Bucs On Deck Podcast

The Pittsburgh Pirates mount a huge comeback that comes up short in extra innings. I break down the night, Bubba Chandler's struggles, and the revelation that Jake Mangum has been in July.

Plus, I talk about Sammy Stafura and his insane run during July.

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Despite a strong outing from Jared Jones, the Pittsburgh Pirates still dropped their Friday night game against the Chicago Cubs. I break down Jones' latest outing and what is working for him.

With the FCL season over for the Pirates' team, I break down some of the notable names and how they performed in 2026. Who stood out? Who came up short on expectations?

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired a reliever! I break down who the Pirates got in Ron Marinaccio and what they could do to get him back to his early days with the Yankees.

With the addition of Marinaccio, that means the end of Dennis Santana, who was DFA'd.

They also signed four more of their draft picks, including second-round pick Aiden Ruiz. I go over my thoughts on each of the four picks and some more draft thoughts with the class coming together.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates get fantastic pitching efforts from their starters, Mitch Keller and Bubba Chandler, in a doubleheader that they split against the New York Yankees.

What worked for them? I take a look in this episode.

We then shift to the Pirates signing Chris Rembert, one of their second-round picks from this year's draft. What makes him such an interesting prospect, and what could the Pirates do to unlock his potential?

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Tuesday’s game between the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates was postponed. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday.

It’s not going to be the easiest day for the Pirates’ hitters, as they will have to face Max Fried and Gerrit Cole. The Pirates will have Mitch Keller and Bubba Chandler on the mound.

The Pirates lost game one of the series, so they will have to sweep the doubleheader in order to win the set.

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Murf Gray has now played four games with the Altoona Curve; he has two home runs in that span. After falling behind 0-2, Gray worked his way back to a full count, and then crushed a pitch for a grand slam.

He has 25 home runs on the season and has gone 3-for-14 in the four games he has played in Double-A.

* RHP Michael Walsh assigned to Altoona Curve from Indianapolis Indians

* Pittsburgh Pirates sent 1B Spencer Horwitz on a rehab assignment to Bradenton Marauders

* Indianapolis Indians sent OF Mitch Jebb on a rehab assignment ot Bradenton Marauders

* Greensboro Grasshoppers sent 1B Tony Blanco Jr. on a rehab assignment to Bradenton Marauders

* RHP Dioris Martinez assigned to Bradenton Marauders from FCL Pirates

* RHP Adolfo Oviedo assigned to Greensboro Grasshoppers from Bradenton Marauders

* RHP Brandon Cain assigned to Greensboro Grasshoppers from Bradenton Marauders

* RHP Victor Trejo assigned to Bradenton Marauders from FCL Pirates

* Pittsburgh Pirates sent RHP Chris Devenski on a rehab assignment to FCL Pirates

* Indianapolis Indians sent RHP Michael Darrell-Hicks on a rehab assignment to FCL Pirates

Top Exit Velocity

* Ronny Simon - IND - 111.4 mph - Single

* Duce Gourson - IND - 107.7 mph - Lineout

* Jhostynxon Garcia - IND - 104.6 mph - Flyout

* Richard Ramirez - BRD - 103.1 mph - Double

* Bralyn Brazoban - BRD - 101.6 mph - Single

Top Pitch Velocity

* David Matoma - BRD - 99.5 mph

* David Matoma - BRD - 98.6 mph

* Gavin Adams - BRD - 98.4 mph

* David Matoma - BRD - 98.2 mph

* David Matoma - BRD - 98.2 mph

Most Whiffs

* Kyle Robinson - ALT - 12

* Connor Wietgrefe - IND - 9

* Reinold Navarro - BRD - 9

* Roilan Portuondo - BRD - 8

* Jack Anker - GBO - 7

* Michael Walsh - GBO - 7

Support the site by becoming a paid member and get access to all of our premium content, including our top prospect list with complete player write-ups and video breakdowns, which come out weekly.

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Indianapolis Indians - 2 vs Lehigh Valley Ironpigs - 1

Gameday

Top Hitter - Ronny Simon: 2-4, RBI, SB

Top Pitcher - Connor Wietgrefe: 5.2 IP, 5 H, R, BB, 4 K

Altoona Curve - 8 vs Akron RubberDucks - 7

Gameday

Top Hitter - Lonnie White Jr.: 2-4, 2 R, BB, 2 HR, 2 RBI

Top Pitcher - Cy Nielson: 2 IP, H, 2 K

Greensboro Grasshoppers - 6 vs Winston-Salem Dash - 1

Gameday

Top Hitter - Sammy Stafura: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB, 2B

Top Pitcher - Jack Anker: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Bradenton Marauders - 9 vs Dunedin Blue Jays - 10

Gameday

Top Hitter - Eddie King Jr.: 3-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, HR

Top Pitcher - Roilan Portuondo: 3.1 IP, 3 H, ER, 4 K

FCL Pirates - 5 vs FCL Braves - 4

Gameday

Top Hitter - Armstrong Muhoozi: 2-5, RBI

Top Pitcher - Michael Darrell-Hicks: IP, H, 2 K

DSL Pirates Black - 7 vs DSL Reds - 8

Gameday

Top Hitter - Dionis Leyba: 1-3, R, 4 RBI, BB, HR

Top Pitcher - Jabes Martinez: 2 IP, H, R, K

DSL Pirates Gold - 10 vs DSL Rojos - 4

Gameday

Top Hitter - Gilbert Ramirez: 2-4, R, 2 RBI

Top Pitcher - Marlon Quintana: 4 IP, H, R, 5 K

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After the bullpen blew another late on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to bounce back to win on Sunday, taking their weekend series against the Cleveland Guardians.

Paul Skenes made his first start coming out of the All-Star break, allowing one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out eight over seven innings pitched. It was good enough to pick up his ninth win of the season.

Jacob Gonzalez went 2-5 with a double and two runs scored. Getting a rare start in center field, Billy Cook went 3-4 with a triple, two runs scored, and a pair of RBI. Esmerlyn Valdez hit his 12th home run of the season, going 1-3 with two RBI and two walks.

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The Pirates will head to New York for three games against the Yankees. Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, and Mitch Keller are the probably pitchers for the series.

Murf Gray and Duce Gourson wrapped up their first weekend at their new levels after getting promoted coming out of the All-Star break.

Now in Double-A Altoona, Gray went 2-9 with a home run and three walks compared to two strikeouts. He played in all three games and was the designated hitter on Sunday.

For Gourson, he played in two of the three games over the weekend, going 4-7 with four runs scored, a home run, one walk (no strikeouts) while also stealing a pair of bases.

* Greensboro Grasshoppers sent 1B Tony Blanco Jr. on a rehab assignment to Bradenton Marauders

* Pittsburgh Pirates optioned RHP Khristian Curtis to Indianapolis Indians

* Altoona Curve placed LHP Dominic Perachi on the 7-day injured list

Top Exit Velocity

* Shawn Ross - IND - 111.4 mph - Home Run

* Richard Ramirez - BRD - 107 mph - Single

* Jacob Gonzalez - PIT - 106.1 mph - Lineout

* Edgleen Perez - BRD - 105.9 mph - Groundout

* Duce Gourson - IND - 105.2 mph - Home Run

Top Pitch Velocity

* Carlos Mateo - BRD - 102 mph

* Carlos Mateo - BRD - 101.6 mph

* Carlos Mateo - BRD - 101.1 mph

* Carlos Mateo - BRD - 100.9 mph

* Carlos Mateo - BRD - 100.8 mph

Most Whiffs

* Paul Skenes - PIT - 18

* Irwin Ramirez - BRD - 10

* Hung-Leng Chang - GBO - 10

* Brandon Neeck - ALT - 9

* Matt Ager - ALT - 8

Support the site by becoming a paid member and get access to all of our premium content, including our top prospect list with complete player write-ups and video breakdowns, which come out weekly.

It will also give access to my player feature articles from on-site trips.

We have monthly and yearly plans available, with the latter averaging $4.16/month.

Indianapolis Indians - 13 vs Columbus Clippers - 6

Gameday

Top Hitter - Shawn Ross: 2-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, HR

Top Pitcher - Antwone Kelly: 4 IP, 3 H, BB, 2 K

Altoona Curve - 6 vs Reading Fightin Phils - 10

Gameday

Top Hitter - Ivan Brethowr: 2-3, 2 R, RBI, HR

Top Pitcher - Brandon Neeck: 2.1 IP, 5 K

Greensboro Grasshoppers - 3 vs Hub City Spartanburgers - 7

Gameday

Top Hitter - Brian Sanchez: 2-4, 2 RBI, BB, 2B

Top Pitcher - Kyle Larsen: 2 IP, BB, 3 K

Bradenton Marauders - 2 vs Tampa Tarpons - 7

Gameday

Top Hitter - Richard Ramirez: 2-3, R, RBI, BB, HR

Top Pitcher - Brandon Cain: IP

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Jared Jones had a perfect game going, and they removed him after six innings and 77 pitches. I'll go over the Pirates' decision and then what worked so well for Jones that night.

Then, while recapping at the minor league games on Wednesday, I discuss a pair of hitters who are remaining hot for their respective teams.

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Ryan O'Hearn had a historic night for the Pittsburgh Pirates, hitting three home runs and driving in 10 runs. I got over his fantastic game, as well as Paul Skenes picking up his first win since May.

That, plus a minor league rundown with a spotlight on Bradenton catcher Richard Ramirez and his strong start to July.

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It was another week where a Greensboro hitter put up big offensive numbers. Sammy Stafura was named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week, and I break down his week.

Who were some of the other top performers from the previous week in the Pirates' system? I go over all of that as well as a rundown on the top 10 prospects in the Pirates system.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates took two out of three this weekend against the Nationals, finishing with a winning record during their road trip. I talk about the games over the weekend and what stood out.

Then I talk about Edward Florentino, how he's slowly starting to piece things together, and how his potential profile is changing right now.

Finally, I preview the upcoming week with the draft on Sunday.

Subscribe to the Bucs on Deck Substack for daily content on the entire Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

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Check out the YouTube channel for videos on the Pirates' organization.

Get full access to Bucs On Deck at bucsondeck.substack.com/subscribe