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Liover Peguero chats with fellow Pirates infielder prospect Nick Gonzales during instructional league work last week at Pirate City.
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Jason Mackey's 20 Thoughts: Inside a trip to the Pirates' instructional league

Courtesy of Pittsburgh Pirates

Jason Mackey's 20 Thoughts: Inside a trip to the Pirates' instructional league

BRADENTON, Fla. — Liover Peguero wanted a stop sign.

This was last Monday during instructional league workouts at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. Late in an intrasquad game, the 19-year-old shortstop prospect — an Energizer Bunny who’s always going, always talking — decided he wanted to coach third base. Peguero feigned frustration when one of his teammates refused to listen.

“C’mon!” Peguero yelled. “I guess I need a big red sign out here.”

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The scene was funny. It was a slice of competitive chaos, as Peguero’s team nearly completed a comeback before the rain came, ending the day early. It was also telling.

Shortstop prospect Liover Peguero takes batting practice during instructional league work at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla.
Jason Mackey
Fun-loving shortstop prospect Liover Peguero has quickly made an impression on the Pirates

While MLB clubs are trying to make due with no minor league or Arizona Fall League seasons, the Pirates prospects and coaches gathered here have done an excellent job melding development, competition and fun into a five-week program.

“For staff and players, it’s been a bit of a tonic after a difficult year, just to be able to get back into a ballpark setting, field setting and routine,” general manager Ben Cherington said. “A lot of these guys were taken out of it entirely for the last six months.

“Plus, we know how important players getting better is for the Pirates. This is an opportunity to hopefully push that.”

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My time at Pirate City was a blast. Felt like spring training all over again and has me wishing 2021 will be back to normal.

It was also a fascinating glimpse into the future, a chance to observe Pirates prospects who would normally be spending their key developmental time at the lower levels of the minor leagues, years away from Pittsburgh.

So, without any further delay, let’s get started.

2. Along with first-base prospect Mason Martin, Peguero was my favorite to watch, although the Orioles would not allow me into Ed Smith Stadium for a pair of exhibition games, so I only saw two pitchers — Tahnaj Thomas and Austin Roberts — throw live.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton
Jason Mackey
Jason Mackey's Pirates chat transcript: 10.28.20

Acquired along with pitcher Brennan Malone in the Starling Marte trade, Peguero has become the Pirates’ fifth-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, with an expected arrival date in 2022.

It’s hard to disagree there. Peguero is incredibly athletic and impressed with his smooth work at shortstop.

He’s also raw. Within the span of a couple batters, I saw Peguero leap to snare a hard liner, then sail a throw to first because his footwork got sloppy. Later in the game, he drove an outside pitch hard the opposite way to right, then was thrown out at first when he got careless and took too big of a turn.

3. Peguero is also a riot. In addition to the stop sign situation, I watched him joke with scouts; deliver a postgame pep talk; trash talk infielder Jase Bowen; argue — in a light-hearted way — for better umpiring and also to resume the game the next day, saying his team was just getting started.

“He’s definitely a character,” Nick Gonzales said. “He brings the energy every day, and that’s great.”

4. Martin was also impressive. Not only because of his immense power but his “sneaky good” athleticism (Cherington’s words), a combination that has the Pirates excited.

The same for Gonzales, their first-round pick in 2020 who already has a mature approach at the plate and was noticeably ahead of many others in this setting. Assuming he hits next season, I could easily foresee Gonzales in Pittsburgh sooner than later.

5. More than individual stuff, though, was how well-run instructional league has been on the whole. (Don’t get worked up over a player coaching third. It was quick, there were others watching, and it was fun.)

“We went into the camp wanting to be very specific and intentional about individual skill development and build plans for that,” Cherington said. “We’ll need more time, but we can see progress. That’s been really encouraging.”

6. That’s more than smoke. Allow me to explain why.

My interview with Cherington happened on Thursday morning and was one of the last I conducted. Previously, I asked every player I talked to on what had they been asked to work.

Peguero has been emphasizing plate discipline and allowing the ball to get deeper in the zone. Cal Mitchell has been trying to clean up his footwork in the outfield. Jared Jones picked up a curveball over quarantine and has been tweaking his arm slot with the pitch to better mirror his fastball, slider and changeup.

I found that stuff interesting at the time, but Cherington’s answer about picking individual skills or potential areas of improvement helped to crystallize the idea.

I also realize this isn’t some revolutionary strategy — fixing a weakness. It’s more a vibe or feeling you get being around Cherington and his staff that, yeah, it may take some time and there’s certainly plenty to be frustrated about at the moment. The Pirates will also need to spend money. But this group does have a clue what it’s doing when it comes to developing guys the right way.

“It should be a partnership, right?” Cherington said. “We go through an assessment of each player, which is really a snapshot of where a player is in time. ‘Here are the things this player does really well. Here are where the opportunities are physically, performance-wise, skill, etc.’ Off of that, OK, ‘Here’s what we think the priorities should be.’ Then we get with the player and see what he thinks.

“Most of the time, there’s a pretty quick alignment. Occasionally there isn’t, and you work through that and compromise.”

7. This also doesn’t mean the Pirates are pushovers or that development occurs like placing an order at Chipotle — step up to the counter and tell ’em what you want.

It’s imperative, Cherington said, for the Pirates to offer critical feedback. They also sometimes just need to tell the player, “No.”

But Cherington and manager Derek Shelton have also spent considerable time trying to tweak the schedule and give players more freedom. It seems it’s reached the minor league level.

“It’s even related to the prep and activation period, how they’re getting ready rather than group stretch and everybody is sitting around in a circle in the outfield,” Cherington said. “It’s a little bit more individualized.”

8. Pirates prospects insist they’re enjoying themselves, more now than in past years.

Peguero would smile his way through a dental appointment, so he doesn’t count. But there were plenty of others who told me about this type of development being legitimately fun.

“I think there has been a shift in the mindset of the organization with the new staff coming in,” Mitchell said. “No one has directly said, ‘Hey, you guys can have more fun.’ But it feels that way. We feel like we’re in a better position to do that.”

9. OK, why? Why do Pirates prospects feel like they’re either allowed to have more fun or are just naturally doing it? Couple things.

One, I read the Mitchell quote to Cherington to get his take. “I think it’s a good outcome,” Cherington said. “But it’s not like we set out intentionally and say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have more fun.’ ”

Fair. However — and I think this applies to anyone’s job — when you feel like you’re legitimately getting better at something, how’s that not fun? Journalism, accounting or landscaping. Same deal here.

“In my experience with that — and obviously the player opinion is going to be more important than mine — is when baseball development is really intentionally individualized, when it’s challenging, when it’s creative, when there’s some sort of competition and game-speed element to it, when players feel like they’re getting something from it, then it’s more fun,” Cherington said. “Players want to get better. They like playing baseball. It’s more fun when you’re doing that, and you feel like you’re being challenged. When you’re getting something out of it, have some sort of say in what’s going on and getting immediate feedback, whether it’s a pitcher from watching video or getting Rapsodo feedback or a hitter in the cage working on K-Vest and he’s seeing where his swing movements are going, I think that can lead to fun. It doesn’t have to be we’re setting out to tell jokes.”

10. Couple things to unpack here from that. One, this is how Cherington talks. It’s not sexy, but it’s explanatory. I’ve learned to appreciate it more over the past year.

Two, the technology stuff. Being at Pirate City, it’s everywhere. From the various machines set up around pitchers throwing side sessions to coaches taking iPad video of swings; everything is captured — and in the case of Rapsodo or K-Vest, in unbelievable fine detail for everyone to analyze.

Also, the players having a say.

11. An important element of this instructional league program, Cherington said, involves anonymous player feedback, which the Pirates have implemented. Hate something, say something. Like it, that’s encouraged, too.

Cherington doesn’t think the entire process is perfect, but he has been encouraged by what he’s heard so far from players offering their two cents.

“In my experience, it takes time for enough trust to develop where players feel like they can actually tell you if they didn’t like something without fear of repercussion,” Cherington said. “We’re trying to get there.”

12. One tech-related element that was neat to watch was what’s literally known as an iPitch — or smart pitching machine.

Instead of dropping baseballs into a chute, a coach will stand on the mound, iPad in hand, and select what pitch he wants to throw and where. The machine is extremely accurate, with the ability to customize pitches to match the stuff of any opposing pitcher.

“It’s really cool because you’re able to see different pitches and react like a regular game,” Gonzales said. “That’s helpful, especially when you don’t have live pitching every day to see. I think it’s a great training tool.”

13. The iPitch is brand new. It retails for $10,000 and was actually supposed to be used in Altoona this summer, although Spinball, the company that makes it, apparently ran into trouble producing and distributing orders due to COVID-19.

Less than a third of the league uses it, according to Spinball’s website. Cherington credited minor league hitting coordinator Shawn Johnston for the idea, though he said a lot of people advocated for it.

“It makes it tough because you’re not reading the pitcher’s body language, body direction, movements or release points, “Martin said. “You get the same release point every time. Everything is coming out of the same tunnel. It makes it tough, but I’ve gotten a lot out of it.”

14. Moving on to some other tidbits …

Cherington said there’s nothing new on Oneil Cruz. The Pirates still believe alcohol was not involved in the fatal car crash where three died in the Dominican Republic.

(For background, the Dominican government had issued a press release asserting that Cruz had consumed alcohol before the crash, then backed off that claim. A spokeswoman with the attorney general’s office later told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that a breathalyzer was never performed. The Pirates, again, say, they’ve seen no evidence to indicate Cruz had been drinking.)

Anyway, with it looking like Cruz will indeed be available for spring training 2021, I thought I would ask Cherington whether the Pirates have moved off their belief that Cruz, at least for now, will remain at shortstop. They have not.

“That’s the way we’re looking at it,” Cherington said. “We believe in his ability to do that.”

15. With Francisco Cervelli retiring, I feel like it would make a lot of sense to have the former catcher at spring training in kind of a guest instructor role. Figure him and someone like A.J. Burnett would have a lot to offer and terrific perspective.

Cherington didn’t completely throw water on the idea, but he said the Pirates would have to determine that there was legitimate interest and a need on both sides before committing to anything.

“It needs to be pretty clear and intentional that there’s value,” Cherington said. “I haven’t experienced this here, but I’ve experienced it in the past — where it becomes less intentional and more of an [employment] opportunity.

“I look at someone like Kevin Young, who has a ton of passion for helping players. He cares about guys so much. He cares about the Pirates and has content to share. He’s interested in collaboration. He’s doing this only for the player and putting the player first. When guys get into that mindset, it can be really valuable. In any of those situations, we would be trying to learn that.”

16. I still think it would make sense for the Pirates to re-approach Ke’Bryan Hayes, Bryan Reynolds, Kevin Newman or Joe Musgrove this offseason about potentially signing long-term extensions, although Cherington didn’t say much on the topic when I asked whether that would be a priority for him this offseason.

“I think my answer is probably going to be the same as it has been before,” Cherington said. “What we want is a working environment where, with young players, we have an open door to that conversation.

“We want to have an open dialogue with players about what their interests are, what our interests are and see if they align.”

17. Funny one from Jones, who was a two-way player in high school. I asked him if the Pirates have given him any sort of opportunity to hit.

“Man, that one hurt,” he said. “No, I’m not doing any hitting. One-hundred percent, though, I miss it.”

Jones, a second-round pick in 2020, went 7-1 with a 0.77 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 64 innings while also hitting .457 as a junior at La Mirada High in California. Suffice to say, he’s not giving up on the dream just yet.

“They haven’t really told me that I’m only a pitcher forever,” Jones said. “Hopefully when I establish myself as a pitcher, I can try and squeeze my way into a couple at-bats.”

18: Stat of the week

This blew my mind in the Pirates’ season-in-review spectacular put out by PR guru Jim Trdinich: Richard Rodriguez led the Pirates in wins (3) and saves (4) — the first pitcher to do that since saves became an official stat in 1969.

19. Non-baseball thought of the week

OK, sorta baseball. But the decision made by the Orioles — to prevent media from covering games at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla. — was really disappointing. There are 11,000-plus fans at the World Series. Ed Smith seats 8,500, with 2,000-square-foot gift shop.

Makes zero sense. It’s also infuriating. Then again, it’s only a sliver of what scouts must have felt like this season while they were inexplicably kept out of ballparks.

20. Quote of the week

“If you have the first pick, the third pick or the fourth pick, you’re going to do a lot of work on a collection of players that are going to go toward the top of the draft. You’re gonna try to be inclusive to some degree with the players you’re trying to learn more about between now and the draft. That’s what we have to do. We have time. We have to use that time to our benefit.” — Cherington on having the No. 1 overall pick.

Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.

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First Published: October 26, 2020, 3:42 p.m.

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Liover Peguero chats with fellow Pirates infielder prospect Nick Gonzales during instructional league work last week at Pirate City.  (Courtesy of Pittsburgh Pirates)
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