LOS ANGELES -- Of course it would all come down to Ke’Bryan Hayes.
The rookie third baseman had been the center for most of the action for the Pirates on this Monday night at Dodger Stadium. He had a couple hits and a walk and the plate. He made a play from his knees deep in the hole at third that would’ve been SportsCenter worthy had he not made it look so fluid. And he also was thrown out in the third trying to advance from first to third on a single, slowing one of the offene’s few rallies on the night.
And in the top of the ninth, it was him vs. Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen with the tying run 90 feet away and two outs.
Hayes ended up hitting it hard, but into the ground, bouncing out to first for the final out of the Pirates’ 2-1 loss, which dropped them to 42-77, the third-worst record in Major League Baseball.
Despite losing, looking at the organization as a whole, it was a day for optimism.
Earlier Monday, Baseball America released their rankings of the top farm systems in baseball. When Ben Cherington and company took over in 2019, the Pirates were ranked 20th by the publication, and trending downward. In the midseason update this week, they were No. 4.
A lot of that has to do with the Pirates’ most recent draft and the trades they’ve made over the last year, but the internal improvements with player developments played a major role.
“It means a ton to me,” Derek Shelton said when asked before the game Monday if he paid attention to the farm rankings. “We’ve talked numerous times that the lifeblood of our organization is going to be our farm system. And the fact that it’s risen in terms of publications to fourth speaks to the plan Ben [outlined] when he got here. He was very open about how we were going to build this.”
It’s not just Baseball America who is high on the Pirates’ system. FanGraphs has them at No. 3, with 62 players receiving a prospect grade, indicating they feel that player has at least a shot of reaching the majors. Keith Law recently named the Pirates one of the most improved farm systems, and said they will be top five in his midseason update. MLB Pipeline will be updating their prospect ratings this week, and it’s safe to say the Pirates will see a similar jump with them, too.
“There are a lot of good, young players in our system,” Hayes was telling me on the field before the game. “A lot of guys we traded for who are going to be part of our future plans… The direction that they [the front office] are going in with development seems to be working.”
Hayes got to play alongside a lot of those top prospects at the alternate site last year. Oneil Cruz, Liover Peguero, Nick Gonzales. All are on Baseball America’s Top 100 right now. Before he left Altoona, Hayes told Peguero that he would be waiting for him in Pittsburgh when the shortstop was ready for the majors.
The Pirates have an awful lot riding on Hayes being that type of player and a centerpiece of their rebuild. The same goes for Cruz, Gonzales and their other top prospects.
But they’re just that: Prospects. They aren’t here yet, and they aren’t guaranteed to be successful in the majors.
“It’s a great recognition for a lot of work that’s been done by a lot of people in the organization,” assistant general manager Steve Sanders told me about being graded as a top farm system on the Pirates’ last road trip in Cincinnati. “But it doesn’t get us wins on the field."
There’s been plenty of losing to get the Pirates to this point. They’re just five losses away from another losing season, which would be their 25th in 29 seasons. It’s still a possibility they finish with the worst record in baseball again.
Monday’s loss was their 11th over their last 12 games. They are 2-13 in the month of August.
“You just find ways to stay positive when you come to the field,” Hayes said. “We’re a really young team. We’re not very experienced, like a lot of the teams that we’re playing. We’re still learning. Learning how to win a game.”
Hayes admits it’s tough to do that with a rotating cast of players. On Monday, the Pirates announced the signing of outfielder Yoshimoto Tsutsugo, and he doubled in the ninth as a pinch-hitter. He is the 56th different player they've used this year, the most in franchise history. That’s before September callups.
Starting in 2022, there should be some more stability. Miguel Yajure and Max Kranick, who bounced between the majors and minors, should get more permanent roles in the rotation. Cruz, Travis Swaggerty and Roansy Contreras should get their first real taste of the majors. Players on that Greensboro roster should start coming up in 2023, and the same goes for those in Bradenton in 2024. All through that, Hayes, Bryan Reynolds, David Bednar and just about everyone else who could be part of that next contender will still be under team control.
I asked Hayes if it felt like the calvary is coming. His answer focused on the present, because he has already seen how this plays out if things don’t work out.
“Some of the guys we traded away -- like Jamo [Jameson Taillon], [Joe] Musgrove, [Adam] Frazier -- they were kind of in that situation that I am in two years ago,” Hayes said.
Two years ago, Hayes was the Gonzales or Cruz or Peguero. The guy that was supposed to help elevate the team to contention. By the time he was promoted to the majors, that group’s chances had long passed.
That’s why one foot needs to be planted firmly in the present, rather than a pair in the future. Player development without major league development doesn’t get the Pirates anywhere.
“I’m trying to get better each and every day,” Hayes said. “Learn how to become a leader so that whenever they come up the next few years, we’ll be ready.”
GETTY
Steven Brault.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• After 5 2/3 scoreless innings from Steven Brault to keep the game a scoreless draw, the Pirates jumped ahead in the seventh when first baseman Cody Bellinger threw away a sacrifice bunt attempt by Wilmer Difo, allowing Gregory Polanco to score from second.
However, they gave up that lead, and eventually lost, with back-to-back innings where a left-handed reliever gave up a home run to a left-handed hitter.
In the seventh, Anthony Banda was taken deep by Billy McKinney. In the eighth, Max Muncy got revenge for being his earlier in the game with a shot to right field off Chasen Shreve.
"We just missed locations with fastballs," Shelton said. "We did a good job keeping a really good lineup off-balance all day long. We ended up in the middle of the plate, missed location both times. That ended up being the difference in the game."
• The offense should have spotted the bullpen an extra run in the top of the seventh, though. With Rodolfo Castro on third after Difo's bunt, Hoy Park lifted a fly ball to left that looked deep enough to score. Castro ended up not attempting a play at the plate, which was a mistake because AJ Pollock's throw was well up the first base line.
"We’ve got to tag on that ball," Shelton said. "That’s one of the things that we talk about where development still happens at the major league level. Rudy can’t take an extra couple of steps to see where that ball was. There’s air underneath it. He has to try to tag."
• Hey, at least Brault is pitching well. He tossed 76 pitches before being removed, but Shelton said it was strategy based, not because Brault had hit a pitch limit.
The changeup was the best it was all season, said Shelton. Hitters went 0-for-3 against it and whiffed five times out of 10 swings.
Brault credited work he did with pitching coach Oscar Marin for why it was clicking. After his last start, the two watched some video and looked at stills and saw that he was getting on top of the ball.
"I wasn't really pulling it down through the zone," Brault said. "I was just getting behind it and pushing it. So we worked on that in my bullpen, we worked on that in catch play... We worked so hard together to get that changeup back to where it needs to be, and it's cool when it's a quick fix like that, for it to be back. Which was nice."
Brault threw a "God, I love Oscar" to emphasize that it was the pitching coach who got the pitch back on track.
• I'll have more on Tsutsugo in Mound Visit Tuesday.
A quick story from getting to talk to him on the field pregame. He wanted to confirm something about his new city: Does Pittsburgh have Chipotle?
When he was told yes, he laughed. "I'll be fine."
• Before the game, the Pirates reinstated Ka'ai Tom from the injured list and designated him for assignment. Jarrod Prugar has more on that here.
While he is not active on the roster, Chad Kuhl was in the Pirates' dugout pregame, clear of COVID-19.
And to make room for Tsutsugo, the Pirates designated John Nogowski for assignment.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Hoy Park, SS
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Colin Moran, 1B
5. Ben Gamel, LF
6. Jacob Stallings, C
7. Gregory Polanco, RF
8. Rodolfo Castro, 2B
9. Steven Brault, LHP
And for Dave Roberts' Dodgers:
1. Trea Turner, SS
2. Max Muncy, 2B
3. Albert Pujols, 1B
4. Justin Turner, 3B
5. AJ Pollock, LF
6. Chris Taylor, CF
7. Billy McKinney, 3B
8. Ausin Barnes, C
9. Justin Bruihl, LHP
THE SCHEDULE
There's more late night baseball coming on Tuesday. Wil Crowe (3-7, 5.27) will take on David Price (4-1, 3.60), with the first pitch coming at 10:10 p.m. Eastern. I've got you covered from Dodger Stadium.
IN THE SYSTEM
THE CONTENT
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