ICYMI – The Best of Pirates Breakdown – April 24, 2016

Through the good, the bad, and the ugly, we’ve had you covered on the first three weeks of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball, but we understand if you might have missed some of it.

Thank you to you, our readers, whether this is your first time checking out the site or you’ve been with us from the start.  We can’t thank you enough for all of the support and interaction you bring on a daily basis, and we hope we return some of that in some way by providing quality coverage of the Pittsburgh Pirates in return.  In case you missed anything, here’s a rundown of some of the highlights from Pirates Breakdown this week.

• Jared Hughes has started his minor league rehab, but once he’s healthy and back up to the level of performance needed at the major league level, Tyler Waite breaks down who he may replace in the bullpen.  Take a look at who he thinks will be the odd man out here.
• Every cloud may have a silver lining, but you would be hard pressed to find one from the Pirates pitching staff these first few weeks.  Jose Negron took an in-depth look at the positives both on the offense and defense this past week.  See the whole recap here.
• John Jaso was signed to be the on-base machine, and he hasn’t disappointed on either side of the ball so far.  Jason Rollison lays out all the statistics that show just how good Jaso has been these first few weeks.  You can find out the keys to the success of the Pirates’ first baseman right here.
• Jeff Locke has been disastrous in each of his last two outings, and with Jameson Taillon and the rest of the Pirates organization counting down the days until the first of their two top pitching prospects joins the rotation, the clock has begun ticking on Locke’s future with the Pirates, unless he can turn back time and recapture his 2013 first half success.  See the breakdown from Tyler Thomas here.
• Speaking of Pirates minor leaguers, Justin Frazee gives you the rundown of everything going on with the prospects in the Pirates system.  Miss a clutch pitching performance or surprise breakout hitting performance?  You probably wouldn’t be the only one. Get caught up on and look like an expert yourself when you read the minor league report, here.
• Once the season gets underway, you may think players rarely seem to have time to kick up their feet and just relax, and you would be absolutely right.  However, players are never too busy for a good cause, and some of the Pirates players took time out of their hectic schedules to do some good.  Check it out and the rest of this week’s social media roundup from Joy Frank-Collins, here.

That’s a wrap for this week.  Be sure to come back frequently for more in-depth analysis and editorials and look for ICYMI next Sunday for anything you might miss this coming week.

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