Buccos Cove

Entering play on Monday, the Greensboro Grasshoppers are 60-36 and sit in second place in the High-A East standings. With many of the Pirate's key future pieces here, this could be a sign of good things to come for the Pirates. On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Pirates finished a series win in St. Louis, but for the tenth time, they failed to secure a sweep. They fell to Adam Wanwright and the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0, and are the third team in Major League Baseball to reach the 80-loss mark this season. They followed it up by taking the first two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and open up play tonight at 46-80. Things look pretty grim for the Major League club, but down in the Minor Leagues, there is a different tune. A lot of the prospects that Ben Cherington has been acquiring over the last year and a half are playing 430 miles south in a little town in North Carolina. They are giving Pirates fans something to hope for as this rebuild takes shape. That group is the P...

Throughout the 2021 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have made several waiver claims and small trades to fill gaps on their team. Today, we look at some of those signings that may stick around past this season. In a year of rebuilding, there are times when teams pick up players who are just there as a "warm body." While they may not necessarily have a future on the team, they are getting playing time because there is simply no one ready at the Triple-A level to take their place. During the 2021 season, we have seen the Pittsburgh Pirates make many of these types of signings, from Dustin Fowler at the beginning of the season to John Nogowski most recently. Nine times out of ten, these trades end up being short-term moves that fill a need now, but in the end, don't mean very much. However, every now and then, you see a guy who breaks the mold and shows he could have a longer-term benefit. The latest example of this was Phillip Evans before his injury last season, ...

Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Pirates made headlines when it was announced that they had placed Gregory Polanco on outright waivers. However, with him being in the starting lineup last night, we breakdown what went down for Polanco. The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped their series finale on Sunday to the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0. While they still secured a series win against the hated Red Birds, the big news of the day didn't happen until a few hours after the game was over. Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reported that the Pirates had placed Gregory Polanco on outright waivers. After struggling mightily this season, to the tune of a sub-.200 batting average, and ever since the slide where he blew out his shoulder in 2018 he hasn't been the same. However, he was always a great teammate and a great person who would light up a room and always had time to talk to the fans. But, the story of Polanco in Pittsburgh looked like it had reached its epilogue. Then, the lineup came out ...

As the 2021 season has gone on, we have seen not only Pittsburgh Pirates starters, but starters around the league becoming shorter and shorter. Is this a product of the shortened season, or part of the new normal in Major League Baseball? On a sunny day in St. Louis, Steven Brault took the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates as they were looking for their first sweep of the season. Brault entered the game with a 1.84 ERA in his first three starts, and after giving up an early run was on track to turn in another strong outing. He got into a jam created by his defense in the fourth, having runners at the corners and no outs, and worked out of it thanks to an incredible defensive play on a bunt by Brault. He finished the fourth inning at 80 pitches and allowed just the one run on five hits while walking two and striking out one. He wasn't nearly as efficient as he was in his other three starts, but he looked primed to go out there for the fifth inning. However, as the Pirates...

Since joining the Pirates in Los Angeles after signing as a free agent, Yoshi Tsutsugo has taken advantage of his opportunity. Today, we look at whether it will last or if he will fade like the many players before him this season. During the 2021 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have taken a chance on several guys on the waiver wire. Guys like John Nogowski, Ka'ai Tom, and Ben Gamel have all joined the Pirates and have followed a similar pattern. They have all faded out and, with the exception of Ben Gamel, are still a part of the Major League roster. Some just never got going while others got started off with a bang. In the case of Nogowski, he started out hitting nearly .500 in his first 10 games and it looked like he was going to be a move that actually worked out for the Pirates. However, he ended up dropping his average as low as .233 Nd was DFA'd by the Pirates and outright to Triple-A Indianapolis. The latest new addition to the Pirates didn't come off the ...

For the Pirates to move forward in the future, they are going to have to find some stability in their starting rotation. It has been a group that has been ever-changing in 2021, and we look at who the key pieces will be down the stretch. One thing that makes a good Major League Baseball team is a solid starting pitching staff. When you have a guy that keeps you in the game night in and night out, it gives your offense that much more confidence and can in turn help put more wins on the board. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the biggest weaknesses of their team has been inconsistent starting pitching. From Chad Kuhl to Trevor Cahill the Pirates starting pitching would continuously turn in a start that makes it look like they will turn things around followed by a start that takes five steps back. It is this constant cycle of inconsistency that leaves the Pirates in their current position and is only one of several holes on this team. Over the final month of the season, we a...

In a season that has been marked by a ton of negative, we look at the positive as the team builds towards the future. Here are our Pirates players to watch during the final month of the season. Heading into St. Louis tonight, there has been a lot of negativity surrounding the organization. The team has lost 22 of their last 28 games and are on a five-game skid after being swept in Los Angeles. They are at a season-low mark of 42-79 and the schedule doesn't get much easier. They head into St. Louis to take on the Cardinals this weekend and end the month with another four-game series at home against the Red Birds. 100 losses are looking more and more inevitable and the Pirates will have to finish the year 20-21 to avoid losing 100 games this season. While the Minor Leagues have a lot to be positive about this season, the Major League team is trending in the opposite direction. However, it hasn't been all bad as there have been some positives for the Pirates this seaso...