Prospect Stuff

[Darkstone42]

Allie looks like Jim Thome when he came up as far as body type, he was able to stick at third base for a while. RF seems like a good fit for now, he need to focus on hitting, not worry about defense so much. He probably has an 80 arm.

His foot speed isn't terrible, either. It's at least good enough for right field at PNC. With his arm, he could actually be close to average out there.

But I just think his bat is underrated. His profile doesn't project well, but he's exceeded expectations at every level, and he's improved at every level. I figure there's reason to put some faith in him until he proves he can't do that.

 

[Darkstone42]

I also really want Tito Polo to succeed. I know virtually nothing about him, but Tito Polo is a fantastic name.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

Tito?

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

Polo!

 

[thedddd]

Pirates' draft retrospective: 2009 - Bucs Dugout

This has been out there for a few weeks, but just read this. How depressing is it the fact all those over slot pitchers and only Dodson and Inman are still around.

 

[Darkstone42]

Pirates' draft retrospective: 2009 - Bucs Dugout

This has been out there for a few weeks, but just read this. How depressing is it the fact all those over slot pitchers and only Dodson and Inman are still around.

The 2009 draft versus the more recent drafts (which fall into the young, projectable, power-arm mold, largely) is an indication of how the front office has grown under NH's tenure.

They came up with the idea that stocking the system with big, young, hard throwers would give them an ace or two and some other solid starting pitchers, as well as, probably, a smattering of relievers down the line, and they kind of screwed up the first time they tried it. But they didn't abandon the idea, they just tweaked the approach, and it got us guys like Taillon and Glasnow, Cole coming out of college was a break from the young, projectable guy plan, but he was still a hard thrower with ace upside, and picking #1 we didn't have to look for riskier value.

They've done this elsewhere, too. Catcher immediately comes to mind, signing Barajas because of his reputation for defense and handling pitchers. That was obviously a bust, but they went to the well again, looking for hidden value in framing and defense, and they picked up Martin when no one else thought he was worth anything. And we all saw how that turned out. Now they can't retain Martin, and obviously no one on his level was available, so they went after some of the same skills (framing, game calling, blocking defensively, and good command of the strike zone offensively) and got Cervelli, which is looking like a steal so far. He's not Martin, but catcher is definitely not a position of weakness on this team, either. (Incidentally, Stewart is in the exact same mold, just less good at hitting the ball.)

The ground ball pitcher/guys who miss bats but also had command issue strategy of getting Major League pitchers is also one which they've refined over time, leading ultimately to Liriano and Burnett in the rotation and Melancon and Caminero in the 'pen, moves which have worked out great. The Wandy acquisition was great before he forgot how to pitch at the end of his contract, too. And now we're getting guys wanting to come here. Volquez was a surprise last year, and he spread the word about the team and how they work with their pitchers. Richard and Volstad, our two reclamation guys this year, have looked pretty good in AAA and could be spot-start depth later in the season we wouldn't have had otherwise.

They came in with a plan, and they were a bit bull-headed about it, but they were willing to adjust as they made mistakes and learned, and that's why, I think, the team's been so good the past couple years, and why it's so nicely set up for the future.

On a similar note, Jeff Sullivan had some nice things to say about the Bucs' off season today.

Perfect offseason paying off for Pittsburgh Pirates | FOX Sports

 

[Darkstone42]

Cole Tucker hasn't really started to figure out his bat at West Virginia yet, but I am really rooting for that kid. Everything I've read about him points to a great attitude, that he's a natural leader, very mature. His defense is probably going to keep him at short, and if that bat develops, he'll be a fan favorite in Pittsburgh for sure, I think.

 

[Darkstone42]

Adrian Sampson has been excellent in AAA so far this year. He's got a 2.69 ERA and a 2.77 FIP, good K% at 21.9%, BB% at 6.2%, and he's keeping the ball in the park. I think he's a sinkerballer, so I would guess he's also getting a lot of ground balls.

If he keeps this up, he'll probably be a good option for the 5th spot in the rotation soon if the team feels it can no longer trust Locke or Worley. (Which point, I suspect, is drawing near.)

 

[Burgh Sports Rule]

Yes, I think Sampson is just about ready to be in the Bigs & I would really love to see him take over the 5th spot in the rotation for us this yr.

Burgh

 

[element1286]

Pirates' draft retrospective: 2009 - Bucs Dugout

This has been out there for a few weeks, but just read this. How depressing is it the fact all those over slot pitchers and only Dodson and Inman are still around.

I read somewhere that of all the high schools pitchers that NH has drafted none have made it to the big leagues as of yet.

 

[element1286]

Cole Tucker hasn't really started to figure out his bat at West Virginia yet, but I am really rooting for that kid. Everything I've read about him points to a great attitude, that he's a natural leader, very mature. His defense is probably going to keep him at short, and if that bat develops, he'll be a fan favorite in Pittsburgh for sure, I think.

He's so young for that level, I think he'll be alright in the long run.

 

[Darkstone42]

He's so young for that level, I think he'll be alright in the long run.

Because of that youth, Tim Williams suspects he'll spend another year at the level while Newman heads to Bradenton, which makes sense, I think, since Newman is almost certainly more advanced.

 

[thecrow124]

It really depends on how much the Pirates want to change Newman's swing. If they plan on revamping it completely, it may be better for them to keep him at the lower level.

 

[Darkstone42]

It really depends on how much the Pirates want to change Newman's swing. If they plan on revamping it completely, it may be better for them to keep him at the lower level.

I don't think it needs a ton of work. They talked about getting his legs closer together, but I think he could do that at A+, really. A little tweak to his approach will get him hitting for more power anyway, at least gap power. Andy Lopez wanted guys to attack early in the count and put the ball in play. Newman's got a good eye and good contact skill to support a waiting for his pitch kind of approach, versus the first-pitch-he-could-handle approach Lopez preached at Arizona, and that alone will lead to harder-hit baseballs.

I'm guessing he'll be at Morgantown this year, though, and they'll get a pretty good idea of where to send him next from that. Tucker will also have some say in this, I imagine, but Newman is more advanced than him anyway, so he'll leapfrog him at some point.

 

[Darkstone42]

Taillon was scheduled to have a rehab start today in the GCL, but was scratched due to an ab strain.

Darn.

 

[element1286]

Is there talk of revamping his swing?

I would think they would do that this year with him at short season ball, and then skip him to A+ next year like DS said.

 

[Darkstone42]

Glasnow has apparently been promoted to AAA. His changeup was good in his last start, and that was the missing piece. I guess they feel like he's got the confidence in it they wanted now.

 

[thedddd]

Well that stinks.

 

[Darkstone42]

Well that stinks.

Yup, poor kid. He's got a good attitude, though, so I'm sure he'll work his way back from it next season.

 

[HammerDown]