Pittsburgh Pirates / MLB category, Page 22
Tim Benz: Oneil Cruz’s HR Derby explosion, Paul Skenes’ All-Star start highlight ‘cognitive dissonance’ of Pirates’ fandomVideo
Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz may not have won this year’s Home Run Derby, but he may have emerged as the biggest star of the night. Seattle’s Cal Raleigh added another chapter to his magical season by winning the event. The Mariners’ catcher was every bit a worthy champion. The...
Pirates are being leveraged by both sides in MLB’s economics debate
As is usually the case around the All-Star break, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred pops up quite a bit with annual “state of the league” media interactions. Often, his quotes come with some sort of player-salary cost control messaging. Equally as predictable are retorts from the MLB Players Association,...
Pirates’ Oneil Cruz wows with moonshots but is eliminated in semifinal round of Home Run DerbyVideo
The Home Run Derby has been notoriously unkind to Pittsburgh Pirates participants over the years. While the format has changed often, no Pirates player had ever advanced out of the first round heading into the 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby in Atlanta. Oneil Cruz, MLB’s resident Statcast record-shatterer, whose 6-foot-7...
Pirates’ Paul Skenes ready to start All-Star Game again: ‘A huge honor and huge opportunity’Video
In part stemming from an aversion to receiving compliments, hyping up himself and publicity in general, Paul Skenes can be notoriously succinct when asked about his growing list of accolades as a major-leaguer. After all, last summer, when Skenes was named to the All-Star Game, as well as the NL’s...
Pirates start 2nd day of MLB Draft by picking Puerto Rican shortstop, Arizona catcher
On the second day of the MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates loaded up on college hitters. The Pirates professed they picked the best players available Sunday night in a pair of right-handed prep pitchers from southern California in Seth Hernandez (No. 6) and Angel Cervantes (No. 50) and college sluggers...
MLB Draft Analysis: Pirates take best available with prep pitchers in 1st 2 picks, will address needs later
When the MLB Draft started with stunners for the first two selections, the Pittsburgh Pirates were prepared to pivot in a number of different directions with the No. 6 overall pick. They believed the odds were against Seth Hernandez slipping to them, so they were “super excited” to take the...
First Call: Aaron Rodgers wants to ‘finish it the right way’ with Steelers; high school of Pirates’ 1st-round pick sets record
Monday’s “First Call” features Aaron Rodgers’ comments about his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers so far. The Pirates’ first-round draft choice, Seth Hernandez, talks about the idea of eventually pitching with Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. Hernandez’s high school made history on Sunday night during the draft. And we catch...
Pirates pick another California prep pitcher, add a pair of college hitters in draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates continued to stockpile starting pitching in the MLB Draft, selecting right-hander Angel Cervantes in the second round, but added a pair of college hitters to finish out the first day. A 6-foot-3, 195-pounder from Downey (Calif.) Warren High School, Cervantes is a UCLA commit who has a...
Pirates farm report for July 13, 2025: Wyatt Hendrie’s grand slam sparks Altoona
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 54-37) beat Gwinnett (Braves), 6-5. LF Nick Solak (.360) went 2 for 3 with his 10th home run. DH Ronny Simon (.299) went 1 for 5 with a double and two RBIs. C Brett Sullivan (.208) went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. 3B...
Pirates take top prep pitcher Seth Hernandez with No. 6 pick of 1st round in MLB Draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates have two of baseball’s top young starting pitchers in Paul Skenes and Jared Jones, but that didn’t stop them from selecting another right-hander from southern California in the first round of the MLB Draft. Seth Hernandez was considered the top right-handed pitching prospect in the draft, so...
Pirates affiliate in Greensboro throws 2nd combined perfect game in 10 daysVideo
Before this month, an affiliated minor-league baseball team hadn’t thrown a nine-inning perfect game since 2017. The Greensboro Grasshoppers, High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, have now done it twice in 10 days. Four pitchers combined to retire 27 straight batters Sunday, leading Greensboro to a 4-0 victory over the...
Pirates score winning run in 9th to snap 8-game skid
Though their effort certainly was obscured by their overall performance on the year, the Pittsburgh Pirates managed to post a winning record in the month of June (14-13). But things have been rough so far in July as the team rode a season-worst eight-game losing streak into Sunday afternoon’s series...
Home Run Derby to offer mental challenge for Pirates’ Oneil Cruz
Todd Frazier was soon to close the book on an 11-year MLB career when, during spring training in 2021 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he remembered encountering a towering 6-foot-7 specimen from the Dominican Republic. “When you see this guy come walking in, you’re like, ‘Ho-lee cow. Look at the size...
Pirates farm report for July 12, 2025: Billy Cook belts 2 homers in Indianapolis win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 54-37) didn’t give up a hit until the seventh inning and beat Gwinnett (Braves), 6-1. RHP Drake Fellows (6-2, 4.85) started and threw five no-hit innings with three strikeouts. LHP Randy Labaut (4.85) didn’t allow a hit in the sixth. RHP Ryder Ryan (3.89) allowed an infield single...
Pirates ace Paul Skenes named All-Star starting pitcher for 2nd straight year
For the second consecutive year, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes has been named the starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound right-hander received official word Saturday in a phone call from Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who asked for “one inning of domination.”...
Top Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin survives scare in MLB Futures Game
The Pirates survived a scare in the MLB Futures Game on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta. The team’s top prospect, Konnor Griffin, was hit in the wrist by a 97 mph pitch in the fourth inning and left the game. He returned to the dugout in good spirits, however, and apparently...
Byron Buxton hits for cycle as Twins pound Pirates, who lose 8th consecutive game
In a game that had become a blowout, this was a day that belonged to Byron Buxton. The Minnesota Twins All-Star center fielder already had sandwiched two singles around a triple and a double when he came to bat with two outs in the seventh inning. When Buxton crushed Andrew...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Might as well add Brewers rookie to meaningless All-Star Game
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski has been named to Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game. The 23-year-old phenom has started just five games and thrown only 25⅔ innings. It’s exemplary of what the All-Star Game has become. It’s not Pete Rose turning Ray Fosse into roadkill while scoring the winning run for...
Full Count: Despite uncertainty of MLB Draft, Pirates can’t afford to miss with No. 6 pick
The MLB Draft is deep in college pitching and prep shortstops, positions where the Pittsburgh Pirates hit home runs with their past two first-round picks in Paul Skenes and Konnor Griffin. It’s no wonder Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has vowed to take the best player available with the No....
Bucs Beat Q&A: Scouting Pirates’ potential No. 1 pick with MLB Pipeline writer Jonathan Mayo
Pirates GM Ben Cherington said they plan to take the best player available, so why did you project them to pick Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette in the MLB.com mock draft? I do think that they tend to take who they think the best player is. It could very well...
The week ahead: Pirates host White Sox after All-Star break
Here’s a look at next week’s Pirates schedule: Home Run Derby, All-Star Game, All-Star Break 8 p.m. Monday: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (ESPN) 8 p.m. Tuesday: 95th All-Star Game (ESPN) Wednesday: All-Star break Thursday: All-Star break • Pittsburgh Pirates fans have a stake in the Home Run Derby, with Oneil...
Pirates prospect watch: LHP Anthony Solometo aims to get back on track with rehab assignment
Anthony Solometo Position: LHP Height: 6-foot-3 Weight: 205 pounds Level: Double-A Notable: Anthony Solometo once looked to be on a similar track as fellow prospects Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft and Thomas Harrington, all of whom became viewed as the next wave of Pirates pitchers who would bolster the big-league rotation...
Paul Skenes sharp in another short outing, but Pirates fall to Twins, dropping 7th straight
The past three starts by Paul Skenes have been five innings or fewer, with two of those three featuring only 78 pitches thrown. Skenes’ abbreviated starts of late largely have been because of publicly acknowledged workload management, with the Pirates and their sophomore pitching phenom on the same page. The...
Pirates farm report for July 11, 2025: Will Taylor, PJ Hilson belt 2 homers each for Greensboro
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 53-37) gave up a grand slam to Matthew Batten in the top of the 10th to lose 8-4 to Gwinnett (Braves). RF Ji Hwan Bae (.294) went 2 for 4 with two RBIs. CF Liover Peguero (.247) went 2 for 5 with an RBI. 2B Alika Williams (.258)...
Pirates call up reliever Yohan Ramirez, send Jared Triolo to Triple-A, DFA Matt Gorski
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected the contract of right-hander Yohan Ramirez from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of Friday’s series opener in Minnesota against the Twins. To make room for Ramirez on the roster, utility man Jared Triolo was optioned to Triple-A, and first baseman/outfielder Matt Gorski was designated for assignment. Ramirez, 30,...
