Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Storylines To Follow This Spring Training

Ke’Bryan Hayes’ push for the 26-man roster

One of the Pirates’ best prospects is third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Currently, the youngster ranks as the 41st best prospect all throughout the minors according to MLB Pipeline. Hayes’ overall Triple-A slash line of .265/.336/.415 might not look too great, but this was after he struggled in the first half of the 2019, partly due to injuries.

In the second half of the 2019 season, Hayes posted a .290/.337/.435 line. Six Of his 10 home runs came in the latter half of the season as well. You don’t need to worry about his fielding. No other third base prospect has both 60 grades for his overall fielding and arm. Don’t forget about his athleticism, as he was given a 55 run grade.

Hayes will almost certainly take over as the regular at third base at some point in 2020. However, the Pirates don’t have a reason to place him on the active roster out of Spring Training. Both Colin Moran and Jose Osuna will make a decent enough platoon until Hayes is ready if he needs more Triple-A seasoning. But a very good spring, especially if Moran and/or Osuna struggle, could change the Pirates’ minds.

The final rotation spot

As it stands now, the rotation looks like this:

1. Joe Musgrove

2. Chris Archer

3. Trevor Williams

4. Mitch Keller

As for the fifth spot, a few will enter spring training for the spot. Right now, the front-runner seems to be lefty Steven Brault, but Chad Kuhl isn’t far behind him. Veteran lefty Derek Holland is in the mix, too.

Last season, Brault showed some decent promise out of the rotation. In 78.1 innings between May 18th to September 1st, Brault was the Pirates’ best pitcher. He kept opponents to an OPS of just .679, while carrying a 2.92 ERA/3.61 FIP through these innings. However, Brault did end the year on a sour note, giving up 23 earned runs in his final 18.1 innings of the season. This was reminiscent of the beginning of his 2019 campaign when he gave up 20 earned runs through his first 25.1 innings of the year.

Kuhl is fresh off of Tommy John surgery. Kuhl has been inconsistent throughout his career. Sometimes, he looks like a solid backend starter. Other times, he looks like a Quad-A starter who was thrown into the game because other pitchers got injured. Kuhl definitely has some explosive stuff. His fastball velocity sits at the 83rd percentile, while his curveball spin is in the 96th(!) percentile. Between 2016 and 2018, Kuhl’s fastball velocity of 95 MPH ranked 14th in the entire MLB. But speaking that he lacks the makeup to go deep into games, a move to the bullpen could be very beneficial to the hard throwing pitcher.

Kuh, Brault and Holland aren’t going to be alone in the hunt for the 5th spot. Prospects J.T. Brubaker and Cody Ponce could also be vying for the last spot given a decent spring. Chris Stratton started 36 games between 2017 and 2018 is another name who, given a good spring, could be considered.

Prospects running out of time

Spring Training is a time to get a preview of prospects. However for some prospects, this could be their last shot at showing the big league club they deserve a chance. The Pirates have a few of these guys on the roster, but none stick out as much as Kevin Kramer.

Kramer was selected by the Pirates in the second round of the 2015 draft. His career off to a solid enough start, having a decent debut in 2015, and putting up back to back good seasons in 2017 and 2018. However Kramer is already 26-years-old and hasn’t shown anything at the major league level. Through his first 90 plate appearances, Kramer has a putrid .387 OPS and a 7 OPS+.

While you can’t judge a player based on less than 100 plate appearances, Kramer struggled in Triple-A this past season. Through 448 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Kramer batted for a .260/.335/.417 line. He hit just 10 home runs and finished with a 92 wRC+. He won’t fight for a regular spot, as the Pirates have better middle infield and third base options, and the same can be said for the outfield. He will compete with Erik Gonzalez and J.T. Riddle for the last bench utility spot, but both Gonzalez and Riddle have a step up on Kramer already.

Will Craig’s door is also starting to close. Last year, his 23 home runs ranked 50th in the entire International League while his wRC+ (92) almost didn’t even rank in the top 200 of batters with at least 250 plate appearances and his .761 OPS ranked 209th in the league. Plus, with a lack of speed, utility and fielding prowess, the former first rounder is running out of chances. He does have something Kramer doesn’t have, that being three options (Kramer has two remaining). I went further into detail why Craig’s time is running out here if you would like a deeper analysis of his struggles: It’s Time To Move On From Will Craig