With the MLB season in its infancy stages, one of the more surprising stories is the white-hot start of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After a dominant Monday performance dismissing the Washington Nationals 8-4, the Pirates have raced off to a 5-0 record leading before running it back on Wednesday against the Nats. All of a sudden, a team that finished fourth in the NL Central with a 76-86 record without a winning record since 2018 is an offensive juggernaut these days.
Pittsburgh’s offense is on a historical, albeit short, run. The Pirates have tallied at least six runs in each of their victories for the first time in more than a century, something Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton loves…
“There’s significance to getting off to a good start,” Shelton said Monday night after the Pirates beat the Nats to follow up a four-game sweep at the Miami Marlins. “You come out of spring training and all the things you talk about that you kind of want to implement – and we’ve talked a lot about our intent should be and how it should be – and we’ve kind of executed that in the first five games.”
Teams don’t dominate offensively to the tune of 39-21 without input throughout the lineup. MLBbro.com has eyes on the collection of talent from the “MLBbro Amigo” trio consisting of Ke’Bryan Hayes, Andrew McCutchen, and Michael A. Taylor.
These three MLBbros have made their presence felt through the first week but Monday’s win featured two of the three…
Michael A. Taylor led the offensive brigade with three hits.
Andrew McCutchen followed suit strongly with two hits as well.
Another sweep on the road could possibly have the Pittsburgh Pirates become the talk of the Majors, shocking the baseball world with a long winning streak. But to do that, the contributions of the MLBbros will get them there.
Ke’Bryan Hayes:
For years, Ke’Bryan Hayes has been known for snagging balls in the field with swagger and excellence. Now it seems he has brought his baseball bat to the party. After struggling with injuries, Hayes started to find his eye at the plate.
Our MLBbro is coming off a career campaign at the plate with career highs in hits (134), doubles (31), triples, (7), Bro Bombs, (15) and RBI (61). In August, Hayes hit .320 with six homers and 20 RBI in August and followed that up with nine doubles and four homers in September.
Through five games this season, Ke’Bryan Hayes has been on fire, flirting with the .400 mark hitting .391 with five RBI and an even more impressive OPS 1.004. With the combination of a hot bat and his Gold Glove ease in the field…
Are NL MVP awards in his future? Just remember MLBbro.com mentioned it first.
Andrew McCutchen:
For any team to stay on top especially when it’s not a normal occurrence, locker room leadership is needed to keep everyone focused. This is the job of MLBbro, Andrew McCutchen. A player the Pirates brought back on a one-year $5 million deal this offseason. A veteran who has mastered the process of staying ready, and in the moment, understanding the highs and lows has already been shown this season…
After striking out five times in his first nine at-bats…
After being a scratch in the Saturday and Sunday games…
McCutchen returns to the lineup and has a solid 2-4 (with a walk) performance at the plate including a huge RBI in the 8th inning on Monday.
Andrew McCutchen with a double off the wall that would have been his 300th HR in 7/30 ballparks
Our MLBbro has a resume that includes five All-Star appearances and a 2013 NL MVP who remembers the last time this franchise was relevant leading the Pirates to three straight playoff appearances (2013-15).
If McCutchen can duplicate the stat line of 12 homers, 43 RBI and 55 runs from the DH spot in part-time duty, his experience alone as a winner will keep the young players on track. Keep it locked to MLBbro.com as we track Andrew’s 300th career home run, which he missed by inches on Monday.
Michael A. Taylor:
MLBbro.com has been shining the spotlight on Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Harris II his whole career for his production at the plate out of the ninth spot in the lineup.
It’s time for him to slide over and make room for Michael A. Taylor, also a center fielder who is now on fire hitting out of the eighth/ninth slot in the lineup. This MLBbro is batting .471 with four RBI and an OPS of 1.064. Couple this with a slugging percentage of .588 Taylor is off to an unbelievable start. Like fellow MLBbro McCutchen, Taylor has a team-friendly one-year contract at $4 million.
The former American League Gold Glove winner has a 10-year run as one of the best fielding outfielders in the game. Now that his hot bat is included, it’s not hard to see why Pittsburgh is undefeated.
These three MLBbro amigos have illustrated three ingredients of winning baseball…offense…defense and leadership off the field. It’s something the Pittsburgh Pirates need to keep their winning ways.
MLBbro.com is always on the watch for the next Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts or Marcus Stroman to wow us with their superstar abilities.
And the next chance to peek into the future is during the All-Star festivities in Seattle at the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on July 8th.
The All-Star Futures Game, which started in 2019 to replace the U.S. vs. The World game, will feature the top minor league players in a National League vs. American League format.
The respective rosters went public earlier this week and were announced on various Major League Baseball media platforms such as MLB Network Radio and MLB TV.
MLBbro and Seattle Mariners Icon, Harold Reynolds who will manage the American League Futures team, discussed the upcoming game on MLB TV.
Melanated Mound Marauders On Deck
Here at MLBbro.com, we’ll be keeping a close eye on two pitchers who will be part of the festivities.
J.P. Massey will be representing the Pittsburgh Pirates while Tink Hence puts his talents on display wearing the St. Louis Cardinals colors.
J.P. Massey:
Seven of the players playing in the game have participated in MLB and USA Baseball development programs. MLBbro pitcher J.P. Massey played in the Breakthrough and the DREAM series.
J.P. Massey has been named the FSL Pitcher of the Month! Massey went 1-0 with a 0.72 ERA in 5 starts as he began the month with a 17.0 innings scoreless streak. Massey did not allow more than 1 run in a start in May and had three starts with two or fewer hits allowed. Congrats! pic.twitter.com/ygBdAKRFtl
— Bradenton Marauders (@The_Marauders) June 5, 2023
Massey dominated the month allowing only two earned runs in 25 innings (0.72 ERA) while tallying 29 strikeouts for Single-A Bradenton. If you stretch his production out over the last two months, J.P. has become one of his team’s best starters with a 2.84 ERA over 44.1 innings with 52 strikeouts.
Working with former MLBbro pitcher, Marvin Freeman, Massey has changed the mechanics in his leg kick while working on five featured pitches… a four seamer, a two seamer, a curveball and a changeup. It’s a mentorship that J.P. is very excited about, he told MLB.com.
“We’re still trying to figure out the ideal repertoire and usage rate each and every outing, but [five pitches] allows me to have something that I can use against hitters,” he said. “ If I see them trying to lean towards one pitch, I can throw something that goes in the other direction. It gives me a lot of versatility while I’m on the mound.”
Couple that with wisdom from current MLBbro players Hunter Greene of the Cincinnati Reds and Triston McKenzie of the Cleveland Guardians and J.P. Massey should use the Futures game as a launching pad.
This MLBbro is considered one of the biggest prospects for the St. Louis Cardinals… period.
At #63 in the 2020 Draft, Tink Hence is the highest selection out of the state of Arkansas since 2005.
Despite getting the “Byron Buxton” treatment in 2021 and being limited to eight appearances in the Florida Complex League and a pitch limit with Single A Palm Beach, Tink emerged as a superstar when he finally got his chance on the mound.
This season, the MLBbro is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA and a 46-to-12 strikeout to walk ratio in 11 starts as of Friday (June 30) for the High-A Peoria Chiefs.
Like Massey, Hence has a cache of pitches to showcase in this event. He has a mid-90s fastball, a vicious curve, a changeup and a slider that gives batters three off-speed pitches to figure out in less than two seconds.
Hopefully the Futures game will allow the Cardinals to give this guy more time on the mound to perfect his craft. Right now, that’s the only thing holding him back. MLB.com believes that this guy can be an ace pitcher in the majors based on their review…
“The stuff needs to hold up into the fifth and the sixth innings — and over 100-plus frames overall — before Hence could be considered a potential ace, but the individual pieces are there.”
Check out these two MLBbros in training in the Futures Game on Saturday, July 8th at 7pm EST.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are leading the National League Central Division.
It’s early but for the first time in several years, they have a competent team again. The last time they won the division was 1992, led by the great Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla.
They are currently 21-17 and have performed well on the road and at home. The return to a winning culture can largely be attributed to the return of MLBbro and veteran Andrew McCutchen. However, what the Pirates really need to excel to the next level is the emergence of MLBbro Ke’Bryan Hayes.
Ke’Bryan Hayes’ Booming Bat Has Ignited Surging Pittsburgh Pirates’ Seven-Game Winning Streak@SilkyGilkey@Pirates
After getting off to a blazing hot start, Pittsburgh is currently on a bad stretch, winning only one of its last ten games. However, the young third basemen Hayes has found his groove over the last week. The MLBbro has tallied eight hits in 21 at-bats in his last six games, resulting in a .381 batting average.
Hayes also swiped two bases and had an on-base percentage of .458 during this stretch. Although the team’s success has been trending downwards, continuous improvements from one of their cornerstone players bode well for the future of this club.
The Pirates have already shown a commitment to Hayes, evidenced by the eight-year $70 million contract extension he was given last season. Between his rookie year and the current season, he hasn’t yet delivered on the full expectations that Pittsburgh fans and management had for him following an excellent rookie campaign. But with a veteran like Andrew McCutchen, revered in Pittsburgh lore, who knows what it takes to compete and have sustained success as the face of this franchise, Hayes is in good hands to learn from the best.
The Pirates last had a winning season in 2018. While they are on pace now, they will not sustain this if Hayes does not develop into the leader, they signed him to be. His overall batting numbers for the year are not great – .246 with one home run and nine RBI – but he has been steadily improving.
Consistently batting in the leadoff spot, the MLBbro will be relied on as a table setter for the Pirates’ lineup for the foreseeable future. His blend of speed and contact will go a long way if he can continue to improve and help the team return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
I’m Web master Ke’Bryan Hayes has found his offensive mojo and the #MLBbro third baseman is becoming a complete force for a winning Pittsburgh Pirates franchise.
Often when a veteran player returns to the team that gave them their start, many see it as the beginning of the end. The sun is setting on their career, and one last hurrah with the home team will encapsulate their legacy once and for all.
Pittsburgh Pirates centerfield Andrew McCutchen is not one of those people, and the last thing he wants is your sympathy.
“I want to win. Specifically, I want to win here,” said a motivated McCutchen during his introductory press conference that saw the centerfielder welcomed back to Pittsburgh with open arms. No longer the blazing quick, dreadlocked perennial MVP candidate, Andrew comes back as a veteran whose on field production may have slipped but his clubhouse presence has remained bigger than ever.
Cutch Returns, So Does the Winning
So far, the Pirates are 9-7 in the NL Central and winning at a higher rate than they have in quite some time. So, Cutch’s presence on the field is being felt.
McCutchen has played for five different teams since being traded in 2017 and was without question considered a leader on each of them. Now back in black, there is a new task at hand; show the young bros how it’s done.
McCutchen has done just that out the gate, hitting .298 with three doubles, two home runs and a .916 OPS in 61 plate appearances.
Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes didn’t hide his excitement about bringing Cutch back into the fold. “To be able to bring somebody like that, who won an MVP and Silver Slugger Awards, He was the leader of the Pirates from the time when I signed here, just to bring a guy like that back into the clubhouse is awesome… I didn’t get to see him when I was coming up and picking his brain about how to win because he was able to win while he was here.”
It seems as if the two MLBbros are already in sync, as McCutchen echoed that sentiment when asked about mentoring both Hayes and 2022 first-rounder Termarr Johnson, another young MLBbro who will be a prominent figure in any winning that takes place in Pittsburgh.
Andrew McCutchen on how he can relate to 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes and 2022 first-rounder Termarr Johnson and his message to the Pirates. pic.twitter.com/fbdWk6JoTC
“I’m looking forward to being able to not only talk to them but to be a voice for the way things work, the way we did things when I was here,” said McCutchen when asked about his role in mentoring the two young Pirates. “Not necessarily saying, ‘This is the right way.’ Things change, and you evolve. But I want them to understanding (that) winning here wasn’t that long ago, and I was a part of it. So I know what it feels like.”
McCutchen Took Pirates From MLB’s Saigon To Playoff Sexy
In 2013, a young Cutch was a catalyst for a young Pirates team that ended the franchises 20-year streak of consecutive losing seasons. The then 26-year-old hit .314 with 21 home runs, 84 RBI, 27 stolen bases while scoring 97 runs and posting an OPS of .952. This was good enough for Andrew to become the first Pittsburgh Pirate to win National League MVP since The God Barry Bonds won back-to-back awards in 91-92.
From 2011 to 2015, McCutchen was on another level, hitting .302 with 123 home runs, 175 doubles and a .905 OPS enroute to five consecutive All Star appearances along with four Silver Slugger Awards. During that period, he carried the franchise on his back and was at the peak of his illustrious career. Now, he returns as a hero of a golden era in Pirates’ history, with a goal to mentor the next generation while showing them how to grind and work as a professional over 162 games.
If Andrew is able to aide this young group of talent Black players back to a competitive playoff level, his legacy in Pittsburgh will grow even more.
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