The Athletic has some notes on all the pitchers currently at Altoona. You need a subscription, but I wanted to mention it very briefly because it’s worth a look if you can. The piece is essentially an interview with Joel Hanrahan in the form of capsules on each pitcher.
It seems the Pirates are pretty happy with the development of most of these pitchers. Cody Ponce has worked a lot on his change, which always seems to be an issue with the Pirates. They seem very happy with Cody Bolton and Max Kranick. Bolton apparently has gotten up to 97 mph, which I don’t recall from before. (Hammer mentions some Scherzer guy. Welllll . . . .) Kranick has strengthened his shoulder, which has been an issue.
The comments on Braeden Ogle are interesting. He’s dropped down to two pitches, fastball and slider, and is more aggressive with the latter. Dropping to two pitches seems to be a theme with other relievers, like Nik Turley. Just going after guys with a fastball and slider was what Hammer did, so Ogle could be a good project for him.
Anyway, it’s a good read.
