Minor league baseball clubs are used to turnover.
But for the 2016 Altoona Curve, this year’s changes will be exquisitely pronounced.
The change starts at the top. Former major leaguer Joey Cora takes over for the departed Tom Prince as manager. The former Seattle Mariner fan-favorite took a path toward a managerial career shortly after his playing days wound down. Having experience at a variety of minor league baseball levels, as well as stints in the big leagues as a bench coach, Cora brings a 112-160 record to People’s Natural Gas Field.
Last year’s model of the Curve saw headline prospects such as Josh Bell and Tyler Glasnow dominate storylines, even though they did not finish the year in Altoona. Both are now stationed in Indianapolis and are on the precipice of breaking into the majors. Other top-tier prospects such as Willy Garcia, Max Moroff, Steven Brault and Gift Ngoepe have also graduated, leaving some rather large holes up and down the Curve roster.
In a true testament to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ carefully constructed pipeline, there are plenty of high-ranking prospects set to step in and keep Curve fans invested in their progress.
Outfielder Austin Meadows is perhaps the highest ranking prospect set to spend the majority of 2016 in Altoona. Meadows is currently recovering from surgery to repair an orbital bone fracture suffered late in spring training. When he returns, he will look to show fans the skill set that has him ranked No. 2 in the Pirates’ system by MLBPipeline.com. With a stacked outfield in Pittsburgh, expect Meadows to spend an entire year with the Curve. This will be a treat for the same fans that saw him post a batting average of .360 in his six games with the team in 2015.
Joining Meadows will be catcher Reese McGuire. The top-ranked catcher in the system, McGuire is highly regarded defensively, to the point where some feel he could already appear in a major league game as a defensive replacement. An excellent pitch framer, he shows a maturity beyond his years in the work he puts in with his pitchers. McGuire’s bat is still considered to be light, but an excellent showing in the Arizona Fall League has the Pirates’ front office hopeful for continued improvement.
Harold Ramirez and Jose Osuna are two prospects who may not have the pedigree of Meadows or McGuire, but remain intriguing.
Ramirez showed well in spring training, but struggled in playing for his native Colombia during the World Baseball Classic. Scouts are nevertheless enamored with his all-fields hitting approach, ranking him sixth overall in the Pirates system.
Osuna is an interesting case. He carries the position flexibility preferred by the organization with his ability to play first base or the outfield. Osuna had 232 at-bats with the Curve last year, and factored into run production at a capable clip, with eight home runs and 52 RBIs stacked alongside a .288 batting average.
Of the headline position players, Osuna may have the most to gain from a good showing in Altoona. If he produces at or near the level that he performed at last year, a promotion to Indianapolis is not out of the question.
On the mound, the promotions of more than a few starters, combined with the loss of Zack Dodson, conspire to leave the Curve without many of its 2015 leaders in innings pitched.
Clay Holmes, Tyler Eppler and Jason Creasy return to headline the starting pitching prospects. Each has already made his 2016 season debut by the time of this writing. Though Holmes, in particular, was touched up to the tune of six earned runs in his season opener, all have been labeled by scouts as having made significant progress over their 2015 seasons.
Holmes carries the best pedigree of the trio, ranking 15th in the organization by MLBPipeline.com. His burgeoning change-up will do well to complement a plus fastball and curveball. He is already gathering a reputation as a pitcher who uses the bottom of the zone effectively, making him a natural fit for the Pirates’ groundball-centric approach.
Perhaps carrying the most question marks of the three, Eppler’s 2015 was delayed by injury. He needs to show a full season of health before jumping a level. Expect to see him stay with the Curve most of the year, if not the entirety. Eppler has a plus slider to go along with an established fastball, but needs to develop a third pitch.
Creasy should be a name familiar to Curve fans, as he hurled 147 innings for the club in 2015. This year may very well be a make-or-break year for Creasy, who struggles with control and does not have the natural strikeout ability of Glasnow or Jameson Taillon.
Though the names on the field may continually change, the game day atmosphere found at Peoples Natural Gas Field is a constant. Consistently ranked as one of the top minor league baseball ballparks in the country, it is the perfect place to catch a glimpse of future Pittsburgh Pirates.
This year’s team may not be as prosperous as previous years in terms of big names, but the individual storylines should be more than enough to hold fans’ interest.
