The Return of the Pirates: The Summers Era

[TavesSoul]

The 2010 Draft Preview
June 15th, 2010

Going into tonight’s First Year Player Draft, prospects all over the country will be sitting by their phones, waiting to be informed that they’ve been picked in this years draft. Early today, Baseball US released it’s Top Prospects, listing the top 10 players:

1) SP Hector Vigil, 22 yr old, Mississippi State Bulldogs (NCAA)
2) SP Oliver Aguila, 22 yr old, Dartmouth Big Green (NCAA)
3) SP Mario Gutierrez, 22 yr old, George Washington University Colonials (NCAA)
4) C Alex Jenkins, 17 yr old, high school
5) SP Dave Gallagher, 22 yr old, Florida State Seminoles (NCAA)
6) CF Ray Hunt, 22 yr old, Dartmouth Big Green (NCAA)
7) C Nick Brown, 22 yr old, Cal State Fullerton Titans (NCAA)
8) RF Dave Brown, 22 yr old, UC Irvine Anteaters (NCAA)
9) CF Archie Gentry, 22 yr old, Fordham University Rams (NCAA)
10) RF Jay Robilliard, 22 yr old, UC Davis Aggies (NCAA)

The Chicago White Sox will draft first this year, with Texas, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Seattle drafting after them. In what is considered a deep draft, there have been lots of arguments in draft rooms around the league as to who is a top ten prospect this year, with so many potential picks. Pittsburgh GM Neil Summers will sit tight, waiting to see how the White Sox and the Rangers play it, but is said to have a list of five prospect their shooting for. There is starting pitching depth in this draft, and the rumors are that the Pirates may wait till their second first rounder at 27 to snag one. With four picks in the top 34, the Pirates look to make off like… well, pirates.

Previous Pittsburgh First Round Picks
A comprehensive list of the first round picks made under Summers regime:

2009 - 1st Round (4th Overall)
1B Diego Cruz
Diego destroyed in rookie ball last year, though he’s struggled a bit in A ball, after starting the season hot. Still projected to be a superstar who can bomb it, he just needs to work on his eye and he’d be a perfect hitter. Still two years away at least.

[TavesSoul]

2010 Draft in the Books
June 15th, 2010

The 2010 First Year Player Draft finished up today, and there were lots of shocking picks to be had all around. The Chicago White Sox kicked off the draft, taking St. Bonaventure Bonnies SP Ferruccio Niccoli. ‘The Silver Fox’ has 4 pitches that if developed probably should be solid, and he was a leader on the Bonnies. Most GM’s had been high on Niccoli, and were shocked when he wasn’t considered a top 10 prospect. Next up were the Texas Rangers, and with their pick they took SP Dave Gallagher, the fifth ranked prospect by Baseball US. The Pirates were on the clock, and they rushed in their pick, taking Fordham CF Archie Gentry, the ninth ranked prospect. Pirates GM Neil Summers had this to say about the pick, “our whole war room exploded when we saw the White Sox take Niccoli, as we knew they were the man competition to take Archie. There were a lot of good prospects we would have been happy to take with this pick, but when we scouted this draft, Archie was in a league of his own. He has amazing speed, defense and a great and powerful bat. He’s the five tool prospect, and he’s a smart and hard worker to boot.” With the 4th pick, St. Louis took SP Logan Burton, while the Mariners took RF Jose Martinez with the fifth pick. Number one prospect SP Hector Vigil went to the Cincinnati Reds at 14 overall, number two prospect SP Oliver Aguila went 6th overall to the Yankees, and number three prospect SP Mario Gutierrez went to the Phillies with the 8th overall pick. The Toronto Blue Jays picked CF Alberto Correa out of Dartmouth College with the 28th overall pick.

Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Picks

First Round - 3rd Overall
CF Archie Gentry - 22 Yrs Old; LHB; Fordham University Rams (NCAA)
A five tool prospect, Gentry is a superstar in waiting. I’m willing to be patient with him, as I don’t want to burn him out, and he’ll start off in rookie ball for now. Could be the best prospect we’ve seen in two drafts so far, and yes, that includes Strasburg and Ackley. Can’t say enough about this kid.

27th Overall
SP Jose Morales - 22 Yrs Old; LHP; Cal State Fullerton Titans (NCAA)
I was happy to see Morales still on the board, with his three pitches, he could be a future number two or three. He works really hard, and is an extremely loyal kid, and he throws a nasty fastball that’s been clocked at 97 MPH.

Supplemental Round - 31st Overall
RF Artie Hughes - 22 Yrs Old; RHB; University of Nevada Wolfpack (NCAA)
The speedy fielder didn’t get much action with the Wolfpack this year for some reason, but he looks like he’ll be a very good all around hitter later in his career. Doesn’t play defense particularly well, but I hope experience changes that. Will have all the time in the world to develop the skills he needs.

34th Overall
SP Sammy Skinner - 22 Yrs Old; RHP; Duquesne Dukes (NCAA)
‘Big Bill’ had a stellar year for the Dukes this year, going 7-2 with a 1.76 ERA. Plays excellent defense for a pitcher, and his fastball is deadly, hitting 99 MPH. His future in the big show will likely be as a reliever though, but he’ll get time as a starter in the minors to see if he can mine another pitch out.

Second Round - 51st Overall
2B Jack Bly - 22 Yrs Old; RHB; Nebraska Cornhuskers (NCAA)
Bly has all the makings of being a solid contributor on a contender down the line, playing good defense with a high work ethic, and hitting fairly well. His gap hitting is phenomal, and he’ll hit for some power. Needs time though, as he’s unrefined at this point. Boras is his agent, so he could be a problem.

Third Round - 79th Overall
CL Paul Warren - 22 Yrs Old; RHP; St. Bonaventure Bonnies (NCAA)
The loyal and hard working closer comes with nothing but the highest of recommendations from Bonnies manager Jaime Cortez, who definitely knows his pitching. His desire for winning is phenomenal, and he has the potential to be a pretty good closer, thanks to his deadly slider, and a 94 MPH fastball. Has very good control of his pitches as well.

Fourth Round - 109th Overall
SS Juan Cardenas - 22 Yrs Old; LHB; Dartmouth Big Green (NCAA)
Juan is a decent defender, but it’s his speed that separates him from others on the field. Has some potential to hit for some good power, while the rest of his game looks to be average. Still, worth the shot, and with some of his hard work, the smart shortstop could make the show.

Fifth Round - 139th Overall
SP Oliver Aguilar - 22 Yrs Old; LHP; Oregon State Beavers (NCAA)
Oliver is an innings eater, and that’ll be his role if he ever makes the majors. Could pitch for days and days, it’s really too bad he doesn’t have a third pitch. His slider is okay, and his 95 MPH fastball can get some people out. Has good control on his pitches, and was a leader on the Beavers squad.

6th (169th Overall) - 3B Mario Estrada - 22 Yrs Old; RHB; La Salle Explorers (NCAA)
7th (199th Overall) - SP Jose Gonzalez - 22 Yrs Old; RHP; North Carolina State Wolfpack (NCAA)
8th (229th Overall) - RF Nick Kennedy - 17 Yrs Old; LHB; High School
9th (259th Overall) - SP Jeffrey Simpson - 22 Yrs Old; LHP; South Carolina Gamecocks (NCAA)
10th (289th Overall) - RF Ron Sanders - 21 Yrs Old; LHB; College

[TavesSoul]

The Pirates continue their great start to the season, finishing the month of June with a 16-10 record, to put them at 44-27 overall. Their eight games up on the second place Reds in the NL Central. One of the keys to the Pirates newfound success seems to be the ability of the batters to avoid strikeouts, as they lead the majors with just 453 K’s. The control of the pitchers on the staff has also been key, with just 213 BB this season, they lead the majors. “We’ve been very happy with how the team has performed this year,” said second-year GM Neil Summers. “I always thought we had a playoff caliber team if things worked out, and luckily they have. I’m thankful to the players on our bench and in our minors, as they’ve had to step in when injuries have struck us, and unlike last year, they haven’t decimated us.”

June’s Hot Players
SP Daniel Cabrera - 2-1, 2.06 ERA, 5.0 K/BB
MR Christopher Blazek - 7.2 IP, 1.17 ERA, 1 SV
1B Adam LaRoche - .292, 8 HR, 22 RBI, 0 SB

June’s Cold Players
SP Trevor Cahill - 3-1, 6.32 ERA, 1.5 K/BB
MR Shawn Kelley - 1-1, 7.88 ERA, 1 SV
CF Jeff Salazar - .122, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB

June Injury Report
The injuries kept rolling in, but unlike last season, the team pulled together and has performed in the absences. We have some nice depth this year, and we’ve also been lucky that none of our injuries have been of the 12-14 month variety we saw so often last season. 2B Freddy Sanchez was the first to fall in June, missing two weeks with tendinitis in wrist. He would strain his groin during rehab and miss another week. Then CF Andrew McCutchen tore his quadriceps, and was declared out by our medical staff for 4-5 weeks while he rehabs. RF Brandon Moss, having a stellar season and wielding a hot bat, dislocated his shoulder after colliding with the wall making a catch in a night game. He will miss two to three months while it heals. SP Doug Davis also saw the injury bug this month, suffering a ruptured tendon in his index finger on his pitching hand. He will miss 3 months while he rehabs it. Finally, RF Jason Heyward hit the same wall that took out Brandon while filling in for him, and broke a rib. He is out six weeks, confined to no physical activity while it heals.

June Transaction Report
Breaking the streak of inactivity, Summers finally made his first real move of the season, making one deal in what was a month that was mostly focused on the Draft. RF Jeff Kroeger finally wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh, being booed all the way out of town. After hitting a terrible .077 in May, the fans were screaming for the release of Kroeger. Summers approached the Mariners, a team weak in right field, and worked out a deal with them, sending Kroeger and SP Brad Lincoln to the Mariners. Lincoln was the #77 rated prospect last year, and while he was performing well, he had fallen out of favor with Summers. In return the team Bucs got CF Jarrett Burgess, a decent prospect who projects to be a borderline player. Had a great eye, and avoids K’s, but is horrible defensively, and slower then most catchers.

June Prospect Report

AAA
MR Dave Davidson - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 SV
Analysis: His second year in AAA, and he’s finally piecing together a good season. Whether he ever makes it to the majors is unlikely, but he could prove me wrong, if he keeps pitching like this. Works hard, and gets by mostly on the movement of his pitches, but unless he gets more control, he’ll never go higher the AAA again.
1B Larry Broadway - .293, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 1 SB
Analysis: Is finally bringing his batting average up, while still supplying his trademark power, he will probably get a reward call-up to see how he fares against better pitching and more pressure. At 29 though, he’s almost out of time to be in the majors.

AA
MR Harrison Bishop - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 13.1 IP
Analysis: Was just dominating this month for the Curve, and is performing as well as he did in A ball last season, which is to say pretty well. Despite what talent he seems to lack, he produces, and I have a spot for any over-achiever.
3B Pedro Alvarez - .347, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB
Analysis: Continues to dominate AA ball, and looks ready for a AAA call-up. Maybe the #8 prospect is closer to the show then I thought he was. Still needs work on his defense though.

A
SP Donald Veal - 2-0, 0.77 ERA, 3.9 K/BB
Analysis: Has been dominant in his second year of A ball, and killed in all five of his starts this month. Deserves a shot at AA ball, now that he’s proved his good year wasn’t a fluke, but just a sign of things to come.
C Andrew Walker - .255, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 0 SB
Analysis: Had a good month, following a solid year last year. Will get a look in AA at some point, to see if he can hack it. Probably no major league future for Andrew though, as he doesn’t have the skills in any area to seeming succeed.

Short A
CL Domingo Perez - 3.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 SV
Analysis: Has been dominant in just under four innings of work. It’s a small sample size, so we’ll know better about Perez depending on how he fares next month. Still, it’s a very encouraging start to the season.
CF Alonso Sanchez - .303, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SV
Analysis: Again, it’s a small sample size, but this is an encouraging first 9 games from Alonso. Is a great fielder with speed to burn, the fact that he’s hitting well means only good things for his future, if he can keep it up. The former 7th rounder has potential.

R
SP Oliver Aguilar - 1-1, 2.20 ERA, 1 SHO
Analysis: The fifth round pick had a good two games, looking especially dominant in the first. It’s early in the season yet, but we expect more of the same from Aguilar.
CF Archie Gentry - .303, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB
Analysis: Again, it’s a very small sample size, but in his 9 games, Archie showed why he was picked 3rd Overall. I expect him to be THE dominant player of the Rookie League this season.

[TavesSoul]

The Pirates slowed down a little bit this month, with the Pirates going 15-11, but they still have the division led by 7 over their rival Cincinnati Reds. The teams rivalry recently boiled over with a four dame series the second week of the month. The teams split the series 2-2, leaving the season series at 5-5 for the season, but things got really heated off the field, as Pittsburgh GM Neil Summers was interviewed for an article in Sports Illustrated about the resurging Pirates near the end of this month, and was asked about who he thought the worst GM in baseball was. Normally known for his reluctance to comment about other teams managers, he without a pause said “Walt Jocketty.” Asked if he cared to elaborate on it, Summers went on to say, “look, I used to have a good opinion of Walt, but several times since I’ve been a GM, he’s come to me with ridiculous trade offers, and tried to sweet talk me like he was doing me a favor. I mean, just this month, with the trade deadline nearing, Walt called me with the worst offer I’ve seen in my experience in the game, either with this organization, the Blue Jays, or the Brewers. He, without a hint of sarcasm, tried to talk me into trading him SP Daniel Cabrera, 2B Eric Mwamba and $2,000,000 to get LF Danny Dorn. He kept going on about how Dorn was a hot prospect in left ready to start at the majors, and how he wanted to address my lack of a leftfielder, and was willing to absorb Cabrera’s salary for me, and all he needed was a little cash and a mediocre prospect to show the fans. That pissed me off so much, I just hung up on him, and called Doug to let off some steam. Doug said that Walt's been known to be kind to young head scout on other teams, solely so they’ll trust him when they become GM’s on other teams, and then he can rip them off. To me, that’s the worst kind of manager. Plus, his offers shows he didn't even bother to really check out a scouting report on my team. McLouth's been playing left all season, and there‘s no way anyone he can offer me is going to match him. Bush league.” Jocketty has yet to issue a statement in reply.

July’s Hot Players
SP John Lackey - 3-0, 1.53 ERA, 1.9 K/BB
CL Matt Capps - 10.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 6 SV
LF Nate McLouth - .299, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 4 SB

July’s Cold Players
SP Eric Bedard - 0-2, 9.00 ERA, 0.6 K/BB
CL Brian Slocum - 5.1 IP, 8.44 ERA, 0 SV
C Ryan Doumit - .202, 0 HR, 13 RBI, 0 SB

July Injury Report
The injuries slowed down this month, with only a couple notable ones for the organization. The first was CF Jeff Salazar going down with a strained Achilles tendon for two weeks, and the second was C Brian Schneider being declared down for the season, after rupturing his MCL. He is expected to be out 9-10 months, and it’s a blow for the Pirates, who were enjoying the depth that Schneider provided them with a struggling Doumit. AAA MR Jesse Chavez also went down, tearing a flexor in his elbow. It’s a career threatening injury for the reliever, who was fighting his way back into the majors, and he’ll miss a minimum of 14 months. “Obviously, the injuries to both Brian and Jesse are rather serious, and we hope that they can both fully recover from them, but there’s nothing we can do for them now except trust the doctors and rehab specialists to do what’s right in each case,” said Summers in a press release after the injuries were announced on the same day.

July Transaction Report
With the team having suffered from injuries in the outfield all season, the Pirates felt the need to make a move to acquire another outfield bat for depth, and with a couple inquiries to teams with an overabundance of outfielders, a deal was quickly struck up with the Washington Nationals. LF Laynce Nix who is a defensive specialist was acquired in exchange for MR Juan Mateo, SP Kyle Bloom and MR Jared Hughes. All three were having great years in the minors, and Mateo gives the Nats a desperately needed reliever for the pen. That was the Pirates sole move at the deadline, although there were rumors they were looking to move Doumit and 2B Freddy Sanchez, put couldn’t find the right deal.

July Prospect Report

AAA
CL Felix Doubront - 7.2 IP, 1.17 ERA, 3 SV
Analysis: Doubront’s starting to really prove himself as a reliever, and though he’ll never be a closer on a good team, he can help out in a pinch. He’s showing some promise in his first season in AAA, and he may get a late season call-up as the Bucs make a playoff push.
SS Brent Brewer - .243, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 3 SB
Analysis: At 22, he’s had a pretty good year in Indianapolis, despite struggling in AA last season. Plays good defense with some speed, and while he’ll never hit more then 15 homers in a year, he’s a pretty solid shortstop option.

AA
CL Jeff Sues - 10.1 IP, 0.87 ERA, 10 SV
Analysis: Is definitely ready for AAA ball, dominating AA ball the last month. His 44 career AA saves are closing in on the Eastern League record of 54. He’ll shoot for the record by the end of this season, and then play AAA next year.
RF Kyler Burke - .370, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 3 SB
Analysis: Kyler’s been pretty good, and has earned himself a spot in the system next season. I’m just not convinced he’ll ever be able to approach these numbers in a full season in the majors. Can’t do anything good, but he’s average at everything.

A
CL Harvey Garcia - 1-1, 0.59 ERA, 11 SV
Analysis: Garcia keeps rolling in A ball, and desperately needs to pitch in AA to see if he has any future in the organization. Still, you can’t argue his stellar season this year. 31 saves overall is nothing to sneeze at in A ball.
CF Eric Eiland - .206, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 10 SB
Analysis: Didn’t hit for a good average, but he made his 21 hits count. The #47 ranked prospect this year has bounced back from a bad ankle injury, and he hasn’t slowed down yet.

Short A
MR Clyde Walker - 11.1 IP, 1.59 ERA, 3.0 K/BB
Analysis: ‘Conman’, the 424th overall pick in 2009, has looked amazing the season at State College. After struggling last season, he was nowhere near a sure thing to play in Short A this season, but he’s quashed any doubts and now looks to have a bright future ahead. His lack of control worries me though.
RF Daniel LaPierre - .291, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 2 SB
Analysis: LaPierre is just continuing on from last seasons impressive Rookie Ball debut, and the 12th round pick has really started to come on. Plays pretty good defense, and looks like he’ll be a good hitter, the Pirates have high hopes for the Canadian from Moose Jaw.

R
SP Sammy Skinner - 1-3, 1.30 ERA, 6.6 K/BB
Analysis: ‘Big Bill’, the teams second supplemental round pick this year, has been phenomenal this season in Rookie Ball. If he could get a run scored by his teammates when he pitches, he’d be undefeated right now with a season ERA of 0.95 here.
CF Archie Gentry - .276, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 4 SB
Analysis: “The Phenom” has been explosive in Rookie Ball, dominating the league, as expected. He could probably play okay in Short A, but I’d rather he demolish his competition every year.

***No offense to Walt Jocketty in real life, as he's probably a real good guy. This storyline needed some drama and a villain though, and the offers I had gotten from him in the game were annoying me, so he got the spot***

[Mathies_dane]

Awesome dynasty. As i am also doing a Pirates one on my own its interesting to see what you are doing with the team. Keep up the good work.