Not exactly prospects, but we have a few more Pirates' pitchers to look at:

Brian Burres  --  L/L,  6' 1",  165 lb
Burres, who will turn 30 years old this week, was the Giants' 31st round pick in the 2000 draft.  He pitched for 5 years in their organization, then three years in the Orioles' organization, making his major league debut in Baltimore in September 2006.  He was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays and pitched for them in 2009, then was signed by the Pirates for the 2010 season.  He was initially assigned to AAA Indianapolis to begin the 2010 season, but at the last minute was called back to Pittsburgh, due to injuries.  He made 7 starts and 3 relief appearances for the Pirates over April and May.  In the relief spots, he allowed 4 runs on 6 hits in 6.2 innings.  He had a couple of good starts, going 5.1 and 7 scoreless innings, but also had some tough starts, allowing 6 runs and 5 runs in two 6-inning starts.  He allowed 22 runs on 38 hits in 35 innings, for a 5.66 ERA. Burres was sent to Indianapolis at the beginning of June, and remained there until the end of August, pitching in the starting rotation.  July was his best month, when he earned a 3.96 ERA and two wins, allowing 16 earned runs on 29 hits in 36.1 innings.  Overall, for his time at AAA, Burres had a 5-4 record and a 4.50 ERA, with 41 earned runs on 75 hits in 82 innings.  His walk and strikeout rates were just ok, with 34 walks (3.7 walks/ 9 innings) and 61 strikeouts (6.7 K/ 9 innings).  He did have one start, on June 12th, when he struck out 8 batters in 5.2 innings.  Burres returned to the Pirates at the end of August, and finished the season there, first making 4 generally difficult relief appearances, then 6 starts.  Those 6 starts were his best pitching of the season, as he allowed 12 earned runs on 31 hits in 34.2 innings, for a 3.12 ERA.  He walked batters at about the same rate for the Pirates (3.9 walks/ 9 innings) and struck out fewer than in AAA (5.1 K/ 9 innings).  Burres was non-tendered by the Pirates at the end of 2010, but was soon signed to a minor league contract.  He was invited to spring training, but was reassigned to minor league camp.  He will begin the 2011 season in the Indians' starting rotation.


Anthony Claggett  --  Bats: Both / Throws: Right;  6' 3",  195 lb
Claggett was a waiver claim by the Pirates in September 2009, coming from the Yankees, who obtained him in a trade with the Tigers.  He pitched in only one game for the Pirates at the end of the 2009 season (one run on 2 hits in one inning).  In 2010, Claggett began the season at AAA, where he pitched entirely in relief.  He struggled in April, allowing 9 runs in 13 innings (6.23 ERA), but had his best month in May, when he allowed just 6 runs on 9 hits in 17.2 innings/ 9 appearances (3.06 ERA).  Unfortunately, he had some tough outings in June, as his ERA soared to 6.60 for the month.  In early July, Claggett was sent to AA Altoona, where he made 12 relief appearances over about 7 weeks.  There he gave up 5 runs on 15 hits in 15 innings, for a 3.00 ERA, and those 5 runs came in just two appearances.  In his last 7 games for the Curve, he did not allow a run in 10 innings.  That earned him a trip back to Indianapolis, where he finished the season.  He pitched well in his first three games back in Indy, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings.  Then he allowed 12 runs in 4.2 innings over his next three appearances, until he finished with one scoreless inning in the last game of the season.  His final stats at Indianapolis:  3-1 record and one save, with a 6.26 ERA, 38 runs and 55 hits in 54.2 innings.  Claggett's strikeout rate was decent:  7.2 K/ 9 innings in Indianapolis and 7.8 K/ 9 innings in Altoona; but his walk rate was up:  3.6 walks / 9 innings in Indy and 3.0 walks/ 9 innings in Altoona.  Claggett was removed from the 40-man roster again over the winter, but cleared waivers and signed a minor league contract for 2011, though he was not invited to major league camp.  The 25-year-old might have been back at AAA, but seems to have been squeezed out by all of the other pitchers who did not make the Opening Day roster, so he will begin 2011 at Altoona.

Just a few notes from here and there:

Check out this story by Lee Judge of the Kansas City Star. He talks about Clint Hurdle, but it generally applies to almost any minor league system.  I'm trying to picture players sleeping in the luggage racks.

The Indy Indians (and presumably the rest of the Pirates' minor league camp) have finished their official spring training games, with the last one yesterday against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs in Bradenton.  No word on the results.  The Indians usually arrive in Indianapolis on Monday or Tuesday, and have a couple of final workouts before Opening Day on Thursday.

Some former Pirates and Pirates' farmhands are moving around:
P Romulo Sanchez was released by the Yankees, and has signed to play with the Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan.
P Ty Taubenheim was released by the Rangers.
The Diamondbacks have signed Inf Josh Wilson.
The Nationals have released OF Jonathan Van Every.
The White Sox released P Jeff Sues, but snapped up Inf Christian Colonel after the Pirates released him this week.   
Inf/Of Luis Cruz was removed from the Brewers' 40-man roster and elected to become a free agent.
P Eric Hacker signed a minor league contract with the Twins.  
The Rays have released P Jonah Bayliss. 

UPDATE:  The Altoona Curve roster has been announced:  check it out here 
Note that Rudy Owens, Justin Wilson, and Tony Watson are NOT on the Altoona roster, so they should be in Indianapolis.  Also, Chase d'Arnaud, Matt Hague, and Gorkys Hernandez should be in Indy.

A few more pitchers in the Pirates' minor league organization:

Justin Wilson --  L/L,  6' 2",  233 lb
Wilson was chosen by the Pirates in the 5th round of the 2008 draft.  He signed late, so made his pro debut in 2009 with A+ Lynchburg.  He had a 6-8 record there, with a 4.50 ERA, but in the last two months of the season, he was showing some improvement, with 10 earned runs in 47.1 innings over his last 9 games (1.90 ERA).  Wilson was promoted to AA Altoona for 2010, and he began with a rough month of April, when he allowed 9 runs on 13 hits in 12.1 innings (6.57 ERA).  He also walked 10 batters that month.  Wilson turned it around in May, when he allowed just 5 runs on 19 hits in 32.2 innings, for a 1.38 ERA.  Though he still walked 12 batters, he also struck out 36 batters in the month, including a 10-strikeout game and a 7-strikeout game.  Wilson settled out in the middle in July, when he earned a 3.65 ERA with 10 earned runs in 24.2 innings, and then a 3.19 ERA in August/Sept with 13 runs in 36.2 innings.  He finished the regular season with an 11-8 record in 27 games (one relief appearance), with 49 earned runs and 109 hits in 142.2 innings.  Wilson has had control problems, and that continued in 2010.  He walked 71 batters (4.5 walks/ 9 innings), and he also struck out 134 batters (8.5 K/ 9 innings).  Wilson won both of the games he started for the Curve in their playoff run, pitching 6 scoreless innings with 2 hits in the first round, and then 7 scoreless innings with 5 hits in the championship round.  After the regular season, Wilson participated in the Arizona Fall League, where he got into 6 games for the Mesa Solar Sox.  He gave up 9 runs on 19 hits, including 2 homers, with 8 walks and 16 strikeouts.  The 23-year-old Wilson is ready for AAA, where he'll need to keep working on his command and keep up the strikeouts.  He might get sent to Altoona again, though, if the Pirates fill up Indianapolis with a lot of "major league ready" pitchers.  


Tony Watson  --  L/L,  6' 4",  223 lb
The Pirates took Watson in the 9th round of the 2007 draft.  Watson was named the Pirates' minor league pitcher of the year in 2008, when he pitched in Lynchburg.  He was promoted to Altoona to begin 2009 and made 5 starts there.  He pitched just 15.1 innings and allowed 14 earned runs and 22 hits, which were probably due to the elbow problems that put him onto the DL for the rest of the season.  Watson returned to Altoona for 2010, where he pitched mostly in relief and stayed healthy.  He began with a hot April, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits in 13.2 innings over 5 relief appearances for a 1.98 ERA.  He made 8 appearances in each of May and June, and continued to do well, with 10 runs on 20 hits in 36.2  innings (2.45 ERA).  July was going well for Watson until the end of the month, with just 2 runs in 15.1 runs in 5 relief appearances.  Then he was moved back to the starting rotation -- and gave up 10 runs in a combined 10.2 innings.  Watson stayed in the rotation for the rest of the season, and finished the year well, with 10 runs on 30 hits in 40 inning over 7 starts.  that gave him a 6-4 record and 2 saves for the season, with a 2.67 ERA and 111.1 innings, with 33 earned runs and 82 hits.  His control was solid, with 24 walks for the season (1.9 walks/ 9 innings) and 105 strikeouts (8.5 K/ 9 innings).  Like Wilson, Watson also made 2 starts in the Curve's playoff run, allowing 2 runs in each of 2 starts, and winning both games.  The Pirates placed the 25-year old Watson onto the 40-man roster last fall.  He should be promoted to Indianapolis for 2010, where he' likely be used out of the bullpen.  He has a chance of making a trip up to Pittsburgh by the end of the season.