MVN - Most Valuable Network

Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable #24

Question #1:
If you were Dave Littlefield, what would you do with Shane Youman?

Pat from WHYGAVS:

Might as well put Youman on the team. He’s pitched very well in the minors and he’s already 27 years old, so it’s not as if a lights out year at AAA is going to make him an incredibly attractive trade target to anyone. I think he’d be a pretty serviceable long/middle relief guy that can make some spot starts. Being a lefty doesn’t really hurt him here because LR/MR-type guys are much less matchup dependent than guys that pitch more in the late innings. I don’t think I’d rely on him to be much more than that, though; his stuff just simply is not that impressive.

Dave from Bucs Trade Winds:

The Pirates are a rare breed in the MLB landscape. On your normal team, a good left-handed pitcher with the quality of Youman would be an automatic on a staff looking for left-handed pitching. However, the Pirates are so stocked with lefties that being left-handed is actually a deterrent for a pitcher on this staff. Regardless, Youman should have a spot on the MLB roster. The starting rotation figures to be three lefties and a pair of righties. The ideal situation is to have a long man the opposite arm of the starter. The Pirates are bringing twelve arms north, so Youman and Chacon could share the middle/long reliever duty and emergency starter roles.

Steve from The Parrot:

Right now, John Grabow’s swollen elbow might be good news for Youman. If Grabow goes on the DL, I’d give Youman a crack at a bullpen job. If not, then he should be sent to Indianapolis for now.

Youman is about seventh or eighth on the depth chart for starters, and one or two away from the Pirate bullpen if Grabow is healthy. His leftiness hurts him as a starter on this team, helps him as a reliever. Last year and this spring count heavily in his favor right now—it’s a snapshot of how good he is at this moment.

Mark from Pirates Journal:

I see Shane Youman starting the season at Triple A. The most troubling thing about him is his strikeout rate, which isn’t that great even at the minor-league level, but he’s a nice option to have as a sixth or seventh starter in the event one of our current rotation guys go down. I think his 2006 season was a bit fluky, and I see his eventual role on the team being as a left-handed situational guy who gets a spot start here and there.

GM-Carson from We Should Be GM’s:

The guy is two days older than me, so it’s time to see what he can do in the majors. The injury to Grabow actually helps Youman’s chances of making the squad out of Spring Training. I say put him the bullpen, as we have plenty of better starting candidates right now. He has a decent WHIP, so he should translate into a quality reliever.

Matthew from Minor Details:

If I were Dave Littlefield, I would be leaning heavily towards bringing this kid north with me to Pittsburgh. I think bringing him with as a relief pitcher (especially from the left side) would not only be the best decision, but I think it is the next step for him.

He’s had his ups and downs as a pitcher, but he’s had success recently and I think you need to run with that. Plus, if he is able to handle pitching in the bullpen early and you need a starter down the stretch, having a lefty ready and willing to jump into the rotation is something that is not only very valuable to this team, but also very valuable to other teams.

So bring him to Pittsburgh and let’s see what he can really do.

Wilbur from Pirate Player Profiles:

Looks like that decision may be made by Grabow’s ailing elbow. The big question is whether Youman will be effective in relief. He wasn’t in the minors.

Assuming he doesn’t end up in the bullpen, his best role is pitching in the AAA rotation and serving as starting depth. He’s a 27-yr-old rookie with an extremely low K rate. His ceiling is very low, basically as an adequate fifth starter. He wouldn’t have any trade value because he has no major-league track record.

Question #2:
When Chris Duffy bombs in April, who plays center field and leads off?

Steve from The Parrot:

I like how the question reads “when” instead of “if.” Hopefully we’re not about to have Pirate history repeat itself yet again.

Duffy is smellier than the Florida swamps this spring, and definitely could have used time in winter ball. I’d give him a month or two at leadoff, depending on the team’s record, and allowing for the fact that Duff is a slow starter. If he blows, I’d move him down to eighth to keep his glove in center field, and to see if batting in front of the pitcher gets him more walks, which could lead to stolen bases and bunts by the pitcher. If that doesn’t work, Duffy goes away, to Indy or home or wherever. Bautista takes center, Sanchez takes leadoff, and hopefully McCutchen is tearing up AAA and is ready for the bigs early. In the best case scenario, if Duffy is terrible, Matos is having a good year and can take over his position and bat low in the order, and McCutchen won’t have to be rushed.

Dave from Bucs Trade Winds:

Depending on the degree of the bombing and the timing of the hook, the ultimate answer will be starting the year in Altoona. I fear the Pirates will struggle this season from the lead-off spot until McCutchen arrives sometime after the All-Star break. Here is my worst-case guess as to how it will unfold:

• Duffy struggles at the plate right from the start, his average hovering around .200 and OBP not much higher throughout April.
• McLouth will start the year in Indy playing center on a daily basis while leading off just to get him some reps before his call up.
• Initially Matos will take a stab at center field in the beginning of May, performing only marginally better than Duffy and prompting McLouth to be promoted before the end of May.
• Duffy will be sent down, prompting him to reconsider his career in baseball until he is traded to a contender in need of a pinch runner and a defensive specialist in CF.
• McLouth will be adequate at leadoff and in center, only to share time with Bautista in CF until the arrival of McCutchen in July.

If Duffy does not bomb…all bets are off on the final record of this team. The entire offense starts with Duffy, if he performs well this team will have a fairly potent offense that will shock experts and fans alike. Personally I believe he will be somewhere between my guess and performing well. He will perform just well enough to stay in center until McCutchen is ready, but not well enough to be a difference maker on offense. Look for him to be traded to Atlanta for Brent Lillibridge after the season ends.

GM-Carson from We Should Be GM’s:

Chris Duffy will not be an All-Star, but I believe he can turn in a solid campaign for the Buccos out of the lead-off spot in their lineup while manning a solid center field. Duffy’s minor-league numbers suggest he should hit for average, get on base and swipe bags at the MLB level. We’ve seen this for periods of time when he was with the Pirates, but we’ve seen him struggle as well. I’m seeing a .270 average with a .345 on-base percentage with 40 stolen bases…decent in my opinion. If he does falter and falls flat on his face, I do not suggest rushing McCutchen to the majors. Let McCutchen mature in Triple A and then think about a late-season call-up. McLouth and Matos could fill in at center field if need be, and bat them leadoff. If Duffy is not starting, he tries to work through his problems on the Pirates bench.

Wilbur from Pirate Player Profiles:

Matos. That’s why they brought him in. I don’t think they want a repeat of Bautista and McLouth in center field, as that probably played a big role in the defensive problems last year.

Judging from McCutchen’s play this spring, he might be an option by mid-season. If a Duffy collapse is part of a repeat of last year’s early-season, team-wide collapse, the chances of them turning to McCutchen will increase, because Littlefield’s job will be in jeopardy and he’ll be desperate for somebody to save him.

Matthew from Minor Details:

This question made me chuckle. Well assuming he does bomb, that will make for a rather long season. I suppose slipping McLouth in could work, but I just don’t think he’s the answer as an everyday player. While I think McCutchen could transition to the majors this season, I don’t think that it would be a very good idea to have him up anytime before the All-Star break. He’s too good to rush and not worth the risk.

With that being said, I think that Duffy will be okay this year. I’m not saying he’s going to be an All-Star, but I do think he will do just well enough to not lose his job. I know that’s not a glowing statement, but all we need is for him to make it to 2008 when center field officially becomes McCutchen’s.

Pat from WHYGAVS:

Depending on how Jose Castillo looks, I think Bautista is the guy to move to center and put in the lead-off spot. The reasoning is simple: Bautista can get on base. The biggest danger of batting Duffy, Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez 1-2-3 is that it effectively only leaves one person that can be counted on to set the table for Adam LaRoche and Jason Bay. Bautista can draw a walk, and if he can avoid slumping again would be pretty useful in the lead-off slot. I know he’s not very fast, but speed wouldn’t be my biggest concern here. Finding a guy that can get on base would be.

Mark from Pirates Journal:

While I don’t neccesarily see Chris Duffy bombing, I don’t really see him shining either. I see him playing just well enough to please the coaching staff that they can keep Andrew McCutchen down in the minors until September, but never well enough to where the fans will be calling for an earlier debut. I can see him hitting a rather hollow .280 and I don’t think he should be leading off, although with his speed, I think that’s what will probably happen with his great steal rate last year. He’s probably more suited towards hitting in the eighth spot.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 19th, 2007 at 3:14 am and is filed under John Grabow, Shane Youman, Andrew McCutchen, Chris Duffy, Roundtable, 2007 Pittsburgh Pirates. 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.