Pirates Insider Podcast, Episode 40 (7/12 vs. Brewers)

A lot to talk about with the Pirates on a Monday morning. They swept the Brewers at PNC Park and saw some encouraging stuff from the offense, the bullpen and Paul Skenes. What happened at the Futures Game? And what did the Pirates do in the MLB Draft that stands out? Jason Mackey breaks it all down here.

Transcript

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Alright, good morning, Pirates fans. This is the Pirates Insider Podcast. I am Jason Mackey coming to you from Philadelphia in my hotel room in a fancy new setup for the audio quality of this thing. Shout out to Sterling Klein. Uh help me figure out Garage Band. But anyway, uh a lot to talk about in this podcast. Don't even know where to start, honestly. I guess I'll start with the game that unfortunately I was not at. I picked a terrible time to miss some action at PNC Park this weekend. Sweep of the Brew on Saturday and then a 14-5 victory over the Brewers Sunday. The Pirates entered the All-Star break 50 and 47, their best record at the break since 2016. And just emphatic fashion. Loved the way this went down. A lot of storylines to unfurl from this one. I, of course, was at Citizens Bank Park for the uh futures game featuring Seth Hernandez, Edward Florentino, and a bunch of the game's best prospects. I want to talk about that a little bit. We hosted the Ben Charrington show from Citizens Bank Park, and plenty to get to the into um with Ben and the MLB draft and a trade and injuries and all kinds of stuff. It's all happening. This is a very crazy time of year for major league baseball teams, for people that write about them, for people that host podcasts that talk about them. We don't lack for fodder, that's for sure. But uh I don't want to bury the lead, and that's the way the Pirates played against the Brewers. That's the way the Pirates went into the break. And what the conversation that frankly they've started about this team, or maybe reinforced, we should say. And it's been a wild swing of emotions in this first half. It certainly has. Um, you know, a week ago that there was concern, maybe not exactly a week ago, but you know what I mean. Wasn't long ago, kind of everybody is thinking that things are terrible and everything is screwed, and the bullpen is just a mess, and and this decision's wrong, and that decision's wrong. Well, what do you know? They sweep the brewers and all of a sudden three games over 500 at the all-star break at the best offense in Major League Baseball, and we got something cooking. Yeah, pretty good. Um a couple news and notes from this one that just blew my mind, and you know, just in inside the way this job works, and some things that I do, um I love taking notes, always have. Uh, and so when I read something, I I just type it into a file, write it into a notebook or whatever, and I've just kept the past couple of notes being away from the team, any like facts and figures. Uh, but just it it's an excessively long file because of what happened in today's game. It's crazy. Uh, the first time in franchise history, the Pirates have had multiple 10-run innings in the same season. Yep, they also did that April 13th against the Nationals in a 16-5 win. That's crazy. The last time the Pirates, and they did this today again, they had the first nine batters of an inning reach base, June 27, 1986, against the Montreal Expos, who do not exist anymore. The Pirates and Nationals currently tied for the most runs in Major League Baseball. It's the most runs for the Pirates before the All-Star break since 1999, when they had 460. They have 50 wins before the All-Star break for the first time since 2015. How about that? It was an absolute explosion today against the Brewers. Their first sweep against the Brewers, by the way, since August 2nd through the 4th of 2022. Pirates 5-2 against the Brewers this season. That 10-run inning happened in the fourth inning, and don't worry, there won't be a quiz after this show on all of these facts. But you can listen back if you'd like. Davis, two hits, had a home run his eighth. Ozuna, two hits, Triolo, three hits, had three ribbies, Ryan O'Hearn went two for two, had two RBIs. I mean, everybody did all the things. That doesn't happen by accident when you beat a team 14-5. And the fact that it was the Brewers, who they're always good. Can never count out the Brewers. And you're pointing up, putting up that many runs. To me, that tells me a lot of what we already knew about this team, but it just reinforced it. What I think might be more important, honestly, is what the Pirates did on Saturday. And that was the bullpen, a pair of one-run wins in a double header. And you basically saw everybody, and I asked Ben Charrington about this on the GM show Sunday, you know, about what kind of confidence builder this can be. Mason Montgomery gets his first save as a pirate in the first game. Carmen Bajinski goes three, exactly the way you want that plan to look. Gregory Soto finishes it off. You have a couple guys chipping in in the second game. Johan Ramirez has pitched very well. Brandon Isert, one of their new acquisitions, comes in in a key moment. It's just that's what needs to happen in the second half. And I know over the the next couple of days, going to talk to Braxton Ashcraft and Paul Skeens on Monday, we'll get into you know some first half summaries, second half goals, all that fun stuff. But, you know, just sitting here talking about the Pirates and what I've seen and how it's manifested in the Brewer series, like if you get that sort of sturdy bullpen work. Devon Dennis Santana was better, by the way. Isaac Madsen chipped in. If you can get reliable bridges from the starting pitching to the end of the game, we have something here. We have something here because of the offense, because of what we yeah, I think I've said this on the podcast before, an offense is like a deodorant, covers up a lot of stuff. And the pirates are really good at that. If you can figure out the starting rotation, boy, there's some other stuff to work with. Um it's why I and I I've had this conversation with a couple people today, too. Um, and I know that I I get some stuff, you know, on Twitter or, you know, oh you work you work for the team or your home or whatever. No, I'm in it every day. I see what's around, what happens, what goes on behind the scenes. And yeah, it's it's frustrating to not see it come out. It's frustrating to not reach that level of baseball as consistently as I think the Pirates can. Um, they get frustrated by it too. They're human beings. It's a it's probably a better team than the 50 and 47 record. The bullpen has held that group back quite a bit. That's why I look at this series and you know, it doesn't surprise me that they have a nine-run win, that they have a 10-run inning, something like that. They've scored runs all season. But if I can bottle something from this weekend and repeat it, it's those two wins on Saturday and being able to protect the lead, being able to handle a lead. Um, you know, and if they're able to do that in the second half, look out. I think this team can be really good. All right, I want to talk about some other things on the pod. Uh want to talk about the futures game, what I saw there. Uh that was something that I covered firsthand, of course, a 6-1 win for the American League, but both of the Pirates guys had interesting things happen. I'll start with Seth Hernandez just because he was so darn good. Um pitch the second inning, went 1-2-3, two punch-outs got four whiffs, cleared 100 miles an hour three times through all his pitches, got his first strikeout on a changeup. That pitch is a sneaky good weapon for Hernandez. Um, I asked him what it was like to get that on a changeup, and he said it's my bread and butter pitch. Always always enjoyable getting that. I I don't know. I'm always partial to these guys that throw heat, which obviously Hernandez does, and can also throw a changeup. And he can really throw four pitches. I mean, that's the beauty of watching Seth Hernandez. Um it was great to see him in a major league stadium. He talked about how geeked he was at this entire experience. He's never pitched in front of a crowd this big. He was amped up. I thought it was a little different than the spring breakout game, though, in that he got he was amped up and didn't really know how to control that. He was amped up in this one and had a little better sense on how to control it, how to be around the zone, throws 14 pitches, 10 for strikes, uh, and just a really great all-around performance for him. And I I love I know this isn't a hot take or anything like that, but I love the season that Hernandez has had so far. 6-1, a 261 ERA, 30 walks, 111 strikeouts. That's the second most in made in minor league baseball in that in just 69 innings, by the way, a 183 batting average against a 1.07 whip. The numbers are all really, really good. He's had a little bit of an adjustment period in high A, but he's come through it quickly. And I asked Seth about that, about you know, what's your mindset having to adjust, having to look back at your mechanics? Something's a little bit off a couple weeks ago. That's something I talked about, and Ben Charrington brought it up that they've been working through an adjustment with him, pointed it out to him. And one of the things Seth said to me post-game today was with all the video that we have now, you can look at when you're going really good, you can look at when you're not going so good, and it's pretty easy to spot the weakness. I think he's underselling himself a little bit because he's also able to make that adjustment so quick, which I think is the mark of an elite player, an elite pitcher. Other player for the Pirates in this event, Edward Florentino, uh didn't have a very long game, but we saw a little bit of what he could do. Got hit by the fourth pitch that he saw. It was a 94 point mile an hour fastball, hit him in the butt. Uh, or he used another word post-game. You can check out my Twitter at J Mackey underscore PGH for that one. A fun answer. Uh, but Florentino's had a very good season, 15 homers and 826 OPS in 61 games. He's at high Greensboro as well. Uh Hernandez ranked sixth by MLB pipeline and Florentino 30th. But he's got some speed, and we saw that in the game. He stole 35 bases last year, and after he got hit, he stole second. We saw that speed, uh moved over with the ground ball, scored with another ground ball. And you know, I wanted to see him hit because he's made some strides with the swing, uh, but nonetheless, we saw the speed, love the personality. Uh, it's a it's a daunting assignment for Pirates prospects to play in this game. If you think about some of the guys who have played in as Marilyn Valdez, Connor Griffin, Bubba Chandler, um, it has been a stepping stone for the Pirates from made minor league baseball to major league baseball and very curious to see what that looks like for Edward Florentino and Seth Hernandez. I would venture a guess that Florentino is probably a little bit further off or further out, uh, but uh an interesting conversation ensued on Twitter. I tweeted out a quote of something Seth said about uh running in from the pen. It was such a rush, it was a little bit different. Gotta show the pirates that I'm I'm able to pitch out of the pen. And look, he laughed when he said it. Like, I don't think he thinks that he's auditioning for a September call-up, an October addition to a playoff roster or something like that. Although it is fun to dream. Um I I don't think they're going to do it. I think they're gonna worry about his innings, but um it it is neat to see you know what this kid can do in short bursts. He's not far off. You know, when you talk about the pitchability, or you talk about the individual stuff or just the actual stuff, it is absolutely there. I mean, they're concerned about building volume and going from a high school schedule to a pro schedule, and he's a young arm, they're not gonna rush him, they're not gonna do anything silly, certainly not. Um the major league team has its own concerns. There's usually not, you know, they they don't conflict with the concerns of someone like Seth Hernandez, they're gonna let him develop. But you can kind of squint and see it. It's there, it's impressive, um, good kid, talented kid, and like seeing what he's able to do. It was a lot of fun watching him today in the futures game. Uh, just to kind of wrap on the draft, too, for a little bit. I really liked what the Pirates did. Uh, it it surprised me, not gonna lie, Derek Curiel uh from LSU, the outfielder they took at number five overall. I expected them to take Jackson Flora, and I would have had no problem with that. They obviously weren't allowed to do that. The Giants took him fourth, so it kind of threw a wrench into their draft plans. But uh, this kid is legit. Make no bones about it, and it might have been a way to alter their draft strategy just a little bit. Um, this kid was projected to go around 10 to 15. And by taking him early, what you do is you theoretically give him a little more prominent draft spot, and you try to sign him under slot and maybe spread that money around. If you can do that, you're getting a center fielder who can go get it uh with a very strong hit tool. There's not a ton of power there, but that was a subject on the Charrington show about uh you know what the pirates are looking at when they look at hit tool guys, not necessarily power tool guys. I can argue that a power tool, I can see a power tool. I can see if a guy can hit the ball a mile. I can look at it as Merlene Valdez and be like, that guy's got power. Which he does, by the way. I mean, what a series for Valdez. That's a separate conversation. We've talked about that a lot. But as far as Curiel, like I love the ability to go get it in center field. I love the fact that he doesn't chase much, he's a high contact guy. Um, he theoretically should have a pretty quick timeline to the majors. Not that that's exactly why you take a guy, but I don't think that's you know, he's a mature 21, comes from a college program, has a lot of experience, won a national title. He'll need some minor league time, but he's not somebody like you know, Tamar, not to pick on Tamar Johnson, but like, you know, he's a raw 18-year-old you take because there's a lot of upside. With Curiel, he's somebody that you know he he ran in those circles, like Paul Skeens, Connor Griffin. We saw him link to those guys, he knows them. Um it it's a little different. And the projectability, it's a little better. Um, you can you can see him getting to the majors pretty quickly. I'll be curious to see how he does it. Two seasons at LSU hit 349, had a 975 OPS. In 2026, he let it seem at batting average, run scored in hits. He tied for the team lead in total bases. Um, did did a lot for the Tigers, and I think there's a really great makeup there. Ben and I talked about that quite a bit and what he is uh about off the field, and you can already see it in our brief interaction with him. I love that he brought up Pete Rose, was talking about his dad being a huge Pete Rose fan, loves to run around and get dirty, and he's an intense player and all that fun stuff. I think that's really gonna resonate with Pirates fans. Yeah, but there's there's a lot there to like, and some of their other picks like them as well. Aidan Ruiz took him 44th overall, Chris Rembert, 51st overall. These are hit tool guys, they're guys with good bat-to-ball skills, good swing decisions, um, good sort of bones to their swings. It's not a ton of power. Rembert maybe has a little bit more power. He showed that as a freshman in Auburn and then had kind of a step back this past year, can get to a little bit more now that he's healthy. Ruiz is more of a defender, but you think about guys that add value in your in their system, and I feel like the Pirates did that, not just with those, but you know, some of their other top picks. Very, very impressive stuff. It's been a big couple of days for the Pirates. It really has, and they've needed it. Um, you know, the frustration was high, losing two of three to the Braves and some of the decisions that were made, and how the Carmen Majinski situation worked out. And um, you know, I've talked about this on the pod too, not to you know completely ramble. Um, but the the Majinski thing, I still don't think the water has found its level. The last appearance was good. Um, filling in behind Braxton Ashcraft game one on Saturday. That's exactly the way it should go. Pitching two innings behind Paul Skeens in a blowout game, probably not as much. But we'll get there. We'll get there. I the Pirates pull into the all-star break 50 and 47. There's a lot of season in front of them. Uh, I still don't think this team has played its best baseball. I think we've seen signs. They certainly have some correctable things in the second half. Mitch Keller, chief among them. Looks like Paul Skeens is back on track. Skeens, by the way. Jeez, I didn't even talk about Skeens and what he did today. I really like that. Retired the first nine in order. Uh, first two innings on just 17 pitches. The efficiency you want to see from Skeens, five and a third, strikes out seven, eighty-two pitches, allowed two earned. He's eight and eight, three fifty-seven ERA. Um it's the kind of skeins that we expect to see. And uh as much concern as there was about his four-seamer velocity through that pitch 60% of the time today, he's kind of gotten back to that four-seamer splitter guy, splinker guy, I'll say it that way. Uh, and notice on this podcast that's something I've been talking about for a week. I want to see Paul kind of simplify, get back to what he's been, get back to the old kind of guy that he was, and I love that he's done that. I don't I don't want to see, I don't need to see Paul get overly fancy. I just want to see Paul be Paul and have a little bit of a strut around the mound and do all the stuff that he did today against the Brewers. So uh good couple of starts for Skeens, iron out some rink wrinkles in the second half, uh, get a little bit more consistent pitching, figure out the bullpen, add to the bullpen around the trade deadline. And I really do think the pirates have something. I've I've thought that the pirates have something, but this only reinforces that belief. So, all right, home run derby tomorrow. Uh, the big festivities for us will be the Media Day interaction. Talk to Paul Skeens, talk to Braxton Ashcraft about this experience, what they're learning. Excited, especially to hear from Braxton Ashcraft, this being his first time here. We'll be good to catch up with those guys. But make sure you like and subscribe and uh do all that stuff to listen to this podcast regularly. Very much appreciate it. Love doing these things, love the opportunity to talk pirates with you. I'll have a recap from that day and maybe a little bit from the home run derby tomorrow. Thanks so much for listening, everybody. Talk to you then.