Swaggerty homers as Pirates minor league teams begin

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The minor league season started for all four of the Bucs minor league teams Tuesday night.

"I'm excited to see that," said Pirates manager Derek Shelton.  "I feel the life-blood of the Pirates organization is player development.  A lot of the guys that we have are going to have good careers in Pittsburgh.  I'm looking forward to checking box scores after games and talk to our guys about what happened."

Here are some highlights from the four games.  Quick note-Pirates pitches combined in the four games struck out 57 batters.

AAA-Indianapolis (W, 3-0 vs. Iowa)

·        On the third pitch he saw in his first at bat at AAA, centerfielder Travis Swaggerty led off the game with a home run.  Swaggerty praised by GM Ben Cherington for his improvement in the off-season and during time at the Pittsburgh alt site.  Swaggerty would finish 3-4 with 2 RBI

·        Could see him in the Pirates rotation at some point, Chase DeJong went 6 innings, 2 hits, 2 walks and 10 strikeouts

·        Indy pitchers combined on the shutout allowing 2 hits, 2 walks and struck out 15

AA-Altoona (L, 2-1 vs. Bowie)

·        Roansy Contreras went 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, no walks, struck out 11

·        Shortstop Oneil Cruz with a pair of singles

·        Outfielder Cal Mitchell with the only RBI

·        Righty Reliever Yerry De Los Santos allowed a run in the 8^th and 9^th for the loss

·        Curve pitchers combined to walk one and strike out 17

A-Greensboro (L, 7-5 vs. Hickory)

·        A struggle for number 1 pick Quinn Priester—3-IP/4-H/6-R/3-ER/2-BB/3-K

·        1^st round pick Nick Gonzales doubled in his first pro at bat, went 1 for 4

·        Shortstop Liv Peguero hit a 3-run homer

·        Centerfielder Matt Gorski hit a 2-run homer

A-Bradenton (L, 6-3 vs. Fort Myers)

·        Reliever Oliver Mateo came in the 9^th with a 3-2 lead, threw a couple of wild pitches, one allowed a run to score.  Mateo also walked three in the inning, one forced in a run.  He also gave up a 2-run single.

·        Interesting line by Bradenton pitchers—15 strikeouts, 9 walks, 5 hits

·        3B Alexaner Mojica hit a 2-run homer

·        Catcher Endy Rodriguez had a pair of hits and a RBI

Shelton said he expects players to start rehab assignments in the minors soon.  Noting all players will have to go through protocols, which could make these assignments longer.

"It's a really positive factor for us now that guys will get actual game action," Shelton said.  "An organization like the Pirates missing an entire year of development.  That's not advantageous.  That's why minor league baseball being back is so important."