The same day that Stetson Allie made the switch from pitcher to position player Pirates 2009 first round draft pick (4th overall) Tony Sanchez made the jump from Double-A to Triple-A.
This season Sanchez started his second year in Double A and posted improved numbers in categories such as Batting Average, On Base Percentage, and On Base Plus Slugging. Sanchez in my opinion had spent enough time in Double-A and improved enough to a level where he was worthy of a Triple-A promotion.
There are two categories that worry me though and they are home-runs and strikeouts. In 40 games this year Sanchez has has hit zero home-runs and struck out 33 times. From a position like catcher you would like to see a little more power but if he gets on base enough he can make up for the lack of power. It will be interesting to see how long Sanchez stays in Triple-A, it will surely be for the rest of the season at least, unless they get in a situation like last year where every catcher in the organization seems to go down.
The Pirates Did What to Who?
The Pirates announced big news on Sunday night, surprisingly it was not about the all important upcoming draft. This news was about a former second round draft pick named Stetson Allie a pitcher coming out of the Columbus area in high school.
Allie was highly regarded as a power pitcher as he could hit 100 on the radar gun pretty consistently and could back this up with a nasty right handed slider. Coming out of high school Allie was a dominate pitcher but he surprisingly did not start pitching until his senior year. Allie posted impressive numbers even striking out 134 batters in just 60 innings. What people do not think about though is that he did this playing high school baseball in Ohio. I am not bad talking Ohio baseball but is not the best high school baseball in the country, just like none of the North East states are. Allie probably only ever got to face a future Division I hitter once or maybe twice the whole season, and that is not even counting future professional batters like he would see playing in the Pirates minor league system everyday. Taking Allie in the second round of the draft and then giving him a 2.25 million dollar bonus was a very risky move, but a move that you could get excited about.
Now lets get to the point, you have probably been wondering why I have been speaking in the past tense the whole time because Allie is still around he didn't go anywhere he still plays professional ball in the Pirates system. The only difference starting today is that Allie will not be taking the hill, he will be stepping in the batters box instead. Yes that is correct the Pirates are converting Allie from a pitcher to a hitter, most likely a third baseman. Allie's concern was always his control, this is a problem that the Pirates thought they could keep under control and even fix but today they decided that they could not continue with the Allie pitching experiment. Allie made only 17 minor league appearances before the Pirates decided that they had seen enough. In these 17 appearances he pitched 26 and 2/3 innings allowing 37 walks and 29 strikeouts. If you do the math this is a .78 SO/BB ratio, bad statistics even for a half season pitcher. What most likely really set the Pirates over the edge on Allie was his one appearance for Allie in Low-A West Virginia. Allie went 2/3 of an inning on four earned runs eight walks and one strikeout. In this one appearance Allie showed absolutely no control what so ever in this appearance most likely leading the Pirates to their final decision of moving him to a hitter.
What you are probably wondering now is can Allie hit or are they just completely giving up on him? Like I mentioned earlier Allie did not start pitching until his senior year, this meant that he had to be playing somewhere else before that and he played that somewhere else well. From what I have heard Allie hit near or around .500 both his Junior and Senior year of high school with a good amount of home-runs in a high school season. Before the Pirates drafted Allie in 2010 he was committed to North Carolina on a full baseball scholarship where he was targeted to be a third-baseman. What this tells me is that many people thought Allie had a brighter future as a hitter and not a pitcher. Most people though that if Allie would of entered the draft as a hitter and not a pitcher he would of been a 3rd to 5th rounder.
Some people seem to be very upset about this move and think that the Pirates were to early to jump to such major conclusions. I think that these people are wrong. the Pirates know these players better then anyone of us and they would of not made this move unless they were 100% sure that this was in the best interest of both the Pirates and Allie himself. Also Allie showed just about zero upside in the minors not really even making one good appearance. I personally am very excited about this move, I am thrilled to see how he does. This could be one of the stupidest moves in Pirates history or it could be one of the smartest, and only time is going to tell us which one it was.
Allie was highly regarded as a power pitcher as he could hit 100 on the radar gun pretty consistently and could back this up with a nasty right handed slider. Coming out of high school Allie was a dominate pitcher but he surprisingly did not start pitching until his senior year. Allie posted impressive numbers even striking out 134 batters in just 60 innings. What people do not think about though is that he did this playing high school baseball in Ohio. I am not bad talking Ohio baseball but is not the best high school baseball in the country, just like none of the North East states are. Allie probably only ever got to face a future Division I hitter once or maybe twice the whole season, and that is not even counting future professional batters like he would see playing in the Pirates minor league system everyday. Taking Allie in the second round of the draft and then giving him a 2.25 million dollar bonus was a very risky move, but a move that you could get excited about.
Now lets get to the point, you have probably been wondering why I have been speaking in the past tense the whole time because Allie is still around he didn't go anywhere he still plays professional ball in the Pirates system. The only difference starting today is that Allie will not be taking the hill, he will be stepping in the batters box instead. Yes that is correct the Pirates are converting Allie from a pitcher to a hitter, most likely a third baseman. Allie's concern was always his control, this is a problem that the Pirates thought they could keep under control and even fix but today they decided that they could not continue with the Allie pitching experiment. Allie made only 17 minor league appearances before the Pirates decided that they had seen enough. In these 17 appearances he pitched 26 and 2/3 innings allowing 37 walks and 29 strikeouts. If you do the math this is a .78 SO/BB ratio, bad statistics even for a half season pitcher. What most likely really set the Pirates over the edge on Allie was his one appearance for Allie in Low-A West Virginia. Allie went 2/3 of an inning on four earned runs eight walks and one strikeout. In this one appearance Allie showed absolutely no control what so ever in this appearance most likely leading the Pirates to their final decision of moving him to a hitter.
What you are probably wondering now is can Allie hit or are they just completely giving up on him? Like I mentioned earlier Allie did not start pitching until his senior year, this meant that he had to be playing somewhere else before that and he played that somewhere else well. From what I have heard Allie hit near or around .500 both his Junior and Senior year of high school with a good amount of home-runs in a high school season. Before the Pirates drafted Allie in 2010 he was committed to North Carolina on a full baseball scholarship where he was targeted to be a third-baseman. What this tells me is that many people thought Allie had a brighter future as a hitter and not a pitcher. Most people though that if Allie would of entered the draft as a hitter and not a pitcher he would of been a 3rd to 5th rounder.
Some people seem to be very upset about this move and think that the Pirates were to early to jump to such major conclusions. I think that these people are wrong. the Pirates know these players better then anyone of us and they would of not made this move unless they were 100% sure that this was in the best interest of both the Pirates and Allie himself. Also Allie showed just about zero upside in the minors not really even making one good appearance. I personally am very excited about this move, I am thrilled to see how he does. This could be one of the stupidest moves in Pirates history or it could be one of the smartest, and only time is going to tell us which one it was.
6/3 Game Recap vs. Brewers
The Battlin' Buccos beat the Brewcrew 6-5 and take the series in this exciting game at Miller Park. The first series they have taken in Milwaukee in over two years.
McDonald had a good start, going 6 innings with 1 earned run, but the real story is the hitting. McCutchen, Jones, Barajas, and Barmes all had homeruns in this one, and Barmes also had a clutch single in the second scoring Casey McGehee. Overall, the offense seemed more lively but, Hague came back down to Earth going 0-4 with 2 strikeouts ending his hitting streak.
The importance of winning this series cannot be overstated. The Pirates are just 21-59 against the Brewers since 07', and we still have three more series against them this season. All in all, if the Pirates play the way they did tonight I am very excited about the rest of the season. Please, comment if you have any opinion on the game.
Is It Time to Give Jeff Clement a Try?
The Pirates have the worst offense in the major leagues by far and everyone is looking for a way to solve this problem outside of the organization. Last night in Triple-A Indianapolis Jeff Clement hit for the cycle and this got me thinking, could he be the missing bat that everyone is looking for?
Jeff Clement has 153 At Bats this year in Triple-A and this makes him very comparable to Matt Hague who has had 144 At Bats in Triple-A, and is now on the major league roster. Clement this year has hit for an average of .307 compared to Hagues .278 Triple-A average. This is a whole 29 points higher that big of a difference is not just a matter of luck. You might be thinking that Hague will hit a lot more home-runs making up for the difference in average because he did hit seven in spring training after all. This is wrong, Clement has hit six home-runs this year well Hague has only hit one at the Triple-A level and Major League level combined. Lastly Clement has a much better eye at the plate as well, he has drawn a total of 21 walks in Triple-A compared to Hagues 9 free passes.
With all of this said I do not think that this is a good time to move Clement to the Big Leagues in place of Hague and this is why. Although Hague is only hitting .278 in the Big Leagues this is one of the better averages on our team, but in a limited number of at bats of course. Hague is currently on an 8 game hitting streak, starting since the day he was called up last Friday night against the Cubs. Hague has done nothing wrong on the Big League level and certainly not something bad enough to be sent down on a team that is searching for offense wherever you can get it. There is also no telling what Clement would do when put on the Major League stage. Clement has been in the majors before and in 2008 (when he had his most major league at bats in a single season) he hit just a mere .227, a batting average that would be considered poor even on this team. The other downfall to Clement is that he is strictly a first baseman just like Hague, another reason these two are very comparable. If I were the Pirates I would keep a close eye on both Hague and Clement, and if Hague starts to struggle they should move Clement to the 40 man roster and then call him up to the Big Leagues and see what he can do at that level this time around.
Jeff Clement has 153 At Bats this year in Triple-A and this makes him very comparable to Matt Hague who has had 144 At Bats in Triple-A, and is now on the major league roster. Clement this year has hit for an average of .307 compared to Hagues .278 Triple-A average. This is a whole 29 points higher that big of a difference is not just a matter of luck. You might be thinking that Hague will hit a lot more home-runs making up for the difference in average because he did hit seven in spring training after all. This is wrong, Clement has hit six home-runs this year well Hague has only hit one at the Triple-A level and Major League level combined. Lastly Clement has a much better eye at the plate as well, he has drawn a total of 21 walks in Triple-A compared to Hagues 9 free passes.
With all of this said I do not think that this is a good time to move Clement to the Big Leagues in place of Hague and this is why. Although Hague is only hitting .278 in the Big Leagues this is one of the better averages on our team, but in a limited number of at bats of course. Hague is currently on an 8 game hitting streak, starting since the day he was called up last Friday night against the Cubs. Hague has done nothing wrong on the Big League level and certainly not something bad enough to be sent down on a team that is searching for offense wherever you can get it. There is also no telling what Clement would do when put on the Major League stage. Clement has been in the majors before and in 2008 (when he had his most major league at bats in a single season) he hit just a mere .227, a batting average that would be considered poor even on this team. The other downfall to Clement is that he is strictly a first baseman just like Hague, another reason these two are very comparable. If I were the Pirates I would keep a close eye on both Hague and Clement, and if Hague starts to struggle they should move Clement to the 40 man roster and then call him up to the Big Leagues and see what he can do at that level this time around.
6/2 Game Recap vs. Brewers
After winning 8-2 on Friday night the Pirates seemed to have come back to reality scoring only one run in their second game in Milwaukee. The Pirates today had just five hits one of them being a solo home-run hit by Garret Jones to start the fourth inning and tie the game at 1. The sixth inning looked promising for the Pirates when Jose Tabata and Garret Jones hit back to back singles, but the Pirates proceeded to go one two three after that, failing to even more a runner up.
On the Pitching side of the game Erik Bedard did not have his best stuff to say the least going only 3 and 2/3 on 5 runs all of them being earned. One nice thing that did come out of this game was the bullpen. The bullpen has done everything they can do every game to put the team in a position to win and they did the same thing tonight. Cris Resop entered the game in the fourth to replace Bedard and he went 2 and 1/3 scoreless. Hughes and Slaten also added scoreless frames. Only using four pitchers when your starter can't even go four full is a solid thing to see, and will put the team in good position to get a win tomorrow, the rubber match of the series.
On the Pitching side of the game Erik Bedard did not have his best stuff to say the least going only 3 and 2/3 on 5 runs all of them being earned. One nice thing that did come out of this game was the bullpen. The bullpen has done everything they can do every game to put the team in a position to win and they did the same thing tonight. Cris Resop entered the game in the fourth to replace Bedard and he went 2 and 1/3 scoreless. Hughes and Slaten also added scoreless frames. Only using four pitchers when your starter can't even go four full is a solid thing to see, and will put the team in good position to get a win tomorrow, the rubber match of the series.
Why J.Mac's Getting Lucky
I have some sad news for Bucco fans, as much as is it pains me to say, James McDonald is not as good as his basic stats say. J. Mac according to basic stats has thrown a Cy Young caliber season so far, but is he this good? To answer this question we need to look at BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play). Right about now I assume you're asking yourself, "What the hell is BABIP".
In 2009 and 2011 McDonald's BABIP was the closest to average. His ERA in those two seasons was 4.00 in 2009 and 4.21 in 2011. Now his ERA is 2.20 and his BABIP is much lower. As a Pirates fan I hope that this is merely coincidence, but the stats say otherwise. J. Mac is getting lucky and his stats will unfortunately revert back to average by the end of the season. Watch this short video for a better explanation of BABIP.
BABIP is a measure of all balls hit into play. Therefore it only counts singles, doubles, triples, sac flies, and all other outs. It does not count however, homeruns, strikeouts, and walks. The league average BABIP is .300 that means only 30% of balls hit in play become hits. So, if a 100 balls are hit in play 70 of them will be outs. If a pitcher has a lower BABIP it means he is getting lucky and more balls more balls hit into play will be outs. When a pitcher has a higher BABIP it means he is getting unlucky because more balls hit in play will be hits. This is what is happening to McDonald.
J. Mac's average BABIP through 4 years is .291. That means on average of 100 balls hit in play off of J. Mac 71 will be outs. But, right now J. Mac's BABIP is at .258 so of a 100 balls hit in play 74 will be outs. That 3 out difference may not sound like much, but it adds up. If you don't believe me take these stats into consideration.
6/1 Recap vs Brewers
The Pirates won this one in an unusual fashion tonight and what I mean by this is that they actually scored an amount of runs that you would expect a major league team to score every once in a while. The Pirates won this game by a final of 8-2 Correia went a total of 5 2/3 on two runs and had two strikeouts. This is about what you would come to expect by watching Correia pitch this year.
Although 8-2 sounds great this game did not start out this way for the Pirates. Former Pirate and current Brewer center-fielder Nyjer Morgan AKA Tony Plush started this one off with a solo homer in the top of the first inning to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead. This game turned around in the third inning when the Pirates added 6 runs. Both Josh Harrison and Andrew McCutchen had triples, while Neil Walker, Rod Barajas, and Jose Tabata all added RBI's. The Pirates added 2 more runs in the 6th when Andrew McCutchen doubled home Jose Tabata and Josh Harrison.
Although no reliever other then Cruz went a full inning, Slaten, Hughes, Lincoln, and Watson all had clean performances. Cruz came into the game in the ninth to get a one two three finish.
Although 8-2 sounds great this game did not start out this way for the Pirates. Former Pirate and current Brewer center-fielder Nyjer Morgan AKA Tony Plush started this one off with a solo homer in the top of the first inning to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead. This game turned around in the third inning when the Pirates added 6 runs. Both Josh Harrison and Andrew McCutchen had triples, while Neil Walker, Rod Barajas, and Jose Tabata all added RBI's. The Pirates added 2 more runs in the 6th when Andrew McCutchen doubled home Jose Tabata and Josh Harrison.
Although no reliever other then Cruz went a full inning, Slaten, Hughes, Lincoln, and Watson all had clean performances. Cruz came into the game in the ninth to get a one two three finish.
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