Buccos Cove

As we await the start of the 2020 MLB season due to Corona Virus concerns, we will take a look at every player on the Pirates roster and outline what they will bring to the table and projections for the 2020 season. I hope this brings some positive reading to the current situation and helps us all as we wait for baseball. The junior college scene has produced its fair share of Major League Baseball players over the years. They are some of the best college players that for one reason or another they were passed up by the Division I, II, and III scouts. One of the products of the Junior College circuit is Pirates Minor League pitcher Hunter Stratton. The left-handed pitching prospect has jumped between the bullpen and the starting rotation throughout his collegiate and professional career performing well in both roles. He has got good velocity with his fastball hitting in the low to mid-90s, but his control has been an issue throughout his career, and something he needs to wo...

It is safe to say one of the trades that got former Pirates General Manager Neil Huntington kicked out if Pittsburgh was when he sent the face of the franchise Andrew McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants. Looking back three years later, the trade might have benefitted the Pirates in the long run as they build back towards a winning team. For low market teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates, being a fan is sometimes not an easy thing to do (believe me I know). You aren't always competing for a World Series year in and year out and a lot of the times when you do get a playoff-caliber team it is only for a short period of time. The Pittsburgh Pirates had their playoff-caliber team from 2013 to 2015 and the undisputed leader of those teams was center fielder Andrew McCutchen. Ever since he made his Major League debut in 2009, he was the guy patrolling centerfield and usually hitting in one of the top three spots in the Pirates batting order. He was a five-time all-star and a o...

As we await the start of the 2020 MLB season due to Corona Virus concerns, we will take a look at every player on the Pirates roster and outline what they will bring to the table and projections for the 2020 season. I hope this brings some positive reading to the current situation and helps us all as we wait for baseball. The bullpen can be an unforgiving place for a pitcher at any level of baseball, with one bad start affecting you for the rest of the season. For right-handed pitching prospect Logan Stoelke, that has been where he has lived since moving to college ball. He was drafted in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB Draft and, despite being a senior, he was a very inexperienced arm. Injuries followed him throughout his college career and limited him to just 49.2 innings of work in his collegiate career. He has middle of the road velocity for a relief pitcher, and his 6'3 frame still gives him some room to amp up that velocity. Last season, he pitched between two lev...

Over the weekend, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed the fourth member of their 2020 MLB Draft Class, and their third actual draft pick, Logan Hoffman. Hoffman was initially selected in the 35th round of the 2019 draft but went back to raise his stock for try 2020 season. The Pittsburgh Pirates continue talking with their 2020 MLB Draft class as they await the start of the shortened 2020 season. They already signed their 44th overall pick (Jared Jones) and their 7th overall pick (Nick Gonzales), and on Monday they added another member of the draft class. Right-handed pitcher Logan Hoffman signed with the Pirates yesterday, marking the third of their six draft picks to sign with the team. Hoffman had an interesting college career playing for three different teams in three years between the NCAA and the Cape Cod League. He was previously drafted during the 2019 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, but greatly improved his draft stock in a shortened season and earned himself a hig...

As we await the start of the 2020 MLB season due to Corona Virus concerns, we will take a look at every player on the Pirates roster and outline what they will bring to the table and projections for the 2020 season. I hope this brings some positive reading to the current situation and helps us all as we wait for baseball. The most important thing for any pitcher to be able to do in their career is getting batters out any way they can. It doesn't matter how many guys you strikeout, as long as you are keeping the opposition off the board in your own way. This is the mentality that Minor League pitcher Aaron Shortridge has gone with throughout his professional career. He never posted very high strikeout numbers in his first two seasons in professional baseball, but he has kept the opponents batting average below the .260 mark and has never posted an ERA higher than 3.25. His velocity isn't the best, but he uses his stuff to try and out finesse the opposition. Last seas...

As we await the start of the 2020 MLB season due to Corona Virus concerns, we will take a look at every player on the Pirates roster and outline what they will bring to the table and projections for the 2020 season. I hope this brings some positive reading to the current situation and helps us all as we wait for baseball. When the Pittsburgh Pirates were looking at Dominican Republic pitching prospect Samuel Reyes, they received some insight from an inside source. He is the younger brother of Pablo Reyes, giving him an inside route to the Pirates organization. Since signing back in 2016, he has had to transition from a starting pitcher to a relief pitcher and has seen success in the bullpen. It has allowed him to just let it fly rather than trying to keep his velocity up over the course of an entire game. Some times a step back is good for a player, and it benefitted Reyes as he took a demotion last season. When many thought he would make the move to Advanced-A, the Pirates...

When looking at the shortstop position, it is a defensive first position that is the leader on the field and directs the rest of the infielders. Today we will take a look at the top five Pittsburgh Pirates shortstops since the 2000 season and see who has led the Pirates on defense in the 21st century. Since the 2000 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have always had a strong defender at the shortstop position. While they may not have been the heaviest hitters on the team, they all helped secure the middle infield. It is a position that the Pirates have been known for dating back to the 1900s when Honus Wagner manned the position for over 17 seasons. They are the leaders of the defense and usually the person with the most range on the field. Not many men have been able to hold the position, but the ones who have turned out to be some of the best defenders on the team.  Today, we will be taking a look at the top five shortstops since the 2000 season in Pittsburgh and see what...

As we await the start of the 2020 MLB season due to Corona Virus concerns, we will take a look at every player on the Pirates roster and outline what they will bring to the table and projections for the 2020 season. I hope this brings some positive reading to the current situation and helps us all as we wait for baseball. When pitcher Braeden Ogle was drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 Major League draft, he was one of the top high school left-handed pitchers in the state of Florida. He was a young power arm, with his fastball hitting in the low to mid-90s and that kind of young talent is hard to find. Since joining the Pirates organization, he has suffered a couple of injuries that have ended his time in starting rotations, but he hasn't let that stop his development in the Minot Leagues, he now serves as a power arm out of the bullpen who when needed can give the Pirates some innings when their starters struggle. The move to the bullpen has also helped his veloci...

The late 1910s were an era of change for Pittsburgh Pirates baseball as they were going through a change of manager and some of their star players were coming to the end of their careers. It was a time for young players to step up and help the team through the transition. Following the 1915 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates organization underwent several changes. They saw the retirement of their first consistent manager, Fred Clarke, and stars like Honus Wagner were getting to the tail end of their careers. It was a time where the record and stat lines weren't that impressive for the team, but young stars were emerging as the team navigated through these new times. The era kicked off with the hiring of Jimmy Callahan as the team's new manager. Callahan would be the first Pirates manager who did not play the field and worked solely from the bench. He pitched for three different MLB teams in his career and was hoping to help boost the team's young pitching staff. His...

As we await the start of the 2020 MLB season due to Corona Virus concerns, we will take a look at every player on the Pirates roster and outline what they will bring to the table and projections for the 2020 season. I hope this brings some positive reading to the current situation and helps us all as we wait for baseball. When pitcher Oddy Nunez was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2015, he was noted for being able to induce groundballs. He was a strong left-handed pitching prospect, which is always hard to find, with a power sinker that he could throw in the mid to upper 90s. His Pirates career started with a bang as he was working out of the bullpen, however, since the Pirates have stretched him out to become a starter things haven't been so easy. He has lost a few miles per hour on his sinker and opponents are starting to pick it up out of his hand. The other problem Nunez has faced is being able to stay healthy. Since he moved to full-season ball, he has had...