Saving The Pirates 2012

[tmdevitt31]

Hey guys,

This is the first time I'm posting a dynasty, so it might be a little odd. But, I will be taking over the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have the lowest payroll to start the 2012 season. Here are my settings:

Trading Difficulty: Hard
AI Trading Frequency: Low
Scouting Accuracy: Normal
Ratings Actual/Potential: Values 20-80
AI Player Evaluation: 40/30/25/5

I will be getting rid of the Designated Hitter in both leagues. I will be using a balanced schedule format to get rid of a usually easy road to the playoffs for the Rangers.

So, I am ready to get started on re-building the Pirates!

[tmdevitt31]

At the start of the 2012 season, we have some promising prospects in Gerrit Cole, Starling Marte, Josh Bell, and Jameson Taillon. Andrew McCutchen looks prime for a breakout year. But, much work has to be done. BNN has us finishing 78-84 in 5th place in the NL Central, 17 games back of the Brewers and the Reds. Robert Nutting, our owner, has given us an expectation of playing .500 ball.

The top ten prospects are as follows:

1. Bryce Harper (Nationals)
2. Matt Moore (Rays)
3. Julio Teheran (Braves)
4. Jurickson Profar (Rangers)
5. Bubba Starling (Royals)
6. Trevor Bauer (Diamondbacks)
7. Anthony Rendon (Nationals)
8. Shelby Miller (Cardinals)
9. Gerrit Cole (Pirates)
10. Manny Machado (Orioles)

Other Pirates in the top 100 are:

14. Jameson Taillon
60. Josh E. Bell
71. Starling Marte

Transactions:

4/4: Signed Joel Piniero to a 1-year, $1,400,000 contract.

[tmdevitt31]

TRADE!!!

Early this morning, after hours of negotiation, the Pirates and the Diamondbacks completed what seems to be a simple trade. The Pirates sent SP Brad Lincoln (20/20) and received utility-man John McDonald (24/24). After the recent signing of Joel Pineiro, there was no need for Lincoln. John McDonald can play 2nd Base, 3rd Base, Shortstop, and Left Field.

[tmdevitt31]

Now let's take a look at our opening day roster:

HITTERS:

C Rod Barajas (28/28): Barajas will start the year in the MLB as our starter. Barajas played in 98 games last year for the Dodgers, piling up 305 AB. He hit .230 and got 70 hits. He smashed 16 home runs and drove in 47 runs. We expect at least 100 games and a .260 average.

C Michael McKenry (22/22): McKenry will start the year in the MLB as our back-up catcher. Last season McKenry played in 58 games for Pittsburgh, getting 180 AB and hitting .222. He blasted 2 home runs and drove in 11 runs. We expect McKenry to play every third or fourth day and to play in 45-55 games.

1B Garrett Jones (41/41): Jones will start the year in the MLB as our starting first baseman. Jones was our everyday 1B last season, playing in 148 games and getting 423 AB. Jones hit .243 with 16 HR and 58 RBI. We expect Jones to play every day playing in 140-150 games.

2B Neil Walker (46/55): Walker will start the year in the MLB as our starting second baseman. Walker played virtually every day last year, playing in 159 games and getting 596 AB. Walker hit .273 last season with 12 HR and driving in 83 runs. We expect Walker to be at least a .280 hitter and to play at least 150 games.

3B Pedro Alvarez (24/43): Alvarez had a great 2010 power season as he hit 16 home runs in 98 games and driving in 64 runs. Last season, however, Alvarez took a step back, hitting .191 in only 74 games and hitting 4 home runs and only driving in 19 runs. This year he will be our starting third baseman. We expect him to play in at least 100 games and to hit 20 home runs.

3B Casey McGehee (22/22): McGehee had a breakout year for Milwaukee in 2010 hitting .285, hitting 23 home runs and driving in 104 runs. Last season, however, was not as great. He hit only .223 and hitting only 13 HR and 67 RBI. We are hoping for at least some of 2010 Casey McGehee. McGehee will likely play 60-70 games, backing up Garrett Jones at first and occasionally playing third.

SS Clint Barmes (44/44): Barmes will start the year in the MLB as our starting SS. Last season Barmes played in 123 games for Colorado and hit .244, smashing 12 HR and driving in 39 runs. Out of Barmes, we expect 105-115 games played.

SS Yamaico Navarro (31/45): Navarro will start the season in the MLB, although on a short leash. We would like to harness Navarro's potential and try to make him into a really nice player.

SS John McDonald (24/24): McDonald will start the season in the MLB as a back-up SS, back-up 3B, back-up 2B, and back-up LF. McDonald played in 84 games for Arizona and Toronto as a utility man. Out of McDonald we expect 80 games at multiple positions.

LF Alex Presley (36/40): Presley will start the season in the MLB as our starting Left Fielder. Last season, Presley played in 52 games for us and hit a promising .298. Presley will likely own the lead-off spot this season. We expect at least 140 games from Presley and a .290 average.

CF Andrew McCutchen (70/78): McCutchen will start the season in the MLB as our starting CF. He will be hitting in the 3 hole and has big expectations. Last season he played in 158 games, hitting .259 with 23 HR and 89 RBI. This season we expect him to play in at least 150 games and to hit 20+ HR and drive in 90+ RBI.

CF Gorkys Hernandez (21/31): Hernandez played well in AAA last season hitting .283. Hernandez will start the year in the MLB but could be sent down mid-season.

RF Jose Tabata (66/78): Tabata had a solid year last season. He hit .266 in 91 games. This season, however, we expect better. 130 games and a .290 average in the 2 hole.

RF Nate McClouth (25/25): McClouth had a sub-par 2011 campaign. He hit only .228 in 81 games. We are expecting him to back up in all three outfield positions and play in 70-80 games.

[tmdevitt31]

Now, a look at our pitchers going in to the 2012 season.

PITCHERS:

SP Erik Bedard (63/63): Bedard is coming off an injury plagued 2011 after starting only 16 games for Seattle. He went a poor 4-7 but had a solid 3.45 ERA. He will be our opening day starter.

SP Jeff Karstens (45/45): Karstens had a great first half of 2011, although he had a poor second half and finished only with a 9-9 record and a 3.38 ERA.

SP James McDonald (42/42): McDonald finished with a 9-9 record after starting 31 games. McDonald, however, had a sub-par 4.21 ERA. We are expecting a much better ERA from him this season.

SP Joel Pineiro (37/37): Pineiro had a very poor season for the Angels last season with a high 5.13 ERA. We are expecting better numbers from him this season.

SP Kevin Correia (30/30): Correia proved he could win games last season after racking up 12 of them. However, he had a very high 4.79 ERA.

MR Jason Grilli (40/40): In 32.2 innings last season, Grilli had a very nice 2.48 ERA, winning 2, losing 1 and saving 1. We expect about the same numbers from him this season.

MR Juan Cruz (35/35): Cruz had a very nice Win-Loss record last season, going 5-0. Unfortunately, he had a 3.88 ERA in 48.2 innings pitched.

MR Tony Watson (29/29): Watson didn't pitch great but wasn't terrible last season. He went 2-2 with a 3.95 ERA. We expect a little better this season.

SU Evan Meek (34/34): Meek had a shortened season last season after pitching only 20.2 innings. However he had a 3.48 ERA with a 1-1 record. We are hoping for a little bit better ERA this season.

SU Chris Resop (68/68): Last season, Resop had a very poor season with a 4.39 ERA in 69.2 IP as the setup man. We are expecting a much better season from Resop.

CP Joel Hanrahan (68/68): Hanrahan established himself as one of the very best closers in the game. He picked up 40 saves in 68.2 innings pitched with a 1.83 ERA. We are expecting about the same from him this year.

[tmdevitt31]

TRADE!!!

The day before Opening Day, we shook things up and acquired flame throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman. We sent reliever Evan Meek (34/34) and minor leaguer Jeff Locke (20/20). We received Chapman (53/64). Chapman had an ERA of 3.60 last season in 50.0 innings of work. Chapman will assume the role of SU man.

[tmdevitt31]

TRADE!!!

After very little production from back-up catcher Michael McKenry, we decided we needed a change. Shortly after on 4/12/12, we sent McKenry (21/21) and Charlie Morton (20/23) to Cincinnati for Ryan Hanigan (72/80). Hanigan will become our starting catcher. In 7 games for Cincinnati, Hanigan hit .300 with 0 HR and 2 RBI. Last season Morton went 10-10 with a 3.83 ERA.

[tmdevitt31]

After 1 month, we are a dismal 5-17. There are many poor starts, although there are some bright spots.

Record: 5-17
Games Back: 10
Place: 6th

Hot Players:

Alex Presley: 21 G .301/.358/.384, 0 HR 1 RBI: Presley has been a bright spot with his hits in the lead-off role. 21 hits in 73 at-bats so far. He could definitely ramp up the slugging however.

Joel Hanrahan: 7.2 IP 0-1, 4 SV (Keep in mind we've only won 5 games...) 2.35 ERA: Hanrahan has definitely been a great closer, saving 4 games with the team only getting 5 wins.

Jason Grilli: 11.2 IP 0-0 1.54 ERA: Grilli has supplied great innings out of the bullpen.

Cold Players:

Jose Tabata: 20 G .195/.213/.241 0 HR 1 RBI: Tabata has just not supplied the hits out of the two-hole. Unlike lead-off man Presley who has drawn 12 walks, Tabata has drawn only two walks.

Pedro Alvarez: 22 G .189/.303/.284 0 HR 8 RBI: The lone bright spot for Alvarez this season has been his ability to draw walks. However, Alvarez has just not gotten the hits needed. Alvarez is very close to being sent down.

Chris Resop: 6.2 IP 0-2 10.80 ERA: Resop has not been reliable at all. In eight games he's given up 8 runs. Resop needs to drastically improve.

Jeff Karstens: 23.1 IP 1-3 9.64 ERA 5 GS: Karstens has definitely not gotten much run support but he's given up way too many runs. In order to stay in the rotation, Karstens has to improve.

Prospect Watch:

Gerrit Cole P (AAA): 32.1 IP 2-2 4.45 ERA 6 GS: Cole has been solid in Triple A, but he is not anywhere near the majors at this point.

Jameson Taillon P (A): 24.2 IP 1-1 3.65 ERA 5 GS: Taillon has pitched well in Single A so far, but needs a little bit of improvement in order to get promoted to Double A.

Josh E. Bell LF (S A): Season has not started yet.

Starling Marte CF (AAA): 24 G .240/.294/.360 3 HR 15 RBI: Has played OK so far in Triple A, unfortunately was injured on 4/29/12 and will be out for 6 weeks. We will carefully monitor Marte, and will likely not be called up for the remainder of the season.

Charles Cutler C (AA): 21 G .301/.443/.470 4 HR 11 RBI: Cutler has been a pleasant surprise in AA this season. He has drawn 18 walks in 83 AB (Not including walks). He could be seeing a promotion to Triple A in the near future.

Tony Sanchez C (A): 21 G .324/.479/.394 1 HR 13 RBI: Sanchez, along with Cutler has been a pleasant surprise. Sanchez has drawn 20 walks in 71 at-bats. He could increase his power numbers. Sanchez will likely be called up very soon.

Ramon Cabrera 1B (A): 24 G .380/.458/.598 4 HR 23 RBI: Cabrera has been an unlikely surprise. He has gotten 35 hits in 92 AB and has gathered 23 RBI. Cabrera will be called up within the month if he keeps it up.

[tmdevitt31]

Another awful month leaves us way back in the NL Central.

Record: 7-21 (12-38 Total)
Place: 6th
Games Back: 18.5

Hot Players:

Ryan Hanigan: 23 G .316/.383/.416 2 HR 12 RBI: Hanigan came over in a big trade early in April and has been a lone bright spot in our order. Hanigan has been hitting clean-up, but we might move him to the 3-hole and move McCutchen to lead-off.

Joel Hanrahan: 14.0 IP 0-1 0.64 ERA 4 SV: Hanrahan has been lights out coming out of the bullpen, but has not had many opportunities to show himself. Its too bad...

Jason Grilli: 11.0 IP 0-0 0.82 ERA 1 SV: Grilli has been great as a set-up man so far this season. In a best case scenario Grilli will continue this performance and we can stop losing games late.

Cold Players:

Alex Presley: 26 G .187/.250/.286 2 HR 6 RBI: After starting out hot, Presley has taken a turn for the worst. His batting average dropped 114 points from April to May and his slugging percentage was under .300 in May.

Pedro Alvarez: 27 G .188/.261/.338 1 HR 8 RBI: Alvarez pretty much copied his April, the only problem is that his average was under .200. Drastic improvements need to be made in order for him to stay in the majors.

Erik Bedard: 33.2 IP 0-5 5.35 ERA 6 GS: Bedard had another awful month and he has still not won a game. A high ERA and his inability to stay in games has led to an awful season.

Jeff Karstens: 26.1 IP 1-5 6.15 ERA 6 GS: Karstens has had an awful season. AWFUL. He only pitched 26 innings in 6 games. That's about 4 innings a game. The numbers speak for themselves.



* I will only be doing prospect watch every other month*