OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Reclaiming Glory: The 2010 Pirates Dynasty

PirateFan17 · 03-11-2011, 11:27 PM

After an interesting Spring Training GM Charlie Fisher and manager John Russell sat down to discuss the final cuts and to determine the 2011 opening day roster for the Pirates. The Pirates are very excited about their team heading into the 2011 season.

The Pirates’ rotation heading into 2011 is a rotation that has the potential to be a strong point for this team. The Pirates have a mix of veterans and young pitchers. The Pirates turn to newly acquired Ben Sheets and Ted Lilly to be the leaders of this staff. The Pirates hae the 26th ranked starting rotation in baseball, up from the 29th ranking in 2010. GM Charlie Fisher sees pitching as very important so expect the pitching ranking to continue to improve over the years

RHP #19 Ben Sheets-32
Contract: 4,000,000/4,000,000
2010 Stats: 10-11, 3.96 ERA, 126 K, 61 BB in 193 innings (For Oakland)
Career: 96-94, 3.75 ERA, 1332 K, 374 BB in 1621 innings
GM Report: Ben Sheets is a veteran pitcher who has top of the rotation stuff and if he pitches the way he should Sheets could be the number one starter the Pirates have been searching for

RHP #39 Jake Westbrook-33
Contract: 1,500,000
2010 Stats: 12-9, 4.66 ERA, 116 K, 70 BB in 212.2 innings (For Cleveland)
Career: 75-73, 4.36 ERA, 699 K 398 BB in 1283 innings
GM Report: Westbrook is a veteran pitcher who should be able to eat a lot of innings for the Pirates while still providing quality outings. The Pirates feel moving to the National League will make Westbrook’s numbers improve slightly from where they were in 2010 making him a good top of the rotation pitcher to go along with Sheets and Lilly

LHP #33 Ted Lilly- 35
Contract: 10,000,000/10,000,000 with 500,000 bonus for 200 IP
2010 Stats: 14-9, 4.05 ERA, 152 K, 61 BB in 198 innings
Career: 117-93, 4.23 ERA, 1460 K, 598 BB in 1722.2 innings
GM Report: One of the Pirates’ top priorities in the offseason was getting a top of the rotation left hander, and they got just that in Ted Lilly. Lilly is a pitcher who should put up double digit wins (10+ wins every year since ’03) and have an ERA in the Low fours at the highest.

RHP #45 Jose Ascanio- 25
Contract: 400,000 (Auto Renew)
2010 Stats: 6-7, 4.26 ERA, 82 K, 60 BB in 105.2 innings
Career: 8-10, 4.11 ERA, 146 K, 87 BB in 170.2 innings
GM Report: Ascanio is a pitcher the Pirates are very excited about. In the limited time he had in Pittsburgh last year he showed that he is a major league ready pitcher and after a strong spring he showed that he deserves a spot in the rotation (3-0, 3.00 ERA). The Pirates feel Ascanio can be a great pitcher for them if he continues to progress.

RHP #37 Charlie Morton- 27
Contract: 405,000 (Auto Renew)
2010 Stats: 9-12, 4.16 ERA, 122 K, 77 BB in 196.2 innings
Career: 18-29, 4.67 ERA, 232 K, 158 BB in 368.1 innings
GM Report: Charlie Morton is a young pitcher who has the potential to be a really good pitcher but so far in his career he hasn’t been able to live up to this potential. He had a decent year last year but he needs to improve if he wants to stick on this team past this year.

In The Minors:

The Pirates minor league system has improved over the past year, which can be seen in the increase of talent at starter. The Pirates have two starters in Baseball America’s top 100 with Jameson Taillon coming in at number three, and Brad Lincoln coming in at 85. Taillon, Lincoln and young left hander Tyler Skaggs (Acquired from the Angels for Paul Maholm) could all be big leaguers in the near future with Taillon possessing the skills to be an elite pitcher in the league and Lincoln and Skaggs rating out as middle to bottom of the rotation guys. The Pirates do have a few guys in Ross Ohlendorf, Kevin Hart, Jeff Karstens, and Daniel McCutchen who could be spot starters in the majors if someone gets hurt, but they are fringe major leaguers at best and there are no signs of that changing. The Pirates will look to continue to improve their lack of minor league pitching depth, which they improved from 30th last year to 23rd this year.

Injuries:

The Pirates pitching staff took a huge blow in spring training as 18 game winner Zach Duke was injured and required a stay on the 60 day DL. Duke suffered a strained hamstring and is expected to miss the first 18 months of the season. Duke was coming off an exciting year and the Pirates were looking forward to him making a huge impact on the 2011 season. Charlie Morton won the 5th spot in the rotation and will hold that spot until Duke has recovered.

03-11-2011, 11:27 PM	#25
PirateFan17 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 162	2011 Starting Rotation After an interesting Spring Training GM Charlie Fisher and manager John Russell sat down to discuss the final cuts and to determine the 2011 opening day roster for the Pirates. The Pirates are very excited about their team heading into the 2011 season. The Pirates’ rotation heading into 2011 is a rotation that has the potential to be a strong point for this team. The Pirates have a mix of veterans and young pitchers. The Pirates turn to newly acquired Ben Sheets and Ted Lilly to be the leaders of this staff. The Pirates hae the 26th ranked starting rotation in baseball, up from the 29th ranking in 2010. GM Charlie Fisher sees pitching as very important so expect the pitching ranking to continue to improve over the years RHP #19 Ben Sheets-32 Contract: 4,000,000/4,000,000 2010 Stats: 10-11, 3.96 ERA, 126 K, 61 BB in 193 innings (For Oakland) Career: 96-94, 3.75 ERA, 1332 K, 374 BB in 1621 innings GM Report: Ben Sheets is a veteran pitcher who has top of the rotation stuff and if he pitches the way he should Sheets could be the number one starter the Pirates have been searching for RHP #39 Jake Westbrook-33 Contract: 1,500,000 2010 Stats: 12-9, 4.66 ERA, 116 K, 70 BB in 212.2 innings (For Cleveland) Career: 75-73, 4.36 ERA, 699 K 398 BB in 1283 innings GM Report: Westbrook is a veteran pitcher who should be able to eat a lot of innings for the Pirates while still providing quality outings. The Pirates feel moving to the National League will make Westbrook’s numbers improve slightly from where they were in 2010 making him a good top of the rotation pitcher to go along with Sheets and Lilly LHP #33 Ted Lilly- 35 Contract: 10,000,000/10,000,000 with 500,000 bonus for 200 IP 2010 Stats: 14-9, 4.05 ERA, 152 K, 61 BB in 198 innings Career: 117-93, 4.23 ERA, 1460 K, 598 BB in 1722.2 innings GM Report: One of the Pirates’ top priorities in the offseason was getting a top of the rotation left hander, and they got just that in Ted Lilly. Lilly is a pitcher who should put up double digit wins (10+ wins every year since ’03) and have an ERA in the Low fours at the highest. RHP #45 Jose Ascanio- 25 Contract: 400,000 (Auto Renew) 2010 Stats: 6-7, 4.26 ERA, 82 K, 60 BB in 105.2 innings Career: 8-10, 4.11 ERA, 146 K, 87 BB in 170.2 innings GM Report: Ascanio is a pitcher the Pirates are very excited about. In the limited time he had in Pittsburgh last year he showed that he is a major league ready pitcher and after a strong spring he showed that he deserves a spot in the rotation (3-0, 3.00 ERA). The Pirates feel Ascanio can be a great pitcher for them if he continues to progress. RHP #37 Charlie Morton- 27 Contract: 405,000 (Auto Renew) 2010 Stats: 9-12, 4.16 ERA, 122 K, 77 BB in 196.2 innings Career: 18-29, 4.67 ERA, 232 K, 158 BB in 368.1 innings GM Report: Charlie Morton is a young pitcher who has the potential to be a really good pitcher but so far in his career he hasn’t been able to live up to this potential. He had a decent year last year but he needs to improve if he wants to stick on this team past this year. In The Minors: The Pirates minor league system has improved over the past year, which can be seen in the increase of talent at starter. The Pirates have two starters in Baseball America’s top 100 with Jameson Taillon coming in at number three, and Brad Lincoln coming in at 85. Taillon, Lincoln and young left hander Tyler Skaggs (Acquired from the Angels for Paul Maholm) could all be big leaguers in the near future with Taillon possessing the skills to be an elite pitcher in the league and Lincoln and Skaggs rating out as middle to bottom of the rotation guys. The Pirates do have a few guys in Ross Ohlendorf, Kevin Hart, Jeff Karstens, and Daniel McCutchen who could be spot starters in the majors if someone gets hurt, but they are fringe major leaguers at best and there are no signs of that changing. The Pirates will look to continue to improve their lack of minor league pitching depth, which they improved from 30th last year to 23rd this year. Injuries: The Pirates pitching staff took a huge blow in spring training as 18 game winner Zach Duke was injured and required a stay on the 60 day DL. Duke suffered a strained hamstring and is expected to miss the first 18 months of the season. Duke was coming off an exciting year and the Pirates were looking forward to him making a huge impact on the 2011 season. Charlie Morton won the 5th spot in the rotation and will hold that spot until Duke has recovered.