A look at notable storylines among Pittsburgh Pirates Non-Roster Spring Invitees

The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced their list of non-roster Spring Training invitees, and there are a few interesting storylines among the names on the list

In another sign that Spring Training is right around the corner, the Pittsburgh Pirates have announced their list of non-roster Spring Training invitees.

#Pirates have announced their non-roster invitees for spring training: pic.twitter.com/tmMHM8WraM

— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) January 22, 2018

The list is pretty standard fare, yet due to the events of this offseason, some take on a bit more meaning in light of recent trade activity. Let’s run through a couple of the more intriguing storylines that present themselves from this group.

A first look at trade pieces

Jason Martin and Bryan Reynolds‘ inclusions — along with Colin Moran, Kyle Crick, Joe Musgrove and Michael Feliz (who were already added to the 40-man roster) — will give the Pittsburgh Pirates their first look at the club’s newly acquired pieces.

While Reynolds and Martin will likely not affect their MLB readiness timelines — positively or negatively — by their Spring Training performance, the other four named pieces will have an excellent chance to make a first impression. While all four will undoubtedly contribute to the big league club in 2018, Spring Training will be very telling, especially for Moran and Musgrove.

In Moran’s case, penciling him in as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting third baseman to open the season would solve a lot of roster conundrum. That is Moran’s ultimate destination, and his performance will likely dictate if he opens the season there. Musgrove’s ultimate destination — be it the bullpen or the rotation — remains unknown. The club will likely take some hard lessons learned from Juan Nicasio‘s spring in 2016, and not be swayed by flashy strikeout totals. Musgrove’s position on Opening Day is also to be impacted by the spring performance of Tyler Glasnow as well.

Sorting out the infield trio

The Pittsburgh Pirates have also invited infielders Kevin Kramer, Kevin Newman and Cole Tucker to camp.

Having all three in Spring Training intrigues, as the club will soon have to make some decisions among this quality trio. If this had been last year, many would have thought that a starting shortstop job in 2019 was Newman’s to lose. His stock has since dropped some, though he made it to Triple-A in 2017. Kramer, on the other hand, has seen his stock rise to the point of ranking as the 10th-best prospect at second base, according to MLB Pipeline. Tucker solidified himself in 2017 as a legitimate big-league prospect on the heels of displaying his considerable speed tool and taking strides at the plate.

Pirates Breakdown extensively covered the Altoona Curve last season, and had this to say about each prospect. First, Alex Stumpf on the changes Tucker made to get to this point:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Tucker credited the spike in walks to choking up on the bat more. In previous years, he would be about half an inch off of the knob. With no strikes this year, his hands are about an inch off the knob. When there is one strike in the count, he doubles it to two. With two strikes, it’s again doubled to about three or four inches. So what if it looks goofy? Tucker joked that everything he does looks goofy. And it’s only goofy if it doesn’t work.[/perfectpullquote]

For his part, Kramer really developed his power stroke before succumbing to a wrist injury. As his power was blossoming, I asked his manager Michael Ryan — also his manager when Kramer was in Bradenton — on the second-round pick finding another level:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“He knows what his approach is; he has a plan going up there with each at-bat;” Ryan told me after the game. “He has an approach and he sticks with it. He dictates the at-bat, he does not let the pitcher tell him how it’s going to go. He’s a second round pick, so i’m not sure why people weren’t talking about him. I understand the Newman thing, but he’s a good player.”[/perfectpullquote]

Though the club still has plenty of time to decide how this trio’s future looks, getting a look this spring on the heels of significant progress for each will tell the Pittsburgh Pirates a lot about where they are headed.

The usual glut of arms

The Pittsburgh Pirates also invited the usual assortment of arms to their camp.

• Alex McRae took significant strides at Double-A Altoona, pitching 149.2 innings of 3.61 ERA ball.
• Yeudy Garcia — the Pittsburgh Pirates’ number 22 prospect overall — struggled initially in Altoona, but performed better as the season progressed. He carried an ERA of 2.78 after the Double-A all star break over 15 appearances.
• Casey Sadler returned to professional baseball last year after Tommy John surgery, and should be pleased with his results. He started 26 games between three different levels, and struck out 7.6 per nine. If he can continue taking strides towards getting back to the 9.0 K/9 he posted in 2016 with the Pirates, he can be a valuable depth option.
• Tyler Eppler was a Top 30 Pittsburgh Pirates prospect in 2016 at number 20, but has been pushed down with recent additions. Many fans are fond of rattling off his name as a starting pitching depth option, but he may need to turn heads in camp to stay on the organization’s radar.

These are just a few of the many story-lines that will keep Pittsburgh Pirates fans enthralled during the club’s time in Bradenton. Though many fans are feeling apathetic towards the club right now, as the crack of bats and pops of gloves permeate, that may in fact change.