
The Bradenton Marauders played a logistically crazy nine inning game on Sunday, resulting in a 5-3 win. Jesus Castillo played every position except catching and pitching. Six other players rotated between two positions, making room for the change each frame from Castillo, who went 0-for-4 with a walk and a caught stealing, missing his 40th steal of the season. On the pitching side, seven pitchers were used to hold Fort Myers to three runs over nine innings. The standout was Carlos Jimenez, who went two shutout frames, allowing a walk and striking out four.
WHAT TO WATCH ON MONDAY
Greensboro and Bradenton have wrapped up their seasons, while Indianapolis and Altoona are off on Monday. The Pirates play at 6:35 PM.
DAILY VIDEO RUNDOWN
Carter Bins, needing just a deep fly ball for the win, ends up knocking a ground rule double over the fence.
SEND US HOME CARTER BINS pic.twitter.com/0cw7nsM8jQ
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) September 10, 2023
Earlier in the game, Bins tied the score and moved up to second with some heads up base running.
Clutch Carter pic.twitter.com/GshDmz3bqK
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) September 10, 2023
PIRATES PREVIEW
The Pirates take on the Washington Nationals tonight at 6:35 PM, with no pitcher scheduled at the time of this writing. The Pirates are 2-1 against the Nationals this year, outscoring them 24-11.
SONG OF THE DAY
In the days after 9/11, MTV had a loop of videos they would play, and this newly filmed, new released U2 video was in the loop, playing every hour for days. This actually wasn’t even the official music video. That was filmed in the US in November. I’ll always remember this version, as I think it ended up playing every half hour with a handful of other uplifting songs.
+ posts
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.
If this site is closing up, I’ll just say I have been truly grateful for all the exceptional content it has provided, and the depth of knowledge and understanding it has made possible for me as a Pirates fan over the past 10-12 years. It has been, by far, my favorite and most visited site on the infinite landscape of the internet. Tim, you created an incredible product and a really, really cool online community. It’s even more impressive given how disillusioned many Pirates fans are, and how lopsided the scales are against systems like the Pirates’ under the current financial structure of MLB. For me personally, the added understanding has often encouraged more hope for the long-term, which is always welcome.
If the site is just taking a breather for a bit, then that’s cool too, and I’ll look forward to the next batch of articles whenever they get published.
Don’t you think that a major part of the problem is the fact that you don’t know what’s going on with the site because no one’s bothered to say? A bunch of us tried to suggest better communication when Tim changed his approach to this site months ago for the same reasons you site in your comment, but to very little avail. Nothing’s been posted here for over a week but because folks like us are still hopeful the site will stay functional we keep checking. Loyalty cannot go only one way for very long, however.
Most of us have moved on to other sites (if you don’t already know, Bucsondeck.substack.com is where other former contributors to this site now post articles and is similar to what this site was) without Tim’s involvement of course. I don’t believe saying that here is a problem because Tim has talked about it before with comments of encouragement for them to be successful.
Many of us keep checking back in what appears to be the false hope we’ll find what used to be here. It seems pretty clear at this point that’s not going to happen, but here I am again anyway. Old habits die hard, but eventually everyone has to face reality. Maybe I’ll see you on the other side, or maybe I’ll continue to be gullible enough to keep checking in here occasionally out of curiosity if nothing else.
At the time of this comment, if you went to the home page, you’d find a new article. It talks about what’s been happening, and what is still to come on this site. You’d have to scroll past that article to find this article to make this comment that says nothing has been posted here for a week.
I don’t care if you mention Bucs on Deck. I spent over a year training Anthony Murphy and essentially giving those guys a blueprint to have success. As you note, they’re following it, and I don’t have to do any additional work now (all unpaid) to ensure that they are getting published. I hope they’re able to find success.
Pittsburgh Baseball Now is another site that has started in the last few years, receiving free promotion and free image use from me in their startup. I even looked the other way as they named their nightly minor league report the “Pirates Prospect Watch”, which is the more SEO-friendly term for my decade-plus running “Prospect Watch”. I also denied their request to join them, with their initial plan being to import my decade-plus archives to their site and make it look like Pirates Prospects became Pittsburgh Baseball Now.
Between those two sites, you’ve got about a dozen people trying to provide a full scope of the MLB and minor league systems. I’m obviously in the best position to provide the best full-system summary. Historically, that has damn near killed me, trying to coordinate between so many contributors. Plus, it hasn’t been worth it. At the height of this site, I couldn’t see the supporters because all I saw was the old guard of Pittsburgh media blatantly stealing my work. Thus, you saw me shut down for a few years and let everyone else pick up some of the slack.
Now that I’ve got everyone moved to where I needed them to be (sorry, everyone in Pittsburgh media, but I’m out here playing 4D chess with you all), I’m in position to run a site that no one can replicate.
As I noted in my recent article, I don’t really want to do this anymore. This isn’t a challenge for me. Bucs on Deck and Pittsburgh Baseball Now are trying to accomplish what I’ve already accomplished. It’s boring to me to keep doing the same thing, and I know that doing a new thing will only result in being ripped off by the Pittsburgh media and being left to find the next next thing by the end of this decade.
This site has never been magic. It’s always been my brain, with invites to other contributors to join and make the information greater. I could communicate to you what has been in my brain the last few months, or just let you see it. The fact that you guys see indecision in the works doesn’t mean I have made a secret decision that I’m not communicating. It just means that I’m with you all in not knowing where this site will go in the future. The only difference is I’m the one in control of that eventual decision.
My newest article should shed more light onto the situation.
I, for one, will keep checking. It only takes a couple seconds.
Well it looks like this site is over but Tim seems to read posts so this is for him. I was always interested in pirate minor league players. I started to follow them by subscribing to the Sporting News, then years later I subscribed to Baseball American. Both sites were limited but they did provide something to satisfy my hunger. After years passed and the internet came around I tried searching and typed in Pirates Prospects and this site popped up. I had finally found a home. It followed the draft and international signings as well as all pirate minor league players. It not only provided player stats but in depth player profiles, making it possible to understand what the players were doing and why and how they were doing it. How the players lived, what they experienced, what they needed to improve and how they hung on to follow their dreams. It provided a means to communicate with other like minded individuals where we could agree to disagree about players, as well as pirate management. This will be missed by me and I am sure by other loyal site followers. We all showed our loyalty by sending our money to keep the site viable. So thank you Tim for providing this escape for me. I enjoyed the ride. Be, and stay well and I hope you enjoy your future endeavors even if we disagree on music.
You describe the reason I started this site in 2009. At the time, I knew there was almost no information on the minor league system, a fan base that mostly existed outside of Pittsburgh and sought information like no others, and I knew how to create a site to provide that information and fill that need.
This site, at its height, was unsustainable. It led to my burnout, which took years to recover. Had I sacrificed this site in 2019, I might still be married today, and maybe in better overall financial shape. Instead, I spent a few years trying to keep the “community” aspect alive by gearing this site toward other writers who ultimately were only writing toward the community. This failed. However, I would say that I’m in a better personal situation on the other side of everything.
The community is a great aspect that has resulted from this site. However, it was never the goal. The goal was providing information to the masses. Most members of the community are in the 1-10 percentile range on knowledge of the team. Writing to them ignores about 90% of the fans who probably couldn’t even name most of the first round picks currently in the system. Thus, a lot of what has been happening this year has been moving away from focusing on the ten percent, and trying to build something for the 90 percent.
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the site. I’ve still got stories to come.
Very well said–thanks for expressing what many of us have experienced and feel.
I just love that I can’t figure out how to stop being billed $35 a year for a nonexistent site. I’ve already canceled my membership on the site, but I still get billed by PayPal. I’m sure I can challenge the PayPal payment, but I don’t really want to do that.
Aren’t there still people that paid for a Prospect Guide like 2 years ago still waiting for their guide?
The Prospect Guide was canceled and refunded.
If your payment is through PayPal, you can stop the renewal through your account. If you email me your email and receipt, I can go into PayPal and do that for you.
Nonexistent and “free”.
Certainly the most important thing to many of us who have been faithful readers and have enjoyed all the different perspectives that this site has given us is the wellbeing of its creator. It’s been a great ride, and we hope that you know, Tim, that we want you to feel good about what you have provided and at the same time find a safe and fulfilling place in this life.
What happened to this site? Am I the only one who sees that this site is on it’s last legs? No new content and tim is no where to be found. Very sad that this was once my favorite site and is now something I don’t look forward to visiting, since most times there is nothing there. Tim, either get your head on straight and start supporting your site or just shut it down already.
I was a paying member and regular visitor to this sight for years but for whatever reason, and I think Tim has written about his choice to cut back on content from others and focus on his own at least a couple of times over the past couple of months, it no longer provides much of interest on most days. Many people, myself included, asked about this when it began and questioned whether the sight could go on as is but the owner does not appear to be concerned about it as certainly is his right.
Like many others who used to regularly visit and comment on this sight, I have moved on to the sight that was started by former contributors here after everything started to change. It’s very similar to what this sight used to be, and I only come back very occasionally to see what’s happing here but usually do not find much.
It has felt to me as if the owner of this sight doesn’t care what you, me or anyone else thinks or wants, which he absolutely has every right to do. I still think it’s a shame, but it’s his business, not mine nor yours. Tim can do as he pleases and appears to be doing exactly that. Accept it.
I still check here several times a day hoping for a new article or two that then leads to some interesting conversation. I’ve long relied on here and the PG for insightful articles, but only here has space for discussion.
I’m still expecting the articles that Tim said he’d be writing from his time in Greensboro and Altoona. After that, I’d bet on the site shutting down as Tim pursues another endeavor that’s of greater interest to him now.
Amen
My experience too, though I am worried about Tim. Does anyone know if he is ok? Prayers for you Tim. I hope you are alright.
Thank you. I’m fine.
Sorry to address this here as it’s off topic, but I keep getting a suspicious redirect to a “you must download our software to protect your iPhone” software site. The contact form didn’t come up for me to report it there.
I don’t think that you are the only one unfortunately.
Tim, last week when I suggested a Thin Lizzy song you said you don’t like them or U2 yet today you post a U2 song. Did you realize your error or did you finally realize that both groups are worth a listen? As the big man says, come on man.
I don’t actually like this song. I just remember it being on repeat after 9/11. This specific version of the video. It was only a few years ago that I learned this version was not the official video.
That wasn’t a walk off win in Greensboro and Cimillo’s HR. It was the top the 9th.
Julian Bosnic came in to close it out in the bottom of the 9th and went 1-2-3 with 2 K.
Was Mlodzinski available yesterday? If so, I’d love to hear Shelton’s reasoning for bringing in Selby (6.61 ERA, 5.59 FIP going into yesterday) over Mlod (2.30 ERA, 4.50 FIP). Neither had pitched Friday and both had thrown 25 pitches the day before, though Selby was better. Was the decision based solely on the previous day’s performance?
Ironically, I had just been thinking while watching last Monday’s game that I was starting to feel pretty confident in the Mlod-Holderman-Bednar sequence in the 7th-9th, and then it worked again on Wednesday and on Saturday. But just when I start thinking that Shelton has a clear bullpen plan in place, he switches things up. Maybe he had a good reason; it’s just a shame that we lost a meaningful game without going with our best to close it out.
I’d like to hear his reasoning for bringing in anyone,
both mentioned above thru 25 P Saturday night just 15 hours before
while Ortiz is stretched out
Ortiz
73 P
3 H
2 BB
97 MPH
If season was handled like they said “in it to win every game”,
3rd time thru line up would be an OK response, but they haven’t
Since they haven’t cared, why worry about your starter
blowing up his own GEM.
Instead, show some confidence, one pitch and he’s out of the inning, Again, your line ups, over coaching and moronic like decisions show
your not losing sleep whatever the outcome
Also, that eliminates you having to explain Wednesday evening why you left Falter, Jackson, Blass, Kipper until their arm falls off, because you taxed the pen for no reason without a day off until the following Monday
He is ruining Colin Selby, the guy has been a high leverage/closer
fro GBO 2021, ALT 2022, INDY 2023.
Now he comes to the Park unsure if he’s an opener, closer,
high leverage, mid game.
No rhyme or reason, zero structure and has never taken ownership of any decision whether wrong or how unethical it may be
I can’t take much more, their never going to win under him and while we wait the buffoon is going to slow some careers, wreck others
Also look at the way he abuses the staff, every single reliever but Bednar has spent time on the IL, look for that to continue
I hope the next wave of kids in the Complex, Low and High A winning all these games do not have to deal with him
It seemed fine at the time as he quickly got the second out. A walk, a soft single, then he had to face Acuna… well he didn’t, but he did.
I like Henry Davis’s rehab so far. A home run on his first day back, then 3 for 3 with 2 walks on his second day back.