Pittsburgh Pirates release Black & Gold game lineups

The lineups have been released for the greatest Pittsburgh Pirates baseball scrimmage pitching duel since 2013.

Okay, so it will only be for two innings, and fans should neither get too upset if either or both Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon struggle or too happy if either or both pitch two shutout innings. On Friday, we talked about the announcement of the Pirates top two pitching prospects going head-to-head in the 5 1/2 inning un-televised scrimmage on Monday, which you can find here. Today, the Pirates released the lineups for the first exhibition game of the spring:

Here ya go, #pirates fans. First ones of 2016: pic.twitter.com/YweHTZ6EVW

— RobBiertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) February 28, 2016

Turning the focus to these lineups, you may not recognize some of the unfamiliar new faces to the Pirates organization. Daniel Ortiz, Juan Diaz, and Ed Easley were all off-season additions designed to add depth.

Some of the picks aren’t very surprising. Jason Rogers, Alen Hanson, and Pedro Florimon are all competing for roster spots, so it would make sense to see how they play from the earliest opportunity. Max Moroff rediscovered himself at Altoona last season and was worthy of a look in what is essentially a snapshot of the organizational depth at the upper levels.

The real surprises appear to be the inclusion of Adam Frazier in center in place of top prospect Austin Meadows, and the exclusion of top catching prospect Reese McGuire. Cole Figueroa is getting a look, so the Pirates probably wanted the more experienced Frazier in the lineup before giving way to Meadows in the 2017 edition. Easley is solid defensively and offensively at the catcher position. He finally made it to the show with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015, and with McGuire on the slow development path, it makes sense for Easley to get acquainted with one of the pitchers he will be catching as the Indianapolis Indians backup.

Overall, it appears Glasnow will have his work cut out for him, but he also has a solid defense to back him up. Regardless of the outcome, check back for coverage following the game from Pirates Breakdown, including exclusive video highlights.

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