Pittsburgh Pirates Minors: A Couple of Major Injuries

The Pittsburgh Pirates major league roster has dealt with injuries all season long.  Well, they now have lost a couple of key prospects.

One thing that has been a headlining problem for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season is the number of injuries they have sustained.  The team has lost multiple key contributors to injuries and seem to not be able to catch a break.  Well, the team is now seeing injuries go through their minor league system as well.

Yesterday, a couple of moves were made in the minor leagues with players going on the Injured List.  The first was Triple-A starting pitcher JT Brubaker.  Last week, Brubaker left a start early after throwing 5.1 innings of shut out baseball.  When he left, it was reported that he was dealing with tightness in his throwing arm.  Then his last start was the worst of his 2019 season.  He pitched five innings but gave up three earned runs.

While it was not a terrible start, it definitely was a red flag for him after dominating most of the year.  Well, it makes sense why Brubaker somewhat struggled.  The big righty hit the minor league Injury List with a right forearm strain.  While it is bad news that he is going to the Injury List, it is good news that it is just a strain and not a more severe issue.

The other top prospect to hit the Injury List is one of the team’s top ones.  The Pittsburgh Pirates fourth overall prospect, Oneil Cruz, is hitting the Injury List.  Yesterday, during Neal Huntington’s radio show, he announced that Cruz hit a ball off of his foot.  The result ended up being a fractured foot for the 6’6” shortstop.

Cruz was off to a solid start at the High-A but then missed some time due to lower body discomfort.  When he came back, he really never got going.  His slash line on the season is .238/.304/.333 with two extra base hits in 11 games.  Now, Cruz will likely miss a few months while trying to recover from the injury.

Both of these injuries are relevant to the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Brubaker could have been one of the first starting pitching prospects called up this season.  Meanwhile, Cruz was the team’s breakout prospect last year and looked to be on the fast track to the major leagues.  This will slow down his development. Hopefully, he can get back sooner than later and hit the ground running when he does.