☛ THREE UP & THREE DOWN
1 There’s been a staggering amount of turnover in the Pirates bullpen, with four members of the opening day group now with Triple-A Indianapolis. I also don’t hate the current group surrounding David Bednar and Colin Holderman. Angel Perdomo, Ryan Borucki and Andre Jackson have been solid discoveries. There’s considerable upside with Carmen Mlodzinski, Colin Selby and Jose Hernandez, as well. 2
Curious to see where this Bryan Reynolds stuff goes. Reynolds, pictured above, has been excellent of late, and it’s been long overdue. In his 20 games games entering Saturday, he was hitting .333 with a .967 OPS, six home runs and 10 RBIs. The timing and comfort he was working to find earlier this year has arrived. Now, his numbers should follow suit.
3
The Pirates’ first-base situation should offer intrigue down the stretch. Have actually liked what I’ve seen from Alfonso Rivas thus far. Connor Joe has rediscovered his April form. Malcom Nunez has returned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Henry Davis should catch, meaning they might need to get Endy Rodriguez at-bats somewhere. Could a dark horse like Mason Martin arrive? Plenty to track. 1
I get why
Derek Shelton, pictured, changes his lineup a ton: The Pirates hunt matchups as much as any MLB team, maybe more. They also prioritize rest to an annoying degree. But I worry about the personal side of this. Nobody has continuity. Players can’t grow together. Guy hits a home run, then he sits. How can one enjoy a hot stretch that way? 2
I’ve tried to avoid getting worried about Mitch Keller, but I’m nearly there. I don’t care if he throws six pitches. Throw three ... effectively. Sweeper and cutter have been various shades of off for weeks. I wish Keller would pitch off of his fourseam/sinker mix more, pick a spin option and stick to it and only rarely integrate a fourth option. Location, location, location. 3 Wednesday’s rightfield snafu had to be maddening to watch as a fan. (It was great as a writer because there was so much to unpack.) But they’re taking the catcher whose defense is apparently not good enough to catch more than an occasional inning and shoehorning him into right field, where there are obviously issues, stuff serious enough to directly impact games. Huh?