Minor Leagues - 2023 Thread

[Bobster21]

4A46471C151C14191E011B2C0 wrote: It is only early May, but I am beginning to have concerns with Cruz and Gonzales. Both are supposed to be two of the Pirates top prospects, and both continue to struggle. Gonzales is playing this afternoon in Erie and has another strikeout. I know the draft is a crapshoot, but the Pirates cannot continue to miss on their number 1 picks. Newman, Cole and Swaggerty were all high picks and so far Newman has been okay, nothing special. When they drafted Gonzales  I thought they got a solid hitter, but now I am having doubts. Cruz at Indy still only has one homer, and his average is near the Mendoza line. I hope these two players soon find their swing, and begin to hit consistently.
It's all small sample sizes at this point. But over the past week, Gonzales is hitting .273.

[dave3BA]

I was at the game in Erie yesterday afternoon. Gonzales' strikeout was not real concerning. Check swing strike, then an outside pitch called, and a check swing for the out. He seemed to be trying to be more aggressive (criticism has been he's been a little patient). He would have had a homerun had he hit the ball 10 feet toward center, but instead it hit off the wall for a double.



As you might expect, Peguero looks like a major leaguer. Burrows looked ok. Didn't seem to have much of a third pitch. The curveball was tough to hit.

[WildwoodDave2]

7A7F687B2D5C5F1E0 wrote: I was at the game in Erie yesterday afternoon. Gonzales' strikeout was not real concerning. Check swing strike, then an outside pitch called, and a check swing for the out. He seemed to be trying to be more aggressive (criticism has been he's been a little patient). He would have had a homerun had he hit the ball 10 feet toward center, but instead it hit off the wall for a double.



As you might expect, Peguero looks like a major leaguer. Burrows looked ok. Didn't seem to have much of a third pitch. The curveball was tough to hit.
Thanks for the update

[Bobster21]

Cruz is now down to .159 at Indy. That's a shame because the Pirates really need an influx of hitters to replace the deadwood currently on the roster.



Here's some other Indy BAs:

Park .148

Swaggerty .194

Oliva .205

Madris .220

Smith-Njigba .233

Castro .234



Maybe it's time to give Ji-hwan Bae a shot. He's at a modest .269 but plays 2B and hit .323 at Greensboro at .278 at Altoona and can't be worse than VanMeter or Tucker. At least there's a possibility that Bae has a future with the Bucs, which is more than can be said for Tucker and VanMeter.



Calvin Mitchell is hitting .307 and playing RF for Indy. Maybe Suwinski, who was raking (.353) at Altoona but struggling in MLB, could switch places with Mitchell and get some AAA experience. Releasing Tucker and/or VanMeter would open slots on the 40-man roster for Bae or Mitchell.



Mason Martin is at .274 with 4 HRs. But after giving Yoshi $4 million I'm sure he'll be given every chance to start hitting before being replaced.



Or, since they brought Suwinski directly from AA, why not do the same with Peguero? He's hitting .346 at Altoona and is a good glove. Probably the SS of the near future for a team that right now is without their SS. And he's already on the 40-man roster. And seeing Peguero playing SS for the Pirates might light a fire under the slumping Cruz, who badly wants that role.



No one expects Tucker or VanMeter to ever become competent hitters. Nor Marisnick, who should be limited to late inning defense and rare starts. I was encouraged that they recalled Suwinski from AA to take a look at him and give him some MLB experience. It's a good idea and needs to be applied to some other prospects as well instead of keeping useless players on the MLB roster.

[WildwoodDave2]

634E43525544531310210 wrote: A few notable assignments today:

Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez to High-A Greensboro.

Nick Gonzales, Quinn Priester, Liover Peguero, Jared Triolo, Matt Frasier, Jack Suwinski and Tucupita Marcano, Mike Burrows, Carmen Mlodzinski and Tahnaj Thomas, Emmanuel Mejia to Altoona.

Oneil Cruz, Roansy Contreras, Mason Martin to AAA.



Altoona looks stacked.
Cruz is currently hitting .159 after 21 games :-[

[Ecbucs]

062B26373021367675440 wrote: Cruz is now down to .159 at Indy. That's a shame because the Pirates really need an influx of hitters to replace the deadwood currently on the roster.



Here's some other Indy BAs:

Park .148

Swaggerty .194

Oliva .205

Madris .220

Smith-Njigba .233

Castro .234



Maybe it's time to give Ji-hwan Bae a shot. He's at a modest .269 but plays 2B and hit .323 at Greensboro at .278 at Altoona and can't be worse than VanMeter or Tucker. At least there's a possibility that Bae has a future with the Bucs, which is more than can be said for Tucker and VanMeter.   



Calvin Mitchell is hitting .307 and playing RF for Indy. Maybe Suwinski, who was raking (.353) at Altoona but struggling in MLB, could switch places with Mitchell and get some AAA experience. Releasing Tucker and/or VanMeter would open slots on the 40-man roster for Bae or Mitchell. 



Mason Martin is at .274 with 4 HRs. But after giving Yoshi $4 million I'm sure he'll be given every chance to start hitting before being replaced.



Or, since they brought Suwinski directly from AA, why not do the same with Peguero? He's hitting .346 at Altoona and is a good glove. Probably the SS of the near future for a team that right now is without their SS. And he's already on the 40-man roster. And seeing Peguero playing SS for the Pirates might light a fire under the slumping Cruz, who badly wants that role.



No one expects Tucker or VanMeter to ever become competent hitters. Nor Marisnick, who should be limited to late inning defense and rare starts. I was encouraged that they recalled Suwinski from AA to take a look at him and give him some MLB experience. It's a good idea and needs to be applied to some other prospects as well instead of keeping useless players on the MLB roster.
when the Bucs signed Marisnick, I thought he became the most likely player to be traded this season. he has value for his defense alone.

[WildwoodDave2]

1F393E2B222E392F274C0 wrote: Cruz walk off 2 run HR bottom 11 today. Mason Martin continues to rip it.
Currently, the starting rotation for Indy has a combined ERA of 2.21. This is the lowest in Minor League Baseball

[fjk090852-7]

I am no expert, but I am beginning to wonder if the Bucs farm system is as good as people have said. If there are not a group of young players in the system which can turn the team around, we are looking at several more seasons of losing baseball.

[Bobster21]

Henry Davis might be overqualified or high-A Greensboro. He's hitting .350 with 6 HRs.

[WildwoodDave2]

103D30212637206063520 wrote: Henry Davis might be overqualified or high-A Greensboro. He's hitting .350 with 6 HRs.
Would you happen to know the catching situation in Altoona?