OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: We're the Pirates, bro

[Winger for Hire]

I'm firmly in the camp of Austin Hendrick or bust for the drat this year.

Yes, he's a hometown kid, but unlike Neil Walker, he has power for days and a pretty good hit tool already coupled with being athletic enough to roam any OF position.

 

[ChaosAgent]

ST game never jive with my schedule, can anyone who's seen some give a quick report on how Tucker has looked early on?

I saw a right-handed AB. Didn't look good IMO. Haven't seen him from the left side but I assume it's better.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I haven't really seen him bat this spring I don't think. I've only paid half attention to some games, mainly interested in the pitchers for now. I'm still of the mindset that Tucker should get everyday ABs in AAA and see if he can force the issue some. It wouldn't be disastrous if he's on the bench as a defensive replacement, and it's basically hard to see where he plays unless Frazier is traded or someone gets hurt, but ultimately I think having him in AAA is the best upside play in the event that his new approach will pay dividends.

My best case scenario sort of remains a Frazier trade (for good value!) earlyish in the summer and Tucker + Hayes both up after Super Two clears for Hayes. I'd obviously rather have Tucker on the bench over Gonzalez, but honestly I'm not sure how much he adds coming off the bench, unless maybe you pull off a surprise and have one of him or Newman occasionally give Dyson some days off in CF. I'm not sure it's urgent to try either out there, though I remain convinced that Newman can become even more useful as a utility guy, so he'd be the person I'd experiment with occasionally. After getting a look at Oliva, I'm even higher on him now: I think he'll be a power/speed guy and that his stock will continue shooting.

Really, best best case scenario would be all of Hayes, Tucker, and Oliva charging up in quick succession and Cruz making some noise for a surprise-ish September look. But best case scenario almost never happens, let alone best best case scenario.


I like Hendrick and the big upside play, but I do like what I hear about some of the college pitchers. If there's one who we think moves fairly fast and has a good shot at being a #2/#3, I'm totally fine with that, but if the scouts are really high on Hendrick's potential – like big impact instead of just above average everyday power hitter – then obviously you go BPA. One thing that has hurt Huntington's drafts is losing out on high picks like Hoglund and Lodolo. It seems like what happened with Hoglund is that there was something goofy in his medicals, because it was reported he signed. Anyways, I bring it up because we can always shoot pitcher with our comp round pick, which is finally right at the end of the first round, so effectively another first round pick. Might have a shot at a safer college pitcher there, or a high upside prep arm.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Hartlieb and Kela got blown up. No bueno.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I know it's just Spring Training, yeah, but is there a point we should be concerned that the Pirates are legitimately terrible in Spring Training?

 

[ChaosAgent]

I know it's just Spring Training, yeah, but is there a point we should be concerned that the Pirates are legitimately terrible in Spring Training?

I am concerned about the offense, but I've been that way. Earlier this thread there is optimism that Polanco might be a "better Joc Pederson" to which....uhhhh.........

For the most part the pitchers who have gotten tagged are not the important ones. I never had much hope for Hartlieb or Stratton.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

It's tempting to inject meaning into spring training, but you just have to take it as axiomatic that the results do not even matter one bit. Individual player performances sort of matter, especially for guys trying to earn spots or prove themselves. Beyond that it is glorified practice.

I don't have any numbers off hand, but I recall that the good Pirates teams had some years of "bad" spring training records.

The HRs aren't ideal, obviously, but also can be contextualized based on how easy it is to give up HRs in spring training. What I kind of look for is the individual results of some players, such as Hayes for example. But even though his limited stat line is good right now, it also doesn't tell you than one of his 0-1 flyouts to the OF was an absolute rocket right at the RF. That's small stuff.

With pitchers, I think it's slightly more telling, but only slightly. I'd be more concerned about the totality of somebody's performance, not really in terms of traditional statlines, but more what they did each time. So for instance with Keller, he had a few hard hit balls off of him, but still executed pretty well and has put together two solid, short outings. You hope that when he's stretched out further, he puts a nice couple outings together, but even if he gets a bit touched up in one of them, it's not a big deal. If he can't find the plate or gets touched up in almost all of them, that's slightly different. For relievers, it's basically the same. You never like to see guys you'll count on giving up dingers, but I'll only raise an eyebrow if Kela has two very bad additional outings or something, or something way more alarming like his velocity is down.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

This kind of swing is why I'd love to scoop up Frazier from NYY. I really hope he doesn't play enough to gain some traction as a big trade chip, but who knows. His stock will be hard to pin down because I doubt he gets a lot of ABs in MLB and he has injury concerns.

 

[OswaldBates]

is Trevor Williams even going to make the team, let alone starting rotation ?

 

[ChaosAgent]

I know Spring Training doesn't .after, but I'm a little concerned. Williams may be pitching himself out of being a rotation lock.

 

[OswaldBates]

I know Spring Training doesn't .after, but I'm a little concerned. Williams may be pitching himself out of being a rotation lock.

he is pitching himself to AAA

 

[Winger for Hire]

Trev was always walking a very fine line with stuff that didn't really excite or standout. He was all about consistency and being able to get just enough out of his stuff.

You don't need to see him dominate, but if he's getting blown up and looking very hittable, then maybe start to worry a little.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Williams probably benefitted from the old regime, too. I think it helps a guy like him more.

It's ironic in a way that he was traded for Jim Benedict.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Sees team getting pummeled: sad

That it isn't Brubaker: signs of relief

 

[JTG]

If I were the Steelers I'd seriously consider trading a 1st round pick next year to get back into the 2nd round this year. Things look to be playing out where they can fill all of their needs in the 2nd. Go up and do it with the defense we have and a window that is about 2 years open.

 

[ImporterExporter]

I don't even feel sorry anymore for people that actually spend real money on the Pirates.

So sad that a franchise with well over 100 years of existence in the city of Pittsburgh has been reduced to a payroll not much larger than what Mike Trout makes in a season, all so an already billionaire can reinforce his financial portfolio.

Who's the next sad sack Pirate to get dealt for peanuts only to end up becoming an MVP/Cy Young caliber player within a year of leaving the Bucs?

Who's our money on?

 

[JTG]

I don't even feel sorry anymore for people that actually spend real money on the Pirates.

So sad that a franchise with well over 100 years of existence in the city of Pittsburgh has been reduced to a payroll not much larger than what Mike Trout makes in a season, all so an already billionaire can reinforce his financial portfolio.

Who's the next sad sack Pirate to get dealt for peanuts only to end up becoming an MVP/Cy Young caliber player within a year of leaving the Bucs?

Who's our money on?

If someone spends their money on that organization they deserve everything they get.

 

[ChaosAgent]

I wish HFBoards made a "thread-poster" ignore feature. Would be useful for ignoring posters only in this thread but still reading their Pens opinions.

But it's a niche feature so whatevs.

 

[JRS91]

I think Holland gets a job as the long reliever.

My bet is the starting rotation becomes Musgrove, Archer, Williams, Keller and Brault. Then Holland becomes the long reliever. Kuhl will probably start as a middle reliever then work his way into a starting role once the season goes along.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Good start to this game, which is actually televised. 4-0 in the 1st with 2 outs. I think Frazier had 1 RBI, Moran had 2 and Tucker had 1. Musgrove is dealing too. 17 pitches through 5 outs and just had a nasty slider to get the strikeout.

This lineup is also probably very close to what the opening day lineup will be, but with Newman at SS and Polanco playing RF instead of being the DH.

 

[ChaosAgent]

Good start to this game, which is actually televised. 4-0 in the 1st with 2 outs. I think Frazier had 1 RBI, Moran had 2 and Tucker had 1. Musgrove is dealing too. 17 pitches through 5 outs and just had a nasty slider to get the strikeout.

This lineup is also probably very close to what the opening day lineup will be, but with Newman at SS and Polanco playing RF instead of being the DH.

Good to see a winning team out there

 

[ChaosAgent]

Empo, how's Joey looking?

Also did I read that Reese McGuire was playing? I thought he was in jail for some parking lot shenanigans.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Empo, how's Joey looking?

Also did I read that Reese McGuire was playing? I thought he was in jail for some parking lot shenanigans.

He's absolutely dealing. Nasty strikeout with a slider in the 2nd and is getting weak contact/ground ball outs whenever they get hits. I think he's at only about 25 pitches through 2 innings.

6-0 Pirates now, Bell hit a 2 RBI double with the bases loaded. The Jays pitching has been comically bad.

 

[ChaosAgent]

He's absolutely dealing. Nasty strikeout with a slider in the 2nd and is getting weak contact/ground ball outs whenever they get hits. I think he's at only about 25 pitches through 2 innings.

6-0 Pirates now, Bell hit a 2 RBI double with the bases loaded.

Love to hear it. I'm obnoxiously high on Musgrove as you know. I see him as our highest WAR player this year provided health *knocks on wood*.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Cruz just annihilated a ball for a HR. It was nearly as powerful as Guerrero's HR earlier in the game.