Stetson Allie’s professional debut last night was pretty much exactly what most people seemed to expect of him; 2 1/3 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts. He got two strikeouts in the first inning and his three walks all came in the third, which is why he was pulled early. Tim from Pirates Prospects was there and notes that he threw in the 90-93 mph range (that seems low, but I’m guessing it’s related to the awful command issues he’s had this spring) and noted that he threw quite a few offspeed pitches, which is unusual for a State College pitcher. That’s interesting to see; the reason that the Pirates tend to stress fastballs at State College is to improve command and that’s obviously something Allie needs to work on. The other thing he needs to work on, though, is secondary pitches. It’ll be interesting to see how he advances.
Clint Hurdle is considering skipping Charlie Morton the next time through the rotation, which is made possible by Thursday’s off-day. Hurdle has some good points about Morton’s inning count thus far (he’s at 86 right now, he only threw 159 2/3 total last year). Morton’s last few starts have been hugely frustrating to watch; he’s not getting hit hard and the other teams are more or less dinking him to death, but it seems clear that something’s a bit off.
John Dreker at Pirates Prospects takes a look at Bryan Morris, Jeff Locke, Rudy Owens, and Justin Wilson and wonders what’s happening this season. TINSTAAPP is what’s happening, which is why I’m nervous having a system built around pitching prospects. Morris has recently been moved to the bullpen, a move that Kyle Stark told Tim is “for now.” That’s a typically ambiguous statement that could mean that it’s to get him more regular work as he recovers from his oblique problem or that they’re considering keeping him there.
On the PBC Blog, the Stats Geek is back! With his return, he looks at how poorly the Pirates have performed at the four corner positions this year.
Chase D’Arnaud and Alex Presley combined for three hits last night. I’m just sayin’.
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