The Pirates released a list of non-roster invitees who have been invited to big league camp this spring, per a team announcement. The most notable name on the list belongs to third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who ranks second on Baseball America’s list (subscription required) of Pirates top prospects.
Hayes, 22 in January, will likely spend 2019 in Triple A after slashing .293/.375/.444 with Double A Altoona last season, also earning Pittsburgh’s Minor League Player-Of-The-Year honors. Hayes has yet to see his power show up in game, but he’s otherwise marched steadily through the Pittsburgh system since being drafted 32nd overall in the 2015 draft.
Other notables include infielder Will Craig, Altoona’s MVP last season, outfielder Bryan Reynolds, a highly-regarded prospect in his own right who hit .302/.381/.438 in Double A last season, and right-handed starter Tyler Eppler, who tied for Pittsburgh’s minor-league lead in wins while going 13-6 with a 3.59 ERA over 153 innings for Triple A Indianapolis. It also happens to be his birthday, so Happy Birthday and congrats to Tyler, who turned 26 today.
The full list of those receiving the NRI includes Elvis Escobar, Geoff Hartlieb, Alex McRae, Eduardo Vera, Brandon Waddell, Blake Weiman, Jason Delay, Christian Kelley, and Arden Pabst.
in a tougher NL Central, last place is home in 2019
Explain how the Reda got 15.5 games better than the Pirates?
Explain how the pirates got any better? Years of selling us on a farm system, then trading it for archer. Skip to offseason, they do nothing.
They still have Mitch Keller, who is exhibiting better control than Glasnow did. He should be ready by June.
Keller got bombed when he went to AAA,then started pitching better.I would rather see him there all year to find out whether he can go a full year at the highest level of the minors with no pitching setbacks.This is unless he does so well that he clearly deserves to be called up.He would then have a lot more confidence when he finally gets to the MLThe Pirates need him to pitch well from the start like Cole did.
This being said it seems that they are planning for a June call up as they are not replacing Nova at this point,and knowing the Pirates probably will not.They do not believe in having depth as they have to pay for it and may not have to use it.
If you guys care about spin rates, Keller’s fastball and curveball are both elite in that regard.
I am an old timer but many pay attention to this parameter so it must hold some water.
He is supposed to have a lot of potential as an elite pitcher but then again Glasnow was lights out in that regard.Time will tell for both.
The Pirates do not dig the long ball as Alvarez was their last bona fide power hitter.
Thank you for the notice Chicks.
They made Keller shelve his curveball much of his outings to work on fastball command and primarily his changeup. He’s a decent starter with just fastball and curve. I watched him in AA. He’s as good as any starter since Taillon.
In deference to the Pirates,if Keller can pitch like they think he can by June in the ML,and with no injuries and full physical comebacks,they will clearly have one of the best starting pitcher rotations in baseball that has not been augmented by free agency.
As much as they need help otherwise,especially in the power category,they have tried to maintain a reasonably good pitching staff which is to their credit.
13-6 with 3.50 ERA for Tyler Eppler last year in Triple A. Why is he not called up and put not he 40 man roster after Nova was traded. He could be the 5th starter. Or why not go out and get Dallas Keuchel for like 3yr deal if possible. 3yr-$50. And then sign Adam Ottavino for sure up the bullpen 3yrs-$25. They have to do something more then what they are doing. Even if they did gamble on Keuchel it would only be about a $25million a year for the next 3yrs extra to the budget that has been cut over the past 2yrs by way more than that. Taillon, Keuchel, Williams, Archer, Musgrove and then bring up Keller at All-Star break for some starts. I am guessing one of these pitchers will be out on injury or something during the season. If you didn’t want to spend the money on Keuchel, then sign Clay Buckholtz as 5th start. At least show you are trying to compete with Cardinals, Cubs and Brewers.
Reds definitely got better than the pirates lol
Reds went out and got Wood Puig and Roark. That alone probably gives them 10 more wins over the course of a season.
Plus an all star in Kemp, who other than Puig, is the best of that bunch. Pirates did nothing as usual except get worse by adding Archer.
“Plus an all star in Kemp” what year do you think this is?
You know Kemp was an all-star last year, right? I know what you’re saying, but technically…
Yea come to think of it he was, but I seriously doubt he repeats that surprise again.
Kemp was good for the first 2 months of the season and then returned back to earth. Wouldn’t be surprised if even Lonnie Chisenhall produced at the same level or better than Kemp in 2019, assuming he stays partly healthy.
10 more wins!? Lol. I like marijuana too.
Chisenhallol. 30 years old, never healthy, peak year of 13 hr and 59 rbi. Good luck with that.
At most he will be half of a platoon and occasionally fill in as needed. It’s not like he’s gunna be asked play 162 games and bat lead off for us. The Pirates were much better than the Reds last year. The Reds have improved on paper, but I’d argue the Pirates have as well if you account for the expected progress of the younger talent. IMO, they’re still significantly better than the Reds.
Not like Kemp is much better. Had a blazing hot start to the season, and had a .719 OPS for the rest of the season. Kemp might provide more power, but is he truly better than Chisenhall?
Kemp’s slashline the last 3 seasons: .277/.318/.483
Chisnehall’s slashline the last 3 seasons: .291/.347/.468 (also he’s 4 years younger than Kemp)
I’m not expecting Chisenhall to play 150 games, and provide 600 plate apperances, but if he can replicate something similar to his line the past 3 years in 350-ish PA’s, then I’d easily say that he would be better than Kemp.
Pretty sure you predicted 52 wins last year, so…
Pirates would do well to trade Marte for a haul. I’d think he’d be well sought after by particular teams. Like the Mets, for instance.
Yes, but that leaves them thin with Polanco’s injury and Dickerson being a FA in 2020. An OF of Dickerson, Chisenhall, and ??? (maybe Osuna?) to start 2019 scares me. But I do agree that he’d be an ideal trade candidate.
Baseball would be a lot better if teams of long history were better, but let’s be honest, the Buccos aren’t gonna truly contend the way they’ve been going. They need a new owner who really wants to bring the Pirates back to prominence. That’s not likely to happen any time soon. So instead of being mired in mediocrity, or worse, they need to do a true rebuild with a solid plan.
It seems that you want them to tank like the Astros did but you must have a prime scouting and teaching team together to be successful and I am not sure that the Pirates have that in place.
Remember you only get that first pick also and then you are no better than the best team in the selection lineup.
A truly deep pocket owner willing to spend would do it,but baseball must face the fact that there is no question that it is designed for the big market teams to win.To say otherwise is being dishonest.
The Pirates would lose whatever fan base they still have if they tanked.
Under their scenario they will have three year windows where they compete for the wildcard and try to somehow miraculously go further than that.
I don’t believe they would have to tank as hard as the Astros did. Also, having the top pick is great, but any pick in the top 10 should be desirable. Yes, they’d need to spend on scouting, both domestic and international and analytics is a must. Teaching to the minors should be much easier as long as you bring in the right personnel. I agree that baseball is skewered in favor of the big markets, but that’s always been the case.
If the Pirates had an owner who showed he/she/they were serious about contending year after year, then the fan base would grow. Even through a full rebuild.
I agree with you batty but this ownership and management team has a conservative business like approach and they are sticking to it,You have to give them credit for being consistent.Unfortunately they rarely take chances.
It seems that without an influx of cash,and more risk taking,they are doomed to a +/- average team with a few relatively short periods of a good solid team thrown in.
At least the ownership is stable and Pirates fans do not have to wonder where their team will be located next year.I remember the 1990’s.This is one advantage of a good business like approach.
I just do not see Nutting changing how he runs his business after several years of high hopes for this Pirates team.
“If the Pirates had an owner who showed he/she/they were serious about contending year after year, then the fan base would grow. Even through a full rebuild.”
You clearly don’t understand how nakedly fair weather the sports fans in this town are…
The Pens had a bad month and the yinzers wanted everyone fired. The Steelers haven’t had a losing season in more than a decade and they want everyone fired.
I have been a Pirates fan since 1961 and have lived in the Philadelphia area since 1978.
Josh understand that Yinzers are not the only fans who are highly critical of their teams.
The Steelers clearly underperformed this year and fans are justifiably disgusted as their golden years have been wasted.
The Pirates cannot compete for WS triumphs because of the salary structure of MLB.
Nutting is an owner who does not want to pay the exhorbitant salaries with no guarantees of subsequent performance.Most of these owners are used to running successful businesses,and usually try to do so with their team.The ones that bring in the most money spend the most.Most of them are not like Mike Illitch or Arte Moreno who spend unwisely to try to win the WS.
The fan base may very well grow if they spent more money,as there would be more hope that they could compete.But the Pirates have always taken the back seat to the other two teams in Pittsburgh and I doubt that that will change.
The fact is that in a market the size of Pittsburgh, it only takes one giant free agent signing to not not pan out, and the franchise will be crippled for a decade with no chance to be competitive. Signing expensive free agents works for LA and NY and Chicago and Washington because they can just sign more free agents if they whiff on a couple, but in reality, most of the league can’t afford a Machado or Harper. A $300million contract for one player, for the Pirates, is suicide. They won’t and shouldn’t be that reckless.
This list after the four in the article inspires no one.
Pirates need to sign the best shortstop available and another starting pitcher.They could also use another reliever.
If they stay put the Reds will jump them as they actually have a good hitting team with power which the Pirates do not have.
This is a key year for Pittsburgh management as more will see through their guise If they do not pony up and clearly improve their team.
I hope that they do as I think another mediocre year will doom them as far as attendance is concerned.
I like Waddell. I think he’s a future lefty fourth starter and can have success this year.
He seems to me to be stuck in neutral for a number of years.
Waddell needs to pitch in AAA this year and do well or I think that others will pass him by and he will be forgotten.
I think that he is not as good as Brault and he has had three mediocre years in the ML.
Additional Notes About Spring Training for the Pirates::
In addition to Ke’Bryan Hayes, cousin Willie Mays Hayes is rumored to attend Spring Training.
Infield features a strong WILL to perform well.
A TYLER will be on hand, if not pitching, replacing the tile in the team’s bathroom.
Some games will involve a DELAY.
At least one player will WADDELL around the bases.
Find out What a CHRISTIAN catcher does to fluster the other team’s batter.
Beer fans: PABST will be available at most games..
AND, if all that isn’t enough…..
ELVIS will be in the Stadium.
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NL Central may be the most compelling division in baseball now. It will be competitive. Looking forward to it.
I think that it is the most competitive one through five as all of the other divisions have at least one or two weak teams.I think that the Reds will be much improved.The problem is that there will be no one to beat up on so each team’s win column will suffer as a result.
I think you keep Elvis Escobar on name alone…
Elvis will leave the building shortly after the start of spring training.