Speaker 1: Episode three eighty two, brought to you by Brave Bean
Speaker 1: Coffee Company.
Speaker 2: We are done on the Farm.
Speaker 1: We're gonna recap everything that happened in the Pirates organization
Speaker 1: this week. You're listening to the Bucco Banter Podcast, brought
Speaker 1: to you by the Dress Baseball Media Network Key Music.
Speaker 3: I feel one O one. You see a couple of
Speaker 3: me in my tastes.
Speaker 4: With he and my lemonade, because I let the way
Speaker 4: taste best seats at the Pirates gaining.
Speaker 3: Let me run the base.
Speaker 4: Yeah, my time is like my money because I can't
Speaker 4: afford to waste.
Speaker 3: Oh, y see, is a lawyer? Take my date to
Speaker 3: my dates?
Speaker 4: Or to stick by the plate sending case peptic case,
Speaker 4: run my race at my pace clinic Grass That is snick.
Speaker 5: Welcome back to another episode of Down on the Farm,
Speaker 5: our minor League segment. Here at Bucco Banter, Adam, we
Speaker 5: have the Futures game yesterday. We're recording on a Monday,
Speaker 5: July thirteenth. Seth Fernandez and Edward Florentino made their appearances.
Speaker 5: A lot happening, especially with the trade deadline coming up.
Speaker 3: A lot of speculation. We just had the draft this week.
Speaker 5: Jay and I will have a separate episode out recapping
Speaker 5: the whole draft in depth.
Speaker 3: But what's up Man.
Speaker 1: Excited that the Pirates were well represented in the Futures
Speaker 1: Game because you've had a lot of guys there in
Speaker 1: the past year, Connor Griffin, Tramar Johnson was there at
Speaker 1: one point. But Seth Hernandez looked really good. Three ninety
Speaker 1: nine to two hundred mile power fastballs and an eighty
Speaker 1: eight mile per hour changeup. The most impressive thing about him,
Speaker 1: Scott is Yeah, he could ramp it up. He's gonna
Speaker 1: throw gas just like a lot of these other Pirates' pitchers.
Speaker 2: But it's not his best pitch.
Speaker 1: There's still rooms we work with the fastball shape with
Speaker 1: this kid, the characteristics, you know, there are some good
Speaker 1: underlying numbers, but.
Speaker 2: There's still room to improve.
Speaker 1: The secondaries are some of the most disgusting pitches you'll
Speaker 1: ever see.
Speaker 5: Yeah, the change, especially that, I mean that eighty eight
Speaker 5: min hour change. I couldn't even throw my fastbay eighty eight.
Speaker 5: That's why I'm podcasting, and he's a the Futures Game,
Speaker 5: So yeah, it was great to see him. He got
Speaker 5: two k's a pop out, He's struck out Blake Mitchell
Speaker 5: the Royals, a big hitting catching prospect for the for
Speaker 5: the Royals. I like Irish Auburn first round pick last
Speaker 5: year for the Orioles, which was cool to see him
Speaker 5: go up against his uh I guess more advanced minor
Speaker 5: league talent, and then Edward Florentino gotten a bat. I
Speaker 5: think he walked, scored a running It also had the
Speaker 5: only stolen base for the nationally he got hit by
Speaker 5: pitch okay, so that was cool to see him contribute
Speaker 5: as well. I know things have started off really hot
Speaker 5: for him in Bradenton and when we first got the
Speaker 5: to Greensboro. I think he's adjusting. He's still very young
Speaker 5: for the level. That swing is is a work in progress.
Speaker 5: We know it has a lot of loft to it.
Speaker 5: He's got he's got the you know, he wants to
Speaker 5: put the ball in the air. That's very evident when
Speaker 5: you're watching his swing. It's kind of Cody Bllinger esque.
Speaker 5: As we've mentioned in the past. I think there's gonna
Speaker 5: be adjustments level a level, and you know, we're starting
Speaker 5: to see him get hot here in Greensboro recently too.
Speaker 1: Scott, you've been covering the draft very well with producer
Speaker 1: Jay Go check out that stuff on the Patreon and
Speaker 1: then of course the episode this week. But the chances
Speaker 1: that we see some of these names this year in
Speaker 1: the minor league system, considering that they went on the
Speaker 1: college arm college bat players, I mean, that's not very
Speaker 1: like the Pirates when it comes to drafting.
Speaker 5: No, you know, I'm interested to see how they handle
Speaker 5: some of these college arms. They took twelve college arms
Speaker 5: out of the fourteen arms they took out of the
Speaker 5: twenty one picks.
Speaker 3: They took a lot of college arms, and they took.
Speaker 5: A lot of like major school aces, right, the Saint
Speaker 5: John's A's and the Alabama is who dueled off in
Speaker 5: the Super Regional Alabama versus Saint John's right, Liam O'Leary
Speaker 5: and Tyler Fay out of Alabama. They took Grant Govill
Speaker 5: from USC, Ryan Maron from ncs day a really decorated
Speaker 5: NC State Arm or acc arm. Given their workloads this
Speaker 5: year as the top dogs at their schools, I'm interested
Speaker 5: to see how the Pirates, you know, work with them
Speaker 5: here in minor league ball, if they even throw them
Speaker 5: much at all. But I'm really interested to see Derek
Speaker 5: Curiele I think he's a guy that could start in
Speaker 5: Greensboro right away, and he's a very advanced college bat,
Speaker 5: and I think the floor is super high, and I'm
Speaker 5: really excited.
Speaker 3: I'm becoming really bullish on Derek Curile.
Speaker 1: You mentioned Steven Kwan esque characteristics bat the ball first,
Speaker 1: could have a little bit more pomp in the bat.
Speaker 1: Maybe there's room for improvement there, but I think you
Speaker 1: could value an all around player like that. And if
Speaker 1: I've also heard a ton of people say that his
Speaker 1: baseball IQ is off the charts.
Speaker 5: It seems like an awesome locker room guy too, Like
Speaker 5: he seems pumped to be a Pittsburgh pirate and everything
Speaker 5: I'm just saying online is something that I'm rooting for
Speaker 5: the kid. And this was a kid that out of
Speaker 5: high school a couple of years ago, was supposed to
Speaker 5: be like end of the first round, second round pick
Speaker 5: out of high school, decided to go to LSU instead
Speaker 5: to go to school. And you know, I think we're
Speaker 5: Jay and I were looking at some underlying metrics today,
Speaker 5: some swing data.
Speaker 3: I think there's more juice in the tank too.
Speaker 5: Like I'm not saying like twenty five homers, but I
Speaker 5: think he could get the double digit homers and provide
Speaker 5: high averages in high obps, which is very valuable in
Speaker 5: today's game.
Speaker 1: I agree that starting him in Greensboro might be the
Speaker 1: move because SEC ball is pretty advanced nowadays. You're seeing
Speaker 1: consistent velocity, You're seeing consistent stuff on a weekly basis,
Speaker 1: So challenge the kid. Let him prove that he could
Speaker 1: be in the major sooner rather than later. You're seeing
Speaker 1: that trend with a lot of guys that are four
Speaker 1: year college guys whatever it may be, making it to
Speaker 1: the league sooner rather than later.
Speaker 2: And he's what twenty two, Scott twenty one, twenty two.
Speaker 3: He's twenty one for sure. Yeah, I think he was
Speaker 3: even young. He was young for his class as well,
Speaker 3: because he was a draft eligible sophomore. If I'm not mistaken, it.
Speaker 5: Could be wrong with that, but yeah, I mean it's
Speaker 5: a guy that you could you could move quickly. Also,
Speaker 5: another guy, Trey Phelps was taking a ninth round, a
Speaker 5: guy that had consideration last year in the higher rounds,
Speaker 5: but he had kind of a bad sophomore season at Georgia.
Speaker 3: He was really hot this year.
Speaker 5: Nineteen Homer's third basement electric player, like just very entertaining
Speaker 5: on the field.
Speaker 3: Trepe Phelps.
Speaker 5: I think this is a guy that's gonna move quickly too,
Speaker 5: and it's definitely going to hit. Defensive home is a
Speaker 5: question mark, but this is like your Jared Jones pick
Speaker 5: from last year in the ninth round, a decorated college
Speaker 5: hitter out of the SEC who could move quickly.
Speaker 1: Last one I want to talk about before we move
Speaker 1: on to the performances this week, Malkai Washington now and
Speaker 1: said he's going to LSU.
Speaker 2: Now, that could change, could change. That's where I'm going
Speaker 2: with it.
Speaker 1: You've seen it before with guys who uses his head
Speaker 1: as a kind of a strategy in order to sign
Speaker 1: a little bit more over slaughter get more money and
Speaker 1: just say hey, thank you, but no thank you, and
Speaker 1: then they flip who knows where he's going to?
Speaker 2: LSU's obviously a fantastic option.
Speaker 1: But what do you see in Malachi Washington And if
Speaker 1: they're able to sign him, what kind of player are
Speaker 1: you getting.
Speaker 5: I mean, you're getting just an elite athlete man, a
Speaker 5: guy that's going to hit and hit for power, one
Speaker 5: of the better high school bats in the country out
Speaker 5: of a decorated high school in Georgia Park View, very
Speaker 5: very quick, explosive hands, explosive hands, and eighteenth round there
Speaker 5: was a few guys taken out of the high school rinks,
Speaker 5: a few of them committed to LSU. LSU's gonna have
Speaker 5: a juggernaut of a team next year. I think LSU's
Speaker 5: baseball program is one of the few that puts out
Speaker 5: crazy Nil Dill. So like I would bet on most
Speaker 5: of these guys going to LSU, if not all of them.
Speaker 3: We got.
Speaker 5: We got a left handed arm, Spencer Evans in eleventh round,
Speaker 5: who I think will sign, but he's also committed to LSU,
Speaker 5: so as there's a question work. They're really interesting left
Speaker 5: handed arm who's probably gonna be an overslought deal at eleven.
Speaker 5: But it takes you back to Brylan Bishop who didn't
Speaker 5: work out for the Pirates. But this guy who was
Speaker 5: taking the eleventh round out of out of Arkansas, I
Speaker 5: think in the Arkansas Prepscein was committed to Arkansas.
Speaker 3: Posted that he was going to Arkansas.
Speaker 5: I did the same thing and they were able to
Speaker 5: sign him away kind of at the last minute. I
Speaker 5: would bet on that not happening. With Malachi Washington, I
Speaker 5: think he's gonna go to l I think that was
Speaker 5: just a.
Speaker 3: You know, a let's see if it works kind of pick.
Speaker 5: And they're also not going to get Andrew Duncan, the
Speaker 5: nineteenth round pick, who was a really good hitter out
Speaker 5: of Right State last year in the Horizon League.
Speaker 3: He's gonna he announced today.
Speaker 5: That he's going to go to Tennessee, transferring to Tennessee
Speaker 5: to play finish his last year in college. So I'm
Speaker 5: sure he's getting good nil money, but one of the
Speaker 5: better bat toball guys in college baseball this year. Yeah,
Speaker 5: LSU's is going to be ridiculous next year, Adam and
Speaker 5: if Malki Washington signs, that's going to be the story
Speaker 5: of the draft, getting him out of the eighteenth round
Speaker 5: to sign as one of the better prep bats in
Speaker 5: the country.
Speaker 2: I think if you're going to call this draft to success,
Speaker 2: not saying that they haven't drafted good players, they have,
Speaker 2: but if you're going to call this draft a true success,
Speaker 2: you're gonna have to sign a majority of these guys, right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 5: Like I think two of them are probably I would
Speaker 5: bet on two of them not signing, but I could
Speaker 5: see them signing mostly like all these college arms are
Speaker 5: going to sign, and uh, you know, I think the
Speaker 5: high school guys took taken at the top of the draft,
Speaker 5: like Aiden Ruiz hopefully have another Longhouse Ervante's situation.
Speaker 3: He signs the prep short stuff out of New York.
Speaker 5: Andrew Giles on Nevadas looks like he's gonna sign. Trey
Speaker 5: Phelps already posted a picture of himself in a Pirates
Speaker 5: uniform the college bat out of Georgia. So I do
Speaker 5: see them draft signing most of these guys. But I
Speaker 5: will say we saw the impacts of nil affecting this
Speaker 5: draft more than any other draft in the past. A
Speaker 5: lot of these high school guys that I had circled
Speaker 5: at the top didn't get taken on Day one and
Speaker 5: tenth round comes around like they're going to college.
Speaker 3: They're absolutely going to college.
Speaker 5: And I think teams were being a little bit conservative
Speaker 5: with their money, saying like I am going to pick
Speaker 5: this guy because I know he's gonna signs. It's just
Speaker 5: a different ballgame now, and how the teams navigate these
Speaker 5: drafts going forward is going to be interesting.
Speaker 1: Scott, just at the top of the hour, we've got
Speaker 1: some news Wednesday, Pirates signed infeud or Gray Kessinger to
Speaker 1: a minor league Daily goes to Triple A. Brenton right
Speaker 1: handed picture Yachi Garcia place on the seven day I
Speaker 1: L Monday, Michael Wallace friend of the Show, and then
Speaker 1: left handed pitcher Hunter Barco sent to the FCL for rehab,
Speaker 1: and then catcher Omar Alfonso assigned to the Florida Coast
Speaker 1: League so or the Florida Complex League. I apologize, so
Speaker 1: a little bit of news. Not much going on going
Speaker 1: into the All Star break here, but Scott, what's going
Speaker 1: on in Indianapolis?
Speaker 2: We have some top performers here.
Speaker 5: Yeah, we do a big week for the Password. Who's
Speaker 5: starting to hit the ball more that averages up to
Speaker 5: two sixty eight now. He was ten for twenty one
Speaker 5: this week with two doubles at home run, six RBIs,
Speaker 5: two stolen bags, more walks.
Speaker 3: Thanks.
Speaker 5: I think the Caves have been a little bit of
Speaker 5: a problem to start the season here, but seems to
Speaker 5: be turning the tide. Tamar Johnson in another home run,
Speaker 5: but it was only four for twenty four, three stolen backs.
Speaker 5: He's at one ninety three to finish the week. It'd
Speaker 5: be nice to see him get over that Mendoza line here, Adam,
Speaker 5: and then we had an outing from Christian Curtis.
Speaker 3: On Saturday. He went four and a third, no earn,
Speaker 3: only one hit, but five walks.
Speaker 5: The walks seem to be a problem here and there,
Speaker 5: not consistently. It's like off and on, But I think
Speaker 5: that's something that he's going to want to iron out
Speaker 5: over the next year. In Triple A, Connor ri writ
Speaker 5: Griff had a big week. And this is a guy
Speaker 5: that I compared to a lot of the picks that
Speaker 5: they took in this draft, especially Brian Maron from nc's
Speaker 5: aid to the left, who's over pitchability guy, taking these
Speaker 5: surefire college pitchers that were, you know, maybe the top
Speaker 5: of the rotation that are more mature than the other arms.
Speaker 3: Like, this is a pitchability guy.
Speaker 5: He's not gonna beat you with he's not going to overpower,
Speaker 5: you're going to beat you a speed or anything like that,
Speaker 5: but he's gonna pick you apart, hit the corners of
Speaker 5: the zone. And we saw that on Sunday. He went
Speaker 5: eight innings, one hit, no or no walk, six k's.
Speaker 5: He had fifteen whiffs too, So I think he's a
Speaker 5: guy that can get by with deception and the pitch
Speaker 5: ability and could be a very interesting prospect going forward.
Speaker 5: I think this is a guy that you're going to
Speaker 5: see in Pittsburgh at the latest next year.
Speaker 2: One hundred percent.
Speaker 1: It reminds me of kind of what Hunter Barco was
Speaker 1: doing last year in terms of just being absolutely dominant,
Speaker 1: and you might not be seeing the same from Connor
Speaker 1: wickgriff here. But when you talk about pitch ability and
Speaker 1: deception not overpowering, but the kid is able to get
Speaker 1: a ton of swing and myths, that shows advanced development
Speaker 1: Scott and a guy that really understands his game, not
Speaker 1: trying to do too much. I really need to go
Speaker 1: see him pitch in person, because this is somebody who
Speaker 1: we were intrigued with last year and now you're starting
Speaker 1: to see that quick riser that he is. He's in
Speaker 1: triple A man, and he hasn't really slowed down since
Speaker 1: he's been called up.
Speaker 3: This was like a seventh round pick out of Minnesota.
Speaker 5: Big big ten is it's d one, but like big
Speaker 5: ten pitching is, usually when you're looking at a hitter
Speaker 5: in a.
Speaker 3: Big ten, you're like, oh, he's faced Big ten pitching.
Speaker 5: So like take that with a great AsSalt So coming
Speaker 5: out of a good program in Minnesota and rising up
Speaker 5: as quickly as he has, it's been really impressive. I
Speaker 5: also want to shut up hosting r Kidi has pitched
Speaker 5: really well as of recently.
Speaker 3: He's been going deep into game, which has been positive.
Speaker 3: I know he was.
Speaker 5: A question mark to say the least at the beginning
Speaker 5: of the season in the Big League clubhouse. But seven ings,
Speaker 5: five hits, one earned seven k's on Thursday, that has
Speaker 5: been a positive. We saw Noah Murdoch come up on
Speaker 5: the it's the twenty seventh man the doubleheader this Saturday.
Speaker 3: I expect to see more of him in Pittsburgh in
Speaker 3: the second half.
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's go to al Tuna and speaking about bullpen
Speaker 1: arms and guys that you're going to see in the
Speaker 1: second half, I think the biggest news out of Altuna
Speaker 1: is wilburd Totel pitching on Tuesday. Two innings, one hit,
Speaker 1: no earned four k's, which is awesome. Antoine Kelly was
Speaker 1: optioned right before the break. We talked about that on
Speaker 1: our episode on Monday. Maybe don't agree so much with
Speaker 1: kind of sending him up and down in terms of
Speaker 1: his development, But that could mean that Wilbert Hotel was
Speaker 1: ready to come back after the break.
Speaker 5: Scott, I think so too, And I think they're banking
Speaker 5: on that man, because I think they do trust what
Speaker 5: they've seen from Wilbur more than Angeline Kelly, and I
Speaker 5: think in Kelly's ceiling maybe a little bit higher. But
Speaker 5: like he's been giving up the he's been susceptible thelong
Speaker 5: ball this year. The fastball characteristics are insane. But it's
Speaker 5: gonna work on that fastball command, and I think he's
Speaker 5: gonna He's got a bright future in the big leagues.
Speaker 5: But I think Wilbert, to tell, is a guy that
Speaker 5: they trust a little bit more at this at this juncture.
Speaker 1: Starting to see duce Gorson get a little bit hotter
Speaker 1: with the bat as well. Only four hits on the
Speaker 1: week before runs two doubles in a home run for
Speaker 1: RBIs what started off last year at the end of
Speaker 1: last year, going into camp as a guy that could
Speaker 1: potentially play a really good utility role on this team
Speaker 1: and the bat was going got off to a slow
Speaker 1: start here, but there's still some names that you could
Speaker 1: talk about in al Tuna to be really high on
Speaker 1: and to dream about obviously Callum Moss, you know how
Speaker 1: we feel about him. Lonnie White Junior has hit a
Speaker 1: bit of a skin. Not too worried about that right now.
Speaker 1: Still room for development, but at some point you're going
Speaker 1: to have to make a decision with a lot of
Speaker 1: these guys this year, especially guys in Altuna, when it
Speaker 1: comes to Rule five eligibility, and Lonnie White's one of those. Yeah.
Speaker 5: Absolutely, I mean I wouldn't mind seeing him challenge and
Speaker 5: triple A for the last month of the season. I
Speaker 5: know he was had a little bit of a hiccup
Speaker 5: after an injury here in Altuna. He was really hot,
Speaker 5: so that he's probably still recovering from that. I think
Speaker 5: this break will do him some good. Adam going into Greensboro,
Speaker 5: unless you have anything else to say on Altuna, because
Speaker 5: I think we've covered all the all the bases there.
Speaker 2: But I do have one thing to say about Altuna.
Speaker 1: It's just not a good place to hide out if
Speaker 1: you're committing crimes, because if you know, you'll probably caught
Speaker 1: a McDonald's if you're.
Speaker 2: Hiding out in now Tuna.
Speaker 1: Don't commit crimes, but if you do, you should call
Speaker 1: the fine folks over at Farrell Weaver in Oakin because
Speaker 1: they fight for your rights, providing aggressive criminal defense and
Speaker 1: appellate representation when the stakes are highest, when it counts
Speaker 1: most experience matters. Call Feral Weaver in Oakin today for
Speaker 1: any of your legal needs and get a free consultation. Again,
Speaker 1: that's Feral Weaver and Oakin Again. Like McDonald, it's not
Speaker 1: the best place hideout, Scott, I'll proven place to get caught.
Speaker 1: But if you do, Phil Weaver and Noken will drive
Speaker 1: out there and they will represent you.
Speaker 2: So give the fine folks over there a call.
Speaker 3: They've always had my back.
Speaker 2: They got your back. Greensboro.
Speaker 5: Greensborough was home this week against the Greenville Drive Red
Speaker 5: Sox High A affiliate.
Speaker 3: The story of the week here, Well, there's a lot
Speaker 3: of sorces.
Speaker 5: The bats are just insane there. I'm just waiting for
Speaker 5: most of these to get moved to Altoona, right. But
Speaker 5: Sammy Safira is who we got to talk about. I
Speaker 5: put out a tweet about him this week because I'm
Speaker 5: going through all these games this week and especially since
Speaker 5: the end of June, it's like every box scorts safire
Speaker 5: home run, home run, home run, home run, home run.
Speaker 5: Guess nine since June twenty six, but Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Speaker 5: Friday home runs get four home runs this week five
Speaker 5: hits for home runs. He slowed down at the end
Speaker 5: of the week. Ten RBIs He's het in two ninety
Speaker 5: four that ops is in above eight point fifty, which
Speaker 5: is good to see. This is a prospect who we
Speaker 5: acquired from in the Kobra Heyes trade, and this trade
Speaker 5: is starting to look better and better every day because
Speaker 5: Sammy is a guy that is a plus runner and
Speaker 5: a plus defender up the middle. But if that bat
Speaker 5: takes another step, man that does something magical to this prospect.
Speaker 5: Stock here for Sammy Sipira, so gotta keep rooting for
Speaker 5: him to produce. He's had some big time clutch homers
Speaker 5: two over the past two weeks and gotta love what
Speaker 5: you're seeing from him. Seth Hernandez went Wednesday, three innings,
Speaker 5: two hits, one earned, four ks. You got three seventy
Speaker 5: three ERA in Greensboro. I also want to highlight Eastern
Speaker 5: Carmichael because he continues to hit and hit for power.
Speaker 3: Fifteen home runs as of this week.
Speaker 5: Two this week in Greensboro, but fifteen home runs on
Speaker 5: the season. He's got three oh six average. And then
Speaker 5: Johnny Severino, the piece that we've been talking about a lot.
Speaker 5: That power surge is ruin and I want to see
Speaker 5: it tested in Altuna soon because this is a guy
Speaker 5: that we acquired in a trade for Carlos Santana in
Speaker 5: the deadline two years ago or three years ago.
Speaker 3: He's got twenty two home runs in Greensboro this.
Speaker 5: Year, and we know the environment is a little hit
Speaker 5: or friendly there, but I don't think that's something that
Speaker 5: we can ignore man, And.
Speaker 3: He's also hitting.
Speaker 5: This is a guy that barely hit on the Mendoza
Speaker 5: line last year in Brainton, he had a rough year.
Speaker 5: This guy that's hitting around the two sixty two seventy
Speaker 5: range this year, and you gotta love what you're seeing
Speaker 5: from him in terms of the power output.
Speaker 1: Going back to Seth Hernandez real quick, because obviously, as
Speaker 1: we mentioned, he was in the Futures game.
Speaker 2: Did you seed the quote after the game's got no
Speaker 2: which one?
Speaker 1: Seth Hernandez said, first time coming out of the pen
Speaker 1: in a long time. That was pretty fun. Hopefully I
Speaker 1: can come out of the pen. That was pretty electric.
Speaker 1: It was fun.
Speaker 3: He's playing with us. I mean that'd be awesome, but that, yeah,
Speaker 3: I love that. He said that.
Speaker 1: Though, Yeah, do what you need to do to get
Speaker 1: to the big leagues, right, obviously he's a starter, But yeah,
Speaker 1: I love that energy.
Speaker 2: I love it.
Speaker 5: I was in high schoolast year and now I'm pushing
Speaker 5: you know, bullpen innings in Pittsburgh this year.
Speaker 3: So no, that's that's awesome, that's electric.
Speaker 5: One more thing I want to say on Jenny Johnny Severino,
Speaker 5: because we've got a lot of prospects up the middle,
Speaker 5: and I don't think he's a short south long term anyway,
Speaker 5: more of a third baseman maybe, but look at them
Speaker 5: to try to move him to a corner outfield spot too,
Speaker 5: because I think that's something that they're going to try
Speaker 5: with a guy like him if they can, if they
Speaker 5: can keep the bat in the lineup and not sacrifice
Speaker 5: too much defense, can he can he survive in the
Speaker 5: corner outfield. I think they're going to try that more
Speaker 5: and more here as the season goes on.
Speaker 1: So we go to Bradenton. Johann Delos Santos, I want
Speaker 1: to talk about it. The younger brother, you're Donnie. He's
Speaker 1: getting affiliated time now, He's not just going up and
Speaker 1: down three for sixteen on the week five runs a double.
Speaker 1: What do you see in the younger brother of your Donnie,
Speaker 1: Because a lot of people think that this is the
Speaker 1: better of the two.
Speaker 5: Yeah, tons of projection, man, the power and speed are real.
Speaker 5: The speed for right now is is like plus plus.
Speaker 5: But I think this is a guy that's gonna do
Speaker 5: a little bit of everything and be close to a
Speaker 5: five tool player out of the Dominican. I think he's
Speaker 5: I think he's gonna move quickly now. The problem with
Speaker 5: his brother was injuries early on right because I feel
Speaker 5: like he was in braindon for three years and now
Speaker 5: he's rolled five valigtible in Greensboro. He's got to stay healthy,
Speaker 5: and I think this is a guy that could could
Speaker 5: move quickly. Allah Edward Florentino, I think he's more on
Speaker 5: that track than Darryl Morrell is a guy that we
Speaker 5: mentioned earlier on this season as being the next Florentino.
Speaker 2: Somebody who could also be due for a promotion.
Speaker 1: Scott that I love because it seems like he's figuring
Speaker 1: it out as a pitcher. Is Levi Sterling five innings
Speaker 1: on Sunday, three hits, one earn, no walks, nine strikeouts.
Speaker 2: Again.
Speaker 1: I can't emphasize enough how much control was an issue
Speaker 1: for Levi. The stuff is really good, but it seems
Speaker 1: like he's starting to figure it out a little bit.
Speaker 1: And maybe a promotion the Greensboro is due sooner rather
Speaker 1: than later.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, I mean, if I'm a betting man, I'm
Speaker 5: gonna say that they're gonna keep him in Brainton to
Speaker 5: finish the year, to see to continue to see those adjustments.
Speaker 5: But you gotta love what you're seeing because like just
Speaker 5: a couple of starts to go, I mean, or just
Speaker 5: you know, yeah, a couple of starts ago, he's going
Speaker 5: three to four walks almost every start, zero walks nine
Speaker 5: K's gotta love that, you know. I think the pitching
Speaker 5: trio in Bradenton right now of him, Raynold Navarro and
Speaker 5: Carlos Matteo. Yeah, the latter two who I think are
Speaker 5: gonna be relievers when it's all said and done.
Speaker 3: With electric fastballs.
Speaker 5: But that's pretty scary stuff, you know, Uh, Levi that
Speaker 5: can work north to the south with the fast one
Speaker 5: in the twelve to six, and then Reynold and Carlos
Speaker 5: with guys that have just ridiculous fastballs induced vertical break
Speaker 5: numbers that are gonna break stack cast. You know, that's
Speaker 5: a that's a pretty fun staff that you're watching down
Speaker 5: there in Bradenton, Scott.
Speaker 2: Let's go to the Minnican.
Speaker 1: One guy that will highlight this week is Wilton Greer Junior,
Speaker 1: because it doesn't get much better than this. Nine for fifteen,
Speaker 1: six runs, two doubles, five RBIs, two walks only, two strikeouts,
Speaker 1: three bags.
Speaker 2: He's hitting three twenty one.
Speaker 1: Part of the Guerrero family Tree Scott, and he's in
Speaker 1: the Pirates organization. There's a lot of hype when they
Speaker 1: signed him. This is a really, really good prospect that
Speaker 1: they have.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm kind of the same mold of a yell
Speaker 5: on Dela Santos, Right. I don't know if the power
Speaker 5: is quite there yet or you know, I think there's
Speaker 5: He's still very young and.
Speaker 3: There's a lot of projection left in the body.
Speaker 5: I would view him as less of a more of
Speaker 5: a hit overpower guy at this point, and that's why
Speaker 5: I would project him as but you know, a lot
Speaker 5: of speed, he's gonna get on base, He's gonna.
Speaker 3: Make things happen.
Speaker 5: I think this is a legit prospect that is going
Speaker 5: to we're gonna see at the complex next year and
Speaker 5: in Bradenton, just like we're seeing morele in Dela Santo's
Speaker 5: weekend and week out.
Speaker 2: That's what's happening down on the farm. Before we get
Speaker 2: out of year.
Speaker 1: We have our hitter and picture of the week, Scott
Speaker 1: who is our hitter of the week.
Speaker 3: Hitter of the week. We had a couple options here.
Speaker 5: We just mentioned Wilton Guerrero I thought had a great
Speaker 5: week down into DSL. I mean nine for fifteen is insane,
Speaker 5: but we're gonna go with a password. Yo. Justinson Garcia
Speaker 5: ten for twenty one, two doubles, a home run, six RBIs,
Speaker 5: two stolen bags, has got that average up to two
Speaker 5: sixty eight on the year. This is a guy who's
Speaker 5: going to be a big part of the future of
Speaker 5: this organization. And seeing that continued development and that progression
Speaker 5: in Indianapolis is going to be key here in the
Speaker 5: second half.
Speaker 2: Our picture of the week.
Speaker 1: For a lot of times, he's been our picture of
Speaker 1: the week for Bucko Banter Connor Wickriff eight innings, one hit,
Speaker 1: no earn, no wonk six case. He's got a three
Speaker 1: six oer right now, and as you mentioned, earlier fifteen whiffs.
Speaker 1: Somebody who's really figured out who they are as a pitcher.
Speaker 1: They're using that pitchability and that deceptive delivery as a
Speaker 1: left handed pitcher to get out and it's really working.
Speaker 1: You're also starting to see the strikeout numbers rise a
Speaker 1: little bit more. So really good for Connor Wickgriff in
Speaker 1: Triple A.
Speaker 5: I mean again, the strikeup numbers are going to be
Speaker 5: up when he's spotting up because he's deceptive, he knows
Speaker 5: how to he's a picture over a thrower, and even
Speaker 5: though he's talking overpower you, he's going to know how
Speaker 5: to pitch to you. So yeah, gotta love what you're
Speaker 5: seeing from him. One hit, no or no walks. That's insane.
Speaker 5: So good for Connor Witbriff. This is a guy that
Speaker 5: I'm watching weekend and week out. It's pretty impressive how
Speaker 5: quickly he's moved and indeed takes the pictured and hitter
Speaker 5: of the week this week.
Speaker 2: Before we get out of here, you thought we were
Speaker 2: done promoting things.
Speaker 1: The tailgate was incredible. We got more on the agenda.
Speaker 1: It's a moment that you've been waiting for. July twenty seven,
Speaker 1: twenty twenty six, on Monday versus the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Speaker 2: Picture this, It's a beautiful summer night.
Speaker 1: You're standing on the top of the rotunda, and then
Speaker 1: out of nowhere, you're here.
Speaker 2: That's right. The Wolf Game.
Speaker 1: July twenty seven, twenty twenty six. Bring out your best
Speaker 1: Wolf t shirt, join us at the top of rotunda
Speaker 1: and howl at the moon and cheer on your Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: pirates because they need it.
Speaker 2: They need you for the Wolf Game. You remember what
Speaker 2: happened last year in the Wolf Game beat the Dodgers.
Speaker 5: Clayton Herschel's last game at PC Park. We set them
Speaker 5: out in the first couple. Yeah, yeah, so it works.
Speaker 2: It works, And last year was pup Night. I don't
Speaker 2: know if it's going to be pup Night this.
Speaker 1: Year, but I got a great Wolf shirt that I'm
Speaker 1: bringing out that I bought the other day. I'm pumped
Speaker 1: to debut it on July twenty seven, twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 1: If you show up in your best Wolf shirt, will
Speaker 1: probably have some giveaways for you, but it's a really
Speaker 1: good time. Just come join us top the rotunda. Everybody's
Speaker 1: welcome up there. That's why we go up there. Renegade
Speaker 1: of the Rotunda will be there. We're expecting a big crowd,
Speaker 1: and who knows what the Wolf game has to offer?
Speaker 2: Who knows what the wolf game is. That's still upper interpretation,
Speaker 2: but you could still be.
Speaker 3: Awad of it. Love it man, Well, I'm excited for
Speaker 3: the wolf game. Is that against? Who's that against?
Speaker 2: Diamondbacks?
Speaker 3: Diamondbacks?
Speaker 5: Oh? Boy, snakes and wolves they don't go well together.
Speaker 5: So uh, let's get after it on the twenty seventh.
Speaker 5: Hope to see you there. Also, stay tuned for our
Speaker 5: draft recap here coming in the in the next couple
Speaker 5: of days. But until next time, Adam, let's hoist it,
Speaker 5: hoist it.
Speaker 4: Best seat at the Pirates and he let me run
Speaker 4: the base. Yeah, my tab is like my money because
Speaker 4: I can't afford to waste.
Speaker 5: Oh why is.
Speaker 3: All my date to my dates?
Speaker 4: Or to stick by the plate?
Speaker 3: Synick