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| Thursday, January 10 Pirates minor-league report By John Sickels Special to ESPN.com |
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System overview Things are not going well in Pirate land. Yes, they have a new stadium, providing some measure of financial security for the future, at least the short-term future (since stadiums are not quite the monetary panacea the owners want you to think they are). But on the playing field, the Pirates have some serious problems. They won just 62 games last year, while at the same time having one of the weakest farm systems in baseball. The last few years have seen the Pirates go hard after tools players, but few of them have developed. Guys like Chad Hermansen and J.J. Davis have completely lost the strike zone. The situation is a little better on the mound, as there are a few interesting arms, but injuries felled several prospects in '01. A bright spot is catching, as the Bucs have a couple of intriguing backstops waiting that could allow Jason Kendall to move to another position. The first steps in turning the system around have been taken. Cam Bonifay was kicked out of the GM post last year, and new GM Dave Littlefield has been cleaning out the departments, bringing in new farm and scouting directors. They have their work cut out for them. 2001 Minor League W-L Percentage: .467, (ranked 26th) 2001 amateur draft First-round pick John VanBenschoten, an outfielder from Kent State, led NCAA Division I with 31 homers last year. He is a powerful hitter and a prototype right fielder. So the Pirates converted him to the mound. He does have a 94-mph fastball and decent control, but it will take some time for him to pick up the nuances of pitching. A similar gamble with 1998 first-rounder Clint Johnston failed. The Bucs didn't have a second-round pick, due to the signing of Terry Mulholland. Third-round choice Jeremy Guthrie, a Stanford right-hander, didn't sign. A pair of Arizona State products, sixth-rounder Drew Friedberg (LHP) and eighth-rounder Chris Duffy (OF) have some ability and could surprise. I actually like Duffy quite a bit; he hit .317 with 33 walks and 30 steals in short-season ball, and is one of the better sleepers in this draft class. Also keep an eye on 15th-round pick Jeff Miller, a right-hander out of the University of New Orleans. Although some experts rate this as a good draft, it looks mediocre to me on the surface. The loss of the second- and third-round slots hurts, and the Pirates also failed to sign players in rounds 9 through 11. Top prospects Players in the "Will Help Soon" section could see major-league action in 2002. Players in the "Will Help Someday" section shouldn't reach the majors until '03 or later, though of course that can change. Players are listed alphabetically. No 2001 draftees are listed. WILL HELP SOON Tony Alvarez, OF: Hit .319 with 16 doubles, six homers, and 17 steals in half a season of Double-A. Fast, strong, but needs better command of the strike zone. Adrian Burnside, LHP: Australian with 92-mph fastball, acquired from the Dodgers in the Mulholland trade. Needs better command of his slider, but likely to be one of the first pitchers recalled by the Pirates in '02. Humberto Cota, C: Hit .297 with 14 homers in Triple-A. Inconsistent but not awful with the glove. Rico Washington, 3B: Could hit .280 in the majors, but has trouble staying healthy and finding a position. WILL HELP SOMEDAY Bobby Bradley, RHP: Curveball artist, blew out his elbow and had to have Tommy John surgery. Probably won't pitch in '02. Sean Burnett, LHP: Went 11-8 with 2.62 ERA for Class A Hickory. Throws strikes with average stuff, very polished for his age. 161 innings was an excessive workload for a pitcher his age, even an efficient one. J.R. House, C: Gave up football, which is the good news. The bad news is that he also gave up the strike zone, and was overmatched by Double-A pitching last year. Great potential, but can he refine it? Ryan Vogelsong, RHP: Acquired in the Jason Schmidt trade, promptly blew out his elbow. Solid prospect if/when healthy. Edwin Yan, 2B: Hit .283 with 56 steals for Class A Hickory. Bad news is just 14 extra-base hits in a full season. Chris Young, RHP: 6-10 Princeton product, signed away from the NBA as a third-rounder in 2000. Talented, intelligent, but still raw. KEY SLEEPER Nathan McLouth, OF: Hit .285 with 12 homers, 43 walks, just 54 strikeouts, 21 steals for Class A Hickory. Seldom mentioned as a prospect, but he was drafted out of high school in 2000, so he was not too old for the Sally League. Watch him. Other names to know David Beigh, RHP; Josh Bonifay, OF; Jose Castillo, SS; Mike Connolly, LHP; Domingo Cuello, 2B; Yurendel DeCaster, 3B; Ryan Doumit, C; John Grabow, LHP; Josh Higgins, RHP; Landon Jacobsen, RHP; Ronnie Paulino, C; Manny Ravelo, OF; Justin Reid, RHP. John Sickels is working on the 2002 STATS Minor League Scouting Notebook. He lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife, son, and two cats. You can send John questions or comments at JASickels@aol.com, or you can visit his homepage at hometown.aol.com/jasickels/page1.html. |
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