The Young Bucs
By: Aaron Rife
The Pittsburgh Pirates, under new management, have some nice pieces in their farm system to work with. Whether or not they will be able to make the right deals to finally turn Pittsburgh back in to a contender remains to be seen. Hitting has seemed to come around this year but the pitching is abysmal at best. Their most glaring weakness is starters ERA (5.35); that’s good for last in the majors. With decent bullpens (in MLB and AAA) and crowded outfields (MLB and AAA also) they need to go after some starting pitching. Here are the top 10 prospects in the Pirates organization.
10. Ronald Uviedo RP (Low A)- Possible closer of the future for the Pirates. Only 21 years old, playing low A ball for the Hickory Crawdads. Two years in the organization Uviedo has racked up 17 saves, 3.42 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and striking out 9.68 per 9IP. Uviedo has shown immaculate control walking only 16 batters in 79IP.
Best Case Scenario: Called up in 2009/2010 after the Pirates trade some middle relievers for more farm depth/starting pitching.
Worst Case Scenario: As always with young pitchers arm injuries are always a concern. He gets a lot of fly ball outs so there could be an increase in ER and HR allowed once he moves up into AA and AAA. Barring injury or total collapse he should be in the majors by 2011.
9. Brad Lincoln SP (Low A)- The 4th overall pick in the 2006 first year player draft, Lincoln missed all of 2007 following Tommy John surgery. Back on the mound this May and is looking good. Through 6 starts Lincoln is 2-3 with a 2.70 ERA in 33.1 IP. The big thing so far is only 3 walks in those innings. I’m huge on walks. If a pitcher can stay in control and work the strike zone with decent stuff, he’ll be at least a nice middle reliever. There’s some success rate for pitchers after TJ surgery and Lincoln is only 23 years old.
Best Case Scenario: Makes it to the bigs for a few starts in 2009 and in 2010 becomes a solid 2nd or 3rd starter for the Buccos.
Worst Case Scenario: Arm doesn’t hold up after surgery and he’s on and off the DL. In this case he’d probably do best as a middle reliever.
8. Miles Durham 1B (Low A)- 25 years old and has found his power stroke. His first half of Low A ball he produced a .337 AVG, 12 HR, 52 RBI, and an OPS of .953. He’s a little old to be in the team’s future plans but he could stick if this power isn’t a fluke.
Best Case Scenario: Gets bumped up to AA this year and continues to smash the ball. 2009 plays AAA and in 2010 breaks into the majors as a 27 year old.
Worst Case Scenario: This power surge is just a fluke and they find out he can’t hit better pitching. He fizzles out as just a fill-in AA/AAA player with the occasional call-up because of injury.
7. Daniel Moskos SP (High A)- A reliever at Clemson and the original management group intended to keep him in the pen. Huntington and his group had different ideas immediately making him a starter at the beginning of this year. He’s 6-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 13 starts for Lynchburg. Moskos has a nice GB/FB ratio (2.16) and strikes out at a good rate as well. A big concern for him will be getting his arm conditioned for starting games. His last outing was 7 2/3 so he might already be there.
Best Case Scenario: Ends 2008 making a couple of starts in AAA. Handles AAA well enough to get a spot start or two in 2009, eventually making the team as a 3rd/4th starter in 2010.
Worst Case Scenario: Can’t get his arm conditioned for the long haul. Injuries ensue and he has to work out of the bullpen. He could still be effective there.
6. Evan Meek RP (AAA)- Meek had a chance at the beginning of the year to stick with the team but failed badly. He was a Rule 5 draftee from Tampa so he was kind of thrown out there because the new management group really likes him. After getting sent down the Pirates worked out a deal to keep Meek in their organization. He should have been in the minors anyways for some seasoning. He started in AA and fared really well, working 16 innings and only walking three while striking out 17. Meek is a ground ball pitcher. Even when he was struggling with control in the majors his GB/FB ratio was well over 2. He has since been called up to AAA and his only outing there was fine. If he can get his walks down he has the stuff to be a reliable reliever. He has one thing on his side; management loves him.
Best Case Scenario: Pitches well in AAA and is called back up to the majors and redeems himself. He stays on as one of their workhorses in the pen.
Worst Case Scenario: Gets back to the majors and the control problems continue. There’s no room in the bullpen for walks. Back and forth from MLB to AAA and management gives up hope.
5. Jamie Romak OF (High A)- One of the many talented outfielders in the Pirates’ organization. Romak has shown he can hit for power (31 HR in 523 Abs) and this year is hitting for average (.294). With the abundance of OF talent in the organization he may find himself the odd man out (think Nyjer Morgan). He’s only 23 years old and the Pirates aren’t known for rushing players through the system. Look for him to reach the majors in 2010.
Best Case Scenario: He either gets traded to a team with a need or the Pirates trade someone and free up the log jam in the OF. Either case he should come on the major league scene around 2010.
Worst Case Scenario: He ends up stuck behind players his whole minor league career. He ends up being 28/29 before he gets his first real shot at big league ball.
4. Shelby Ford 2B (AA)- Ford is the best middle infielder in the organization. He has a little bit of pop, but not much (think 10-12HR). He hits for average, doesn’t strike out a lot, and has decent wheels (something the Pirates sorely lack). Once he gets up to the majors his defense will keep him around if his bat struggles.
Best Case Scenario: Sanchez or Wilson gets hurt or traded and they give Ford a shot (Bixler didn’t work out). More than likely he’ll end this year in AAA and be called up in September 2009.
Worst Case Scenario: Average fades and power becomes non-existent. His glove should still be good enough to be a utility player but not much more.
3. Neil Walker 3B (AAA)- He needs to get it together to stay on this list at all. He’s this high because he fills a big need in the organization. Since Aramis Ramirez was traded, the Pirates have been looking for a quality 3B to pencil in everyday. Walker could be that guy. He’s struggled this year however, batting .229 but has shown some power (10 HR, 15 doubles, 4 Triples). The power is there; he just has to get the average up. It might just take a September call-up to get his confidence back.
Best Case Scenario: Pirates are out of it (as usual) in September and he gets a chance. Shows that he can really play and he has the inside track for the starting spot in 2009.
Worst Case Scenario: Power stays but the average never comes around. He gets a shot at the majors but can’t get his average about .220 and the power isn’t worth it. The Bucs go in a different direction.
2. Andrew McCutchen OF (AAA)- Could be #1b but we’ll put him at #2 for consistency’s sake. The Pirates are last in the majors in stolen bases. McCutchen would help there immediately. He has proven he can hit for average, steal bases, and take walks. He has hit for power but that has dropped off this year. He’s also an amazing fielder. He’s still only 21 years old and has a lot of room to grow. He’s a 5-tool player and would be a nice weapon at the leadoff position. It would be a big surprise if he doesn’t get a call-up this year. Next year he’ll compete for a roster spot out of spring training.
Best Case Scenario: Someone gets traded at the deadline and he gets his chance this year. I can see him being a .300 avg, 100 run, 20 HR, 80 RBI, 40 steal guy by his 3rd season.
Worst Case Scenario: Obviously any injury to his legs/knees/hamstrings would hamper is ability to run but that would be the only thing to hold this phenom back. He’s going to be a stud.
1. Steve Pearce 1B/OF (AAA)- It was really close between him and McCutchen. Pearce had a monster 2007 season playing in all 3 levels in the organization: .333 AVG, 31 hr, 131 RBI, 14 SBs, 40 doubles, and an OPS over 1.000. A brief stint with the Pirates produced decent numbers in only 68 At-Bats. 2008 started with a nice preseason that had many people thinking he might make the MLB roster to start the year. However, the Pirates had other plans and sent him to AAA Indianapolis to start the year. He’s off to a slow start this year, hitting .255 with decent power and striking out more than before. With 20 doubles so far you know the power is still there. I figure if he stays in AAA the rest of the year he’ll end up with around 20-23 homers (8 now) and 90+ RBI. However, he should get at least a September call up, possibly sooner if LaRoche doesn’t get going like he usually does after the All-Star Break.
Best Case Scenario: LaRoche is traded for a starter and Pearce gets called up to split time at first with Mientkiewicz and Doumit. Doumit ends up getting injured and he gets a real shot. He proves that he belongs in the majors and starts 2009 as the opening day 1B.
Worst Case Scenario: Everyone stays put and he gets a late July/early September call-up. Splits time at first and in the OF and doesn’t fare too well. Starts out 2009 in AAA again and waits for an injury or trade to happen. Eventually makes it to majors and is a steady regular.
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 11:35 am and is filed under Fantasy Baseball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
