GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Joe Helbling sat three rows behind the backstop Tuesday night, so close to the action he says he didn’t need to squint to see the future of his Pirates.
The Pittsburgh native and his family, all five clad in black and gold, had driven from their home outside of Richmond, Va., to watch 20-year-old Quinn Priester pitch for the Greensboro Grasshoppers. They even stuck around Wednesday to get a look at Michael Burrows, 21, the prospect drawing significant praise from the coaching staff of the Pirates’ high Class A affiliate.
The Helblings were staying at the Hyatt just beyond the right-field wall, a Dave Parker throw from home plate. The family takes an annual trip to PNC Park, but given the sorry state of the tenant there, it’s no wonder the Helblings already have made two treks here to First National Bank Field -- a gorgeous little downtown diamond built in 2005.
“I feel like the players who are going to make the Pirates good in a few years are the ones who are playing in A-ball right now,” Helbling said.
Much of the hope Ben Cherington sells to Pittsburgh fans nowadays is concentrated in central North Carolina, playing for a minor-league organization that’s groomed some of the top ballplayers in history, dating to the early 1900s. Derek Jeter apprenticed here. So did Mariano Rivera, Curt Schilling, Andy Pettitte, Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich.
Even Miss Babe Ruth, a black lab who carried balls from the dugout to the home-plate umpire, has her bucket retired in Cooperstown. The locals still tell the story of how Master Yogi Berra -- the younger brother of Miss Babe -- remains the only dog in pro baseball history to be ejected from a game for squatting in centerfield.
Which brings us back to the Pirates and the mess they have created over the past few decades. Skeptical fans -- can there be any other kind? -- won’t believe in the latest rebuild until they see evidence in Pittsburgh. But there’s growing optimism about the prospect pool, specifically in Greensboro.
Shortstop Liover Peguero is silkier than the pajamas Hugh Hefner wore in the Grotto. Second baseman Nick Gonzales, who returned to the Grasshoppers' lineup Saturday after fracturing his finger in May, is the consensus top overall prospect in the DK Pittsburgh Sports Top 10.
It’s the arms of Greensboro, however, that are the talk of the class. Six members of the staff rank among the Pirates’ top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, three of whom are listed among the DKPS rankings.
“They are legit,” an American League scout wrote in a text message. “They have a lot of live arms in the rotation. We’ll see how it plays out because you never know with prospects, but there’s reason for hope there.”
The staff is anchored by Priester (ranked No. 2 in the organization by MLB Pipeline), Carmen Mlodzinski (No. 10), Tahnaj Thomas (No. 6), Burrows (No. 27) and Braxton Ashcraft (No. 21), who returns to the lineup this weekend after missing the past three weeks with a hand injury. Until his promotion to Class AA Altoona on Wednesday, the Grasshoppers also had 22nd-ranked prospect Omar Cruz, the only left hander in the group.
“This is the deepest rotation I’ve ever laid eyes on, and opposing teams are saying the same thing all the time,” Greensboro manager Kieran Mattison said. “I have opposing managers telling me, ‘How many arms do you guys have?’ I just smile and say, ‘We’re just working to get better.’”
It's the third season Greensboro is home to the Pirates’ affiliate, and word appears to be spreading among Pittsburgh fans finding their way to the ballpark.
“I’m from Harrisburg, so I’m curious when I see fans in Pirates hats and shirts,” said Karen Mays, who works in the team’s gift shop. “There does seem to be a few more coming down from the Pittsburgh area. A lot of them are on vacation, going to the beach or stopping on their way home, but they want to see this team.”
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GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
First National Bank Field in Greensboro, built in 2005.
Nine years ago, Mattison, 41, was ready to put some distance between himself and a game that had dominated his life since high school in Anderson, S.Ca. The former minor-league pitcher booked a flight to Paris to visit his brother’s family and mull the pursuit of a master’s degree.
How much farther away from baseball can you get than strolling the Champs-Elysees and eating crepes, right? His divorce from the sport was going swimmingly until his brother mentioned a coaching vacancy on the Paris Universite Club baseball team.
Mattison needed some money for school so he figured, why not? He would have a few laughs and some great stories to tell his former East Carolina teammates once he got home. Within a few weeks, he was not only coaching the team, but pitching for it.
“I wore all the hats, I mean I did everything,” Mattison said. “I was the manager, hitting coach, pitching coach, infield coach, outfield coach, catching coach, strength-and-conditioning coordinator. I didn’t know what the Good Lord was preparing me for, but now it all makes sense.”
Mattison guided the French national team in the 2014 European Championship and 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifiers. Four years ago, the Pirates hired him to manage their Dominican Summer League team, and he’s been with the organization ever since.
TOM REED / DKPS
Kieran Mattison
Pitchers rarely evolve into pro baseball managers, but his all-encompassing role in Paris gave him a window into many jobs within an organization, and how they connect. Mattison’s latest assignment is clearly his most important -- shepherding a young, impressionable pitching staff through the developmental stages. No Pirates minor-league team has more top-level prospects at the game’s most important position.
“I love it,” he said. “I don’t see it as a challenge, but as a great opportunity to build a strong foundation for something special. These are some special young men and I’m getting chill bumps as I’m speaking about it. You will have guys who have talent, but may be lacking in character. You have other guys who have high character, but may be lacking some talent. It’s very rare when you get this many guys with both.”
The Grasshoppers’ pitchers said Mattison and pitching coach Matt Ford deliver the same message, but in different ways. The contrast is proving beneficial.
Greensboro ranks second in opponents’ batting average (.202) and third in ERA (3.65) and WHIP (1.18) among the 12 teams in the high Class A East as of Friday. The Grasshoppers (27-20) sit second in the South Division, four games behind Bowling Green, Tampa Bay’s affiliate.
Ford, who pitched 25 games for the Brewers in 2003, is just happy to be back in a bullpen working with prospects, teaching them the finer points of their craft. The global pandemic reduced him to virtual instruction last year as the minor leagues went dark. He recalls FaceTiming with prospects whose girlfriends held up smart phones so he could study their pitching mechanics.
“You just tried to make the best of the situation,” Ford said. “I’ve been with the Pirates eight years now, and this is the most talented team I’ve been a part of.”
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Carmen Mlodzinski.
Everything in life is a competition to Mlodzinski, the shaggy-haired blonde with the easy smile. Standing alongside Priester, 20, on Wednesday morning, he discusses his desire to be the staff ace in pitching, ping-pong, video games, hacky sack and who can sit longer in the dugout without getting up from his seat.
“We’re competing right now in this interview,” Mlodzinski said as he looked at Priester.
Coaches don’t need to prod the 6-foot-2, 232-pounder to work harder. If anything, they are trying to dial back his intensity.
“He has a strategy for everything,’ Mattison said. “He has a strategy for the best way to eat dinner or lunch. Everything is detail-oriented with him.”
Mlodzinski, 22, grew up in Hilton Head, S.C., building houses with his father, a former contractor. Mattison talks about laying “strong foundations.” Mlodzinski knows all about them while toiling under an unforgiving summer sun.
“If baseball doesn’t work out, I know I have a career where I can go and immediately make money off of something I enjoy,” he said.
The University of South Carolina product won’t require a tool belt any time soon if his first few months of pro ball are any indication. He owns a 1.72 ERA in seven starts with a 0.96 WHIP and 46 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings.
Mlodzinski, the No. 31 overall pick in the 2020 draft, has a fastball that sits around 95-96 mph.
“He has an edge about him,” Ford said. “He’s a very high-effort guy. I’ve never seen a pitcher who is so committed to taking care of his body. His routine and preparation are second to none.”
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Prior to Tuesday’s start of a six-game series with the Greenville Drive, the coaching staff met with the pitchers and challenged them to throw inside against a lineup that’s been bashing baseballs lopsided.
Priester accepted the dare, busting batters on the inside part of the plate even as it led to four walks over 3 1/3 innings. He only allowed one run, off a homer to right field, continuing a string of four quality appearances in his last five outings. While his overall numbers aren’t great -- he has a 3.44 ERA and has surrendered a staff-high 37 hits in 34 innings -- insiders see why the Pirates made him the 18th overall pick in the 2019 draft.
“He’s really advanced for his age,” a National League scout said. “He might not be a top-of-the rotation starter for [the Pirates], but he’s young and there’s plenty of time to develop.”
The Grasshoppers cruised to a 9-1 win in Priester’s start, and Ford said the willingness to brush batters off the plate early enabled the relievers to work the outside quadrants with success the rest of the night.
Priester is focused on getting better command of his four-seam fastball and curveball -- Ford said his fastball has topped out at 98 mph -- while his slider and changeup remain works in progress. There’s nothing risk-averse about Priester’s approach to pitching or life.
His family runs an aviation business in Illinois, and he’s been at the controls of small planes a few times over the years.
“It’s cool to have a bird’s eye view of everything and just mess around in the air,” Priester said. “Being safe about it, of course.”
Mlodzinski couldn’t resist the opening.
“He helicopters here to the ballpark every day.”
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The Greenville Drive might as well have been using fungo bats in the early innings of Wednesday afternoon’s game at First National Bank Field. The shatter-proof, sliding-glass doors on the terraces of five-story condos behind right-centerfield wall weren’t getting a workout with Burrows on the mound.
For 3 2/3 innings, he induced a series of lazy fly balls and groundouts. Then, without warning, a two-out single, a two-run homer, a hit batsman and walk helped bring a premature end to his outing.
“If I get out of that, I probably get another inning,” said Burrows, who threw 43 strikes on 71 pitches.
One bad sequence isn’t about to dent the confidence of a pitcher who Mattison calls a “steal,” having been picked No. 324 overall in the 2018 draft. Mention the 11th-round selection to Burrows and prepare for a blank stare.
“The round doesn’t matter,” said Burrows, who’s been hitting between 95 to 97 mph in his starts, according to Ford. “It’s about putting in the work to get better.”
Ford and Mattison are thrilled with the 6-foot-2, 183-pounder, who’s built like a Whippet. Burrows leads the Grasshoppers with 45 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings, while surrendering just 16 hits and two home runs.
Opponents are batting a meager .203 on balls they put in play.
“He has some of the best stuff in the organization without a doubt,” Ford said of Burrows, who owns a 2.41 ERA. “He throws hard, he can spin the heck out of a curveball and he has some nuts out there. He’s going to come after you ... He can pitch up in the zone, down in the zone, in and out. He can land his curveball at almost any time. That’s a big-time, major-league pitch he has there with that breaking ball. The way his fastball and curveball play together is pretty damn elite.”
The Waterford, Conn., native isn’t satisfied. Burrows entered the season wanting to add a changeup to his quiver and he estimates he’s throwing it 15 percent of the time.
He’s a reminder that it’s not where you start on draft day, but how far along you get on the journey.
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TOM REED / DKPS
Joe Helbling and his daughter watch the Grasshoppers on Wednesday afternoon.
Cricket is the national sport of the Bahamas. Growing up in Freeport, Thomas enjoyed watching it, but never had a desire to play.
The moment he gripped a baseball, the game gripped him back and hasn’t let go. Coaches at International Elite Sports Academy in Nassau convinced his dad to allow him to enroll in their school at age 12. Thomas dreamed of becoming a shortstop, he said, until a scout for the Indians told him at age 17 that his thunderbolt of a right arm needed to be throwing to catchers and not first basemen.
“There’s so many people I have to thank for where I am today that I couldn’t name them all,” Thomas said. “I’ve got a great support system and without them, I wouldn’t be here.”
Progress is never linear, a fact that was painfully illustrated again Thursday night as Thomas walked seven batters in just 2 2/3 innings of 8-7 loss to the Drive. His team-high 25 walks in 22 2/3 innings are cause for a concern, but it’s part of the maturation process for a young man still learning the nuances of his trade.
Thomas, 22, can hit the high 90's on a radar gun. It’s a matter of ironing out the kinks in his delivery that will determine whether the 6-foot-4 pitching project earns the right to count himself among the Bahamian-born players to appear in the majors, of which there's only been seven so far.
“The guy has worked his tail off,” Ford said. “When he can be loose and repeat his delivery, he can be really special.”
TOM REED / DKPS
Gone but not forgotten, Miss Babe Ruth was a ball-carrying, bat-toting fan favorite.
The Grasshoppers have other pitchers vying for promotion, including Ashcraft, who Ford says has “tremendous separation” between his curveball and slider. There’s also J.C. Flowers with his 1.38 ERA and 0.69 WHIP over 13 innings.
“We’ve got a lot of talented guys here and everyone is pushing each other,” Priester said.
Cynical Pirates’ fans have heard it all before. The franchise has been building from the ground up longer than Mlodzinski’s dad, only with less success in terms of finished products. But, hey, even the sad-sack Browns, the football equivalent to the Pirates, finally appear to have their house in order.
Maybe that’s what is happening here in the land of the Grasshoppers, winners of 14 of their last 19 games.
Cherington was in town a few weeks ago and caught a glimpse of the Greensboro arms. He will be back. So will the Helbling family, who long for the day when the best baseball in the organization is being played in Pittsburgh.
