PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) –Grapefruit League play debuts Saturday for the Pirates at 1p on 93.7 The Fan. There are new faces (Aroldis Chapman in black and gold), returnees (most notably Oneil Cruz at shortstop), position battles. Here is a breakdown of some of those questions before the games begin.
Position battles to watch
2nd base
· Acquired in the Starling Marte trade Liover Peguero has the inside track showing some power. Playing in 59 games in the majors last year, the right-hander hit seven home runs.
· 2020 1st round pick Nick Gonzales had two home runs and eight doubles in 35 MLB games last year. Another righty, Gonzales had 27 doubles, eight triples, 14 HR in 74 AAA games in 2023.
· The only lefty in the group, Ji Hwan Bae played in 111 MLB games hitting .231 with a .296 OBP, little power but 24 stolen bases in 2023. Also could be considered in the outfield.
· 26-year-old Jared Triolo came up as a third baseman, but hit .298 with a .388 on-base percentage in 181 MLB at bats and has the flexibility to play other positions.
Right field (let’s assume Bryan Reynolds & Jack Suwinski occupy left and center field)
· 6’2”, 27-year-old right-handed Edward Olivares is new to the mix, hitting 23 doubles, 12 homers in 107 games with the Royals last year. He also stole 11 bases with a .263 average, .452 slugging percentage.
· Lefty Joshua Palacios came out of nowhere to his 10 home runs in 91 games with a .412 slugging, hitting .318 with four home runs and 13 RBI in September.
· All things go to plan, Henry Davis is the catcher. Last year, the 2021 first-round pick played 49 games in right and caught 2 innings.
· More of a utility player, who could be the backup at first base or the other outfield positions, Connor Joe would be a placeholder. The 31-year-old righty played in 133 games with 31 doubles and 11 home runs hitting .247 with a .339 OBP.
Catcher
· It’s been one of the talking points of Spring, the right-hander Davis returning to his college and minor league position. He hit .213 with 17 extra base hits in 62 games last year.
· An MVP candidate in 2019, Yasmani Grandal is now ideally the back-up. The 35-year-old switch-hitter is coming of eight homers and a .234 average in 118 games with the White Sox in 2023.
· If injuries pop-up, Jason Delay caught 70 games with a .251 average last year and Ari Sanchez is probably the best defensive catcher in the system.
4 and 5 in rotation (newly inked to a $77 million contract Mitch Keller, Martin Perez and Marco Gonzales are first 3)
· JT Brubaker and Michael Burrows each coming off Tommy John surgery and both righties. Brubaker has started 61 games for the Pirates in his career and can be an innings eater. Burrows was a Pirates rep in the Futures Game in 2022 striking out 111 in 94.1 innings in the minors that season.
· Coming off an up-and-down 2023, righty Luis Ortiz had a 4.78 ERA, 1.70 WHIP with 48 walks in 86.2 innings in the majors last year.
· Traded to the Pirates in August, 6’4” left-hander Bailey Falter made seven starts in 10 games with the Bucs-5.58 ERA, 1.39 WHIP. He will make the first Spring Training start Saturday.
· 2019 first-round pick, right-hander Quinn Priester struggled with 27 walks to 36 strikeouts in 50 innings. The ERA was 7.74 and WHIP 1.70.
· A fixture years ago with Milwaukee, Chase Anderson started 17 games with Colorado with a 5.75 ERA with 17 homers allowed in 81.1 innings and the righty had a 1.48 WHIP in 2023.
· A 22-year-old, second-round pick, Jared Jones had a 3.85 ERA and 1.23 WHIP with 146 strikeouts in 25 starts in the minors last year.
· First 2023 first-round pick Paul Skenes pitched only six innings in the minors last year. The right-hander’s first shot at MLB hitters.
Others to watch (these non-roster invitees are either free agent long-shots or prospective players not ready for MLB, but getting a taste of Spring Training)
· INF Termarr Johnson-2022 first-round pick has advanced to High A. The 19-year-old overall in A ball last year hit 18 home runs with a .244 average, but .422 on-base percentage.
· 1B Jake Lamb-33-year-old, left-hand hitter had .216 average in 18 games with the Angels in 2023, .235 career MLB average, 96 HR in 723 games
· RHP Brent Honeywell-28-year-old righty reliever had a 4.82 ERA in 40 games (52.1 innings), 1.5 WHIP, 10 homers allowed in 2023
· RHP Ben Heller-32-year-old righty pitched in 19 games (18.2) innings with a 5.02 ERA, 1.45 WHIP in ’23 with Atlanta
· OF Billy McKinney-hit 6 homers in 128 at bats with the Yankees last year, left-handed hitter was A’s 1st round pick in 2013 (34 career MLB HR in 311 games)
· OF Matt Gorski-second-round pick in 2019, righty hit 20 HR with .725 OPS in AA and AAA in 2023
· LHP Anthony Solometo-21-year-old, second-round pick had 3.26 ERA in 24 starts in High A and AA with 118 strikeouts to 39 walks in 110.1 innings
· RHP Bubba Chandler-21-year-old had 4.75 ERA in 106 innings over 24 starts with 128 strikeouts and came on at the end of the year
There will be other names, surprises, disappointments, injuries. The road begins that runs until October.