Videos and Notes from Wednesday at Pirate City

On Wednesday I was able to converse with several of the Pirates minor league players. Here is brief recap of the more interesting information I was able to gather.

~As I noted earlier, 2013 # 9 overall pick Austin Meadows revealed that he had injured his left hamstring, and will not participate in full squad workouts until it has healed. He also told me that he and fellow Georgia native OF Clint Frazier worked out together this off season and definitely keep in touch. Frazier was the 2013 #5 overall pick of the Cleveland Indians.

~The Pirates #2 pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow told me that he will throw his first official bullpen session on Thursday. Glasnow is a 19 year old 6’7″ RHP who will light up the radar gun with his high 90’s fastball, swing and miss curve, and sometimes mixes in a change up. In 111.1 innings in 2013, Glasnow recorded a 2.13 ERA, 164 K’s, 13.26 K/9, and limited batters to a tiny batting average of .141.

~When I mentioned to the Pirates #4 pitching prospect Luis Heredia that he looks to be in great shape and much leaner than last year’s camp, he smiled and replied, “That’s what happens when you lose 40 pounds!” The 19 year old Heredia credits his weight loss to concentrating on conditioning.

~Kyle McPherson revealed to me that he is scheduled to begin throwing off of a mound next week for the first time since his Tommy John operation last July. McPherson is excited to take this next step in his recovery, and hopes he will be able to help the Pirates during the 2nd half of the 2014 season.

Here are a few videos of Pirates camp today:

Pirates catching prospects Reese McGuire (#7, near) and Wyatt Mathisen (#35, far) take batting practice at Pirate City.

Harold Ramirez (#88, near) takes batting practice at Pirate city.

Pirates minor league pitchers run sprints in the Florida heat.