In 2012, former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher A.J Burnett was sidelined with an Orbital Fracture that required surgery and delayed his Pirates debut. The same injury has occurred to one of the Pirates top prospects, Austin Meadows. Meadows, a first round draft pick in 2013, injured his eye while playing catch during a workout on Tuesday. He is expected to undergo further testing in Pittsburgh early next week. According to MLB.com, Meadows ranks as the no. 2 overall prospect in the Pirates ... Read More
Pirates contest ends in tie
Pittsburgh Pirates fans held their collective breaths as Ed Easley came to the plate in a bases loaded bottom of the ninth situation. His fly out which ended the game with an ultimate cliffhanger. Friday was Spring Training baseball at its finest as the Pirates and Minnesota Twins battled to a 2-2 tie. Liriano faces former team Francisco Liriano may have felt as though he was seeing double facing the team whose uniform he once wore. It would have been hard to notice as Liriano ... Read More
Brault looks to make impact as non-roster invite for Pirates
The amount of pitching depth the Pittsburgh Pirates have within their minor league system is noticeable. All you have to do is look at the talent that is gracing the fields at Pirates City in Bradenton, Fla. The brigade of young talent includes Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon and Nick Kingham, as well as non-roster invites Chad Kuhl and Trevor Willams. However, one pitcher in particular that should attract attention will be non-roster invite Steven Brault. In January of 2015, the Pirates ... Read More
Pirates fall to Tigers, 10-3
Skepticism would be a good way to describe how fans feel about Jeff Locke projecting to be a part of this season's Pittsburgh Pirates pitching rotation. Locke did himself no favors allowing four runs in his two innings of a 10-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers. Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage has worked with Locke to try to correct things which could allow him to find more consistent success and this could very well be a byproduct of making the adjustment. It also could be the same old ... Read More
Pirates win Spring Training opener
Last season was a frustrating one to say the least for Jordy Mercer. The Pirates shortstop, known for his defense, could not match that intensity to the offensive side of the game and missed significant time with a left leg injury. Tuesday's Spring Training opening game against the Detroit Tigers shows that Mercer has moved on from last year as he hit one of two Pirates home runs on the day. The Pirates also took the victory winning by a 4-2 score. Francisco Cervelli hit the other ... Read More
Pirates have options with remaining bench spots
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ bench is different than previous seasons. In the past, the bench typically provided good defense, but little on offense. In 2014, for example, the bench had three of its members – Jayson Nix, Michael Martinez and Brent Morel – batting under .200 on it. Pinch hitters were usually easy outs, and instead just good defensive substitutions. Now, the script has been flipped. Three spots on the five-man bench are secured by Sean Rodriguez, Chris Stewart and whoever in ... Read More
Is now the time for the Pirates to extend Polanco’s contract?
Within the last few years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have had a main priority of locking up star players to long-term contracts. Two of those players were two-thirds of an outfield that was recently ranked the best in baseball by ESPN. The next player on the list of players who may see an extension in the near future could be the Pirates young right fielder, Gregory Polanco. In March of 2012, star outfielder and former National League Most Valuable Player Andrew McCutchen signed a six-year, ... Read More
Will the National League’s top-heavy lean affect Pirates?
In case you missed it, many teams got better in the National League this offseason. A lot better. If we take an early look at the landscape as we stand in frigid January temperatures, we can see a caste system of sorts taking shape. There are the perennial contenders out west. The San Francisco Giants got considerably better than they did last year by bringing in Jeff Samardzjia, Johnny Cueto and Denard Span. The Los Angeles Dodgers took a huge hit in losing Zack Greinke to the Arizona ... Read More
Is Glasnow ready to make a major league impact in 2016?
For anyone who follows the Pittsburgh Pirates, it is no secret that many questions have surrounded the team this offseason. One of their major question marks surround their starting rotation, which was a part of the second-best pitching staff in all of baseball in 2015. With the departures of both A.J. Burnett and Charlie Morton, the Pirates must construct a new rotation that will likely include Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano and Jeff Locke as returning starters. The Bucs did acquire starting ... Read More
Pirates offseason analyzed: So long
In part two of analyzing the Pirates offseason, take a look at the guys the Pirates parted ways with. Good-byes: Oct. 20 Baltimore Orioles claim Vance Worley off waivers - Worley was a likable guy and very pleasant in the dealings I had with him, but it was clear that the Pirates were done waiting for him to show consistent promise as a starter. Worley had a trying season and saw his time as a starter with the Pirates end in Philadelphia, site of where he had some of his best pitching ... Read More