WEBVTT - Valdez rakes, Jones struggles in rollercoaster homestand 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:12.879 What's up, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Buco 0:00:13.039 --> 0:00:15.880 Territory presented to you bye the Foul Territory Network. I'm 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:19.279 Noah Hiles. Joining me as always is my good pal 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:23.239 Platinum Key aka Mark Josh Harrison. Still on vacation, he'll 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:25.880 be back later this week, and we've got a lot 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:29.160 to talk about. The Pirates go three and three on 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:31.639 their six game homestand in Pittsburgh they take two of 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:33.760 three from the Seattle Mariners. They lose two of three, 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:36.159 but avoid a sweep with a win on Sunday over 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:39.319 the Cincinnati Reds. We're gonna talk about that. How they 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.879 still stay at five hundred. Jared Jones is gonna be 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:46.160 a subject of discussion in this show. Hasn't been good enough. 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:49.360 We're gonna talk about why and what happens if it continues, 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:52.200 and then we will always wrap up our Monday episodes 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:56.600 with Platinum Keys Key of the Week Mark. Let's start 0:00:56.600 --> 0:01:00.360 it off though, reviewing this past week in Pirates base Ball. 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:03.800 It started bad. They got crushed by the Mariners. Then 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:07.080 it got good. They won against the Mariners. They crushed 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:10.320 the Mariners. Everyone was cooking me online for my callum 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:12.440 saying they shouldn't be buyers at the deadline. 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:14.440 Whyeah. 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:18.679 Yeah. And then the reason I'm pessimistic came to Fruition 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:21.679 on Friday and Saturday, where they lost a pair of 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:25.199 very winnable ball games. Friday nights being one with Paul 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:28.959 Skins on the mound they've lost eight straight when he started. 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:31.600 And then Saturdays, I mean, that was one of their 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:35.320 more demoralizing losses of the year, just being down to 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:37.400 your final strike, a guy you tried to sign in 0:01:37.440 --> 0:01:40.880 the offseason takes the deep. But then they bounce back 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:43.360 with Sunday Mark, I mean, overall your just thoughts on 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:46.960 the home stand and you know, hey, another week back 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.120 at five hundred. It seems like that's just where they 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:50.240 are right now. Yeah. 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:53.480 I mean, the one optimistic takeaway is that this team 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:57.600 gets right back up when they get knocked down, which 0:01:58.160 --> 0:02:01.200 I mean that take that for what it will. The 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:03.720 fact that they're getting knocked down so often not great. 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:06.640 But we've seen Pirates teams in the past where they'd 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:10.440 have these losses and just get to moralize, it felt like, 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:13.800 and let that bleed over into the next game and 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:16.360 the next game, in the next game, and suddenly you're 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:19.040 completely out of it. And that's the one thing I 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:21.079 like about this twenty twenty six team where I felt 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:24.760 like this home stand was reflective of that, where they 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:26.480 got their teeth kicked in a couple of times and 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:31.000 got right back up off the mat and like, that's good, 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:32.960 but you need to figure out how to avoid those 0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:35.080 punches in the first place, and they just could not 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:35.440 do that. 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:36.280 We saw Paul. 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:40.120 Skeins throw his worst ending of his career on Friday 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:44.919 night in the second inning. That didn't feel good as 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:46.880 a fan. And then to follow it up with the 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:50.120 next night, like you said, down to one strike, I 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:53.200 had my like raise it tweet, ready to go, preloaded ready. 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:55.600 I was like, ah, this won't jinx it. It did, 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:58.720 and yeah, it's just it was tough. 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:02.280 I mean, luckily kind of got to wash some of 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:02.720 that away. 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:06.760 On Sunday, Ryan O'Hearn really stepped up with his two 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:10.320 home run game, had four RBI s Maylan Valdez just 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:13.200 continues to tear the cover off the ball. Had a 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:16.560 four hundred, sixty, four hundred and sixty one foot bomb 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:19.799 on Sunday as well. After he had a home run Saturday, 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:21.600 I want to say either Friday. 0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:23.880 Or three straight games with the home run yep, okay. 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:29.240 Ops over a thousand right now, So just really that 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:32.680 stood out to me. But yeah, it was a little 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:35.680 a roller coaster of a home stand to. 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:36.680 Put it lately. 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:38.160 What were your takeaways from it? 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:43.960 Kind of the epitome of this team season. You'll go 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:48.840 through one whole week thinking they stink. Oh they're really good, 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:54.440 they could compete, they stink okay, Like it's just it's 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:56.600 just the roller coaster that it is. I mean, you 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:58.560 get a little bit of good starting pitching and get 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:00.800 a little bit of bad starting pitching. I thought the 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:06.400 bullpen minus Saturday, was pretty good right this week. 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:09.200 Yeah, I don't think they allowed a run against the 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:11.280 Mariners entire series. 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:12.960 Right, And I mean I thought they were good in 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:15.840 Colorado last weekend, like they I think the bullpen has 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:18.800 been a lot better. But you can't say they had 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:21.200 a good weekend because or a good week because they 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:25.720 blew save and it was a multi run lead that 0:04:25.880 --> 0:04:30.320 got erased. So yeah, you can't. You can't feel great 0:04:30.360 --> 0:04:32.520 about the bullpen. I mean the offense had a really 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:36.600 good week. Uh just all together, they crushed the ball 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:39.479 against I mean they took advantage of Mariner's pitching. 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:44.479 Oh, I will say on Sunday, they they loaded the. 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:46.840 Well yeah, but I mean they still scored eight runs. Yeah, 0:04:47.120 --> 0:04:49.120 they scored eight runs, and like, yes, they left the 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:52.440 bases loaded. Yeah, nine runs. They left the bases loaded. 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:53.920 But at the end of the day, you still scored 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:56.640 nine runs. So could it have been better? Yeah, But 0:04:56.720 --> 0:04:58.560 I mean if you're still scoring nine runs, you're still 0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:01.240 scoring nine runs. So that's how I look at it. 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:06.600 But overall, yeah, it's just this team's treading water. And 0:05:07.279 --> 0:05:10.520 I guess that's okay, right, like you're not imploding, But 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:14.159 when you look ahead at the rest of the schedule, 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:18.080 it's it's gonna be hard to do. Like this is 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:20.800 the kind of thing they need to be doing in 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.640 July really when you look at July's schedule, because they're 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:26.440 gonna need to continue treading water because I just don't 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:30.080 see them pressing forward anytime soon with the injuries that 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:33.719 they're facing and the flaws that they have parlayed with 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:37.560 the competition that they're going to be facing. It'll be 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:39.760 interesting to see because I think once you get to 0:05:39.839 --> 0:05:42.880 August the schedule lightens up, you'll have a team that's 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:45.839 probably going to be a lot healthier. Probably it will 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:48.280 have some additional help based off of trades you make, 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:52.719 and you can finish these last two months strong. But man, 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:55.840 you've got a whole other month of trying to win 0:05:55.960 --> 0:05:58.719 games the way they've won games, and it's it's it 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:01.479 has not looked easy, but they're finding a way to 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:02.760 do it half the time. 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:05.640 So yeah, and we'll see if that continues when you're 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:08.440 playing teams like the Phillies or the Braves coming up 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:11.440 here in the next couple of weeks, where they're a 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:14.359 little bit better competition than the Reds and the Mariners. 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:18.400 So yeah, So we're gonna take a quick break. When 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:20.320 we come back, we're going to talk about Jared Jones, 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:22.480 his struggles and what the Pirates should do about him. Here, 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:24.440 I'm Bucko Territory. 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:31.400 People dehydration sucks, Quint's electrolyte stick packs to the rescue. 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.920 I order them, I use them all of the time. 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:38.119 Somebody who may or may not have had some adult 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:40.240 beverages in their life. 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Go 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:12.400 to Quinns dot com slash foul for free shipping on 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:15.120 your order in three sixty five day returns. That's qui 0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:18.000 n ce dot com slash foul for free shipping and 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:20.720 three sixty five day returns Quinns dot com slash foul. 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:22.600 These statements have not been evaluated by the FEUD and 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:25.600 Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:26.760 or prevent any disease. 0:07:29.320 --> 0:07:32.840 All right, Jared Jones, Uh, he's been back for about 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:35.920 a month now, and Uh, I'll be the one to 0:07:35.960 --> 0:07:37.559 say it. He hasn't been very good. 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:38.880 He's said it himself. 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:42.120 Yeah, Yeah, he said it himself. There have been a 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:44.120 couple of good starts. I mean, I do think he's 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:46.760 kind of like every other starting pitcher, is screwed a 0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:50.680 little bit by the defense, but overall, I mean, you 0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:52.920 just look at the run value on his pitches right now, 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:54.920 the four scene fastball, that's his bread and butter, it's 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:57.600 a negative to run value. The slider, which is when 0:07:57.640 --> 0:08:00.960 it's working, like when in twenty twenty four his slider 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:04.000 had a seven run value. That's really good. It's got 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:05.880 a negative one right now. The change up, which he's 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:08.320 throwing a lot more of, is a negative, and the curveball, 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:11.800 which was never really been that good, is negative two. 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:18.360 So Mark, I'll just ask you this. We don't need 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:22.760 to break down anymore, like how's how bad he's been? 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:26.320 But what do you do if this continues with Jared? 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:30.720 Because moving into the bullpen is asking for Carmen Maginski 0:08:30.760 --> 0:08:34.760 two point zero? It just is, yeah, like he hates 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.440 it just as much as Carmen, and he can be 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:43.560 just as you know, bullheaded as Carmen. So what do 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:45.079 you do if this continues? 0:08:46.480 --> 0:08:49.679 That's a great question because you can't just let him 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:52.800 continue to go out there and give up home runs 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:56.679 or get sheld and give up hard contact constantly. We've 0:08:56.720 --> 0:08:58.959 seen the flashes where he looks good where he can 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:02.000 get the whiffs, his fast ball philosophies right there, but 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:05.080 the results just have domp been And yeah, it's like, 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:07.960 at what point do you take him out of the rotation? 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.080 And if you do, what do you do with him? 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:12.560 Do you send him down to TRIPAA to get right 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:15.200 or do you move him into like a back end 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:19.640 of the bullpen roll where you maybe have him be 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:22.360 like a closer where a lot of people say, like 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.520 the fastball slider combo could work as a closer, could 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:28.600 work as a reliever, But at the same time, his 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:32.000 ceiling as a potential like starting pitcher is so high 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:36.800 I think, is it? I like to think so, I know. 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:40.199 I mean, like his twenty twenty four season was good, 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:43.240 it wasn't great. He was twenty two. He gave up 0:09:43.280 --> 0:09:46.480 a lot of hard contact. Guys were barreling him a lot, 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:49.480 and the Pirates defense was able to back him up 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:51.720 on that, and a lot of that hard contact was 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:54.520 more like ground balls than as well, so that benefited him. 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:58.360 Now he's letting guys hit balls into the air. There's 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:03.000 no defense behind him. And yeah, it's I mean, I 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:05.360 still think he has a lot of ceiling. He's, like 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:07.880 you said, small sample size here, he's just coming back. 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:12.000 But yeah, it's it's been concerning so far. What would 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:13.800 you do with him if the struggles continue. 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:17.400 I've moved to the bullpen and say, look, dude, this 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:20.240 is where you're gonna be. Like I mean, I voiced 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:25.120 on our show on Friday, or last weekend or last Wednesday, 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:29.200 I believe about my desire for them to acquire another starter, 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:32.800 just because you just don't have guys that are covering 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:36.680 enough innings right now. And Jared that's just something he's 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:38.920 not gonna do. And I don't know if he'll ever 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:42.080 do it. Like I get the potential of what Jared 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:45.080 can do. His stuff's nasty. He was a top one 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:47.959 hundred prospect. Hell, he's a top twenty five prospect at 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:52.120 one time for Baseball America. But I don't know. I 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:55.080 feel like we really put the card ahead of the 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:59.560 horse here, ye with Jones just anointing him as like 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:02.760 this show thing when he really had like two and 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:05.960 a half good months of baseball in the majors. That's it. 0:11:06.520 --> 0:11:09.400 And since then there have been other guys who I 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:11.760 think are just more promising. Like if I were giving 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:15.240 out extensions right now the Pirates starting pitchers, I could 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:17.080 think of four off the top of my head. I'd 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:20.600 rather pay before Jared. It'd be Skeens, It'd be Ashcraft, 0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:23.520 it would be Bubba Chandler, who I think has a 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:26.440 way higher seiling than Jared Jones. And I would extend 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:30.120 Seth Hernandez before I would Jared Jones, who's still probably 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:32.520 a few years away from the major leagues, at least 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:36.280 one full year. And I'm not trying to dog on 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:39.640 the guy, like I think Jared's good, but the reality is, 0:11:39.720 --> 0:11:43.199 like this guy just might be a relief pitcher and 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.040 or at least this version of him, because he's clearly, 0:11:47.280 --> 0:11:50.400 you know, working his way back into it, and he 0:11:50.520 --> 0:11:54.920 might be a starter again one day, but I don't know. Man, Like, 0:11:55.000 --> 0:11:57.960 if you could just get Carmen and Jared to buy 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:00.440 into being relief pitchers and then you go go out 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:03.480 and acquire a left handed starter or something that you 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:06.959 have shown the ability to identify at the major league 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:12.280 level year after year after year, I think this team 0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:15.000 is so much better with how some of the other 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:17.959 right handed relievers like Mattson's look good over the last 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:21.480 couple of outings. Dennis Santana minus Rockies outing has been 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:25.520 really good as of late. So I think you fix 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:27.959 your you fix your bullpen if you move that, and 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:30.200 I think that that would be better off for Jared. 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:33.240 It'd be better off for Carmen too, but right now, 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.360 I mean, hell, I'd rather have Carmen in the starting 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:40.600 rotation than Jared Jones. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know what 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:44.280 you do though, because again, clearly like they take how 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:48.720 these guys will react to things into the equation. It's 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:51.520 not a just it's not as simple as here's how 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:54.240 it's gonna go. I'm the boss, here the employee do 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:58.200 this should work like that. But it doesn't, at least 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:02.320 not as black and white as what I just described 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:05.480 it to be, because we've seen there be pushback from 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:07.880 both of those guys. But I think this team would 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:09.640 be better off with both of them in the bullpen 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:11.360 and going out and getting a fifth true starter. 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:15.120 Yeah, and that just opens up completely. You know what 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:18.160 Ben Harrington can do before this trade deadline? You know 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:20.760 if yeah, it throws a starter into the mix as 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:23.920 well as if you find a bullpen option that works great, 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:26.600 But if not, you can move Jared into the bullpen 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:28.680 and that's your new bullpen piece that you just acquired. 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.839 So I don't think it's a bad plan if Jared 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:35.440 buys into it, and I mean hopefully like that he 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:38.839 knows that he struggles or he's struggling right now, so 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.280 maybe that will help him buy in to the B 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.400 word now that he's seen the results of him as 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:48.199 a starter. But I don't know. I wouldn't bet on that, So. 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:52.600 No, I mean either, and I'll say this as we 0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:55.439 wrap up this segment. Like we mentioned in the first segment, 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:59.720 July is going to be a huge test for this team. 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.040 There's not a player on this team who needs to 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:05.160 step up more than Jared Jones. Yeah, because I mean 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:07.719 the bullpen. Like you could say, like, oh yeah, if 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:10.920 Brandon Bedoir or whoever, but like and even if Mattson 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:14.800 and Santana continue to get better, like that's great, that's 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:17.520 gonna help the long term aspect of the team. But 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:21.360 right now they need Jared to give them six or 0:14:21.440 --> 0:14:23.680 at least five, and it's got to be five with 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:26.920 at least like three or less runs more often than not, 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:29.800 he's got to give him something better. He hasn't. He hasn't. 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:32.000 He's had one good start since he's been back. He's 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:33.440 had one good start, So. 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:34.280 Not good enough. 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:36.920 Yeah, we're gonna take another quick break when we come back. 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.920 We wrap up the show with Platinum Keys Key of 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:46.080 the Week here on Buco Territory. 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:51.160 Bucco Territory is brought to you by FanDuel Baseball Fans. 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:53.760 The MLB season is in full swing and Fandel is 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.160 giving you a chance to call your shot with daily Dingers. 0:14:56.480 --> 0:14:56.680 Join. 0:14:56.800 --> 0:14:59.080 The action is easy. Just make your free pick on 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:00.920 who's hitting a home run in their game, and if 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:02.920 you're right, you'll get a profit boost to use on 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:05.560 your next bet for a chance at extra winnings. It's 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:10.760 just another reason why FanDuel is the home of home runs. So, Noah, 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:14.240 last time we recorded, you correctly picked Henry Davis to 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:15.560 hit a home run. What you got for them? 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:21.480 Now, let's go. Jake Mangum, Friend of the Program, Jake Mangum. 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:25.200 He's gotten pretty close a couple of times here, some 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:27.960 sneaky pop. He's not trying to hit a home run, 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.960 but they'll pop out of there. Sometimes I'm going to 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:33.320 go with another friend of the program here a guy 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:36.400 who hit two home runs on Sunday, Why not have 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:40.960 another one coming up this week? Ryan O'Hearn just continuing 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:44.920 to mash ops of eight twenty one this year, looking 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:47.880 really good and covering back at first base with Spencer 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:51.240 Horwartz out. So love the flexibility from him. I think 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:54.760 that might you know, Becka's natural position may lead to 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:57.160 another home run from him. So you ready to play 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.120 your game? Head on over to FanDuel dot com Slash 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:03.720 podcast to get started. That's FanDuel dot com Slash Podcast. 0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:05.920 To opt in for daily dingers and make your free 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:08.520 pick on who's hitting a homer, playball and swing for 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.760 the fences on FanDuel, an official partner of Major League Baseball. 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:16.160 No purchase necessary, opt in required, bonus issued, does non 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:20.200 withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply, including any token expiration 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:23.680 and max wager amount. See terms at sportsbook dot FanDuel 0:16:23.720 --> 0:16:26.920 dot com. Gambling problem caller Tex one eight hundred gambler. 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:34.200 All right, now for my Key of the Week segment, 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:35.240 We're gonna spare the. 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:37.600 People the wape and just no, no, we're not all right, 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:48.440 all right here we goes all right, there it is. 0:16:48.920 --> 0:16:52.080 This week's key of the week is a guy who 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:55.040 is just burst onto the scene, a guy we talked 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:57.840 about earlier this season as someone that is a fan 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:00.480 favorite that we'd love to see get an opportunity this year, 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:03.960 and he finally has that opportunity now. With Spencer Horwartz 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:06.760 missing time until it sounds like after the all start break, 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:11.520 Ben Sherrington said he's gonna miss weeks probably or weeks, 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:14.640 not days, So prepare for Spencer Horward to be out 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:16.840 for a little bit. And my key of the week 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:21.119 is as Marilyn Valdez continue to step up, continue to 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:23.919 play him every single day. Right now, he's on a 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:28.199 complete tear. As Noah mentioned earlier, home runs in his 0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:31.920 last three games ops up to one thousand and one now, 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:36.760 just tearing the cover off the ball, doing it in 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:39.760 multiple situations where he started the game as right field 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:41.600 he hit a home run, coming as a pinch hitter, 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:45.640 just doing whatever this team needs. And in a situation 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:48.600 where this team really needs someone to step up, where 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:52.320 one of your best hitters, your leadoff hitter, goes down, 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:54.919 and so I just my key of the week is 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:58.000 just continue to do that as Maryland continue to play him, 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:01.600 because I think he'll just run with this opportunity. He 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:06.679 struggled a little bit against fastballs, but when the breaking 0:18:06.720 --> 0:18:10.600 ball comes in, he is taking full advantage of that opportunity. 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:11.680 So we'll see. 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:15.840 Maybe he continues with the extra opportunities here, you know, 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:18.040 learning to hit that fastball relatively quick. 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:19.639 He has made some. 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:22.560 Serious adjustments in the minors and really blew onto the 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:26.240 prospects scene. Was that two years ago or a year ago? 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:27.280 Yeah? Last year? 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:30.000 Last year, Yeah, and then the Arizona Fall League in 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:34.760 the off season and all that. So love seeings Marilyn succeed. 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:39.800 Just a great guy, seems easy to root for, has 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:42.639 fun out there, leaves in himself, believes in this team, 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:46.199 and I think him continue to succeed is key for 0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:48.480 the Pirates in a four game series coming up against 0:18:48.480 --> 0:18:48.920 the Phillies. 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:53.240 Yeah, I mean, losing Spencer's tough, but when you get 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:55.720 Connor Griffin back to that lead off and then you 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:59.480 get a little bit of that pop with Esmalyn, I 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:03.800 mean he's been he's been great, and I mean him 0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:06.880 developing into an everyday player, which I'm still not sure 0:19:06.880 --> 0:19:08.600 if he is. This year. I think he can be 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:13.960 a really good fourth outfielder or bench guy and like 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:16.479 someone who can start and stretches whenever there's an injury. 0:19:17.000 --> 0:19:19.840 But I do think it's trending like he will be 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:21.920 like an everyday player for this team eventually. And that's 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:27.359 a huge win for their international scouting, which has been horrible. Yeah, 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:29.639 like it just totally nothing. 0:19:30.119 --> 0:19:32.439 Nothing like the last like homegrown. 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:33.720 Player. 0:19:33.840 --> 0:19:38.119 So yeah, so they they need to find more guys 0:19:38.240 --> 0:19:41.439 like this, and you know, the Pirates should hope that 0:19:41.520 --> 0:19:44.640 this is kind of the first step in the right direction, 0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:47.800 a win for a guy like that who wasn't a 0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:50.360 high rated prospect. I mean, no one even knew about 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:52.680 him two years ago. I remember writing him in our 0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:56.320 pipeline reports that we used to write every Monday with 0:19:56.400 --> 0:19:59.720 the PG and uh, you know, like he had a 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:04.240 good whatever in Bradenton in twenty twenty four and then 0:20:04.240 --> 0:20:07.080 in Greensboro towards the end and he just kind of 0:20:07.560 --> 0:20:10.199 caught fire and hasn't cooled down since last season. So 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:14.160 he's an easy guy to root for. And I mean, pop, man, 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:16.320 if you're hitting the ball, you're hitting a home run 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:19.000 every day, they'll find a spot for you. 0:20:19.040 --> 0:20:21.679 See what he does, which I think is crucial. It's 0:20:21.800 --> 0:20:24.840 huge kind of what show exactly. 0:20:24.920 --> 0:20:27.600 And so when you get counter or I got counter back, 0:20:27.640 --> 0:20:30.720 but when you get O'Neill back from injury, maybe that's 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:34.000 the time where if Ozoon is still struggling and Valdez 0:20:34.040 --> 0:20:36.639 is still mashing and able to be your fourth out feeler, 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:41.159 especially against lefties. Yeah, that opens up so much for 0:20:41.200 --> 0:20:43.560 your lineup, just getting a zoooning off this team. As 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:46.520 we've said multiple times with opening up that d H 0:20:46.600 --> 0:20:49.560 is spot to be a rotation than just once person. 0:20:49.680 --> 0:20:55.280 So yeah, all right, Well, before I give Mark his 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:57.359 opportunity to give a final thought, we want to hit 0:20:57.359 --> 0:21:00.000 remind everyone to hit that subscribe button if they haven't already. 0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:02.160 We were on a mission of three thousand subscribers can't 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:06.040 get there without your help, and we want to remind 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:09.840