Gerrit and young arms? Not likely
Three thoughts on the Pirates:
1. A word of caution
Four starting pitchers have made their major league debuts with the Pirates in a little over a month and each showed promise.
That shouldn鈥檛 have been a big surprise.
Jameson Taillon, of course, has had great expectations since the Pirates selected him second overall in the 2010 draft. Tyler Glasnow has been universally considered the Pirates鈥� top prospect for two seasons with his nearly unhittable fastball and curveball.
Sinkerballer Chad Kuhl has done nothing but win since the Pirates took him in the ninth round of the 2013 amateur draft from the University of Delaware. Left-hander Steven Brault has exceeded expectations since the Pirates acquired him in a trade just a few weeks before spring training opened last year.
Considering how poorly many of the Pirates鈥� veteran pitchers have performed, it is easy to say manager Clint Hurdle should take his chances at a fourth straight postseason appearance by going with ace right-hander Gerrit Cole and the four kids once the second half of the season begins Friday night at Washington.
However, it蘑菇视频 easier said than done.
All four pitchers are still young and the Pirates are looking to monitor all of their workloads.
Taillon sat out the last two seasons while recovering from Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery and a hernia operation. Glasnow蘑菇视频 career high for innings pitched is 124 1/3 while Kuhl蘑菇视频 is 153 1/3 and Brault蘑菇视频 is 155 2/3 innings.
Thus, there is no way the Pirates could use all four as starters in a normal five-man rotation through the remainder of the season without risking serious injury, though a modified six-man set-up could work.
So while the young guys are something to dream on, the Pirates are going to need at least one or two of their veteran lefties 鈥� Francisco Liriano, Jeff Locke and Jon Niese 鈥� to absorb innings and pitch at least somewhat competently throughout the rest of the season.
2. Marte is the MVP
The pick here for the Pirates鈥� half-season MVP is left fielder Starling Marte. Having already espoused his wonderful ability many times in recent seasons, there is no reason in going into great detail about why he has been the team蘑菇视频 best player.
However, it never ceases to amaze how terribly underrated Marte is on a national level.
It is heartening, though, that Marte was finally added to the National League squad Saturday for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night at San Diego.
It will be Marte蘑菇视频 first trip to the Midsummer Classic and he is truly deserving.
3. Long time coming
Veteran members of the Pirates鈥� organization were thrilled that right-handed reliever Dustin Molleken make his major league debut Monday for the Detroit Tigers against Cleveland.
The 31-year-old finally got to the big leagues following 13 seasons in the minor leagues 鈥� including the first eight in the Pirates鈥� farm system 鈥� and part of two seasons in Japan.
The native of Saskatchewan was a favorite because of his endearing personality and selflessness that included occasionally helping the clubhouse workers do the laundry during spring training at the Pirate City facility in Bradenton.