Pittsburgh Studdabubbas S19 Wrap-Up

The Studdabubbas made huge strides in Season 20. They won 67 games (12 more than last year) and they are no longer the worst team in the league—they are 6th worst. Yippee!

Those 12 wins can probably all be traced back to the swell rookie season that 1B Matt Buchanan put together. He hit 44 homers and for a .316 average. His .992 OPS was second-best in Studdabubba histroy (Willie Drew had 1.067 in season 11). Buchanan was voted the NL rookie of the year by the owners. Surprisingly, this isn't new territory for the Studdabubbas.

Pittsburgh Studdabubbas Rookie of the Year winners:

1B - Matt Buchanan (S19)
1B - Nate Girardi(S11)
LF - Willie Drew (S6)
SS - Juan Aguilar (S5)

What probably isn't surprising to you is that none of these ROYs are pitchers. Pittsburgh is still the black hole of pitching. You hear these pitcher's names on draft day and never again. Take a moment to bask in your Studdabubba's history of pitchers chosen in the first round of the draft.

Who the crap are these people?

S1 - Danny Owen - 0 ML years
S2 - Sean Ratliff- 0 ML seasons in Pitt - pitched poorly for LA and Chicago
S2 - Hector Gonzalez - 0 ML seasons in Pitt - stunk in other cities
S3 - Kenneth Carson - 4 ML seasons in Pitt - 4.92 career ERA
S3 - David Cradle - 1 ML Season in Pitt which was at the end of his lousy career (5.30 ERA)
S6 - Quentin Lary - 0 ML seasons in Pitt - The Bubs make a good pick (28th) but wisely trade him away before they can screw him up - 3.05 ERA, 1.17 WHIP in SF and Col.
S11- Stephen Moore - 2 ML seasons in Pitt - sadly, still with team - nobody will claim him - 4.26 ERA
S14 - Greg Baptist - 3 ML seasons in Pitt - 5.07 ERA, 15-45 career record
S15 - Ronny Boyd - 23 y.o.- average AAA starter.
S17 - Butch Griffith - 25 y.o.- good AAA starter
S19 - William Casey - 19 y.o. - First overall pick last year...Dude had better be good!

For the first time in recent memory, the Studdabubbas actually tried to address the pitching issue last season. They acquired 25 y.o. Daryl Isringhausen from LA who went 12-8 for the Studdabubba's big team, which is an accomplishment in this town. They also acquired 21 y.o. Alejandro Gomez from Atlanta and, in true Pittsburgh fashion, he suffered and elbow injury which put him on the DL for a year and set him back pretty far on all of his best assets. Some things never change.

It's probable that we will get to see Butch Griffith and, set-up guy, Seop Pan get called up in Season 20. But after that, the cupboard is pretty bare. And that goes for the young position players, too. Besides Buchanan, the young ML hitters aren't world beaters. Don't be fooled! Even though it's been going on for 5 seasons already, the Bubbas are still in rebuild mode.