Buccos Cove

Major League Baseball announced its Gold Glove finalists yesterday and two Pittsburgh Pirates ended up making the list. Jacob Stallings and Adam Frazier were each named finalists at their respective positions. Every year, Major League Baseball awards the best defenders in the league at every position with the Gold Glove Award. Last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had one Gold Glove finalist in Adam Frazier, who finished in third place in voting. This season, the Pirates have doubled their nominees with Frazier being nominated for a second straight year at second base while Jacob Stallings earned his first career Gold Glove Award nomination at catcher. With the team putting more of a focus on the defensive side of the game, their efforts are already beginning to pay off. With good defense, their is less stress on both the offense and pitching and can lead the Pirates to being a more competitive team. In a season where there wasn't much success in terms of on-field play, t...

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. As the Pirates have shown in recent history, being able to play multiple positions can be a key to success. Guys like Josh Harrison, Adam Frazier, and even Colin Moran all have benefitted and earned more playing time because of their versatility. It is not easy to be able to jump around the diamond and do it effectively, but when you can do it, you become that much more of an asset to a team. Versatility has been the key to Hunter Owen's success in the Minor Leagues and has helped him climb all the way to Triple-A Indianapolis last season. He has played six of the nine positions on the field, including catcher, and has played both infield and outfield. On the offensive side of the ball, he ha...

One of the biggest questions put on the back-burner this season was what the Pirates would do with Chris Archer. After missing the entire 2019 season with an injury, and not showing much promise before that, does the right-hander fit into next year's starting rotation? On July 31st, 2018, the Pittsburgh Pirates were sitting at 55-52 and in third place in the National League Central Division. They sat seven games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs and six back of the second-place Milwaukee Brewers, however, they were still very much in the playoff race. There was pressure from the fanbase for Neil Huntington and the Pirates ownership to make a trade to take the Pirates to the next level. That is when Huntington swung a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays to bring former all-star starting pitcher Chris Archer to the Pirates. However, the team had to pay a hefty price, sending RHP Tyler Glasnow, OF Austin Meadows, and Minor Leaguer Shane Baz to the Rays. While the trade was ori...

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. With the departure of John Ryan Murphy and Andrew Susac this off-season, the Pirates are highly lacking in the catching depth department. None of the players that are at the Triple-A level have separated themselves from the pack in terms of being a true third-string catcher behind Jacob Stallings and Luke Maile, forcing the Pirates to go outside of the organization for catching help. However, if the Pirates are unable to bring in any veteran depth, the catcher that is proving the most intrigue in Triple-A so far is catcher Arden Pabst. He has spent the last four years in the Pirates Minor League system and is another example of the defense-first catcher mentality. Pabst has shown flashes of succe...

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Monday that they will be returning their entire coaching staff for the 2021 season. As Manager Derek Shelton heads to his second season, we look to see if he fits in the Pirate's long-term plans. Stepping into a brand-new job can be stressful for anyone in any profession. However, that pressure is magnified when you are challenged with leading a team with a losing record in a city that yearns for the winning years of the early 2010s. That pressure is what first-year manager Derek Shelton had to step into when he took the job as the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Shelton was no stranger to the Major Leagues, having spent 15 years as a Major League coach for the Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Minnesota Twins. As a hitting coach, Shelton's best characteristic was his ability to connect with players and that is exactly what he has done with the Pirates. However, while those connections are being made behind the scenes, the...

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...

The Tampa Bay Rays clinched their way to the World Series defeating the Houston Astros 4-2 in game seven of the ALCS. On a team that features four former Pirates players and farmhands, it is these key pieces that have helped the Rays rise to World Championship contention. Entering game seven of the American League Championship Series, it was win or go home for the Tampa Bay Rays. After jumping out to a 3-0 series lead over the Houston Astros, the Rays were not able to close out the series and the Astros battled back to force a game seven. With a trip to the 2020 World Series at stake, the Rays turned to a former Pirates player who had had big game experience before. Charlie Morton closed out the 2017 World Series win for the Houston Astros and was now being tabbed to start against his former team in an all-important game seven match-up that could send the Rays to the World Series for the first time since the 2008 season when they took on the Philadelphia Phillies, and only ...