Buccos Cove

While the Major League team has been on the All-Star Break, the Pirates affiliates have been continuing their schedules. One starter in Double-A, who has gone under the radar, is stepping up his game in the month of July. While we were watching Adam Frazier and Bryan Reynolds start in the 2021 All-Stat Game, the Pirates Minor Leaguers were still getting down to business. Being that their season was delayed by a month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minor League teams ended up playing through the All-Star break to get their full seasons in. It is also an exciting time in the Minor Leagues because the mid-season promotions will be happening as we see players get a chance to move up the ladder. One player who got this opportunity a little earlier in the year was starting pitcher Trey McGough. McGough began his season with High-A Greensboro, where, in six appearances, five starts, he posted a 2.00 ERA over 18 innings of work. He ended up being promoted to Double-A Altoona in ...

In all of Minor League Baseball, there have been few pitchers who have been more dominant than Roansy Contreras. Through his first three starts, he has a 0.00 ERA and is Named the Double-A Northern League Pitcher of the Week. During the off-season, General Manager Ben Cherington pulled off a trade that sent Jameson Taillon to the Need York Yankees for a package of four prospects. The prospects have had varying degrees of impact in the organization, including Miguel Yajure making two starts with the Big League club so far. However, the highlight of this trade has been down in Double-A Altoona, where he has been absolutely dominating the Northern League. Pirates fans got a glimpse of Roansy Contreras this spring when he appeared in two games and struck out five batters, while walking two, over two innings of work. However, he has done that and a lot more over in Altoona, as he leads the Double-A starting rotation. Over his first three starts of the season, Contreras has yet t...

As we continue our look at the Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League affiliates, we move to Altoona to visit the Altoona Curve. They are one of the most exciting team's in the Pirates Minor League system, featuring many of the prospects that will make up the Pirates of the future. When you hear about General Manager Ben Cherrington's rebuild, most timelines have the Pirates being competitive again right around the 2023 or 2024 seasons. Using that timeline, a lot of the guys that will be a part of the next Pirates playoff team are likely to be starting the year right around the Double-A level. Because of this the 2021 Altoona Curve team should be one of the most exciting teams to watch in the system this season. The starting rotation will be full of guys from the Pirate's top 30 prospect list, and most of the everyday players are guys the team is looking to develop into everyday starters. First-year Manager Miguel Perez, hitting coach David Newhan, and pitching coach D...

On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed their first-round pick shortstop Nick Gonzales, one of the best hitters in the 2020 MLB Draft. Now that he is here, let's take a look at the next steps for the next generation of Pittsburgh Pirates muffle infielders. When the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted New Mexico State shortstop Nick Gonzales, they shocked a lot of the baseball experts. The Pirates were projected to take an outfielder, but Bem Cherrington ended up going with the best hitter in the draft, adding to their group of talented Minor League middle infielders. Gonzales and his family traveled to PNC Park to sign his contract and take in the sight of what he has to look forward to in the future. When asked about signing his first professional contract, Gonzales said "It's been so awesome. It was so jaw-dropping just to walk into this park and to see how beautiful it is and see the city right behind centerfield was so special for me." Gonzales's career...

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. One of the hardest things for a professional hitter to master coming up through the ranks is plate discipline. It can plague players for years, even after they make the Major Leagues, and can end up ending careers. However, one guy in the Pirates system who is already showing great plate discipline in Double-A outfielder Chris Sharpe. In his first three years of professional baseball, he has had an on-base percentage of .330 or higher and has drawn more than 35 walks three times. Because of this, Sharpe has seen a lot of good pitches to hit and, after showing glimpses of power during his first two professional seasons, he broke out last year setting career...

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. While the games top stars are fun to watch night in and night out, but sometimes it is nice to see someone come out of nowhere and succeed. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of those guys to watch is going to be outfielder Bligh Madris. He has not cracked the Pirate's top 30 prospect list in any of his three seasons in the Pirates system, but he has shown signs of being a strong outfielder. After bursting onto the scene in his professional career, he has had his share of ups and downs since but found a home in the Altoona Curve outfield last season playing his best season of professional baseball. While his stats didn't set any career-highs, he showe...

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. During the early 2010s, the Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the most active teams in the foreign free-agent market. The Pirates knew there was some great talent across the globe and they felt that their Minor League system was good enough to develop them into Major League caliber players. One of the best defensive players that the team signed was infielder Adrian Valerio. When the Pirates signed him during the 2013 season, he was highly regarded as one of the best defensive players in the foreign market. However, his bat left little to be desired and it wasn't known if his bat would ever catch up to his defensive ability. After seeing a rise in his offe...

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. For many players from outside the United States, the path to Major League Baseball is one full of twists, turns, triumphs, and failures. For Australian born, Robbie Glendinning, his path to the pros started in 2013 and saw him play for three different teams over the course of three years before he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over the last three seasons, Glendinning has gone from trying to find his way, to a budding prospect in the Pirates system, ready to put some pressure on the players in the upper levels of the Minor Leagues. Last season, he made his way to Double-A Altoona and was part of the middle infield for the final part of the 2019 sea...

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 you think of strong offensive numbers on the field, you usually think of first basemen, third basemen, or corner outfielders. However, once in a Blue Moon a middle infielder will emerge who can both flash the leather and hit the cover off the baseball. Pirates infield prospect Stephen Alemais is looking to be the next to make his way through the Pirates Minor League system. When baseball resumes, he will be looking for a comeback season after missing nearly the entire 2019 season with a right shoulder strain. He only got to play in 12 games last season before the injury sidelines him in late April and ended his season. Alemais's last full season c...

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. Baseball is a game that once someone in the family picks it up, it is usually passed down through the generations. For the Sulser family, they have two sons who have made it to professional baseball and are currently pitching in the Minor Leagues. The first was Cole Sulser, who was drafted by the Cleveland Indians and is currently in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. The other is Pirates pitching prospect Beau Sulser who pitched out of the Altoona Curve bullpen for the majority of the 2019 season. After battling back from elbow surgery during his days in college baseball, Beau Sulser has quickly become one of the best relief pitching prospects in the system...

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. Over the years, many good pitchers have made their way up through the Pirates Minor League system. Guys like Gerritt Cole, Jameson Taillon, and Tyler Glasnow have all battled through the Minor Leagues and had good seasons in the Major Leagues. The one common denominator between all those pitchers is that they are right-handed. The Pirates have not had many left-handers have come up through the system, and the ones who have were acquired via a trade. The latest lefty prospect looking to develop his way to the Major Leagues is prospect Domingo Robles. He made the move to Double-A Altoona last season, and he started to get some recognition by season's end...