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Bill Brink's Pirates chat: 6.6.18
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OHIO412FAN
12:41
Could Ivan Nova and getting others healthy make a positive impact for the team moving forward?
Bill Brink
12:41
If he performs, yes, but if he continues to struggle and keeps Kingham out of the rotation, no.
PhillyJake
12:41
Polanco looks so good this year.  Different than years past.  Started off great, the fizzled out all together.  Not unlike the team's record.  (Coincidence?  I think not!) What happened?
Bill Brink
12:43
If he keeps his swing short and his right shoulder closed, he's dangerous. When his swing lengthens, or he opens his shoulder to get to the inside pitch, you see the slumps. He knows this, and so does Jeff Branson, and they work on it. He looks like he's headed in the right direction, three doubles, well-struck, in St. Louis and the final out last night was a rocket.
OHIO412FAN
12:43
What lineup adjustments could the Pirates make? Reshuffling the bullpen as well?
Bill Brink
12:44
I don't mind their lineup construction, though the three lefties in a row at times opens them up to opposing lefty specialists. The players in the lineup need to produce. Neverauskas could be an option for the bullpen, he's been pitching well since they sent him down.
Mark
12:45
Bill, now that the Pirates are out of contention, trust me, they are out of it, who is the first to go?  J-Hay gets my vote.
Bill Brink
12:45
Harrison could be one, Freese and Nova are other possibilities, Mercer as well, but I don't think there is much of a market for those guys except Harrison, who is the one they probably least want to trade.
CBA!
12:46
Thanks for the clarification, but here's this still...I wasn't entirely clear on the minor league pro-rata pay scale. For example, was Nick Kingham paid minor league pay based on 186 days, or however many days Indy and Altoona play this season? Thanks!
Bill Brink
12:46
Send me an e-mail: bbrink@post-gazette.com.
Dick Hertz
12:46
When do you think Kevin Newman will be in a Pirate uniform.
Bill Brink
12:46
I'd expect by September at this rate, if not sooner.
Bullpener
12:46
Has there been any discussion related to upgrading the bullpen arms ?  At best majority of pen is AAA quality and also knowing good arms are hard to find
Bill Brink
12:47
Their focus right now is on getting Vazquez and Feliz right, because both of them are better than what they have in Indy. But Neverauskas could be the guy they would promote, he's pitched well recently.
PhillyJake
12:48
"...and the final out last night was a rocket."

That's another thing - Polanco seems to have a lot of rotten luck this year in that a lot of hard struck balls have been hit right at people.  Or am I just imagining that?
Bill Brink
12:49
Of 221 batters who have put 100 balls in play, Polanco ranks 74th in exit velocity. His .239 batting average on balls in play ranks well below his career .285 average, so yes, there has been some bad luck involved.
Josh Devore
12:50
Which current “young starter” could lose their job next year to Mitch Keller ?
Bill Brink
12:50
Tough to tell, which I know is not an answer, but ... Williams was great, then has regressed, too soon to know on Musgrove after three starts and Kuhl was uneven but has been solid recently. This is one that we don't have to pin down until next spring, if Keller is ready by then.
Guest
12:51
I was thinking about Gerrit Cole and his new approach this season.    Seems like certain guys benefit from throwing more 2 seamers and pitching to contact but guys like Cole are better suited to be "power pitchers" that strike out more batters and throw more 4 seamers and breaking balls.  The Pirates don't seem very flexible on this though.  Do  you think maybe the Pirates way is starting to lose some of it's shine when it comes to pitching philosophies?
Bill Brink
12:52
The way the Pirates do things works for some pitchers, pitchers who aren't as talented, coming off an injury, etc. It doesn't work for everyone, and though they are not as dogmatic as the general public believes (and I get it, with what Cole's doing) I think we'll see more freedom for the pitchers who can handle it going forward.
Ace Ventura
12:52
Do you think that the Pirates could use a pitching coach for relievers?  I just think that Seerage may not be able to give full attention to all the pitchers.
Bill Brink
12:53
They've got a bullpen coach in Euclides Rojas that is highly regarded within the organization. He connects with these guys well and works with Ray closely.
jimpagliaroni
12:53
Ok so I'm not the famed catcher of the 60's but speaking of catchers, is there any up and coming catchers in the farm system.  Also were there any catchers in this past draft?
Bill Brink
12:55
I've got my eye on Deon Stafford, who's currently hitting .270/.329/.441 with low-A West Virginia. Fifth-rounder out of St. Joseph's last year. They also just took one, Grant Koch out of Arkansas, yesterday.
OHIO412FAN
12:55
I haven’t seen a updated prospect rankings for the Pirates. What are the top 5-10 prospects for the Buccos as of today, June 6th of 2018?
Bill Brink
12:55
Here's the latest from MLB.com, which updates its stuff pretty frequently: http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2018?list=pit
Sam
12:55
Absolutely no way Hurdle is considering "the opener" the Rays are employing, correct?
Bill Brink
12:56
Someone asked Huntington about this a week or two ago and it did not seem as though trying this was at the forefront of the Pirates' plans
Guest
12:56
Why do the Pirates seem to not want to give Christopher Bostick a chance at the big league level.
Bill Brink
12:57
I think it's because he's not ahead of anybody in terms of starting and they like Osuna better off the bench, though if they do eventually move on from Rodriguez that might change the calculus.
That's it for today, thanks for all the great questions!
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