In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
The new guy’s debut
Yesterday we got to see the first look at Corey Dickerson in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform. The new outfielder has yet to see game action but seeing him take some BP and do outfield drills in his new number 12 Pirates jersey was a bit exciting. It is expected the Dickerson will see his first game action in the next few days.
You can’t expect too much in a Spring Training debut. Dickerson will likely get one or two at-bats and hopefully get a few putouts in the outfield. Early Spring Training games barely resemble Major League Baseball as it’s a hodgepodge of pitching changes and substitutions. Regardless, it’s still exciting to see a major acquisition in his new uniform for the first time.
It’s very interesting how one trade can move the needle on how you feel about your team. Don’t get me wrong, I am not predicting the playoffs in 2018 but the Dickerson addition makes me actually a little excited to watch the Pirates. I mostly want to see Josh Bell, Adam Frazier, and Jameson Taillon as they continue to develop as Major League players.
How important are Spring Training results?
The Pittsburgh Pirates are currently 0-3-1 in Grapefruit League play. Most people accept that wins and losses don’t matter in Spring Training. However, you want to see successful individual results because those most certainly matters. However, I tend to give a pass during the first handful of outings, especially for starting pitchers. It’s always great when a pitcher throws a perfect inning in their Spring Training debut but if they get shelled for three runs on five hits, it really doesn’t matter that much. Honestly, the most important thing for pitchers early in Spring Training is simply stretching their arms out in preparation for the regular season.
Individual results tend to get matter more as it gets closer to the start of the regular season. Once the starting pitchers start throwing multiple innings, you want to see some success. Especially from the younger guys. Don’t get me wrong, if Jameson Taillon has a poor Spring Training, I am not going to sound the alarm but you want to see some signs of positivity. Whether that’s the box score or the spin rate on his fastball. However, the most important thing in Spring Training is that everyone stays healthy. These are practice games after all.
Baseball talk on the web
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Las Vegas posts odds on all 30 MLB teams making playoffs
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