Lineups:
Pirates:
1. Ronny Cedeno, SS
2. Neil Walker, 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
4. Garrett Jones, RF
5. Ryan Church, LF
6. Andy LaRoche, 3B
7. Jeff Clement, 1B
8. Jason Jaramillo, C
Reds:
1. Orlando Cabrera, SS
2. Miguel Cairo, 1B
3. Brandon Phillips, 2B
4. Scott Rolen, 3B
5. Jay Bruce, RF
6. Jonny Gomes, LF
7. Drew Stubbs, CF
8. Ramon Hernandez, C
9. Johnny Cueto, P
May 16, 2012 at 8:01 am
With regards to Lucas Giolito, the other question to consider is “Will he sign for the slot amount, or close to it, allocated to the Pirates at 1-8?” If Giolito is confident in his abilities and falls out of the Top 5, he can just go to UCLA and come out in 2015 as a top 5 guy.
That’s the scenario that Karsten Whitson will be doing next year after spurning the Padres in 2010.
May 16, 2012 at 9:03 am
Tim….nit picky, but why compare JT, a righty, to Kershaw, a lefty?
May 16, 2012 at 9:07 am
I would love a position player, but to somewhat quote a ‘great’ debater, Marrero is no Jack Wilson (if he was, I’d be doing handflips).
I prefer an injured Giolito or whoever drops of the big 7.
May 16, 2012 at 9:08 am
Btw, Jim Callis just posted us taking Marrero. If we wanted a weak hitting, good fielding SS, wouldn’t we have hung on to Pedro C? Just sayin…..
May 16, 2012 at 10:49 am
Gotta agree that if Marrero was Jack Wilson we should be happy, Jack put up 15WAR in his 7 1/2 years in town. A reliable MLB average SS for 7-8 years out of your 1st round pick, I’d take that.
If you had asked me last fall if I’d be happy with Marrero at #8, I’d have been doing backflips. This is kind of like the Rendon fall last year but at least he had an injury to explain it. It is also reminiscent of Grant Green who failed to hit enough his Junior year in 2009. If Marrero’s glove is a lock to stay at SS then I think I’m OK with it. I do think I’d prefer Cecchini or roll the dice with Giolito, but I wouldn’t kill the front office for Marrero.
It doesn’t seem like next year’s class is much better though so I don’t think taking Giolito and collecting a comp pick in 2013 when he doesn’t sign is much of a bargain like it was in 2011 for Arizona.
Twitter: sdzielinski
May 16, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Tim wrote:
“Then there’s Deven Marrero. I’ve already seen a few Jack Wilson comparisons made with disdain due to Marrero’s strong defense at shortstop and weak bat. That’s kind of surprising, seeing as how Jack Wilson was such a fan favorite when he was here. That might be a fair comparison, but once again, it’s only limited to the Pirates.”
The fact that Jack Wilson was a fan favorite does not modify the fact that Marrero is an inappropriate pick for the Pirates at 1.8. The organization generally lacks power hitting prospects. Only Dickerson and Bell currently fit that description. So, taking a good fielding, poor hitting shortstop over Shaffer, for instance, makes no sense, especially since Shaffer equal in talent to Marrero.
I use the Jack Wilson to Marrero comparison because Wilson was a deeply flawed but useful player. The Pirates, however, need more than that from a top of the first round pick.
I previously supported the 2009 draft strategy. But, given that that draft class now looks to be a near total bust, I hesitate before endorsing implementing it again.
And, let us recall that the 2010 draft class may yield only Taillon and Allie. That class is also short on prospects taken after the second round. The Pirates cannot have too many low productivity drafts before the lack of production takes its toll on the organization.
May 16, 2012 at 2:19 pm
One of the reasons that Marrero is drawing the ire of Pirates fans is the lack of offense on the MLB club this year. Fans are hypersensitive right now and want to see a huge bat arrive via the draft (even if that player wouldn’t arrive for several years). There have been plenty of articles and comments recently about how Huntington and Co. can’t acquire or develop hitting, which makes the potential Marrero pick an easy target. If we had a high-powered offense and no defense at the major league level, Marrero might not get the same level of criticism. That’s not to say that it’s the right pick, of course — I’m only addressing the public reaction.