OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: Congrats to the Houston Cheaters on their win

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Gorski just hit a tank for his 23rd of the year. 6th at AA. 3 run bomb.

 

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Speaking of Gorski...

 

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Here's the Gorski tank shot. Very similar to the one he hit in front of me in Harrisburg.

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

Gorski doesn't get cheated. His stance/swing are remarkably similar to Carlos Gomez.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

The Bae situation looks to be frustrating. He's not on the 40-man and it already looks like a big roster crunch is coming. I don't think we can go full nuclear on the roster and just start clearing space, but at some point, you have to shuffle the deck, and there's also the obvious sense that we shouldn't be blocking prospects performing well with fliers that we have taken.

Specifically, I think what they do with VanMeter will be telling. He had the power surge, but how much does that + his flexibility really buy him? Gamel and Newman are locks to come back, and you have to figure that Chang, Park, Mitchell, and Castillo are all in danger of losing their spot. If you add VanMeter and Marcano, then there's no room for Bae, independently of getting him onto the 40-man. And it's not clear that Castillo should go down. And there's still Yoshi on top of all of that.

I don't know -- setting aside what to do with Bae, I'd respect the decision-making more if we decided to DFA VanMeter. I doubt that's going to happen, but Marcano in particular seems to be what would merit that happening with him (i.e., Marcano should play every day at 2B). I guess the best outcome here would be for whatever decisions to be made, and then during July, there's both a quick hook on anybody who we hang onto for whatever reason (Yoshi / VanMeter) along with an attempt to find a landing spot for Gamel especially, and likely Newman. Between that an injuries, probably space for Castillo / Mitchell to come back, along with Bae to finally get a promotion.

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

I'd DFA Yoshi and Vanmeter for sure.

Everybody else is at least good enough that you could make an argument that they deserve to compete for a spot with the kids.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Put the best players in the ML. That simple. Bae is better on paper than anything the Pirates will be bringing up from the re-tread group.

The dude is absolutely tearing the baseball apart, with some pop I might add, and has near top of the charts speed and defensive versatility. Plus he's a legitimate prospect on any reputable website and clearly the Pirates view him as such.

If we're talking about putting the best guys on the field with the big club, he's beyond deserving now.

Also, it wasn't close to pretty, but tip of the cap to Contreras for getting through 5 and only giving up the 1 run.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Pretty decent from Roansy to grit that one out even with no pitches really working. He got some luck but still got the job done.

I'd be surprised if we DFA Yoshi given his contract. I think my realistic hope is that we DFA VanMeter and have Yoshi on a short leash, but it also sounds like VanMeter will come up first and the other will follow after. My guess is actually that we'll DFA Chang, and then Marcano might end up stuck in the minors a little while longer while Park and Mitchell go down for Newman and Gamel. Not sure how Yoshi fits in this scenario, maybe we'll drag his rehab out longer and give VanMeter a week or something before DFAing him.

In the end, I think you can't worry about the fliers + the sunk cost on Yoshi, i.e., I agree that we should just DFA both of them and let the rest be decided by performance.

 

[ImporterExporter]

I think Castillo needs to go. Bae can play anywhere Castillo can plus the OF and I absolutely think JB has a significantly better chance at hitting ML pitching. Mitchell can also go and you DFA Chang.

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

Castillo needs to get the tag down there.

Awful stuff.

Been a lot of that this weekend.

 

[since70]

Diego, you're going down to learn how to tag a runner

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

I really hate this team.

 

[Gallatin]

The Altoona pbp guy on Gorski.... "he doesn't get cheated on his homers. He has hit a couple that were over 430 feet."

Also...."he's a tremendous athlete."

Yeah there's a lot to like there for sure. It's a diverse skill set, I do think he's a legit starting Outfielder in Pittsburgh if he can keep his strikeouts under 30% in MLB.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Bae finished today 3-4. Now hitting .319/.879. Stole his 18th base.

These are his splits:

Vs L (80 ABs) - .375/.944
Vs R (168 ABs) - .292/.848

Demote the following tomorrow:

Castillo - He's been mainly very good defensively, though his missed tag today killed us. Outside of the occasional power surge, he's a weak hitter.
Mitchell - Needs to reset at the plate. Thought he'd have done better.
Park - If he has options left, didn't look.

DFA the following:

Chang - He sucks.

Promote the following:

Bae
Newman
Gamel
Yoshi

I give Yoshi 1 run at right handed pitching as DH, otherwise he's gone by the end of July. All 3 of the vets should be moved or let go by the trade deadline IMO. I really don't want any of the guys other than Bae coming, but it's inevitable. Marcano is due back in a few days (he's rehabbing in FL) so we'll have to make room for him as well.

We need guys with plus hit tools in the lineup and Bae has that + the 70 grade run to boot.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Oh, and Jared Jones had himself a day in Greensboro.

7 innings
4 hits
1 ER
0 walks
9 K's

 

[DJ Spinoza]

palate cleanser after the past two games

 

[td_ice]

Yeah there's a lot to like there for sure. It's a diverse skill set, I do think he's a legit starting Outfielder in Pittsburgh if he can keep his strikeouts under 30% in MLB.

Yeah, the announcer mentioned that as well for Gorski. Actually he had that to say (improvement in the swing and miss dept.), for every Curve prospect they talked about.

 

[ChaosAgent]

I'm still high on Castillo, but today's terrible exhibition at the plate and the failure to get that easy tag killed us.

There are going to be a lot of series this year where we can only realistically win one game. Bednar blew it yesterday but he's been exceptional this year.

I agree with @ImporterExporter that Bae should be here. Chang and Mitchell at the least should go down to Indy. Actually JK - I really don't care what happens with Chang. He belongs in the KBO.

 

[Gallatin]

Pretty decent from Roansy to grit that one out even with no pitches really working. He got some luck but still got the job done.

I'd be surprised if we DFA Yoshi given his contract. I think my realistic hope is that we DFA VanMeter and have Yoshi on a short leash, but it also sounds like VanMeter will come up first and the other will follow after. My guess is actually that we'll DFA Chang, and then Marcano might end up stuck in the minors a little while longer while Park and Mitchell go down for Newman and Gamel. Not sure how Yoshi fits in this scenario, maybe we'll drag his rehab out longer and give VanMeter a week or something before DFAing him.

In the end, I think you can't worry about the fliers + the sunk cost on Yoshi, i.e., I agree that we should just DFA both of them and let the rest be decided by performance.

As rough a time as Contrares had today, the Rays had a real problem squaring up that fastball when it was in the zone.

 

[ChaosAgent]

As rough a time as Contrares had today, the Rays had a real problem squaring up that fastball when it was in the zone.

On Roansy's 4 walk inning, that's an adjustment he's going to have to make.

His stuff is great but not so overwhelming to where he can expect his fastball out of 3-2 counts. Hitters are going to foul him off and waste a pitch or two. The thing that sucked in that inning is that he kept going 2-0, 2-1, 3-0 in the first place. If it's 3-2 I like a hitter's odds to foul Roansy off enough times to work a walk.

 

[Gallatin]

Oh, and Jared Jones had himself a day in Greensboro.

7 innings
4 hits
1 ER
0 walks
9 K's

If he can stay healthy, Jones is going to figure out how to pitch IMO. The basic tools are very impressive, if he finds League Average command even, he'll be in Pittsburgh in no time.

 

[Gallatin]

On Roansy's 4 walk inning, that's an adjustment he's going to have to make.

His stuff is great but not so overwhelming to where he can expect his fastball out of 3-2 counts. Hitters are going to foul him off and waste a pitch or two. The thing that sucked in that inning is that he kept going 2-0, 2-1, 3-0 in the first place. If it's 3-2 I like a hitter's odds to foul Roansy off enough times to work a walk.

His fastball had a lot of movement today, high & outside in particular was uncontrollable for most of the game.

I think the hitters were having a hard time picking the thing up. But since he didn't have confidence in the Slider till late, and the Curve wasn't particularly working well....

 

[Gallatin]

Speaking of Gorski...

Here's a really sick throw from that game.



Crazy power display...

 

[Gallatin]

Does Matt Gorski have the best Outfield arm in the system? I've seen 4 high-power accurate throws from him now - no bounces all the way to second from a corner, or home to shoot down a runner.

I can't be the only one that's seeing a + arm here right? No mention of that big arm that's staring us in the face in any of these articles though.

Neil Huntington's last 2nd Rounder:

Matt Gorski - Scouting Report — Prospects Live

Jan 2021 Report Evaluator: Robert James Age: 23 yr Height: 6-4 Weight: 195 lbs Hits/Throws: R/R Acquired: 2019 Round 2 RuleV: 2022 Physical Description: Ideal size for a ballplayer, Gorski "looks" like a baseball player, he's big and strong and athletic. He's basically exactly w

www.prospectslive.com

Pittsburgh Pirates: Second Round Pick Matt Gorski

The Pittsburgh Pirates made their two first-round picks of the MLB Draft earlier tonight. Here is who the team took with their second-round pick.

www.google.com

Matt Gorski

prospects.pittsburghbaseball.com

Prospects of the Week: May 16 - May 22

Prospects1500 runs down every level's top hitting and pitching lines from the last week. These are Jeremy Mahy's Prospects of the Week.

www.prospects1500.com

 

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Let's see how Gorski plays the year out. I'm always hesitant when older guys dominate younger comp and that's what he was doing in A+ ball. Now he's by no means a youngster at 24 in AA but at least the age is more in line with the guys at that level. His BA/OBP are essentially the same as Greensboro and while the SLG has dropped from the Gehrig like 700+ in the hitters paradise of NC, he's still at .538 which is plenty good.

Gorski has good speed and obviously a hellova arm. The question is will he continue to hit for average to plus average + big power and keep the K rate sub 30%. If he can do that the rest of this year in AA/AAA then he'll basically replace Fraizer as the borderline top 10 OF prospect in our ranks. I imagine he'll get a few weeks/month in AAA this year if he continues to rake, start next year in Indy and then be May/June. Again, that's if he performs well above the bar.

Still, it's great to see a right handed batter showing such explosive pop. It's something to at least be somewhat excited about next to Henry Davis and hopefully a rebound from Gonzales once he returns next month from injury.