Josh Bell and Tyler Glasnow named Pirates Prospects of the Year

Josh Bell and Tyler Glasnow were named the Pittsburgh Pirates prospects of the year for 2016. Both players made their major league debuts this season and each made an impact upon arrival to the big league club.

The Pittsburgh Pirates season has come to an end and it's time to think about the future and the 2017 season. A lot of young Pirates prospects made their major league debut and many had a big impact on the big league club.

Two of those players were recognized for their achievements both at the major league level and at the minor league level. Josh Bell and Tyler Glasnow were named the Pittsburgh Pirates prospects of the year in 2016.

Prior to the start of the season Bell was the Pirates number three top prospect and Glasnow was the top rated Pirates prospect. Both started this season at the Triple A level with only one month of Triple A experience, and both came up and produced with the big league club.

Both Bell and Glasnow made their MLB debuts in early July and made an immediate impact. Bell came up and made his debut in July 8th against the Chicago Cubs and made an impact in his second big league game.

He came up in a pinch hit role with the bases loaded and blasted his first major league home run, a grand slam over the right field wall, to help guide the Pirates to a 12-4 victory.

Bell would finish the 2016 season with a .273 average, three home runs, and 19 RBI. Gowever, in his triple a season he went .295 with 16 home runs and 78 RBI. 

Bell was originally drafted as an outfielder in the first round of the 2011 First Year Player Draft out of Jesuit College Prepratory School in Dallas, Texas. He has been criticized for his lack of power at a corner infield position.

Prior to the 2016 season he had never hit more than 14 home runs in a season and that was his first year in professional baseball. Due to a lack of speed, he made the transition to the infield and it went pretty well.

Bell spilt time between the two positions at the major league level giving John Jaso and Gregory Polanco nights off here and there. Jaso is under contract for the 2017 season, so Bell will be able to ease into his role as the starting first baseman by the 2018 season.

Bell was a two time futures game participant and a three time minor league all-star. This is the first time he has been named the prospect of the year for the Pirates and he has a bright future ahead of him.

Glasnow did not have as easy a transition to the majors as Bell did, but he still provided an impact both in the starting rotation and the bullpen. His first start came on July 75th against the St. Louis Cardinals. He got a little roughed up going 5.1 innings giving up three hits and four runs while striking out five and walking two.

Glasnow appeared in seven games and made four total starts ending the season with a record of 0-2 and a 4.24 ERA while striking out 24 and walking 13. Glasgow was Pittsburgh's number one rated prospect prior to the season and performed well at the Triple A level.

Like Bell, Glasnow had only one month of experience at the Triple A level. He finished the season with a record of 8-3 and a 1.87 ERA While striking out 133 and walking 62 in 110.2 innings of work.

Glasnow has had trouble with his command throughout his minor league career. He had to learn how to throw his changeup and that resulted in some of his walks. However, the struggles continued at the major league level where he walked 13 in 23.1 innings. This will be the first off-season as a major leaguer and he will have plenty of chances to work with pitching coach Ray Seagate to try to help his control.

Glasnow is no stranger to awards such as this. He was named the 2014 Milb.com Staff Choice for Best Starting Pitcher. He was a five time all-star in the minor leagues and is a top candidate for a starting rotation spot in 2017.

Both Bell and Glasnow will make an impact on the 2017 Pirates staff. The Pirates will be looking to get back in the playoffs after a year off. February will be here before we know it and it will be time once again to raise the jolly Roger.

Justin Masterson Signing Adds to Pirates Deep Pitching Core

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed veteran right handed pitcher Justin Masterson to a minor league deal last week adding to an already strong core of pitching in the Pirates system.

Last Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates added to their already deep core of talented pitching by signing veteran right handed pitcher Justin Masterson to a minor league deal. Masterson is just another piece of an already deep Pirates core of pitchers who can come up and help the major league ball club. Triple A Indianapolis was ranked as the fifth best starting rotation in all of minor league baseball by minor league baseball.com and they have some talented arms ready to make an impact on this Pirates team.

The newest addition to this depth, Masterson, is currently in Pirates City in Bradenton, Florida getting stretched out to become a starting pitcher due to the time he missed in spring training. Last season with the Boston Red Sox, Masterson pitched in 18 games and nine starts collecting a 4-2 record with a 5.61 ERA while walking 27 and striking out 49.

Masterson was once considered the ace of the Cleveland Indians staff being named an all-star in 2013. However, he had been dealing with injuries the last two seasons and it caused him to fall off in terms of stats the last two seasons. He underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery over the off-season and was quoted as saying "For the first time in a couple of years, I haven't had any pain."

Masterson's two big struggles last season were the number of hits he gave up and the amount og batters he walked. In 58.1 innings last season, Masterson walked 27 batters while only striking out 49. His strike out to walk ratio sat at 1.81. You would like to see that number up around two and a half to three for Masterson to be successful.

Masterson also gave up a lot of hits in 2015. In those 58.1 innings pitched, he gave up a total of 68 hits on the season. As a starting pitcher, if you are giving up that many base hits, you are going to struggle at the major league level. Masterson has to work on his control so he can keep the ball out of the hitting zone and he can put it somewhere where the batter can't get the barrel of the bat on the ball.

Working with Ray Searage should help Masterson regain the dominant nature he had with Cleveland. From 2011-2013 he went a combined 37-35 while keeping his ERA in the mid to low threes. While he will never be the ace of a rotation again, he will fit nicely as a number three or number four guy in the middle of the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation.

Along with Masterson, the Pirates also have some other intriguing options down at Triple A Indianapolis that could come up and help the big league club. The three really intriguing options for the Pirates are Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon, and Chad Kuhl. Each of these players has shown success in the past and are starting off the season on the right note.

For Glasnow, through his first two starts he is 0-1 with a 1.80 ERA. He has allowed only one run in each start, but the most impressive stat is his strike outs. In 10.0 innings pitched, Glasnow has struck out 15 batters on the season. Glasnow has been regarded as a flamethrower in the Pirates minor league system and he looks to continue that reputation in his development. If there is someone in the Pirates rotation who struggles, it is very likely that Glasnow will make his MLB debut at some point this season.

The other power arm in Triple A Taillon is having a good start to the season as well. Through his first two starts, he has compiled a record of 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA. In his first action in two years, Taillon is making a good transition back to baseball and it has really helped his development moving forward. While he doesn't have the speed or stuff that Glasnow has, he has been able to hold his own on the mound striking out 10 batters in 10.1 innings of work.

The other power arm the Pirates have is Chad Kuhl. Through his first two starts, including a victory today against Toledo, he is 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA. Kuhl has struck out 8 batters through 9.2 innings this year while only walking two. Kuhl is one of those guys who could be called up in a pinch if needed to start or come out of the bullpen for the Pirates.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have always been known for their depth at the pitching position both at the major league level and the minor league level. Glasnow, Taillon, Kuhl, and now Masterson will each have a role on this Pirates team either this year or next season. The Pirates have a bright future on the mound, and with all the good young prospects they have, there will be no trouble on the mound for the Pirates for the foreseeable future.

Glasnow/Taillon Among Eight Sent Down to Minor League Camp

The Pittsburgh Pirates made their first round of spring training cuts earlier today. Among the eight players that were sent down were top pitching prospects Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon.

As we quickly approach the half way point to Pittsburgh Pirates spring training, we have approached the first round of big league camp roster cuts. And, as we look at the names of some of the players who got sent down, none of the players listed come as any surprise. The group includes a talented core that the Pittsburgh Pirates can look forward to in the near future.

Among the group were pitchers Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon, Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault, Kelvin Marte and Trevor Williams, catcher Reese McGuire, and outfielder Harold Ramirez. Each player has a lot of upside and proved themselves to be a bright spot deep into the Pittsburgh Pirates future.

The most notable of the players sent down were Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon. Both players are fine pitchers who could see some big league time as early as this year. Both have things they need to work on and both have the opportunity to work their way to the big league staff. Glasnow and Taillon are both very competitive and I can see both of them making their debuts this season.

Glasnow finished spring training throwing 1.2 innings giving up two runs on two hits while walking three batters. While those numbers don't look great, it doesn't mean that the spring was a total loss. Glasnow got his feet wet in the big league camp and can build on those experiences in the minor leagues. Not included in those stats are his Black and Gold game start where he went 2.0 innings giving up one run while striking out two batters. The future is bright for Glasnow and with some maturity he will be a good major league starting pitcher one day.

Taillon finished his spring training throwing 4.0 innings giving up two runs on six hits while striking out three batters. The other starter in the Black and Gold game, Taillon also threw 2.0 innings giving up tow runs in that game. For Taillon, this season will be one where he looks to stay healthy for a full season. He will be competing in the Triple A rotation, and barring any injuries or poor performances, could see some time in the big leagues late in the year.

Both of these top pitchers proved that they have what it takes to face major league batters this spring. Each one also has their own little things that they need to work on, but with some work in Triple A, they will be ready for big league action before we know it.

As for the other pitchers sent down Chad Kuhl threw 3.0 innings this spring giving up one run on four hits and striking out two batters.Steven Brault added 3.0 innings of his own giving up 4 runs, 2 earned runs, on five hits while striking out one. Trevor Williams tossed 2.0 innings giving up no runs and striking out four, and Kelvin Marte rounds out the group as he threw 4.2 innings giving up four runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out two.

All of these pitchers are very talented guys that the Pirates can look forward to having in the future. Each has something very intriguing to offer in the Pirates future and each will be a big part of the Pirates success now and moving forward.

Another promising prospect sent down was catcher Reese McGuire. Looked upon by many as the catcher of the future, McGuire was participating in his first big league camp.

He got his feet wet in major league camp hitting .100 (1 for 10) in six games played. In yesterday's game, he caught seven innings behind the plate after the departure of Chris Stewart.

McGuire is a solid hard working prospect who is slated to be the everyday catcher at Double A Altoona. Drafted in the first round of the 2013 draft by the Pirates, McGuire is a guy they look to have man the plate in the future.

While his offense has been average early on in his professional career, his fielding has been above average. He caught 33 percent of base stealers last year and had a .984 fielding percentage. Defense is key for a catcher and if McGuire can pick up his offense a little bit, he could be an elite major league starting catcher.

The other prospect who was sent down was outfielder Harold Ramirez. Ramirez had a very successful spring training hitting .579 (11 for 19) with two double and an RBI.

Ramirez showed that he can handle the bat at the plate and he played defense really well in the field. Ramirez will join McGuire in Double A to start the season. Ramirez will first get some more playing time as he plays for team Columbia in the upcoming World Baseball Classic qualifiers.

All of these players are very talented minor league prospects. Each offers a skill set that will be beneficial to the Pirates in the years to come. Pitching depth has always been a strength for this Pirates team and there is no lack of that in this group of players. However, some of the offensive prospects are coming around as well. Only time will tell, but for now, it looks like there is a bright future ahead for your Pittsburgh Pirates.