Buccos Cove

The Pittsburgh Pirates alternate training site is underway and as the extended camp rages on into April, there are battles starting to form. One of those key battles that might impact the Pirates this year is who will be the team's third catcher. While the Pittsburgh Pirates kicked off their home schedule this afternoon with a 0-0 tie against the Chicago Cubs, there is another battle brewing just up the river. It isn't a battle of two teams, but a battle to see who would be the first catcher called up of either Jacob Stallings or Michael Perez got injured. There are four catchers currently at the alternate training site, and after the battle between Michael Perez and Tony Wolters for the Major League backup job, none is the other catchers got a lot of time at the plate. But now, under the watchful eye of Alternate Site manager Brian Esposito, these four men will battle it out to see who the third catcher will be for the Pirates in 2021. The four men battling for the...

Looking at the Pittsburgh Pirates who have spent the longest time in the organization, one of those names is Christian Kelley. He is entering his seventh year in the Pirates organization and is hoping 2021 is the year he finally makes his MLB debut. Over the last five Spring Trainings, a lot of things have changed for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Andrew McCutchen was traded, Clint Hurdle was fired, and there are only five players left on the team who was in Big League camp at that time. However, one of the things that have remained consistent is Christan Kelley being invited as a non-roster catcher to Spring Training. Kelley is entering his age 27 season and has been a non-roster invitee to each of the last five spring trainings dating back to the 2017 season. During those five Big League camps, he has been a career .220 hitter with four RBI over 39 games played. He is the longest-tenured non-roster invitee and is looking to make his big break at some point this season. In 2020,...

One of the few positions for the Pirates without a question mark is the starting catcher's role, currently held by Jacob Stallings. We take a look at the team's back-up catching options to see who will be giving Stallings breaks during the season. Last season, Jacob Stallings emerged as the Pittsburgh Pirates' primary catcher and thrived in his full-time role. He was a Gold Glove finalist on defense, and he handled the bat well hitting .248 with three home runs and 18 RBI. He caught more innings than any other catcher in Major League Baseball, with 345.1 innings of work behind the plate, and remained healthy throughout the season. However, the catcher is a very vulnerable position, and even guys like Stallings need a day off from time to time. That is where the back-up catcher's role comes in, and the Pirates have a couple of different options to back-up Stallings this season. Catcher has been a position where the Pirates have lacked depth in recent seasons,...

One of the positions for the Pirates that is not in question for 2021 is Jacob Stallings as the starting catcher. However, when Stallings needs a day off, who is going to be the man behind him working behind the plate. As the Pittsburgh Pirates entered Spring Training 2020, one of the biggest questions on the field loomed around the catcher's role. The clear-cut starter was Jacob Stallings, but this was his first time as a starting catcher at the Major League level. Turns out not only was Stallings a good option, but he turned out to be one of the best catchers in all of Major League baseball as he was nominated for a Gold Glove award. Stallings is back in 2021, but now the question looms around who will be doing the back-up catching duties behind him. Catcher is one position the Pirates are not very deep at, and that could pose a problem for one of the most injury-prone positions on the field. One of General Manager Ben Cherrington's goals this off-season is to add...

The 2020 Rule 5 Draft is scheduled to take place on December 10th, 2020, as part of the Winter Meetings and the Pirates have some interesting prospects eligible. We will break down all the Rule 5 eligible players and whether or not the Pirates should worry about losing them or not. Heading into the 2020 off-season, one of the Pittsburgh Pirates' biggest needs is catching depth. Outside of Jacob Stallings and Luke Maile at the Major League level, there isn't much excitement coming up through the Pirates Minor League system. The dilemma makes the 2020 Rule 5 Draft that much harder for General Manager Ben Cherrington and his staff, as several of the Pirates catching prospects are draft eligible. The one who is closest to Major League ready is Christian Kelley, who has spent the last five seasons climbing the ladder through the Pirates organization. He has always shown an ability to handle the position defensively, but his offense hasn't shown through. Kelley was ta...

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. Looking at the catching prospects in the Pirates farm system, there are no names that really jump out at you. Many of them are strong defensive players, but their bats have been unable to turn the corner with their defensive development. The closest of those prospects to the Major Leagues is 26-year old Christian Kelley, who served as the starting catcher at Triple-A Indianapolis last season. His offensive numbers took a turn for the worst while his defensive numbers continued to trend upward as he continued to develop to try and provide some much-needed catching depth for the Big League club. Last season for Indianapolis, Kelley batted a career-low .179 w...