Shortstop/Power Forward

I subscribe to a prospect oriented site called Pirates Prospects. While they have coverage of the big league team, their bread and butter is going into intimate detail on all the farm teams. Being that I have the NYPL affiliate Black Bears in my background it makes for a nice resource when learning about the new crop of players every year.  

The site becomes extremely helpful around the draft and trade deadline time.  Last year the Pirates didn't make a ton of moves during the season.  The only notable player shipped out was Tony Watson to the Dodgers.  The deal kind of flew under the radar since Watson struggled a good bit in 2017, but the return for the Pirates netted an interesting prospect.

2016 Bowman Chrome Oneal (Oneil Cruz) Auto

The card actually spells Cruz's name wrong.  It's "Oneil".....

When you trade struggling middle relievers you don't get sure thing prospects.  Often times you get players like Oneil Cruz.  The thing about Cruz that makes him unique is that he is a 6'6, 19 year old shortstop. The Dodgers were playing him at third base, but the Pirates seem to think the footwork is good enough for him to make the permanent switch.  At the time the article was written about Cruz it is believed that he may be the tallest shortstop in professional baseball.

The article made mention how teams are starting to ignore positional bias that certain body types are made for certain positions.  The average height for a shortstop now is 6'1 with a few stars being 6'3 like Correa and Seager.

Who knows what the future holds for Cruz.  He has a long way to go being that he is only 19 and still filling out his frame.  It would be cool to see him stick at the position.

Thanks for reading

Kuhler Than the Other Side of the Pillow

2016 Bowman Chrome Chad Kuhl Auto

Today is the first day in a week that I've looked at cards.  My Grandmother passed away this past weekend.  While it is sad to lose a loved one, she had a very full/long life. The viewing and funeral was more of a celebration of a life lived than reflecting on the sad ending.  It was nice visiting with family I hadn't seen in years telling stories.  

Back to cards! Chad Kuhl wasn't much of a "prospect" coming out of college so he didn't receive the early Bowman treatment.  He had already made his debut by the time the above auto came out.  Like most players this card came out of the gate a little more hot, but has settled to the point where you can grab it for .99 plus shipping.  Such was the case with this one. 

I always like additions like this as Kuhl is projected to be in the Pirates rotation.  He has a big arm, but his command never really came around in 2017. He rarely would go past 5 innings. His ERA and FIP show about a league average pitcher, but the tax on the bullpen is rough over the course of the season

The Pirates seem to be trending towards the idea of putting a few multi inning guys in the bullpen to piggyback these short starts. Interesting to see how that plays out.  The Pirates may be cheap, but they haven't been shy about being the first to experiment with in game strategy. Its a well known fact that pitcher effectiveness drops drastically the third time through the order. If you have a roster that can limit that it may prove beneficial over the course of the season.  It takes a ton of depth so that will be the big test. 

Thanks for reading and thanks to Chad Kuhl for having a pun worthy name. 

Keeping My Kuhl

So much happening at BWTP headquarters, so little time to enjoy it. I have had one of my better weeks accumulating trade bait since I've started my blog.  That is why I love holding contests. It gets me motivated to send out cards to people. I also finally hit send on a large COMC and Just Commons order.  Hopefully a bunch of trades and my contest packages get out the door this weekend!

Along with all this trade bait has been a nice run of incoming trade packages. Zippy, Ptown Tom, Rob and Kin your packages have arrived safe and sound.

Here is a quick preview of something unique that I've been working on with a few other bloggers.

These aren't just any beers, they are BEER TRADES!!!!!  I'll go in more detail after I actually consume these, but a couple of my craft drinking pals offered to send some local beer my way. They arrived today in great shape! I'll be sending a well curated list to each very soon.  Review posts in the coming weeks!

New card time.....

2016 Bowman Chrome Chad Kuhl Purple Auto /250

Kuhl flew under the radar in the Pirates system, but he was successful at every level he pitched. He was drafted in the 9th round so he is just now starting to receive some cardboard love. His Bowman Chrome rookie comes after he already made his MLB debut last season. 

Kuhl looks to have the inside track for a rotation spot. Only Cole, Nova and Taillon are guarantees so as it stands he looks to be the next guy in line.  Easy to root for guys that didn't start out with major prospect pedigree. 

This auto set me back just under $10 which I thought was reasonable for a color parallel out of Chrome. 

Thanks for reading!