Hoy Park of the Pirates just made two really poor plays in rightfield for the Pirates. The first was on a fly ball at the wall that looked catchable. He might have lost the ball. Then he let a ball drop in front of him, tried to back hand it, an booted it for an error and an extra base for the runners.
The big difference I notice when I go to a minor league game is the difference in the fielding. Plays that seem routine at the major league level are often difficult for minor leaguers. Hoy’s defense in that inning reminded me of the type of plays I see at AA.
The Nationals lead the Pirates 3-0 in the first inning.
Completely agree on your assessment of the defense. When I spent a summer working for an MLB team and watched every game for three months, the thing that really struck me about the quality of play was just how good the defense is. They just make every play.