Around the Curve | Curve Broadcasters Make Their Predictions for the 2025 Season

\This article was written prior to first pitch on April 4th**

CURVE, Pa – We have made it to Opening Day! The Curve return to Peoples Natural Gas Field tonight to open the 2025 season against the Chesapeake Baysox.

Curve broadcasters Jon Mozes and Preston Shoemaker start their fifth season together on the radio this year. You can learn more about the two and find broadcast information here.

Jon and Preston have been put on the spot to make some bold predictions for the 2025 season.

1. Who will lead the 2025 Altoona Curve in home runs?

Jon – I’m going to go Nick Cimillo. After swatting 21 homers between Altoona and Greensboro last year, he had enough of a run with the Curve in 2024 that he should have a good idea of how pitchers want to attack him at this level. And with a full off-season under his belt to digest that information, he’s my pick. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he hits 16 homers this season.

Preston – I like Cimillo’s odds as a powerful right-handed hitter, but I will choose a lefty who could fit that mold in Termarr Johnson. He hit 15 home runs between Greensboro and Altoona last season after setting a career-high with 18 the year before. PNG Field can be a tough place for hitters to cross the 20-home run mark (Tsung-Che Cheng and Kervin Pichardo each hit 11 to lead the squad last year), but I think Johnson's raw power could help him to an 11-15 home run season that could pace the squad this season.

2. What player on the roster has the makings to be named the team’s MVP?

Jon – Termarr Johnson is my pick here. Similar thought to Cimillo where he got his feet wet enough to have an idea for how pitchers want to attack him at this level. The talent is obvious for Termarr and he’s hungry to show that he’s a guy who can help in Pittsburgh soon.

Preston – There has only ever been one player to win two MVP awards for the Curve, and his name is Adam Hyzdu. With 2024 MVP Kervin Pichardo back on the roster to start the year, the door is open for a repeat. With that in mind, I will lean towards a newcomer to Curve, PA in Jack Brannigan here. The player who typically wins this award will spend most of the season with the Curve and performs well. I think Brannigan is a player who fits that mold, arriving in Double-A for his first season. He will play more shortstop this season than last, which is a position he says he prefers over the hot corner. If Brannigan can play strong defense at one of the most important positions on the diamond and find ways to get on-base, I think he could be the fifth-consecutive infielder to win the award.

3. Who is a player on the roster that you can envision quickly getting the promotion to Triple-A?

J – Wilkin Ramos is my thought here. Ramos absolutely dominated the Eastern League with Binghamton in 2023 and 2024, recording a 1.59 ERA and earned a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse last season. Ramos signed as a minor league free agent with the Pirates this off-season and he’s got a huge fastball.

P – I think an obvious choice here is Hunter Barco, who pitched in two games for Altoona last season and, if he performs up to expectations, could be a mid-summer call-up. However, I will choose outfielder Sammy Siani. Sammy played in 96 games for the Curve last summer and posted career-best numbers in batting average (.265), hits (112), doubles (18), and triples (6). He also matched his career-best nine home runs and 48 RBI. Siani followed it up with an impressive showing in the Arizona Fall League. The outfield in Indianapolis is crowded, but I think the Pirates would love to have an outfielder who excels defensively make the jump through the system soon. If he hits well to start the year, I think he could take the next step.

4. What prospect is on the horizon who will arrive soon in Altoona?

Jon – I think Khristian Curtis has a chance to impact Altoona this year. He’s had a tough run of injury luck since turning pro, but the raw stuff is elite and if he can throw strikes on a consistent basis to start the year in Greensboro – I could see him getting to Altoona by June.

Preston – JP Massey is a guy who I think could get to Altoona before this season ends. Massey was the Pirates seventh round draft pick in 2022 out of Minnesota and is 25-years-old. He pitched in the Sirius XM Futures Game in 2023 and spent all of last season with the Grasshoppers. The numbers were inflated last season, but pitching in a hitting-friendly ballpark in Greensboro certainly didn’t help. If a spot opens up in the Curve rotation this summer, Massey could slot in.

5. How many Major League debuts can we expect to see this season?

Jon – I’ll go with six! With Thomas Harrington and Omar Cruz already on the list – I could see four more Curve alums get to the big leagues for the first time this season. I think Eddy Yean could be a guy that gets there sooner than later, he was easily Altoona’s most consistent reliever in 2024.

Preston – We already have two in the books with Harrington and Cruz. I’m going to suggest seven debuts this season, with guys like Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft, Tsung-Che Cheng, and Eddy Yean all in mind. Throw in a wildcard somewhere and I think seven or more is on the table.