LETS GO BUCS !

[jeemie]

Pleasantly surprised. Why the Pirates were doing smoke and mirrors, I'll never know.

Skenes
Jebb
Mueth

The latter two picked at a high slot than their rankings...Jebb is another very good college bat and might be pretty quality. Mueth is a HS pitcher who has considerable talent but is very raw. I hope they get these two at discounts so they can save draft capital to go over slot with their remaining picks.

But Buccos' early strategy seems focused on improving the pitching.

[Steeldrama]

Watched a lot of the College World Series so loved the Skenes pick

Kids got obvious talent AND personality

However following Skenes with Mitch Jebb feels like following Ben Roethlisberger with Ricardo Colclough

[jeemie]

6 of 8 picks so far are pitchers.

[MJG75]

6 of 8 picks so far are pitchers.

It is really the only way the team can get quality starters and the depth that clearly the team lacks at the moment. The only quality starters they can hope for in trade or FA are usually 3 or 4 in a 5 man rotation, with only rare exceptions. Not enough with injuries always a factor. So they are loading the cupboard and see who sticks.

Really pretty happy with their approach for this draft. Let's go Bucs!

[jeemie]

Make that 9 of 11 now.

[jeemie]

The Pirates finally are promoting all their young talent.

Too bad they are doing it solely for developmental reasons now as opposed to still having a chance at the playoffs.

We will now have five of our top seven prospects up with the big club.

Welcome, Quinn Preister, Endy Rodriguez and Liover Peguero.

No. 2 - Davis
No. 3 - Endy
No. 4 - Priester
No. 6 - Gonzales
No. 7 - Peguero
No. 16 - Triolo

When Cruz and Hayes get back- could be interesting.

[jeemie]

Priester…three innings…nine groundouts.

Nice start to his debut!

[jeemie]

Crap I jinxed him…

[Rod & Wire Mill]

Crap I jinxed him…

Like a lot of the youngsters, I can see stuff to like. Seem to be really loaded, with a lot of bodies at position player. Need to load up on pitching to get somewhere in the next 3-5 years.

[MJG75]

Rough debut for Priester, but it was one game and this is going to be a very young team moving forward. It's going to be a different team than the one that started the season in April. Who knows yet if any of these kids are going to be worth a damn but let's play 'em and find out. The Bucs finally seem to be doing just that.

[jeemie]

The Era of Kids is off to a rough start.

Soon to be 0-2 and outscored 19-0...

[MJG75]

The kids kicked the Phils asses over the weekend, and Keller pitched well enough to have won the game on Friday for the sweep. Winners of 6 of the last 10, some of that done with guys who are either gone (Santana), or likely to go, but that's OK. It's time to see what these kids can do. We've dropped so far out that only a small miracle could put us back in actual contention, and the starting pitching says we will still struggle to win games , but I'd love to see a strong finish as a portend for next season. Aside from starters and getting some injured dudes back, this is who we have now. Let's see what the kids can do.

[Pabst]

The San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates are nearing a trade that will send left-hander Rich Hill and first baseman Ji-Man Choi to the west coast, CBS Sports has confirmed. The Pirates will receive lefty Jackson Wolf, outfielder Estuar Suero, and first baseman Alfonso Rivas.

Wolf is a middling bullpen arm. Suero is an 18 year old Dominican prospect. Rivas is 26 but hasn't shown much at the MLB level yet.

[jeemie]

Castro to the Phillies for Bailey Falter is a good deal

Hedges to the Rangers for international bonus pool money is an awesome deal!

[MJG75]

Castro to the Phillies for Bailey Falter is a good deal

Hedges to the Rangers for international bonus pool money is an awesome deal!

Bucs did a good job with the trades, IMO. Decent returns for 1 year rentals, none of whom really shined the way they might have, plus Castro who is either a bum or needs a new scene, for a younger Hill. The biggest moves are the ones we didn't make. By not trading Keller and/or Bednar, I believe they are saying "Ok, we plan to be a contender starting in 24". Let's see. I'm going to enjoy watching this. We saw it in the mid to late 50s and again that way in the late 60s and again in the late 80s, and again in the early 10s, the start of something special. How far will we go? Let's try finishing strong first, getting to 70+ wins and calling it progress. Let's go, Bucs!

[jeemie]

2 of 3 from the Padres, split with the Tigers and Brewers, and now raking against the best team in the Major League two straight nights. Four homers tonight.

The Kids are showing some life.

[jeemie]

Maybe they went to Bednar once too often this week.

Hmm…

[MJG75]

The young Bucs just went 2-2 with the Braves, and 2-2 with the Brewers, and were just a few hits and some better pitching here and there, from sweeping both or at least taking 3 of 4 of both. I see this team as shy some starting pitching, but they've showed they can stand toe to toe with the big boys. We aren't a finished product just yet, but we're getting better all the time. I am on board with the current rebuild, Let's Go Bucs!

[jeemie]

The Pirates are 11-11 with the kids.

With no pitching.

Hope for the future.

[MJG75]

Young Bucs are just floundering a bit, some good days, mostly bad days. Starting pitching is still mostly below the line, if you will.

Cruz suffered a bit of a setback, it's been reported. That's fine, shut him down until next season. Is it 50/50 that he'll never be quite the same?

Hayes and Cutch have been raking it the past few! Cutch at 299 career 4 baggers. Love that dude.

Skenes is starting at Altoona AA this Saturday. Standing Room only tickets might still be available. An entire city of Buccos fans are hoping and praying this kid's right arm shows the way. No pressure, right?

Bucs have to at least break .500 and make some WC noise next season. Cherington's (and Shelton's) job should depend on it. But I doubt it will.

Let's go, Bucs!

[MJG75]

Nice to see the sweep of the Royals, clearly a lesser team that we should beat, and we did. So, great. We're essentially .500 after losing 5 straight after the AS break. Not great, but it's a start, and with a patchwork of starting pitching to boot. If we can clear up our starting pitching next season (we need to go after a mid-range FA or reclamation project that still has upside, and get a lot healthier internally, as well as hopes for Contreras, Priester, and Ortiz to turn things around), and get a decent 1B option, either internally or by FA, we are definitely in shape to make some noise next season. That's not as big a pipe dream as many seasons for the Buccos have been since 1979, honestly we get healthier and back on track with SP and that's settled (though a nice FA would be a good thing), and we're in pretty good shape to compete all season in 2024. The bugaboo with Nutting will always be money, and things on that front dont' look so good with the broadcast situation possibly meaning a 20% reduction in team revenue. Ouch. Well, cross that bridge when we come to it, but the team must have Nutting's support when they're ready to turn the corner, and if we don't get it, we'll never fully turn it. We'll see! If nothing else, this team is once again fun to watch after a mostly brutal 3 month stretch of May-July. And we're one win away from our win total of last season. With a month yet to play, that's quantitative improvement, slight though it may be.

Let's go, Bucs!

[Pabst]

Consecutive series against state of Missouri baseball teams might be just what the doctor ordered.

I have to say, after nearly 20 years of living amongst Cardinals fans, I am thoroughly enjoying their downfall.

[MJG75]

Consecutive series against state of Missouri baseball teams might be just what the doctor ordered.

I have to say, after nearly 20 years of living amongst Cardinals fans, I am thoroughly enjoying their downfall.

Am also enjoying the demise of the Cards, at least for this season. Also happy to see the Reds fall back into the pack, though still likely unreachable in 3rd place with only a month to play. If the Bucs can keep finding gems like Andre Jackson, who pitched a stellar game against KC, that gives them 3 solid starters down the stretch, along with Contreras who is likely back soon after some quality starts in the minors. Barring unforeseen rashes of injuries, SP should be quality and have some depth next season. Add a quality vet FA to that mix and it can be a strength next season, believe it or not. We have a lot of young arms healing up or nearly ready to roll, just need a bit more seasoning. And health.

[MJG75]

Cutch is out for the season. Article I read proposed trying him out at 1B next season. Hmm, could be. I think he's definitely back if he heals up and wants to be back, which by all accounts he does. He's one homer away from 300, I'm sure he'd love to play at least one more season. He started this season strong, but did fade a bit since early July, for the most part, but what he brings to the clubhouse is invaluable and immeasurable. Not quite on that level, but akin to the way that Pops had an impact on the clubhouse. They definitely can't pass up another season of that, at least, particularly with what will be a mostly very, very young major league ball club in 2024.

[Dan Smith--BYU]

The only thing interesting about the Pirates is Skenes' girlfriend. Who will probably want half that Yankee or Dodger money after a few years.

[MJG75]

The only thing interesting about the Pirates is Skenes' girlfriend. Who will probably want half that Yankee or Dodger money after a few years.

True, she's a hottie.

Damn shame about Cutch, also about Cruz. I notice the Reds De La Cruz has cooled off considerably from his hot start. You just never know with prospects.

Hope Cutch can come back for at least one more year and get his 300th homer in the Black and Gold. Nice win last night. I like Falter.

[jeemie]

Since the influx of the kids, the Pirates have played exactly .500 ball (27-27).

Nothing to get overly excited about...but not horrible either.

[Pabst]

True, she's a hottie.

Damn shame about Cutch, also about Cruz. I notice the Reds De La Cruz has cooled off considerably from his hot start. You just never know with prospects.

Hope Cutch can come back for at least one more year and get his 300th homer in the Black and Gold. Nice win last night. I like Falter.

I've barely followed baseball since training camp kicked off, but it wasn't until today that i noticed De La Cruz absolutely fell off a cliff.

He's batting .181 with a .267 OBP since the All Star break. That's horrendous.

Agree on Cutch. I'm all for bringing him back next season (assuming he can) and using him in a back up / DH role again.

[MJG75]

Since the influx of the kids, the Pirates have played exactly .500 ball (27-27).

Nothing to get overly excited about...but not horrible either.

The only small glimmer of reason to get mildly excited is that the kids--some will improve, some will regress, but this playing time at the Major League level this season has been invaluable experience for most of them. The other is that the SP has to improve. some of that will be guys getting back on track, or healthy, but some of it should be Nutting's wallet too, which remains to be seen. But other than that, I look for the possibility of Contreras, Priester, Ortiz and maybe some others who may be ready to come along and get back on track, not to mention the inordinate amount of guys who got injured right off the bat. Skenes might be ready to go next season also, though most likely he starts in AAA at least.

Nice 8 inning shutout performance by Keller yesterday. I believe in that kid now, didn't until about mid-way through last season. He's got a bulldog mentality now.

[MJG75]

True, she's a hottie.

Damn shame about Cutch, also about Cruz. I notice the Reds De La Cruz has cooled off considerably from his hot start. You just never know with prospects.

Hope Cutch can come back for at least one more year and get his 300th homer in the Black and Gold. Nice win last night. I like Falter.

I've barely followed baseball since training camp kicked off, but it wasn't until today that i noticed De La Cruz absolutely fell off a cliff.

He's batting .181 with a .267 OBP since the All Star break. That's horrendous.

Agree on Cutch. I'm all for bringing him back next season (assuming he can) and using him in a back up / DH role again.

Definitely agree on De La Cruz. Let's hope our Cruz is better than that once healed up for next season.

I'm wondering if Cutch would be willing to learn 1B, if the team is even thinking that. We seem to lack a decent 1B, and OF have been successful converting to that position in the past (it's not as easy as it seems). We have a hole there, not sure what's in the minors, but it seems that might be a good spot for him, so we can use the DH for some other guys. His power still fits the position.