ICYMI – The Best of Pirates Breakdown – May 8, 2016

In case you have some free time this Mother’s Day, here’s some of the best from Pirates Breakdown this past week concerning the Pittsburgh Pirates, which you may have missed.

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.

• In true Scott Hatteberg fashion, the Pirates tried to follow suit by signing John Jaso this past offseason. Through the first month of the season, Jaso has already delivered quality value for the team’s high-risk, high-reward investment. He has 0.6 WAR already, on pace to come close to matching his 2012 career high. Ethan Obstarczyk broke down just how much of a return the Pirates have gotten from Jaso. Check out the analysis here.
• In 2015, the Pirates drafted Logan Sendelbach (send-‘el-bä) in the tenth round under slot value. He struggled in 2015, but he’s shown signs of being able to become the next diamond in the rough discovered by the Pirates. Tyler Thomas had the chance to talk with him this week. You can check out the interview here. You can also check out the very popular breakdown describing his breakout here.
• The Pirates rotation put together a historic season last year, but this season, the starters haven’t been giving their team the best chance to win, but who is to blame? In a Saturday morning commentary, Jason Rollison shared his thoughts about the Pirates doubling down on their prospects instead of investing in one of baseball’s best rotations from 2015. Check out his thoughts here.
• The rotation hasn’t been the only aspect of the Pirates roster struggling. As a whole, the pitching staff has left a lot to be desired. It’s understandable that the fan base is starting to get concerned about whether this is just a slow start or start of a new trend. Aaron Benedict and Jose Negron sat down to argue how concerned the Pirates should be this early in our point-counterpoint series. Check out the full debate here.
• In her weekly social media roundup, Joy Frank-Collins gathered up the best of the Pirates social media activity from this past week. The Pirates were busy showing love for their teammates, David Freese and Jung-ho Kang in particular, mothers, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. You can check out the full roundup here.
• As part of the social media roundup, the players showed no shortage of support for the return of Kang. In his first game back from a serious leg injury he suffered at the hands, or rather leg, of Chris Coghlan, Kang homered twice as the Pirates forewent any effort to ease him back into play. Steve Kubitz pondered what the Pirates can really expect from their star third baseman this season. Check it out here.
• Sean Rodriguez has been one of the most consistent, affordable utility players in baseball over his career. He’s never been a superstar, but Rodriguez has seemingly defied the laws of the game while on pace for a career year. However, Justin Kosanko believes sooner, rather than later, Rodriguez will regress to the norm. Find the analysis here.
• The Pirates have a reputation for building benches and bullpens out of the misfits no other team in the league manages to recognize. In 2016, the bench of misfits has been the best in a long time, and that’s in large part thanks to the exceptional production Matt Joyce has given off the bench. Jose Negron looks at bench depth and Joyce’s historic month here.
• The Pirates top prospects have continued to take the International League by storm. The future of the franchise has been one of the big stories this season at baseball’s top level in Pittsburgh, so Justin Frazee broke down all the standout performers, news, and transactions in his weekly minor league report. You can check out an in-depth look at all active levels of the Pirates’ organization here.
• As one final note, Pirates Breakdown is in the process of accepting applications for ambitious writers seeking to provide readers with quality editorial and analysis opinions regarding any and all levels of the Pirates’ organization. For more information, or to fill out an application, click 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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