Yesterday the Pittsburgh Pirates received the bad news that No. 6 prospect, righty Nick Kingham was done for the season as the latest victim of Tommy John surgery. With Jameson Taillon still on the mend from his Tommy John surgery in 2014, how deep are the Pirates left in the pitching department?
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I was on hand at the Bradenton Marauders game Thursday night as they took on the Daytona Tortugas at McKenchnie Field. The game was chock full of the Reds and Pirates elite prospects on display. The Marauders showcased the Pirates No. 4 prospect, centerfielder Austin Meadows as well as shortstop JaCoby Jones (No. 13) and right fielder Harold Ramirez (No. 8).
The Reds prospects were equally shining bright. Left fielder Phillip Ervin, their No. 9 prospect, led things off for a lineup that featured six of the Reds’ top 30 prospects. Shortstop Alex Blandino (No. 7), third baseman Taylor Sparks (No. 16), first baseman Chad Wallach (No. 20), Junior Arias (No. 25) and Sebastian Elizalde (No. 26) all took their licks Thursday night. It made one realize that the reason the Reds may be struggling so badly at the big league level is because of the bevy of top prospects so far away from being Major League ready. But, I digress.
As much as I would have loved to have seen Meadows have one of his days, the 20-year old future big leaguer went 0-for-4. But like I said, this was about the pitching. The Marauders would send the Pirates No. 27 prospect Cody Dickson to the hill to square off against Jackson Stephens, the Reds No. 15 prospect. Dickson would win the day.
Dickson wasn’t impressive on the mound, but needless to say, I was impressed. The 23-year old righty was perfect through the first two innings as he breezed through the first six batters with ease. When the third inning started, we saw a bit of what has slowed Dickson’s rise through the system: his ongoing control issues. How he responded to them, however, was what impressed me.
Dickson struggled a bit in the third, definitely throwing more balls than he had in the first two innings combined. But Dickson was able to minimize the damage, helping his own cause by fielding an attempted sacrifice bunt flawlessly and getting the lead runner at second.
Dickson was back at it again in the fourth inning. With one out, he walked Elizalde in not so pretty fashion. But he honed down. He blew away the huge first baseman Wallach getting him on a big swinging strike before freezing him for the backwards K. He then answered the call by striking out Sparks, stranding yet another run.
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The fifth inning was much like the fourth. Dickson started sloppy, walking Jon Matthews on four ugly pitches, the first three missing rather high out of the strike zone. How did he respond? He struck out Carlton Daal on three straight pitches, and after blowing a leadoff strike by Ervin, he picked Matthews off first base. Again Dickson found himself in trouble, again he stepped up and answered the call.
Like I said, Thursday was not Dickson’s most impressive day pitching, but it left me impressed. Not every pitcher is going to have his A game every outing, but it comes down to how they capitalize on the mistakes. Dickson minimized his mistakes and didn’t allow the Tortugas to burn him on any of them by zoning in and taking care of business.
I’m not saying Dickson will be on the fast track to Pittsburgh starting tomorrow, but with the major injuries the Pirates have suffered, last night was a refreshing performance.