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Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable - Draft picks

The Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable is a weekly collaboration of Pirates writers from around the internet. Thank you to all of the authors that have contributed to this post. To read more of their work, please click on the link next to each name. If you would like to submit a question to our panel, please e-mail me here.

Question:
Now that the signing deadline has passed, which Pirates’ draft pick are you most excited to see entering the system? Were there any selections that you were disappointed to see go unsigned?

Mike from Hyzdu Headquarters

The excitement of the past few days has almost been too much to handle. When looking back at the flurry of signings that were made this past week, any Pirate fan should be happy with the work of the new management team.

I am excited about many of the players that have come into the system, but perhaps Robbie Grossman is the one that has me most excited. In Grossman we have a high upside high school outfielder that is something that we have never really had much of in the past. I really like his high upside potential.

I am a little disappointed that they were unable to sign Tanner Scheppers but it seems that his injury would have made his signing be a huge question mark. But I’d say that the ones that I find myself wishing we could have signed were Patrick Palmeiro and Jaron Shepherd. Palmeiro obviously is a very high upside player, but his father wanted him to go to school. Shepherd is a terrific athlete, who is fine tuning his baseball skills. I thought both would have been excellent additions.

For the most part I am extremely pleased and excited about the potential of these players that they have brought into the organization. I think this past week has made many come to the realization that there is a plan in place, a solid actual plan that is being executed in a precise manner. I hope that the good times continue to roll.

Nancy from Sandlot Swashbucklers

It’s not that I’m not excited about Pedro Alvarez…
But I’m more excited, or maybe more impressed, with the guys who signed what was considered a reasonable offer and then showed up and got to work.

I’m excited most about Matt Hague (9th round), another third baseman. He was first assigned to State College, where he hit .333 in 7 games. Now he’s at Hickory, hitting .320 in 40 games, with 13 doubles, 5 homers, and 25 RBI. He’s hitting .372 with RISP.

Jordy Mercer (3rd round), a shortstop, started a bit slower, but is doing better now. He’s hitting .280 for August in Hickory, and .345 in his last 8 games. He has 4 homers and 16 RBI.

Chase d’Arnaud (4th round), another shortstop, is at State College, hitting .339 in 28 games, with 8 doubles, 5 triples (in 28 games!), and 12 RBI.

RHP Brian Leach (25th round), also at State College, has pitched 42 innings, with a 3.64 ERA, 11 walks, and 29 strikeouts.

Teammate Alan Knotts (38th round), another RHP, has thrown 33.2 innings, and has a 4.01 ERA, with only 6 walks and 35 strikeouts. And remember, those two are pitching for a team that is … well, pretty crummy.

Shortstop Jarek Cunningham(18th round) is with the GCL Pirates in Bradenton. He’s hitting .310 with 15 RBI.

And, don’t forget outfielder Craig Parry. He was the 50th pick, signed right away, and got busy. He’s hitting .308 with 14 RBI in 16 games in Bradenton, and he’s 4-for-13 in this last week.

Those are the guys I’m looking forward to watching as they move through the Pirates’ system.

Jesse from Raise the Jolly Roger!

Obviously it is Pedro Alvarez. He is a Miguel Cabrera type third baseman with more speed. I am excited to see what level we send him to. I was not very disappointed with not signing Scheppers because of his injuries, and I am glad we signed a lot of shortstops.

Andy Smith from Bugs and Cranks

Surprise, surprise, I’m most excited about Pedro Alvarez. I realize the baseball draft contains the least certainty of all four of the major sports, but from what I understand, Alvarez isn’t the kind of hitting prospect that comes around every year. Although I also think I heard, during the negotiation process, that if Alvarez had to re-enter the draft in 2009, he might not be picked so highly considering the depth at third base. So who knows. It’s just awesome that after years of talking about it, the Pirates have a mythical left-handed power bat in their system. On the less obvious side, I’m excited from what I hear about outfielder Robbie Grossman. I don’t know what his peripheral numbers look like, but he’s five-tool player with an abundance of athleticism which is something else the Pirates system has been lacking for a long time.

Matt Bandi from Pittsburgh Lumber Co.

Obviously, Pedro Alvarez is the gem of the draft. He is a rare talent, and it is great to have him in the organization. But I am very interested to see how Wesley Freeman ultimately turns out.

The new front office has been in place for about a year now, and we have seen many instances of improvement throughout the franchise. We have seen a strong draft, as well as two bold trades at the deadline. One aspect of the revamped organization that we still have not learned about is player development. That will take years to properly evaluate. If the new front office can judge talent well, player development very well may be the final hurdle to clear in order to field a winning team.

Freeman, a high school outfielder drafted in the 16th round, has loads of raw tools. He’s big, strong, and possesses above average speed. He also has some mechanical issues with his swing. Freeman has the athletic ability to be a special player. He will need capable coaching at the minor league level to reach that potential. I am excited to see whether our development of prospects has also improved with the implementation of the new front office in 2007.

I would have loved to see the Pirates sign tenth round pick Drew Gagnon. If there was one issue with the draft, it was the limited amount of pitching acquired. The team signed 20th rounder Quinton Miller after it became apparent that Tanner Scheppers would not sign, but I would have liked to have added another high-upside player.

Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable - Why keep watching?

Question:
Which storyline interests you the most about the remainder of the season?

Mike from Hyzdu Headquarters

The stories leading up to this point in the season revolved around the new management team, the draft, and the trade deadline. Now that most have passed I think there will be a few stories left to follow throughout the season. One will most definitely be how Steve Pearce adjusts to major league hitting. His development in the final parts of the season will go a long way to seeing what type of major leaguer he can be. Another somewhat related story is whether Andrew McCutchen will make an appearance in Pittsburgh. With the apparent rebuilding going on McCutchen’s name will be on the lips of most anyone watching the Bucs.

Finally the story that will more than likely dominate this team come the end of the year will be the streak. Everyone will be made aware of the historical significance of this streak as the year progresses. I am sure it will make national news, and maybe get a word in between the endless Steeler coverage here locally. That sadly will be the story for this team, even though many on it will have had little to do with it.

Andy Smith from Bugs & Cranks

I’m really interested in the development of Andy LaRoche. Of the nine players the Pirates acquired last month, he’s reported to have the highest pedigree. His stats in the minors were there, and supposedly all that was holding him back was the Dodgers hesitation to give a starting spot to a young player. Given what the Pirates just gave up on offense, and their lack of power bats in the minor leagues, a hitter like LaRoche would go along way towards aiding the rebuilding process. If he can stay healthy (another question mark), some middle of the line-up pop would make me feel a lot better heading into next season.

Randy Linville from Pittsburgh Lumber Co.

The story line that interests me the most is the development of Jeff Karstens. In the recent past I’ve been excited by the early efforts of Zach Duke and Paul Maholm only to be ultimately underwhelmed by their success. I’m not holding my breath, but it would be great if Karstens could mature into a front of the rotation starter long term.

Jesse from Raise the Jolly Roger!

Right now I am most interested in the Pedro Alvarez situation, and boy am I going to be angry if we don’t sign him. This guy is an unbelievable player, get him on the field. He would have had the possibility to play next year in the bigs if we would have signed him already. I don’t think we will sign him and I’m going to be mad.

Matt Bandi from Pittsburgh Lumber Co.

As the season winds down, I am most interested in seeing how Ian Snell performs. He was the Pirates’ ace coming into the season, and now may be on the verge of losing his spot in the rotation. The front office has added several serviceable arms to the organization, making things very interesting for next spring. Most likely, Paul Maholm is the only starting pitcher to have locked up a job for 2009. If Snell continues to struggle down the stretch, he could very well find himself in Indy next year. It will be very interesting to see if he can manage to salvage the end of this disastrous season.

On that note, I hope that the Pirates keep Snell in Pittsburgh for the remainder of the season. He only has one option remaining, and I would hate for a situation to arise next year in which he must make the roster or pass through waivers. There is no reason to waste that option late in a wasted 2008 season. The team may as well let him pitch and see if he can improve his performance.

Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable - Trade deadline

Question #1:
Were the Pirates winners or losers at the trade deadline? Why?

Michael Jack from Hyzdu Headquarters

I have read some of the national media reports about the trade deadline and they have the Pirates as losers. I really think that they came out as winners and not losers. Sure they did not get a real can’t miss prospect, but no one was giving up those guys. They tried with the Rays to get that type of player, but they did not budge.

But really their bigger problem was just getting guys that can play in the major leagues. You look at the upper levels of the organization, there are very few guys that should ever be in the big leagues. There was no depth whatsoever in this system and these trades gave that to us. The system was so barren that it needed almost anything. Adding all of these players makes the organization look the best it has in years. We can now look to add some more star prospects in the system, but we needed first to have something in this system, which we now do have. I think for this very reason, the team came out as winners in this trade deadline.

Brian McElhinny from Raise the Jolly Roger!

I’m going to say winners, although it’s impossible to determine until a few years from now. Definitely don’t count me among the fans disgusted at us “trading away all our good players for nothing, etc.” but I do think the guys we got have to answer some questions. I’m planning a big post about this in the near future, but overall i like what Neal Huntington did.

matskralc from Marooned on Federal Street

The Pirates were HUGE winners at the deadline. The Nady/Marte trade looks better and better the more I think about it. A journeyman, injury-prone outfielder having a career half and situational lefthanded reliever for an outfield prospect with a not-insignificant shot at megastardom and three youngish, solid-if-unspectacular arms? Are you kidding me? Neal Huntington would have been arrested for grand larceny if he’d pulled this one off in January. The only reason this trade even looks close is because Xavier Nady is playing about eight miles above his head and Jose Tabata’s had a hamstring (i.e. not a long-term) injury.

NH then followed that by teaming with the Boy Wonder in Boston to absolutely fleece Ned Colletti in Los Angeles. Andy LaRoche is the real deal at third base, and given the chance to actually play will prove it. TINSTAAPP aside, Bryan Morris has top-of-the-rotation potential. Just those two straight up for Bay would have been an OK-but-not-great deal, but NH also picked up reliever Craig Hansen (who perfectly fits the awesome-stuff-but-control-issues profile NH has been targeting) and outfielder Brandon Moss. Moss will not be Jason Bay, but he’s not exactly Raul Mondesi or Jeromy Burnitz, either. He is, and will be, a capable member of the Pirate outfield for a few years.

It’s no fun to watch my favorite player now playing for a team I despise more than any team not named the Yankees or Braves, but it is a necessary evil. The short-sighted Pittsburgh “fans” decrying these two trades just do not understand the incredible damage done to this organization by Cam Bonifay and Dave Littlefield. Hypothetically, we could have grabbed a couple arms and maybe made a weak run in ’09…and then suffered through some 100-loss seasons for the five years following. The losing streak is meaningless to me: I’m more interested in finally having a perennial contender than avoiding the record book. These two deals go a long way towards shoring up an organization that had almost nothing going for it post-2009.

Jesse from Raise the Jolly Roger!

Winner winner, chicken dinner. We got rid of players at their highest value. We got the young talent we needed, including 3 former 1st rounders in the Bay deal. We addressed our need of starting pitching, third base, outfield, just not shortstop. Overall it was a success, but I like the second deal a lot more.

Matt Bandi from Pittsburgh Lumber Co

The Pirates are absolutely winners at the trade deadline. In essence, they received younger versions of Bay (LaRoche), Nady (Moss) and Marte (Hansen). In addition, they added two high upside prospects in Tabata and Morris and helped fill a huge void in pitching depth in the upper levels of the farm system. With these trades, the front office has bridged the gap between the current team and new prospects we hope to see due to improved drafting. It is now possible for the team to become competitive within the next two or three years. Before the trades of Nady, Marte and Bay, the Pirates were looking at five-plus years before fielding a respectable Major League team.

The most exciting thing about these trades is that they represent a bit of vindication for the new regime. To this point, Frank Coonelly and Neal Huntington have only talked a good game for the most part. They took a step in the right direction with a much better draft than we had seen in Pittsburgh in several years. But I still struggled to completely conquer the uneasy feeling that they may try to go for a .500 season instead of focusing on the future. These trades have emphatically shown me that the front office is willing to make unpopular decisions, as long as they make sense. Because of that, I am very optimistic about the long-term future of this franchise.

Steeltown Mike from Steeltown Sports

Wow, everything is so black & white with sports, isn’t it?

There are three ways you can look at it:

1) Never in recent memory have the Pirates traded players when their value was high and got so much in return. Even though Aramis Ramirez was traded high in 2003, there was minimal return…forget that Kenny Lofton and a fairly heavy-hitting Randall Simon were included. It was the salary dump that time won’t forget. But I digress. Trading Nady while he was healthy and hitting 50 points over his career average, and trading Bay now that he’s seemingly recovered fully from his bad knee(s) and dismal 2007 campaign was absolutely a “winning” type of move when you have an organization as bereft of talent as the Pittsburgh Pirates. They weren’t going to win with this team (they were doing fine struggling with Bay and Nady). They weren’t in a position to have a winning season in the next two or three years, so they made the difficult first step as an organization. So, on that front, they’re winners.

2) It is too early to tell what the future holds for the players we got in return. Six of them are already with the Pirates or are in a position to be called up to the mothership. And the other two are high-level prospects that could shine or could bust. Considering there isn’t much to call up from Indianapolis should a player go down, getting the number of major league ready players they did is a win, though how they’ll turn out once they get scouted over time remains to be seen. It’s unlikely that more than one of the players will fill the shoes of Nady or Bay, but the Pirates will have more trade bait next go around. Compared to trading one major league player for a minor league player (read: Sean Casey for Brian Rogers…or maybe Kip Wells for Jesse Chavez) that we grew accustomed to under Littlefield, this also is a win.

3) The team is still owned by Bob Nutting and his syndicate. If he doesn’t use the money saved in sending Bay and Nady to the highest-payrolled teams in the league to sign the likes of Pedro Alvarez and other high-ceiling players, this would still have to be considered a loss. Getting talent is one thing, but being willing to pay the going rate to keep them will be the most important thing in making this club a formidable franchise again.

Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable - How soon should we see McCutchen?

Please note that many of these responses were submitted before the trade of Xavier Nady.

Question:
Should the Pirates bring up Andrew McCutchen as soon as there is an opening for him in the everyday lineup? Or should he remain in Triple-A for further development, regardless of the situation in Pittsburgh?

Dave from Bucs Trade Winds

The determining factor in whether McCutchen is called up is who gets traded. If Nady is the one to go, I would think Pearce is the logical choice for a call up since he is a right fielder and would take Nady’s spot in the batting order.

McCutchen will get the call only if Jason Bay is traded, allowing McCutchen to move into the left field slot and bat in the leadoff position. I would see McLouth dropping in the order to fill the 3 spot that would be vacated by Bay.

Honestly, I think McCutchen is slated for a late season call-up when rosters expand. The extra time spent in AAA would still serve him well. While he has a nice season to date ( .281 average, 9 HR, 25 SB and 16 CS), Bixler has had a better batting average (.283) and more success stealing bases ( 12 SB, 4 CS) and 6 home runs in nearly half the games. We all saw how Bixler struggled with his early season call while Wilson was on the shelf. Another concern is the caught stealing numbers McCutchen has put up. Extra time in Indy would allow him to continue to improve his base running/stealing part of his game.

My one warning to all fans, if McCutchen gets the call up, don’t look for outrageous numbers out of the shoot. Most players struggle similar to the way Bixler did this year. in other words, don’t be down on Bixler for his struggles early this season if you see Wilson’s name in the transaction logs.

Nyjer Morgan could easily be called up as well if/when Nady is traded.

Jesse from Raise the Jolly Roger!

I would love to see McCutchen play in the bigs as soon as Nady gets traded. I am really excited to see him play up close. I think next year, as his fist full year in the MLB, will be a good one. He still is the youngest player in AAA though.

Mike from Hyzdu Headquarters

With the recent trades and other developments, we have seen what Neal Huntington seems to think about this issue. They have decided to bring up Steve Pearce up to play in the outfield, in lieu of making another move to bring up McCutchen. I have thought about this question many times recently now. On one hand you want to have him up so that he can get adjusted to big league play quickly and so that the team would improve due to his play. On the other hand, you don’t want his arbitration clock to tick, though they could sign him before that, and I want to know what Steve Pearce can do.

So to me the question is more about Steve Pearce than Andrew McCutchen. We need to know if he can contribute offensively at this level, because we all believe that McCutchen can and most definitely will. They may be able to keep him down in AAA for the rest of this year, but come next year he will have to be in Pittsburgh.

Nancy from Sandlot Swashbucklers

Andrew McCutchen needs to stay in Indianapolis for now. He has more things to work on.

McCutchen’s speed lets him get to almost anything in the general area of centerfield, including in the deep area in left-center field at Victory Field in Indianapolis. He can make the dramatic catches, and the throws in are usually ok (though he completely missed the cut-off man on one yesterday, probably costing a run).

Offense is another story. McCutchen has not looked like a top prospect at the plate. He started the season well, with a reasonably good April (.279, 9 doubles, 5 homers, 14 RBI) and a very good May though with less power (.307, 6 doubles, 2 homers, 10 RBI). Then he hit a slump in June (.257, 4 doubles, 1 homer, 9 RBI). His OBP suffered too, dropping to .315 as his walks dropped off (14 in April and May, 8 in June) and his strikeouts stayed up (19). July has not been much better. In 10 games since the All-Star break, he’s hitting .225, with 2 doubles and 6 RBI, though he has hit one homer and had his first triple of the season. He has 26 steals this season, 12 in May, but only 4 in June, and only 2 since the All-Star break. He has also been caught stealing 17 times. Again yesterday he was caught leaning too far and picked off/caught stealing, easily tagged out in front of second base.

Wait — his first triple of the season was just this week?? This guy, with his speed, should have had a few triples by now, not just be picking up his first of the year on July 22nd. Maybe that sums up the problem. He’s not hitting, so he’s not getting on base, and he’s not getting the chance to showcase his speed on the bases. His success rate at stealing is far too low for someone with his speed.

McCutchen looks like a .276 AAA player, but not like a top prospect who is ready to be rushed to the Big Club. Sending him up to Pittsburgh early is not going to help his development, particularly if, like Nyjer Morgan, he spends most of his time sitting on the bench and occasionally pinch-hitting.

Andy Smith from Bugs and Cranks

I think McCutchen would be the perfect September call-up. Given Steve Pearce’s age and unusual pedigree, I think it’s important right now for him to play everyday so the organization can get a baseline for him in the majors. Even if another outfielder gets dealt, Jason Michaels is a suitable replacement for two months. While McCutchen has been solid at Indianapolis this year, his number don’t exactly have him kicking down the doors to Pittsburgh either. I’d like to see him concentrate on finishing the AAA season strong, then getting his feet wet with a few big league at-bats rather than a trial by fire.

Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable - Future of the starting rotation

Question:
Long term, what do you expect from the team’s main starting pitchers (Duke, Dumatrait, Gorzelanny, Maholm, Snell)?

Mike from Hyzdu Headquarters

When this season first started, I definitely thought that things would go much differently with the starting rotation. Instead the rotation has imploded. Here is what I think may be in store for them.

Ian Snell - Easily the biggest disappointment of the staff. Coming over a good year and the new contract it looked like things would be looking up for him. Instead he has regressed this season and I really don’t know what he’ll do in the future. My best guess is that Ian will never be a true ace, but will probably be our excuse for one.

Tom Gorzelanny - Again another disappointment. I really think that he was hurt this year, but never let on to that. So we don’t know if it is injuries or something else that has made him fall back this year. Whatever the problem, his future right now is so murky; I don’t even know what is in store for him. It really is a huge question mark.

Phil Dumatrait - He is the one guy on the list who was not thought of in spring training as being in the rotation. I must say he did surprise me, as his track record was spotty coming into the season. He has seemingly been hurt more than he has been healthy this year, so that hurts any growth or maturation he might have this year at least. I really do not see him being anything more than a back end of the rotation guy, if he stays in the rotation. His health record, so far at least, scares me.

Zach Duke - The one time hot prospect has had a slight rebound this year. Considering he was just abysmal last year, now he is slightly better than bad. When I look down the line at what Duke may accomplish, it does not look good. He never seems to attack hitters, and does not have outstanding stuff. I think he is going to have a mixed career with the Bucs. At some point everyone will say that he is a lost cause, as he probably will not be able to run up a good run of starts.

Paul Maholm - Maholm is the one pitcher in the rotation that has done a decent job this season. He lasts past the fifth some of the time and has the only complete game for the club. I think he will settle in as a good middle of the rotation guy, who will eat up innings for you. It won’t be anything flashy at all, but he’ll just be a solid type of guy in that middle of the rotation.

That is may take on the rotation. We have two question marks in Dumatrait and Gorzelanny, two riddles in Snell and Duke, and one guy that may be alright in Maholm. That really does not bode well for the future. I think the new priority for the club is finding more and more pitching. We need depth more than anything right now. Until this rotation is solidified, we will continue to stay in rebuilding mode.

Matt Bandi from Pittsburgh Lumber Co.

I think the pitcher we have seen in 2008 is about what we can expect from Zach Duke. A decent back of the rotation guy, he will generally give us a chance to win when he gets the ball. He simply does not have the stuff to improve much more. Duke will need to keep his walk and home run numbers down, and he should be able to post a consistent ERA in the 4.50 – 5.00 range.

Phil Dumatrait should provide similar production to Duke in the future. He will strike out more batters, so there is probably a bit more potential for improvement. He must decrease his walk rate if he is to make any strides. It was a great move by Neal Huntington to pick him up off waivers, but we probably can’t expect him to be more than a middle of the rotation starter.

Every year in spring training, we hear reports of a player or two who show up in great shape, determined to impress some folks. I think Tom Gorzelanny may be that player in 2009. He has been terrible this season, something many of us expected after he was abused by Jim Tracy. When he was sent to Triple-A, Huntington seemed to imply that the team was not enamored with Gorzo’s work ethic. I think the combination of a healthy, rested arm and a positive response to management’s challenge will have Gorzelanny pitching like a top of the rotation guy again next year.

The starter that I can never get a read on is Paul Maholm. Sometimes he goes to the mound and breezes through a game without a problem. Those flashes of dominance always get me daydreaming about what kind of pitcher he could be. But he never seems able to develop the consistency he needs to be a top starter. He has improved that consistency this season, so maybe he is turning the corner as a pitcher.

Ian Snell’s 2008 season is likely an outlier, and he should still be a top of the rotation pitcher in the long run. His command has been terrible this season, which has led to inefficient pitch counts and huge walk numbers. I expect that to improve as this season winds down and going into next year. I’m guessing his arm issues have played a part in those struggles. The key for Snell will be his ability to avoid the long ball, something he has done well the past two years. His mental state will also play a part, though I can’t figure out exactly what his goal should be. This season, he has struggled despite displaying a bit more maturity than in the past. Last year, he seemed to be on an emotional rollercoaster, yet had a career season. He needs to find the ideal balance between that fire and a growing maturity.

This is a pretty optimistic look at a rotation that has been historically bad this year. The team clearly needs a true ace and much better depth after the top five. But I don’t think all is lost just yet.

Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable - Should Jack Wilson be traded?

Question:
If the Pirates have the opportunity to trade Jack Wilson for a quality prospect or two, should they pull the trigger? Would you be willing to see a repeat of our early season shortstop issues if it meant the team would improve a year or two down the road?

Mike from Hyzdu Headquarters

As bad as the shortstops were early this season and as valulable as Jack Wilson appeared due to it, I would be willing to move him for some prospects. I’d do it with some caution, as I would want to max out his value, due to his value to the Pirates. So it might be hard to find that value, but I would not really consider it if we could not get something that could one day equal his value.

At this point the Pirates just need to accumulate as much talent as possible. The entire organization is in disarray. Anyone could be moved so that we can build talent, then we can worry about the 25 man roster or even who will play shortstop. Moving Jack Wilson would be a tough decision, but one that from a baseball standpoint, we may be forced to make.

Brian McElhinny from Raise the Jolly Roger!

The unfortunate answer is yes. Although it will be extremely painful to suffer through the rest of this year with Bixler/Gomez/Rivas at short, this year is not why we’d be making this trade. If we can get any type of legit prospects for Jack (like we’re hearing from the Dodgers), Huntington needs to pull the trigger, and I think he will. I love Jack, but he’s not the long term answer, and if we can get more than he’s worth, it’s a deal.

Andy Smith from Bugs and Cranks

Yes, on both fronts, but with some clarifications. I hope what Jack Wilson’s absence earlier this season proved to Neal Huntington, other than that the organization is woefully thin at shortstop, is how good #2 really is. To me, the key word in the first question, is quality. If a team like the Dodgers offers premium talent, then a deal has to be made. However, Wilson isn’t the type of player that should be shuffled for spare parts in the name of “rebuilding.” The Pirates are in fifth place right now. Tom Gorzelanny is in the minors. Matt Capps is on the DL. Even a month or so ago, when the team was challenging for .500 and in sniffing distance of a wild card, I thought moving some of their better players for young prospects was the right move, and I’m even more steadfast in that opinion right now.

Steeltown Mike from Steeltown Sports

You do indeed pull the trigger if the prospects are quality. That would go for any player, not just Wilson, whose stock is above average. I’m not sure how much Neal Huntington will have to do with it, though. He may have a couple of trades already forming, but will get a veto from owner Bob Nutting…a veto we probably would never actually know about (but we would suspect).

Regardless, Huntington will have to walk that very thin line…overasking for any given player just a touch, so that a team’s counteroffer will be more than acceptable. If the counteroffer is not satisfactory, he has to be willing to walk away.

This was the brick wall that Dave Littlefield repeatedly rammed his head into. He would ask way too much for an underachieving player, he would be laughed at, and then he would be offered peanuts for the same player. Littlefield would then pull the trigger instead of telling the other team to shove off.

Most of us have suspected that the Pirates wouldn’t finish with a .500 record. I mean, a definition of fanaticism is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Walking away from a trade option that doesn’t benefit the Pirates long-term is something different, and it will make ballclubs begin to take Pirate upper management a little more seriously.

You know that when “Littlefield” would show up on other GM’s caller IDs after awhile, that other GM would chuckle a little before he answered the call.

If he answered the call.

Jesse from Raise the Jolly Roger!

Yes, I absolutely would. If we can get anything good for him I would pull the trigger. Chris Gomez could possibly play shortstop and he is doing well. I hope we can get rid of him while he still has value.

Dave from Bucs Trade Winds

As a fan I would not want to trade Jack Wilson. As a GM, I would trade him with an eye towards getting a middle infield prospect and pitching in this deal or one of the other deals before the deadline. For all the drafting of arms the previous regime did, there is very little in the cupboard to show for it. It is quite obvious pitching is what has been lacking this season. While Jack has been one of the faces of the Pirates, along with Bay, the team needs to get something from these players before they are lost with no known returns. The reason I say no known returns is the draft is a crap shoot, if you get prospects that are known talents you don’t take as large of a risk of a player not developing to the perceived potential.

I still believe Bixler will be a good quality shortstop in the majors, he just isn’t ready yet. His call up early in the year was ugly. Bixler did start to perform better with the glove prior to Wilson returning and his bat is much better than he showed while with the Pirates. I could see Bixler being in Pittsburgh next season, hopefully he would be ready by then. Until that point, I would take the shortstop play we saw early in the season IF it means good return in trade.

Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable, 06/24/2008

Question:
At what point do you expect the Pirates to field a championship-caliber team? Will the team’s top prospects (McCutchen, Walker, Pearce, Alvarez, etc.) be enough to take them to that level?

Mike from Hyzdu Headquarters

This is something that I have pondered at length. I think when looking at the future we may be looking at 2010-2011 until the big league club can be competitive. Will they be a World Series contender by then? I don’t think so, but you can never tell. I would think that in 2-3 years we will have brought in Alvarez, McCutchen, and Walker among others to fit in with any holdovers, McLouth and Doumit come to mind, from this current team. By then I would think we would see some competitive baseball being played in Pittsburgh.

I think we can all agree that if there is not some upgrade or addition to the pitching staff, we will never contend. I could see a lot of the position players that are in the organization stay here, but not so much for the pitching. We need more depth if we ever hope to contend. I would think that this will be one position that management looks to in any future transactions.

The variable in the equation is who gets added to the organization that we do not know about right now. Will there be some free agent signing? Will there be some blockbuster trade? A transaction like one of those will most likely change the scenario for better or for worse.

But as far as getting the organization to a point that things are all running smoothly, I think we are looking at 5 years. It is going to take a good long while to stock the farm system. Once the system is comparable with other contending teams, then we have got something going here.

It will be awhile to see a real team start to take shape in Pittsburgh. I think it may happen sooner than one might think, but it will take longer to really get the organization on good solid ground.

Nancy from Sandlot Swashbucklers

Andrew McCutchen isn’t hitting like a top prospect should be. He started off slowly, but had his batting average up to .200 by mid-April. He got a little better, up to .279 by the end of April, and hit .304 in May, with an extended hitting streak. As soon as the streak was over, though, he had a slump. Now he’s back to .285. With the inconsistent hitting, and high number of strikeouts (14 in April, 24 in May, and 12 already in June) and relatively low number of walks (14 in each of April and May, 5 in June), he doesn’t look like what you’d want in a lead-off hitter — though that’s where he has been hitting for most of the season. His speed on the base paths is excellent, but it requires him to get onto the base paths first. If the Pirates don’t plan to use him in the lead-off spot, maybe that won’t matter as much. It’s my impression that he does better when Nyjer Morgan is around — they seem to feed off one another. In the outfield, McCutchen is very close. With his speed and timing, he gets to almost everything, including balls going into the deep part of left-center field, the no-man’s-land of Victory Field. McCutchen could be called up at the end of 2008 and do ok, and he’d be able to play for the Pirates in 2009 without falling on his face, but it will be a little longer before he’s really ready to be championship quality.

Walker has made great improvement at third base, and by 2009, you probably won’t be able to tell he hasn’t played there all his life. His hitting needs work, though. He started the season slowly, then hovered around .200 for weeks. After some extra work with hitting coach “Bam Bam” Meulens, the average went up to .220 and hovered there. Because his “personal” strike zone is larger than the plate, he often reaches for outside pitches rather than take balls — resulting in few walks but more strikeouts. He’s averaging 19.5% strikeouts/at-bats this season, and that has been up to 23% in June. He should have a better average and while he leads the team in homers (11), he should be hitting for even more power. Walker could be ready for Pittsburgh by the end of 2009, especially if he can turn the power on, but it will be longer before he’s ready to be the Big Competitor.

Steve Pearce started the season playing exclusively in right field, working diligently to learn the new position. He’s an ok outfielder but just ok. He has not made a lot of errors, because he doesn’t get to the balls to even try for the tough plays. His speed is so-so for an outfielder, but he does not seem to have the instinct and timing that allow good outfielders to get the jump on the ball. (When Ryan Doumit moved to the outfield, he “got it” much more quickly. He also had Chris Duffy tutoring him — he was Duffy’s personal project.) At first base, though, Pearce is ready now. Soft hands, good instincts. Pearce has a .269 average, but there’s more to that story. Prior to June 2nd, Pearce was hitting .259, and had been playing right field and occasionally DH’ing. Since June 2nd, Pearce has played 12 games at first base. In those 12 games, he has gone 18-for-44 (.409), and has been hitless in only one game. He’s also hit 6 doubles, 3 of his 8 homers, and 11 of his 41 RBI. Since June 2nd, Pearce has played 6 games in right field, and in those games, he’s gone 2-for-23 (.087), with a double and a 2-run homer. It’s clear to everyone watching him that he is much more relaxed and comfortable at first base, though when asked this weekend “Would you rather be at first base or in the outfield?” , he answered, “I’d rather be in the lineup. I don’t care where I play.” So — if Pearce can stay mostly at first base, he can be ready for Prime Time in 2009.

Pedro Alvarez — well, if you don’t sign the contract, you can’t play. There must be some happy medium where he can balance out his and his agent’s desires for the greatest compensation ever, and the understanding that he needs to get onto the field before he can get to the big leagues.

Jesse from Raise the Jolly Roger!

I think that the Pirates could have a championship caliber team in 2010. The current major league team is not going to get it done. I really think we need to get rid of Bay for some pitching. McCutchen could come up and Alvarez could replace Bautista. We will have other prospects coming up too. That is why the magic number ,in my opinion, is 2010.

Matt Bandi from Pittsburgh Lumber Co

The Pirates are going to need quite a bit of luck to build a contending team within the next couple of years. The limited minor league talent that is approaching the Major Leagues will need to become productive starters. Andrew McCutchen remains a top prospect, and should become a fixture in centerfield for the Pirates. But Neil Walker and Steve Pearce, while they have good potential, are large question marks at this point. Walker is hitting just .226/.265/.442 in 265 at-bats this season, and Pearce is at just .265/.317/.447. Pearce has to improve quickly, as he is already 25. All three of these players are very vital to the team’s future. In addition, Pedro Alvarez must sign soon and then live up to the hype.

The Pirates will also need a contribution from an unexpected source. One or two of their marginal prospects must step up their performance and become a staple in Pittsburgh. Some names to watch are Shelby Ford, Jamie Romak and Jason Delaney.

Neal Huntington needs to make very smart trades before July 31. The Pirates have many holes on the roster, and only limited players of value to use as trade bait. Huntington must spin Jason Bay and Xavier Nady for help at middle infield, starting pitcher, etc, etc, etc. That will take intelligence and quite a bit of luck. An ill-advised trade of either player could really set the franchise back.

Finally, some of the younger players in Pittsburgh have to continue to perform. Nate McLouth must continue to hit well enough to become a productive left fielder once McCutchen arrives. Ryan Doumit must stay healthy, continue to perform offensively, and improve behind the plate. Matt Capps needs to remain a steady closer.

Obviously, a lot needs to go right for the Pirates to take the next step in the near future. The chances of everything working out are slim. Most likely, the Pirates will be competitive, but will not be a playoff team until the new regime has a chance to build the farm system through the draft. The team is entering a rebuilding period that will probably last about five years.