Pittsburgh Pirates Organization Discussion

sometimes you have to make a deal for a Latos when you have the chance to win, even if it means giving up three or four upper-level prospects. Otherwise you can wind up like the Angels, hoarding prospects that you really have no use for and passing up chances to improve the major league team enough.

Not that the Pirates are at that stage yet, but the NL Central is in sufficient flux that if the team is offered a chance in a year or two to acquire an established, relatively young building block, while giving up a couple of not-quite-there-yet prospects, they could be well advised to take it.

to early to say that Pedro Alvarez is the Pedro Alvarez of 3B, that is to say a top prospect that busted. This is the same guy that was the #8 prospect in baseball just two years ago. In 2010, he raked in AAA and was called up. After a horrible first 10 games adjusting to ML pitching, he finished the year by posing a .272/.345/.494 triple slash with 16 HR in 85 games (31 HR pace). He was absolutely horrible last year but he was also dealing with injuries most of the year and never really got a chance to adjust to what big league pitchers were doing to him. Could he repeat that train wreck this season and really call his future into question? Of course. At the same time, I really wouldn’t be surprised at all to see a .260/.340/.460 season with 25 HRs out of Petey next year.

I have never been on the Alvarez bandwagon - I felt then, as I do now, that the Pirates should have drafted Hosmer instead. I don’t see Alvarez as a lineup anchor; I see him as closer to the new Dave Kingman than anything else. Too many swings and misses and failures to make adjustments to how he’s being pitched for my liking.

I think what bothers me most about the organization is that it doesn’t appear as though the minor league instruction has improved one bit since Huntington took over.

Actually had him outside my top five from the ’11 draft,

If you did, I’m pretty sure most people would have laughed at you. Cole was pretty much #1 or #2 on everyone’s, and I mean EVERYONE, draft board.

sleeper to add. Alen Hanson. 2B/SS played in the GCL last year.

And a super deep sleeper. Dovydas Neverauskas. Starting pitcher out of Lithuania. Pitched in the GCL.

lack of position players to me is a false knock on the Pirates.

1. If you look at the major league team, the primary young, team/cost-controlled talent is McCutchen, Walker, Tabata, Alvarez, Morton, and McDonald. 4 of the 6 are positional players. In addition those four are younger, better, and team controlled for longer than their pitching counterparts. The Pirates need their farm system to be rich in pitching to complement their major league team, and it is, so in my eyes, perfect.

2. Of my top 7 prospects, 4 are hitters versus three pitchers. The hitters are Marte, Bell, Grossman, Sanchez, ranked at 3, 5, 6, and 7. Yes the top 2 are pitchers, but it’s not as skewed as one may think. Moving deeper, it’s still 5-5 after 10, and only 12-8 after 20.

You are right about the OF depth though, but I think we let them develop and wait one more year before considering any trades. The only guy who’s really blocked is Gorkys, so trying to trade him may be a very good idea although it is my only exception.

so too, but just watching him actually take AB’s and looking at his ghastly K rate makes a Pirate fan sick.

He still doesn’t even have a full season of AB’s, so there is hope. This year will be big for the Pirates organization. If Pedro looks like a competent 3B (say -5.0 UZR) with the glove, and looks like he can put up a .260/.335/.510 line or so, then that will do wonders for the Pirates looking forward.

Pedro MUST bounce back.

If Pedro struggles again losing 90+ is a near certainly once again.

1 A, 3 B+, 2 B- is way too much for anyone but the best. I offered a suggested trade with the Braves, centered around Vizcaino, Minor, Simmons, plus a few further away C+ types. Or you could switch out Viz and Minor for Teheran and Delgado.
To me, this would be about as good as you could expect. Given your Rangers proposal, I could see Olt, Perez, Martin, Ramirez as a reasonable trade. But if you want Profar, you might get Martin and Ramirez with him.

until he was 28 and was released then resigned with the Pirates.

They won’t be that patience with Pedro. He is out of options beginning next season.

That makes the Casey McGehee trade all the more necessary (provided he bounces back from his horrible 2011 season).

not a big fan, but McPherson backers see him as having the makings of three plus pitches with excellent command. That’s #2 upside, with #4 floor probably. Personally, he just screams too much of Rudy Owens, who also had a velocity spike in his AA year, and I was always wary of Owens.

Says he has the best changeup in the organization, so it certainly isn’t all fastball. Maybe his breaking stuff needs work though.

is pretty likely to play in Pittsburgh this year and could open 2013 in the Pirates’ outfield. Sanchez could also make the jump if he rebounds from a down 2011.

It was A.J. Cole comments in the other thread.

for a bounceback from Sanchez is that his injury is not something that is chronic at all (unless you think something about him makes him especially likely to be hit in the face by pitches) and the damage from that injury (substantial weightloss) is easily correctable and can explain his biggest weakness from his lousy 2011.

Unfortunately, a lot of the “top” guys were the guys who took steps back, like Sanchez. In the meantime, guys who were in the background, like McPherson took steps forward. I am a little leery of the Bucs position players in the system beyond Marte…Sanchez is coming off a rough year (although he maintained good plate discipline), Grossman just broke his hamate bone, and with Bell, I kind of don’t like to heap praise on a guy who was just drafted until we’ve seen him play.
The pitching though…I think can be pretty darn good. Kingham, who flew under the radar in the 2010 draft, really looks like he could come on pretty strongly. As in, he might fly by the bonus baby class of 2009.