Welcome to Snyder's Soapbox! Here, I pontificate about matters related to Major League Baseball on a weekly basis. Some of the topics will be pressing matters, some might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things,

Stanton’s average bat speed of 81.3 mph was by far the fastest in the majors in 2024. The second-fastest bat in the game belonged to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Oneil Cruz at 78.6 mph. The 2.7 mph difference between Stanton and Cruz was also the distance between Cruz and the No.

Ke'Bryan Hayes is not entirely pain free. The Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman knows he may never be. Yet the doubt that crept into the former Gold Glove winner last fall as he tried to rehab from a chronic lower-back issue that limited him to just 97 games in 2024 has been replaced by optimism.

Michael A. Taylor spent last season with the Pirates, batting .193 with five home runs, 21 RBIs and a .543 OPS in 113 games. He struck out 105 times in 269 at-bats.

Paul Skenes spent his rookie season dutifully following the Pittsburgh Pirates’ plan to bring their young ace along as slowly and safely as possible. It worked. Maybe better than all involved imagined during an electrifying 2024 in which the towering right-hander started the All-Star Game and captured the National League Rookie of the Year award while becoming perhaps the game's hottest young star in a decade.

When Carmen Mlodzinski moved to the bullpen two years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates told him they weren’t closing the door on his chances of being a starting pitcher in the major leagues. In his exit interview last fall,

Newly acquired Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz is expected to miss most of spring training after undergoing surgery on his right wrist. Horwitz, acquired in

The East Carolina baseball team will open its season with a doubleheader on Friday due to poor weather expected this weekend.

There will be a familiar face in an unfamiliar role at spring training for the Pittsburgh Pirates at spring training this year. Daniel Vogelbach has been hired by the organization as a special assistant to the hitting department.

Ke'Bryan Hayes may never be "100%" again because of a chronic lower-back issue, but the Pirates third baseman is confident he can get pretty close.