Pictured: Jared Shuster. Photo by Curtis Compton of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

With exactly two weeks left to go until the start of the regular season, baseball fans across the globe can practically smell Opening Day. Around the Grapefruit League, Major League camps are starting to thin out as they make their final cuts to the eventual 26-man roster.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were no exception, optioning five players to the 40-man roster and demoting three to minor league camp, for a total of eight roster cuts. If the 26-man roster is comprised of the players that fans see on the big league field and clubhouses, then the 40-man roster is the next step up, consisting of not only the players on the 26-man roster, but of those 7-, 10-, and 15-day injured lists, the bereavement/family medical emergency list and the paternity leave list, as well as some Minor Leaguers. For a Minor Leaguer to be called up to the Major Leagues, they must first be added to the 40-man roster. Amongst those optioned to the Pirates 40-man roster on Tuesday were top prospects catcher Endy Rodriguez and pitcher Mike Burrows. Burrows, who was last seen in Triple-A Indianapolis last year, has a real shot at cracking the big league roster later this summer, while Rodriguez, who flourished in High-A last season looks to be more of a September call up.

Meanwhile, at CoolToday Park in Northport, left-handed pitcher Jared Shuster, the Atlanta Braves number one prospect, continues to gun for the fifth spot in the starting pitching rotation. The 2020 first round pick put up impressive numbers across Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett last season, finishing with a 3.29 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 139.1 innings. This spring, Shuster has displayed newfound confidence in his slider, allowing him to more effectively combat opposing hitters. Thus far Shuster’s allowed only two hits and one earned run across 8.2 innings, while striking out nine batters and walking just one.

Pictured: Jared Shuster. Photo by Curtis Compton of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.