Less than 24 hours until the Pirates begin 2011, and just a week until the minor leagues begin their season... and a few more pitchers to look at:

Tyler Cox  --  Bats Right/ Throws Left;  6' 3",  200 lb
Cox was the Pirates' 35th round pick in the 2008 draft.  He pitched well for the GCL Pirates that year, but struggled at West Virginia to begin 2009.  He was moved to State College, and had better results: an 8-3 record and a 3.93 ERA in 10 starts and 5 relief appearances.  The relief appearances seemed to be a good idea, and in 2010, Cox was moved to the bullpen and pitched exclusively in relief.  It seemed to agree with him, as he earned a 6-2 record and one save, and an overall 3.32 ERA in 62.1 innings.  Cox did not allow a run in his first 3 outings (6.2 innings), and he gave up only 2 runs and 8 hits in the month of April, for a 1.35 ERA in 13.1 innings.  He struggled in May, though, allowing 12 runs and 15 hits in 12.1 innings (8 appearances), for an 8.76 ERA.  But when the calendar turned to June, Cox turned over a new page too -- he gave up 2 runs on 5 hits over 12.2 innings for a 1.42 ERA.  In July it was more of the same:  2 runs on 8 hits in 12 innings, and a 1.50 ERA.  Cox had a streak of 14 consecutive appearances over June and July in which he did not allow any runs at all, not even unearned runs.  The season ended with 4 runs on 11 hits in 12 innings over August and September, which boosted his ERA a little bit.  Cox also bumped up his strikeout rate with the move to the bullpen -- 70 strikeouts (10.1 K/ 9 innings), though his walks were a little high too (33, 4.8 walks/ 9 innings) when his control got shaky.  Cox will turn 25 in a few weeks.  He should be ready to move to AA Altoona for 2011.


Diego Moreno  --  R/R,  6' 1",   177 lb
Moreno is a 24-year-old Venezuelan, who has played only two seasons in the US.  He pitched very effectively in two games in State College and 18 games in West Virginia in 2009, for a combined 1-3 record and 5 saves, with a 2.60 ERA in 50 innings.  He was assigned to Bradenton to begin the 2010 season, and had great success against the Florida State League.  He allowed one run in April, on 5 hits and one walk, in 13 innings, for a 0.69 ERA.  He also struck out 19 batters in the month, including one outing on April 26th when he struck out 7 batters in 3 hitless and scoreless innings.  He buzzed through May also, and didn't get his ERA above 1.00 until his last game with the Marauders on May 22nd, when he allowed 2 runs on 2 hits (one was a home run).  He gave up 3 runs total in May, on 6 hits in 13.1 innings, and finished his time in Bradenton with a 1.37 ERA in 26.1 innings.  He'd walked two batters and struck out 39.  Moreno was promoted to Altoona, and made his first AA appearance on May 24th (one hit and two strikeouts in one inning) -- then went onto the DL with a shoulder strain.  When he returned, Moreno made another 6 appearances for Altoona.  He gave up 6 runs in that time, but 5 came in one game.  His totals in Altoona, in 7 games were 6 runs on 10 hits in 7.2 innings and a 7.04 ERA.  At that point, Moreno had an unfortunate incident with the Altoona staff, and was first suspended, then demoted to Bradenton.  He made another 12 relief appearances for the Marauders, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits over 12 innings for a 1.50 ERA, and 18 strikeouts.  Moreno should have another chance in Altoona to begin 2011.  

This is the time of year when teams release players from their minor league camps - those who are not going to fit into the organization's plans.  The Pirates have released these players:

Inf Adenson Chourio  --  West Virginia and Bradenton in 2010
Inf Christian Colonel -- he'd just been signed at the beginning of the month 
RHP Casey Erickson  --  Bradenton in 2010
C/ OF/ 3B Pat Irvine  --  State College and West Virginia in 2010
1B Gerlis Rodriguez  --  State College in 2010
LHP Mike Williams  --   West Virginia in 2010
2B Jose Solano (Luis?)  -- GCL Pirates in 2010

P Ramon Aguero has been designated for assignment, coming off the Pirates' 40-man roster to make room for P Jose Veras.  If he makes it through waivers, he could go to Altoona or Indianapolis.   

RHP Tim Wood is also getting close to signing with the Pirates.  He was the Marlins' 44th round draft pick in 2002, and worked his way up through there system, reaching the majors in June 2009.  he made 18 relief appearances in that season, for a total of 22.1 innings, with 7 runs on 22 hits, for a 2.82 ERA.  He split last season between AAA New Orleans and the major league team.  He began the season with the Marlins, then spent parts of May and June and the end of July with New Orleans.  Wood pitched in 26 games for the Marlins, and earned an 0-1 record with 8 saves.  In a total of 27 innings, he gave up 33 hits and 17 runs, for a 5.53 ERA.  In New Orleans, he made 14 relief appearances, going 0-1 with 5 saves, and allowing 10 runs on 19 hits in 14 innings (6.43 ERA).  He did not pitch after the end of July, and was granted free agency in November. Wood was signed by the Nationals six days later, but was released in spring training.  
*UPDATE* -- Wood signed a minor league contract with the Pirates.  That could mean Indianapolis for him. 

More pitchers in the Pirates' minor league organization:

Tim Alderson --  R/R,  6' 6",  217 lb
Alderson joined the Pirates as part of the trade that sent Freddy Sanchez to the Giants in 2009.  There was some concern at the time that Alderson's velocity had dropped.  He struggled a bit when joining the Curve after the trade.  He made 7 starts, for 38.2 innings, with a 3-1 record and a 4.66 ERA.  He allowed 20 runs on 39 hits, with 13 walks and 18 strikeouts, though 7 of those hits and 11 of those runs came in his last start.  Alderson returned to Altoona to begin 2010, and his velocity improved through the season, though it didn't keep him from getting bombarded.  He'd had an odd delivery when he began his pro career, and the Giants had made some changes, thinking that the oddness would make him prone to injury.  Alderson wanted to go back to his original delivery, and the Pirates were ok with that, but it didn't work out as well as he'd hoped.  In his first start, Alderson pitched 5 shutout innings and allowed 4 hits.  After that, things went downhill.  He gave up 12 earned runs over his next 3 starts, giving him a 5.49 ERA in April.  He made 6 starts in May -- one was very good, going 7 scoreless innings with 4 hits, and one where he allowed one run in 6 innings, but the rest were problematic.  He finished May with a 4.32 ERA, allowing 16 runs on 37 hits in 33.1 innings.  June was no better, with a 5.11 ERA, and 14 runs in 24.2 innings, including one outing in which he did not get out of the 2nd inning.  Alderson gave up 15 runs in 12 innings over 3 starts in early July, and at that point, the Pirates decided to send him down to Bradenton, to be able to work on his mechanics more.  The move did not help tremendously.  He gave up 7 runs in 1.2 innings in his first start for the Marauders, then 7 more in 4 innings in the second.  Over the rest of the season, Alderson pitched 33 innings in 6 games (2 in relief), and allowed 18 runs, for a 4.91 ERA.  That added up to a 6.98 ERA for his time in Bradenton, and a 4-3 record.  In 38.2 innings, he allowed 30 earned runs on 47 hits.  Alderson struck out a total of 84 batters (5.8 K/ 9 innings in Altoona, and 5.9 K/ 9 innings in Bradenton).  He walked 40 (3.0 walks/ 9 innings and 2.7 walks/ 9 innings).  Alderson has said that he was surprised that he was traded from the Giants, and then was surprised and horrified to struggle so much in 2010.  He did feel that he was able to make some mental adjustments in Bradenton, even though his results were not much better.  He continued to work on his mechanics in the fall instructional league, and again in winter mini-camp.  The 22-year-old should be back in Bradenton's starting rotation to begin 2011, hopefully with mechanics that are working.  


Aaron Thompson --   L/L,  6' 2", 190 lb
The Pirates picked up Thompson from the Nationals on waivers in December.  He had been the Marlins' first round pick in 2005, and was traded to the Nationals in July 2009.  The Nationals had him at AA Harrisburg for all but one game in 2010 (one game at AAA Syracuse, with one run in 5 innings), and that was his third season at the AA level.  It was an up-and-down season for Thompson.  He allowed 8 runs on 24 hits in 27.1 innings for a 2.63 ERA in April.  That ballooned to an 8.31 ERA in May, when he allowed 28 runs on 54 hits in 30.1 innings -- a 10-hit game, an 11-hit game, and a 13-hit game included.  June and July were kind of medium, when he earned a 4.17 ERA, and won 2 games.  The season ended on a shaky note, as Thompson allowed 28 earned runs on 43 hits in 33.2 innings, for a 7.49 ERA.  Neither his walk rate nor his strikeout rate were really good or really bad --  53 walks (3.5 walks/ 9 innings) and 95 strikeouts (6.3 K/ 9 innings) while at Harrisburg.  Thompson just turned 24 years old.  He could be assigned to AA again, or possibly give AAA a try, but both levels are going to be crowded in both the starting rotation and in the bullpen.  Because he was picked up on waivers, he's on the 40-man roster.  

Pirates  4,  Phillies  1

The Pirates appreciated the warmer temperatures this afternoon -- warmer than last night, anyway.  They held the Phillies to just 2 hits, and starter Charlie Morton gave up only one unearned run in 5 innings, as they won the second of two pre-season games in Philadelphia.  

A throwing error by 3B Pedro Alvarez put the first Phillies' batter on base in the bottom of the 2nd inning.  Two ground outs moved the runner to third, then brought him in.  Morton worked around a single and a walk in the 1st and another walk in the 3rd.  He made an error in the 5th, when he missed the catch on a toss from 1B Steve Pearce, but worked around that too.  When Morton was done, Mike Crotta and Chris Resop each pitched a perfect inning.  Joel Hanrahan pitched the 8th and allowed a two-out triple, but left the runner standing on third.  Jared Hughes pitched a scoreless 9th, with a walk.

The Pirates scored two in the top of the 2nd, when 1B Lyle Overbay doubled, then Alvarez blasted a home run over the right center field wall.  Steve Pearce doubled to lead off the 6th.  He moved to second on a ground out, then scored on 3B Jordy Mercer's RBI single.  The Pirates added an insurance run in the 9th.  SS Josh Rodriguez singled, then pinch-hitter Josh Harrison moved him to third with another single.  LF John Bowker drove in Rodriguez with a sacrifice fly.  

2B Brian Friday also singled in the game, and CF Starling Marte got into the game as well.


The Indy Indians were scheduled to play the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in Bradenton this afternoon.