Buccos Cove

It is probably one of the hardest position groups to guess on the field, but today we try and predict the 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen. With so many guys performing well this spring training, the competition is cut-throat for those eight to nine spots. After a year where the bullpen was one of the shakiest parts of the Pittsburgh Pirates team. Especially at the beginning of the year, no lead seemed to be safe and you were continuously holding your breath in big situations. Because of this, General Manager Ben Cherington went out and acquired several depth pieces to help the Pirate's young guys as they develop. Now, it is time for those pieces to show they can be effective and win games for the Pirates. With the rosters growing to 26 men this year, there are several different combinations the team could go with, in the center-field bullpen. They could go with 12, 13, or 14 pitchers and each combination pose different challenges for filling out the roster. Today, we co...

During the 2020 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen was one of their weakest links and led to the team going 19-41. However, if 2021 Spring Training is any indication, the bullpen might turn into the strength of this Pirates team. Last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen was in disarray for a majority of the season. It started out with the ineffectiveness of Kyle Crick in Spring Training and an injury that would keep Nick Burdi out throughout the year. Due to a lack of pitching depth on the team, the Pirates were scurrying to try to fill holes with guys who clearly weren't ready. However, General Manager Ben Cherrington has made it his personal mission to fill the organization with pitching depth so the Pirates don't run into the same trouble they did in 2020. So far, Cherington has been rewarded for his moves, as the bullpen is proving to be one of the strongest groups on the field. Entering play on Wednesday, the Pirates relievers rank fourth in the MLB with...

With less than two weeks to go before Opening Day, the Pittsburgh Pirates are beginning to cut their roster to 26 men. Two guys who should make the cut have had strong weeks and will be more than likely traveling to Chicago with the team on April 1st. After the first round of Spring Training cuts, the Pittsburgh Pirates now have 51 active players in Major League Spring Training. The Pirates will have to cut that number in half before they are able to travel to Chicago on April 1st for Opening Day 2021. That means that we are going to see more and more playing time for the starters and guys who have a chance of being with the Pirates on Opening Day. While the Minor Leaguers will still be in camp, they won't be getting as much playing time as the starters will  For this week's Buccos Cove Players of the week, we look at two guys who will be playing in their first full seasons for the Pirates during the 2021 season.  Our Buccos Cove Hitter of the Week is infielder Ke...

Last week, the Pittsburgh Pirates learned that they would be without their hotshot young reliever Blake Cederlind. Today, we look at how his injury changes the make-up of the Pirates bullpen heading into the 2021 season. Last season, one of the Pittsburgh Pirates' biggest issues was how many times they were bit by the injury bug. They had a total of 11 men on the injured list by season's end, and we're hoping for better success in 2021. However, they have already lost their first pitcher of the year as it was discovered that Blake Cederlind suffered a strained UCL. He was placed on the 60-day Injured List and the Pirates are currently trying to decide what the next best step would be moving forward. Cederlind was supposed to be a big member of the Pirates bullpen, but now he is likely out for the season. With the loss of a top-notch reliever, the Pirates are going to have to shuffle some things around to fill the void. Luckily, unlike last season, the Pirates do...

After a rough start to his Major League career in 2019, Geoff Hartlieb had a breakout season in 2020. The hard-throwing right-hander is trying to find himself a spot in the back-end of the Pirates bullpen for 2021. The Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen is one of the biggest questions the team faces heading into the 2021 season. No spot is locked down, aside from Richard Rodriguez and everyone is looking to make an impact. One of those pitchers is Geoff Hartlieb, who is entering his age 27 season. After struggling through his first big league season in 2019, Hartlieb came back in 2019 and began showing the success that he had in the Minor Leagues. He was brought up as a closer his entire professional career, and it was thought that he would take over the role someday. Now, he has his chance if he can duplicate the success he had in 2020. He made a career-high 21 appearances for the Pirates and went 1-0 with a 3.63 ERA over 22.1 innings of work. Through September 11th, his ERA was u...

With the Pittsburgh Steelers falling to the Cleveland Browns last night, all eyes turn to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pirates as they get ready for their 2021 seasons. We look at where the Pirates stand just 35 days away from reporting day. Last night, the Pittsburgh sports world watched as disaster unfolded before their eyes. With a bad snap just seconds into the game, the Steelers ended up falling to the Cleveland Browns 48-37 in the AFC Wild Card Round ending their season. However, for Pirates fans that means all eyes turn to Spring Training. We are just about 35 days away from pitchers and catcher reporting, but where do the Pirates stand? It has been a pretty uneventful off-season for the Pirates, and pretty much every other team in the league, with the only major move being the trade of Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals. Other than that and a few minor signings, the roster looks pretty much the same as it did a season ago minus the clean-up hitter. The Pirates do ...

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost one of their top closer candidates over the weekend when they designated reliever Nick Burdi for assignment due to another injury. Now, looking at the pitchers the Pirates have left, who is going to step into the closer's role in 2021? In recent history, the Pittsburgh Pirates have always had a good closer to come in and shut down the opposition. It started in the early 2000s with Jose Mesa and has continued with Matt Capps, Jason Grilli, Joel Hanrahan, Mark Melancon, and even Felipe Vazquez (before all the legal trouble). Even entering the 2020 season, the Pirates had a pretty good idea that Keone Kela was going to be there closer. As for 2021, there is no clear candidate to assume the role and it is going to be a position that is going to have some competition in 2021. There are several highly regarded back-end relievers on the roster, but manager Derek Shelton is going to have to find out which ones thrive in the ninth inning. At the end o...

At the beginning of the year, the Pirates bullpen was hampered with injuries and was one of the weakest spots on the team. Over the last couple of weeks, consistency and the return of some of those injured players have caused the bullpen to stand strong and become a powerhouse for the Bucs. Kyle Crick, Nick Burdi, Edgar Santana. These were just some of the names that made up the Pirates Injured List during the first month of the 2020 season. The Pirates were forced to call up several young arms from their satellite camp, that hadn't had much experience at any level higher then single-aa. All of this amounted to a bullpen that was getting obliterated, blowing leads night in and night out. However, some of those players who were injured have made their way back to the Pirates roster and some of the young guys have found consistency. It has led to the Pirates bullpen becoming a strength for the team over the final weeks of August and early September. Over the last two week...

It has been a rocky start for the Pirates so far in 2020, as they are off to a 2-10 start over their first 12 games of the season. Part of that is due to some injuries to key pitchers, and today we look at the guys replacing them and how they project this season. As unfortunate as it is, injuries are a major part of professional sports and the Pittsburgh Pirates have been dealt their fair share over the last couple of seasons. This year alone, they are without eight high-impact pitchers, with most missing the rest of the season. Guys like Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer, Kyle Crick, and most recently Nick Burdi have all hit the injured list and will miss significant time this season. While it isn't good to be without those players, it does give Pirates management a chance to see what they have in their Minor League system. There are several young guys in the Pirates bullpen getting their first shot at the MLB level. That is who we are going to focus on today looking at th...

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. In the 29th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates took a chance on Geoff Hartlieb, a young reliever from Lindenwood College. He was not thought highly of by many baseball scouts and was ranked Below Average in terms of his athleticism and his delivery. However, his velocity is what tweaked the Pirates interest and, with a fastball that averaged 96.5 mph, they saw this as an opportunity to train a young guy to eventually be a strong piece in the back-end of the Pirates bullpen for years to come. Three years later, Hartlieb is in the Major Leagues pitching out of the bullpen for the Bucs in 2019. He got his first call to the P...