Pirates Prospect Watch: Trends from First Full Week of Spring Ball

The first full week of spring training games is in the books, and there have been plenty of storylines and performances for fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates to keep an eye on.

Pirates prospects continue to make their case for a full time role, while the team saw some bad luck on the injury front as relief pitchers Dauri Moreta and David Bednar went down with injuries. Here’s everything you need to know prospect-wise about the past week of spring training.

Young Bucs to Watch

• After a rough weekend to start spring training, infield prospect Tsung-Che Cheng enjoyed a bounce-back week at the plate, hitting a home run off established Major League reliever Alex Lange.
• Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, Quinn Priester, Thomas Harrington, Jackson Wolf and Anthony Solometo all enjoyed scoreless outings during their limited time on the mound. Solometo pitched a full inning—including a punch out on three called strikes—on just five pitches thrown. Jones showed his volatility with two strikeouts and two walks in 1.2 innings, while Skenes retired the side against the top of the Orioles’ lineup, which included fellow first overall picks Jackson Holliday and Adley Rutschman. Skenes will make his second appearance of the spring when the Pirates take on the Tampa bay Rays on Monday.
• Termarr Johnson hit two home runs, both off big league arms—one off Blue Jays’ reliever Genesis Cabrera in an example of lefty on lefty crime. He’s hitting .500 with an otherworldly 1.621 OPS in 13 plate appearances this season.
• Prospects Jackson Glenn, Matt Gorski and Abrahan Gutierrez have all logged home runs.
• Gilberto Celestino continues to surprise at the plate after receiving a minor league contract back in November. He hit a grand slam against the Rays, which helped boost his batting average to .467 and his OPS to 1.134 in 15 at-bats.