BRADENTON, Fla. – Minor league games start up this week at Pirate City, which will give a good look at what to expect from individual players for the upcoming season. It is during those games that you really get a feel for the potential breakout players in the system, along with who the Pirates are pushing to which level, and who is getting the priority playing time.
The big thing I look for in minor league camp is the potential for breakouts in the upcoming season. You start to get a feel for where players are at during these games, as they’re facing an equal level of competition to the one they’ll be facing during the season, all while showing where their skills are since we last saw them in games about six months ago.