CLEVELAND -- It's not that these Pirates, lumbering along in last place in Year 5 under Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton, have had zero successes in acquiring and/or developing organizational talent.
It's that ... well, I can count two:
1. Luis Ortiz
2. Nick Gonzales
Keeping this real, I'm firmly expecting there'll be a third once a healthy Jared Jones navigates his first full season of Major League Baseball, but no, I'm not counting Paul Skenes since all they did to earn him was to be abominable at baseball, win a lottery, then roll out the red carpet.
So that's it. Those two up there. That's really it. That's all this front office and field staff have to show for half a decade's worth of worldwide scouting, roughly $60 million in draft expenses, another roughly $30 million in international signing bonuses and, never to be omitted from lists like these, the complete summation of players culled in the trades that sent out Starling Marte, Joe Musgrove, Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon, Clay Holmes and an array of others ... to have only David Bednar here showing for it.
It's borderline criminal what came of all those assets, and it's somehow that much cringier when considering that the Pirates' minor-league system this month was ranked 27th of the majors' 30 organizations by Baseball America.
Repeating my by-now familiar refrain: Cherington, Shelton and almost anybody else could be fired at season's end, and not a baseball-based tear would be shed over it in our city.
And yet ...
One thing I've long believed as a columnist is that the fairest criticism comes with the fullest context. So, on this specific occasion and possibly never again, with Ortiz having pumped six scoreless innings and Gonzalez having poked three hits in the Pirates' thorough 3-0 shutout of the first-place Guardians on this Saturday night at Progressive Field, I'll offer a collective cap tip to all concerned for how both Ortiz and Gonzales have come of age this summer.
No snark or sarcasm, I swear.
Ortiz, now 25, was signed as a Latin American free agent in 2017 out of the Dominican Republic. He was Junior Vizcaino's only signee as Latin American scouting director to even come close before Vizcaino was fired last week for being exactly that excremental at his job, but Ortiz did, in fact, make it. That's to this terrific young man's credit, not only as a pitcher but also as a person for enduring being bounced back and forth between starting and relieving throughout his rise and, my goodness, even a month ago.
Heck, when Shelton was asked twice on this very day if Ortiz has shown enough this season -- 33 games, 11 starts, 113 innings, 3.19 ERA, .219 opponents' batting average, 1.10 WHIP -- to be seen as a starter into 2025, the manager twice declined to project that.
“I don’t want to speculate on ‘25. You know how much I love to speculate," he'd reply the second time. "But I think he’s established that he is a starter. He came to the big leagues as a starter and, coming out of spring training, we didn’t have a spot for him, and then he kind of worked his way back by opening, changing his repertoire a little bit. But I think we view him as a starter.”
That's what I mean.
I feel like I've spent as much time with Ortiz as with anyone in the clubhouse this season. He's never beaten up himself up after a bad outing. He's never stopped believing in himself. And I'm here to attest that, although it's not the sort of thing that'll emerge when he's speaking through an interpreter, he's never stopped thinking of himself as a starter.
Asked in front of the cameras and microphones what he's shown the Pirates, through interpreter Stephen Morales, he replied, "It's hard work. And I thank the staff for always being on top of me, helping me to get better."
When the session was done, he looked over my way and ... let's just say he's satisfied he'd taken another significant step.
Amid an ongoing streak of 15 scoreless innings, on this night, he'd allow one hit, walk three and strike out five:
One hit allowed and five Ks on this night:
Luis Ortiz tonight:
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 1, 2024
6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 SO
87 pitches, 53 strikes, 5 whiffs
His ERA is down to 3.19 this season after 15-straight scoreless innings pic.twitter.com/GLHNKdF7YN
But he can't secure the same status that Bailey Falter's held unconditionally since the spring?
Whatever. Good for him.
Imagine if he wasn't just the fourth player to reach the majors anywhere through that state-of-the-art baseball academy the Pirates build in the Dominican back in 2011. That's right ... four, along with Yerry De Los Santos, Osvaldo Bido and Rodolfo Castro. When tens of millions are wasted on a player at the top level, it makes for massive headlines. When they're wasted down there, it takes forever for anyone to notice, presuming anyone does.
Meanwhile, here with another franchise based in a similar market with similar attendance, similar ratings and similar overall revenues, these Guardians are 77-59 primarily because they're reaping the rewards of two Dominicans developed from within in 103-RBI superstar Jose Ramírez and electric power-hitting rookie Jhonkesy Noel.
Crazy how that can work, huh?
So wait, this was supposed to be about credit. Where was I?
Oh, right ...
Gonzales, also now 25, was the Pirates' first-round pick in 2020, seventh overall, and Cherington's first. Coming out of New Mexico State, he was hailed as a natural hitter, but the only thing that appeared natural for much of his time in the minors was swinging and missing. Tons of strikeouts at every level, including when he poked his head into Pittsburgh in 2023.
This season, after this double ...
Nick Gonzales starts off the 4th inning with a leadoff double...
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) August 31, 2024
76.3 MPH exit velocity, .900 xBA pic.twitter.com/INDMXj6fKV
... and two singles in five plate appearances on this night, he's slashing .266/.298/.397 with five home runs, 23 extra-base hits and 40 RBIs in only 267 at-bats. The walks are lower than he'd like at 11, but the 58 strikeouts are a stride and a half.
We talked about this afterward:
I asked if he feels he's shown the Pirates something, and he'd reply, "Yeah, I think so. Every season, obviously, I went in trying to do as well as I can, but sometimes the tools just aren't in the toolbox at that time. And I think that's kind of how it was last year a little bit. We put a lot of work into the offseason and, you know, fixing things, adjustment-wise. Being able to come out here this year and do well, it's been really nice."
He's the second baseman. He's it. Between his offense and generally sound defense, he's grabbed the position and hasn't let it go.
Good for him, too.
And good for everyone involved in everything about both of these players.
All two of them. In Year 5.
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