The Future Starting Out Bright in A Ball in 2021
The Pittsburgh Pirates are at a rebuilding phase in their organization's history. After the mistakes of the previous regime, the Pirates are now set on acquiring new talent and bringing them up through their Minor League system. Because of this, there are tough moves that the team is going to have to make this season and probably next season as well. Guys like Tyler Anderson, Adam Frazier, and Richard Rodriguez will be flipped at the trade deadline for prospects who will help rebuild the pipeline and set the Pirates up for future success. Because of this, many of these prospects are still in the lower levels of the Minor Leagues, playing for High-A Greensboro and Low-A Bradenton.
While these players are still two or three years away from making an impact at the Big League club, there is some hope. Many of the guys the Pirates are relying on developing are out to a hot start to their professional careers in 2021. As a result, both Greensboro and Bradenton are out to hot starts, with each team going 3-3 in their first six contests. The leaders of these strong starts have been many of the guys that General Manager Ben Cherington has brought in through trades and the MLB Draft. With the Minor League season shutdown last year, we didn't get a chance to see many of these guys in action. Today, we take a look at some of the guys off to the best starts and tell you how they will impact the future Pirates.
Liover Peguero: 7-18 (.389) 2 HR, 4 RBI
If there was an award for the hottest start by a Pirates Minor Leaguer, infielder Liover Peguero would take home the award hands down. He was acquired in the Starling Marte trade prior to the 2020 season and is getting his first opportunity to show his skills for his new organization. He has not taken that opportunity lightly, going 7-18 (.389) with two home runs and four RBI in his first five games with the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers. He has at least one hit in every game he has played this season and has two multi-hit games. His best effort came in his second game of the season when he went 2-5 with a home run, RBI, and three runs scored 8-4 win over the Hickory Crawdads.
However, Peguero has some questions as he left his last game early with an apparent injury. He was 1-1 with a double in the game on May 9th against Hickory. He went to steal third, did so successfully, but then had to leave the game with a hand injury. Sources have said that Peguero was fine and the move was a precaution, which is a big sigh of relief for fans. Peguero has shown that he can handle both the bat and the glove both in Spring Training and in his High-A debut. The Grasshoppers are back in action tonight against the Rome Braves, and Peguero should be back in there as the Hoppers shortstop. He will be a guy to watch this season as he tries to advance through the Pirates system.
Nick Gonzales .389 (7-18) 1 HR, 2 RBI
The worst thing about the Minor League shut down last season, was the fact that you couldn't see the 2020 draft picks in action. They had a shortened season, and then many were forced to work from home to begin their professional career. For Pirate's first-round draft pick Nick Gonzales, he got the chance to play at the alternate training site, but now he has a chance to show the Pirates just what they drafted. So far, it has been a good showing as he hit .389 with a home run and two RBI in his first five professional games with the Grasshoppers. He features a short-quick swing that allows him to drive the ball to the gaps and pick up some big extra-base hits.
Of his first seven hits in his professional career, four have gone for extra bases, including three doubles. He currently leads the Grasshoppers with three doubles and is tied for the team lead in hits with Peguero, each player has seven this season. Gonzales got the rare opportunity to work with former Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson this summer, and Wilson had high praise for the young second baseman. "He is going to be a really good player," Wilson said in an interview with The Trib. "He plays the game like his demeanor, very calm and nothing is flashy. He doesn't care about impressing anyone." Well so far through five games, all Gonzales has done is impress, and has us excited for the future.
Roansy Contreras: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K
In the deal that sent Jameson Taillon to the New York Yankees, the Pirates acquired a package of prospects that included young flamethrower Roansy Contreras. The Pirates got a glimpse of Contreras in Spring Training, and he struck out five batters in two innings of work while walking two. He showcased his 97 mph fastball, that can get as high as triple-digits at times. However, he showed just how effective that fastball could be when he made his Double-A debut last week on Opening Night. He faces off against the Bowie Baysocks and went five shutout innings while allowing five hits and striking out 11 batters. The 11 strikeouts were a career-high for Contreras, but the bigger story was the zero walks. He was pretty efficient for all the strikeouts he had, needing 80 pitches to get through the five innings of work.
Contreras was a break-out performer in the Yankees Minor League system in 2019 as he dominated Low-A Ball. He went 12-5 with a 3.33 ERA for Low-A last season, throwing a career-high 134.2 innings of work and striking out 113 batters. The interesting thing with Contreras will be seeing how long he can keep his velocity going in his starts this season. Hitting 97-100 mph is nice, but when you do it consistently, that is even more impressive. Contreras didn't seem to slow down towards the end of his Double-A debut, and that will be something to watch throughout the season. Contreras is set to make his second start of the season tonight against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at 6:35 pm. All eyes will be on Double-A to see if Contreras's success from his first start can be continued.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (14-20) try to bounce back in game two of their three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds (16-16) tonight at 6:35 pm. JT Brubaker (2-2, 2.78) looks for his elusive third win of the season tonight as he goes against Jeff Hoffman (2-2, 4.39) for the Reds. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.
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