Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Off Day: Hot Takes, Notes

Quick take from camps: With two weeks to go, the Pirates accomplished their first order of business, which was to eyeball their system. Except for a spot or two, the lineup is set, so the new management got its chance to get up close and personal with the prospects and the pretenders. The results weren't pretty, but the process to assess what they have was sound.

Chad is a man in the middle coming off surgery - photo Pgh Pirates
Three weeks into camp, the bullpen looks more than competitive, and there are more arms than slots right now, so that will be a battle to watch. Kela, Crick, Burdi, Feliz, Rodriguez, Santana, Neverauskas, Stratton and Holmes, now on the sideline, have made their cases. Kuhl's role is yet undetermined. Hartleib (he has an option), Cederlind, Turley, Weiman, Ponce and DuRapau will provide the Indy calvary under the mentorship of Hanny.

The rotation sets up as Big Joe, Archie, Keller, Willy and Derek Holland, with Brault very likely on the IL to start the season. Like last year, it's a thin collection; the Bucs are going to stretch out Chad and maybe Stratton for down the road, with Brubaker the Indy caddy. Jake and Maile will be 1-2 behind the dish.

The infield is still a bit of a muck. J-Bell is for sure, while Newman and Fraze have the edge to hang on in the middle. But there's a wrasslin' match among Tuck, Gonzalez, Riddle and Evans to back them up, with Redbeard, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Joey O still slugging it out on the corners.

Will he stay or will he go - Topps 2019 Archives
The outfield of Dyson, Polanco and Reynolds is set, with Heredia and likely Jason Martin as reserves. The competition all over the board should get real now.

Tomorrow: Joe Musgrove faces off against the Jays at LECOM Park. The game starts at 1:05 and will be on AT&T SportsNet and MLB Network (out-of-market).

Notes:
  • Archie, Ric Rod and Michael Feliz are pitching a sim game today to stay on schedule.
  • Gary Morgan Jr. of SI thinks Chad Kuhl may be the wild card in the Pirates pitching deck this year.
  • Since cuts are in the air, here's a list of guys who hold a tie-breaker because they're out of options per MLBTR: RHP Michael Feliz, IF Erik Gonzalez, RHP Clay Holmes, RHP Dovydas Neverauskas, IF JT Riddle, C Jacob Stallings, and RHP Chris Stratton.
  • MLB.com places the Pirates farm system in the middle of the pack at 15th, noting that it has more depth than true impact players.
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2 comments:

  1. WilliamJPellasMarch 12, 2020 at 2:06 PM

    Holland is a nice pickup and has shown he can be a productive starting pitcher. He's like a lot of hurlers in that the issue with him is not whether he can get guys out, but rather how often he can get on the field and stay there for any length of time. But if he is in one piece he will be a definite upgrade from last season.

    I am anxious to see what Chad Kuhl can bring to the table. He did some good work for the Pirates prior to his arm injury. Maybe they turn him into a reliever? With his fastball, he might make a good closer.

    Brubaker was supposed to be in line for a callup last year but got hurt in Triple A. He doesn't wow you with his stuff but just keeps winning and he doesn't beat himself. I would imagine he is first in line as a reinforcement if anything happens to any of the current starters.

    I think Archer is at a crossroads. If he rebounds, he will continue to get lucrative contracts with somebody. If not, he is looking at invites to spring training on minor league deals going forward. Honestly, I'd just as soon see them trade him if he has a decent first half. I'm done with him.

    The bullpen looks quite strong, and that can go a long way towards hiding deficiencies in your rotation.

    The infield has a lot of useful guys, though only Bell appears to have star quality at this point (though Newman is pretty good; I just don't know if he has much more ceiling past what we have already seen). Surely Tucker has to get an extended look at some point.

    I am not a fan of Jason Martin and would much rather see Joey O as the fourth OF or even the starter in right, but you have to find out if Polanco is healthy. If not, I would think Osuna would be next up. On the other hand, Osuna obviously can't play CF and he would be well below average in LF, so realistically he can play 1B, 3B, and RF. Nothing wrong with that but the Pirates are pretty strong at all of those positions. Wrong place, wrong time, which is a shame because I think he can definitely hit. I suppose Heredia figures as the fourth OF and that's okay, with Martin the fifth guy because of his defense.

    As for 3B, I would imagine the suits really want Hayes to take over in a perfect world, but be careful what you wish for. He is an excellent defender and would certainly be a noticeable upgrade over Redbeard, but: Redbeard has been a very consistent hitter if nothing outstanding, and I'm not yet convinced that Hayes really has a third baseman's bat.

    All in all, I see more depth than in recent seasons, but unfortunately it seems that most of that depth is at positions where the team is already pretty well set. Some deals would seem to be needed to sort that out.

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  2. Ron IeraciMarch 12, 2020 at 3:06 PM

    Yah, my take is that they have a lot of MLB level players but J-Bell is the only one who is truly impactful; maybe Reynolds/Polanco down the road. They need to develop or sign a couple of difference-makers. And that rotation worries me; it's thin and has a pretty spotty record.

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