I didn’t have a central topic in mind for tonight. I was going to give a few thoughts on what might happen to Jeff Locke once the prospects come up. (Is he better used in a trade for a team that needs a starter, or do the Pirates roll with his recent success and hope he continues to improve?) I was going to do an early look at the big area of need for the Pirates at the trade deadline. (Bullpen help is my guess.) I was also going to do a way too early look at off-season needs, writing about how the Pirates will have a lot of positions locked down, along with a lot of prospect depth, and might be in good position to splurge and make a big move to make their team even better going forward.
But then half of the Pirates lineup went down tonight with injuries, and that led to a busy game, which finished off a busy day. I talked with Andrew McCutchen, Francisco Cervelli, and Jordy Mercer after the game tonight, getting all of the injury updates from the game. This also came on a day where we had featured articles on Austin Meadows, Adam Frazier, a live report on Trevor Williams from Indianapolis, draft updates, a podcast, and other news throughout the system.
This article marks the tenth article of the day. I could expand on one or all of the above topics, but honestly, I’m going to give you a chance to catch up and write about that stuff another time.
And if you aren’t a subscriber, then let me ask you this: where else are you going to find a site that has this many quality articles on the Pirates, with reports from all over the system on a daily basis? It’s only $2.99 per month, and you can get all of the content below, plus our upcoming draft coverage. Subscribe today to get it all.
We’ve got a few more features tomorrow, including one on Gage Hinsz on the day he makes his debut with West Virginia. We’ll also have all of the injury updates and any moves that may happen. For now, here is a rundown of today’s features.
**Pirates Lose in Extras, Updates on McCutchen, Cervelli, and Mercer. Tonight’s short game recap, and much longer injury recap. A lot of stuff on McCutchen here, which sounds the most concerning of the four injuries.
**Austin Meadows is Starting to Show Why He’s One of Baseball’s Best Prospects. Sean McCool looks at how Austin Meadows has started to heat up after struggling early in his return to Altoona.
**Adam Frazier Working to Make Versatility His Ticket to Pittsburgh. Brian Peloza looks at Adam Frazier’s versatility, and how it could help get him to the big leagues.
**Prospect Watch: Trevor Williams Feels Good After Latest Start. Live report from Indianapolis tonight on Williams after his latest outing.
**Pirates Notes: Polanco and Vogelsong Updates, Melancon Gets a Needed Break. More injury updates from earlier today, looking at Polanco and Vogelsong.
**Three New Top 100 Draft Prospect Rankings. We’re a week away from the MLB draft, and a lot of rankings are coming out with players to watch.
**David Todd Podcast: Breaking Down the Pirates’ Rotation, Plus Prospect Talk. Podcast of my weekly interview with David Todd, with a lot of Pirates’ rotation talk.
**Morning Report: Some Prospects Who Struggled Throughout the Month of May. John Dreker takes a look at some of the prospects who struggled last month.
