Notes: 'Nother Losin' Week; More Changes; Minors Winding Down; MLB News

September slippin' away...

Notes

• The Bucs bombed the Mets to open the week behind young guns Keller, Castro and Cruz. It wasn't a trend; the Pirates were clocked in the following twin bill. The Cards followed and in the opener the Pirates ran the bases like ninnies and fielded like T-ballers. But they scored eight times with Roansy on the mound and so took the game easily if sloppily. Then back to normal; they dropped the next pair to finish 2-4 on the week.
• IF Hoy Park was recalled from Indy on Wednesday and IF Josh VanMeter was DFA'ed. LHP Eric Stout was also called up for the day as the extra doubleheader player. And in the "it never ends" department, the Pirates claimed C Zack Collins from the Blue Jays and RH reliever Junior Fernández from the Cards. Both players have been optioned to Indy. LHP Cam Vieaux was DFA'ed. He and VanMeter both went unclaimed and were assigned to Indy.
• 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes returned to the lineup against the Mets after missing most of the Braves' series last weekend with a sore shoulder.
• LHP Dillon Peters started a rehab assignment at Altoona on Friday.

Dave Bednar news - 2022 Pirates promo image

• RHP David Bednar was chosen as the Pirates Roberto Clemente award nominee. On Roberto Clemente Day on September 15th, all the players and coaches for the Pirates and Mets will wear #21 jerseys during their game at CitiField.
• More Bednar news; the Bucs plan to send him to a TBD rehab assignment and have him back for the end of the season.
• Jack Suwinski leads all Pirates rookies with 16 home runs, followed by Oneil Cruz with 14 and Diego Castillo with 10. It's the first time in franchise history that the Pirates have had three rookies with 10+ home runs in a single season, per Elias Sports Bureau.
• The Bradenton Marauders missed the playoffs by a half game. They were alive until Sunday, when their  final game - and last hope to qualify - was rained out.
• Baseball America released its new Top 100 Prospects list, and the Pirates are one of five organizations with six or more players. They are IF Termarr Johnson (#44), RHP Quinn Priester (#64), SS Liover Peguero (#76), C Henry Davis (#80), RHP Mike Burrows (#98) and UT Endy Rodriguez (#100).
• 22-year-old Greensboro RHP Justin Meis, a Bethel Park HS/Eastern Michigan product, pitched seven perfect innings with seven K and combined with Santiago Florezon on a one-hit shutout for a 6-0 victory over Winston-Salem on Sunday night. He used just 74 pitches, but was pulled because of pitch count (he threw 93 pitches in his last outing). Justin was named the Sally League Pitcher of the Week for that effort.

Bethel Park's Justin Meis

• Bradenton IF Tsung-Che Cheng was named the Florida State League Player of the Month for August. In 26 games, Cheng slashed .389/.517/.611 with 13 RBI and 10 stolen bases and led the league with 35 hits. 
• Mets OF Starling Marte has been placed on the 10-Day IL, retro to September 7th, with a fractured finger.
• IF Colin Moran was DFA'ed by the Reds.
• The Dodgers have signed RHP Keone Kela to a minor league deal. He had TJ surgery last year, signed with Arizona and was released by the D-backs in July.
• Rule changes for 2023: A pitch timer, zones for defensive shifts, bigger bases, and limits on pickoff/step off attempts will be in play next season. After a minor league test run, the MLB Competition Committee OK'ed these changes to pick up the pace of play.
• MLB will recognize the minor league players' efforts to unionize with the MLB Players Association, commissioner Rob Manfred said. The good news is that the farmhands deserve a livable framework, but the other side of the pillow is whether unionization will lead to further shrinkage of minor league franchises.