Contreras, De Jong Dominate on Minor League Opening Day
After sitting idly for a year due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, Minor League Baseball returned to action last night and all four Pirates Minor League teams were in action. The Triple-A Indianapolis Indians and High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers each got wins while the Altoona Curve and Bradenton Marauders each took losses on Opening Night. There were some great performances throughout the Pirates Minor League system and some anticipated appearances. Travis Swaggerty got his Triple-A career started with a three-hit night and Nick Gonzales got two hits in his pro ball debut. However, it was a pair of starting pitchers that stole the spotlight on Minor League Baseball's Opening Night.
Chase De Jong and Roansy Contreras each made their debuts at Triple-A and Double-A respectively, and both were lights out on the mound. For the Indianapolis Indians, it resulted in a big win to open the season, while Double-A Altoona wasn't so lucky in a loss. De Jong has been looked at as a depth piece for the Pirate's starting rotation this season, and Contreras was a big piece in the Jameson Taillon deal and is part of the Pirate's future. It is nice to see both players start their season on the right foot in a year that is highly focused on the development of the Pirate's young players. Today, we jump into each of the Pitcher's 2021 debuts and see what allowed them to be as effective as they were on the hill.
Chase De Jong (6.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 10 K)
In Spring Training, right-handed pitcher Chase De Jong was the Pirate's best starter and was earning looks from the Big League club. In five games, three starts, for the Pirates this spring De Jong went 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA over 14.1 innings of work while walking three and striking out seven. It came down to the final week of Spring Training, but De Jong would be optioned to the alternate site and Wil Crowe made the Major League roster. De Jong was not discouraged and continued to work at the alternate training site. He ultimately earned the Opening Day nod for Triple-A on Tuesday and did not disappoint. De Jong did not disappoint turning in one of the best starts of his Minor League career as the Indians beat the Iowa Cubs 3-0.
De Jong lasted 6.0 innings of work allowing no runs on two hits while walking two and striking out 10 batters. The 10 batters tied a career-high for De Jong and helped lead the Indians to their first Opening Night shutout since 1998. The key to De Jong's success throughout the night was that he was efficient and consistently pounded the strike zone. He threw just 90 pitches over his six innings of work and ended up throwing 68.8% of them for strikes. He only got into four three-ball counts all night long and threw 12 pitches or less in four of his size innings of work. He had good control throughout the night and was able to consistently get ahead of hitters and use his pitches the way that he wanted to.
De Jong relied heavily on his fastball throughout the night and worked the top of the zone. His fastball was his primary pitch, especially early in the count, and was hitting well in the mid-90s throughout the night. After that, he worked in his devastating curveball and was able to drop it in under his opponent's bats. This is the same one-two combo we saw from De Jong early in the season, and it is nice to see both pitches still working well a month later. De Jong is a big candidate to eventually get the call to Pittsburgh this season, and a strong start in his Opener only strengthens his chances. It was a good start on the mound for De Jong and is the first step on his road back to the Major Leagues.
Roansy Contreras (5 IP 0 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 11 K)
For as good as De Jong was in his Triple-A debut, the Altoona Curve got an even better start from their starter. Roansy Contreras made his Double-A debut and appeared in his first game for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He did not disappoint throwing five shutout innings on the mound, allowing five hits, and striking out a career-high 11 batters. The big stat that jumps out to me is not the 11 strikeouts but the ZERO walks. Contreras showed good stuff in his three Spring Training appearances with the Pirates, but he took things to the next level in his Double-A debut. Because of all the strikeouts, his pitch count was elevated as he threw 80 on five innings, but 68.7% of them were strikes.
Contreras was on fire right from the get-go, striking out the first four Bowie Baysox that he faced on the day. During those four at-bats, he threw just five balls and only got into one three-ball count in his five innings of work. Conteras's fastball is overpowering in the upper 90s, and when he is locating it well he can be almost unhittable. He was locating the fastball around the zone all night long and he balanced that out with his devastating slider. Even when the opposition was making contact, it wasn't hard contact as Contreras allowed just one extra-base hit all night, with two outs in the top of the fifth. Other than that, he spread out four singles through his first four innings and was only in a jam once in the top of the third.
Contreras was one of the big pieces in the Jameson Taillon trade and is one of the pieces the Pirates are looking at for the future. With his fastball hitting in the upper 90s consistently, it isn't clear whether he will stay a starter or convert to the bullpen, but in either role, he could thrive. He put together a career year in Low-A Ball in 2019, going 12-5 with a 3.33 ERA in 24 starts, and is now looking to make one of the toughest jumps that a young prospect had to make moving to Double-A. His first glance was pretty good and he is looking to build off of that all season. It will be a couple of years before we see Conteras in the Major Leagues, but his stuff is showing that he could be a prospect to watch moving forward.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (13-16) look for a series win tonight when they take on the San Diego Padres (17-14) in game three of their series at 8:10 pm. JT Brubaker (2-2, 2.63) is looking to get back in the win column after two tough losses last time out as he goes against Yu Darvish (3-1, 2.13) for the Padres. You can watch the game on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter at @Buccos_Cove.
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