PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Understandably there has been so much discussion about Paul Skenes, what about others who are performing well at AAA? Will starting pitcher Jared Jones be shutdown this year? What is the plan for Henry Davis? Pirates GM Ben Cherington addressed those issues Sunday.
AAA hitters
It's an offense averaging under two runs a game for weeks where five runs Sunday seemed like 15. Several have struggled in the majors this year and Cherington said he will remain patient with them. His line is he doesn't want to cut them off just before it gets good.
But there are several making a push.
Left-handed hitting first baseman Jake Lamb had two more hits on Sunday and the average is .403. Middle infielders Nick Gonzales, went 2-4 Sunday and hitting .360 and Liover Peguero, had his team-leading 22nd RBI and hitting .306 and centerfielder Ji Hwan Bae is hitting .375 in 15 games with a pair of homers and six stolen bases.
The quote from Cherington was like a harsh reality check.
"We are mindful there is a different between the major leagues and Triple A," Cherington said during his show on 93.7 The Fan and the Pirates Radio Network. "We have guys on this team here in the major leagues that if they were in AAA, their numbers would look better too."
Doesn't sound like recalls are coming without injuries, but how do they decide when it is time to give a AAA player a chance?
"There is no perfect formula," Cherington said. "What the timing is? What the performance needs to be? We are excited about how well guys there are doing. We anticipate some of those guys will get their opportunity."
Jared Jones all year?
While he said it's impossible to know for sure, the goal is to have Jared Jones pitch his entire rookie season with the Pirates. He said they will take it a day at a time, but he has worked hard and recovered well.
"Over the course of the season, as we already have with Jared, we may pick a spot here and there to build in a little more recovery or maybe manage volume a little bit," Cherington said during his weekly show on 93.7 The Fan and the Pirates Radio Network. "It's a hard thing he is doing, we want him to do it at the highest level he can for as long as he can as consistently as he can. It will be a balance, but the best outcome for the Pirates is that he is an active player all year."
Jones was pulled from a start on April 16 after 59 pitches as part of that decision. He has been spectacular his rookie season coming off a seven inning, one hit, no walk, 10 strikeout performance against the Rockies. For the season, seven starts, 2-3 record, 2.63 ERA, 0.78 WHIP (third in MLB), 52 strikeouts (second in the National League) to five walks in 41 innings. He has thrown 583 pitches so far this year.
Henry Davis
With the improvement in defense and the work that went into that, Cherington said he's more convinced now that Henry Davis will have success at the plate.
"His super power is he will go after whatever challenge in front of him and will work his tail off as hard of any player I've been around," Cherington said. "He's not satisfied with anything."
Cherington said Davis is having an issue getting after fastballs. He has never had that issue and they believe he will fix that and become the player they think he will be.
"When we think about Henry, we see Henry as an important part of the 2024 Pirates, period," Cherington said.
The expectations are Davis will catch, let's see if he gets some work at other positions in AAA.
