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Site Updates: 2016 Prospect Guide Progress, Off-Season Content, Upcoming Survey

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This was my first full week back at home, which gave me a few days to rest last weekend, followed by getting a lot of work done on the 2016 Prospect Guide. At this point I’ve finished setting up the template for the book, adding new players, and got the ball rolling on our ranking process. By next week I’m hoping to have the bios and stats updated for every player (which is a long, tedious process), along with a few other features in the book, outside of the player profiles. We’ll also have a cover released soon, and shortly after that the book will be available for pre-sales.

Site subscribers can get the 2016 book for FREE or at a discount, depending on your membership level (details below). I’ll be sending out coupon codes for that once the book goes up for pre-sales.

The 2016 Prospect Guide will be released shortly after the Winter Meetings, which conclude December 10th. That gives me less than two months to finish the book, and as you can imagine, this time of year is crunch time for me.

During the season, we average about 6.5 posts per day on the team. As you would expect, the amount of posts goes down in the off-season, but we still have content daily. We’ve been running the season recaps this week, looking at every position on the team, along with a look at that position in the minor leagues. That will continue for the next week, along with our daily Winter League and AFL recaps.

There isn’t much opportunity for live coverage this time of year, although I will be heading to the AFL in early November to get some live reports on the prospects in the Fall League, along with some opinions from scouts who have been watching those players. The Pirates sent a good group this year, headlined by Austin Meadows, Reese McGuire, and Steven Brault, which should make it a good trip.

I wrote a few weeks ago about why monthly subscribers should stick around for the off-season, and the above is a big reason. The Pirates season is over, but you’re still going to find plenty of daily Pirates content on the site, along with a lot of great discussion in the comments. Even on the weekends, when I cut back on the content this time of year to focus on the book, we have plenty of articles. I don’t know if there’s another site out there that posts as many Pirates articles as we do during the off-season.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, if you’re subscribing from the start of Spring Training through the end of the playoffs, you’re paying for about nine months of coverage, which comes out to $26.91 per year on the monthly plan. By upgrading to the Annual plan, you get year-round coverage for a few dollars extra, getting access to all of our off-season content.

If you upgrade to the Top Prospect Plan, you’ll actually save a bit of money over the next three years versus monthly access during the season. Plus, you’d get the 2016 Prospect Guide for FREE, which is even more value. And at this point, you may be a subscriber longer than Andrew McCutchen is a member of the Pirates, since he has three years of control remaining. That’s a long subscription, especially for just $79.99.

If you’re a Pirates fan, then you’re not going to want to miss the off-season coverage, especially since the cost isn’t much higher than what the monthly cost would be from start to finish during the season. Those of you who haven’t subscribed can do so on our subscription page. Those of you who are already subscribed can upgrade your plans on your account page. Anyone having issues with either process should e-mail me at tim@piratesprospects.com.

What Do You Want to See?

Every year I send out a survey looking for input on the site from everyone who reads the site. These surveys have helped shape the site into what it is today, and it’s not a process I want to abandon. I’ll be looking for input into current features we have, the subscription process, the Prospect Guide, and new things that you want to see. This process has added some of our best features in the past, and I always look forward to the input and new ideas for the future.

Most outlets don’t take this approach. They don’t let the readers dictate how the site will be run, what types of articles they want to see, or what improvements they think can be made. I do this because, while I do own this site, I always have the feeling that it’s your site, and I’m just working here. That’s because I started this from scratch, at a time when independent professional sites were unheard of.

There were maybe a few people around the country in 2009 who were leaving newspapers and starting their own ventures. The idea of starting your own blog and making a living off of it was still pretty new at the time. I didn’t have a newspaper to launch my site from, and had about ten people who had ever read my work. It was only because of the readers that the site got to this point. I’d take credit for how groundbreaking this site is, but I’d just be stealing credit from you guys, since you made this possible. And as a result, I’m going to continue letting you shape the future of this site, and influence the features that you want to see.

Look for that survey to come out on Monday or Tuesday.

Get a FREE One-Year Subscription With DRAFTKINGS

I mention our special promotion with DraftKings during every update, but I just want to stress what a great deal this is, especially to monthly subscribers.

If you’re a monthly subscriber, then you’re probably going to be paying for at least two months out of the year. That’s $5.98 total. Our DraftKings deal gives a free one-year subscription to the site, simply by signing up as a new DraftKings customer (must be a new customer), making a $5 minimum deposit, and participating in a contest.

You could spend $5.98 on two months of access to the site, and then continue paying $2.99 per month for as long as you want to subscribe. Or, you could deposit at least $5 with DraftKings, and get a year of site access. It’s the best value for monthly subscribers, or anyone who is thinking about signing up for any of our plans.

Monthly subscribers would pay $5.98 for two months of access, or at least $5 in DraftKings for an entire year.

Annual subscribers would save at least $24.99 on their one-year subscription.

We also allow you to upgrade your free year to a Top Prospect plan, which comes out to about $1.50 per month and gives you access for three years.

And then you can use the money you deposited in DraftKings to play a fantasy sports contest, whereas before you would get nothing other than site access. It’s the absolute best value if you want to sign up for the site, or even if you’re a current monthly subscriber who plans on paying $2.99 every month.

Once you have completed the promotion (using the link above), send an e-mail to Javier Vargas at DraftKings (jvargas@draftkings.com) and let him know you are participating in the Pirates Prospects subscription promotion. Javier will confirm whether you’ve met the requirements, then will contact me so I can give you a coupon code that will allow you to set up your one year subscription.

Get a Free 2016 Prospect Guide

The 2016 Prospect Guide will be FREE to Top Prospect subscribers. Anyone who is currently under a Monthly or Annual plan can upgrade to our three-year plan by going to your Subscription page and clicking “Upgrade”. This will give you a pro-rated upgrade price, with your three-year plan starting today.

Anyone under an Annual plan will receive $10 off the book. There are no discounts for Monthly plans, although upgrading to an Annual or Top Prospect plan does give you a discount on your monthly price, not to mention the discounts for the book.

This promotion also works for the DraftKings accounts. If you wish to upgrade your DraftKings account to a three-year plan, send me an e-mail at tim@piratesprospects.com.

Anyone currently under a Top Prospect Plan is already eligible for this promotion. You will receive a coupon code when the book is released for pre-sales.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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