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Pirates Prospects Daily

Pirates Win Opener in Extra Innings

The Pittsburgh Pirates won in extra innings on Opening Day, beating the Miami Marlins by a 6-5 score after a Jared Triolo RBI single...

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2011 Prospect Watching: Allie, Archibald, Trepagnier, And Friends

Continuing to look at some of the pitchers in the Pirates' lower minor league organization.  Today we consider five more of the Pirates' 2010 draft picks.

Stetson Allie --  R/R,  6' 4",  225 lb
Allie was the second round pick in the draft, coming out of high school in Cleveland.  He signed at the last moment, so he did not get into any games in the regular season.  He did go to Fall Instrux, where he again impressed the Pirates' management with his velocity and also with his maturity.  He has a fastball that reached into the 100's several times toward the end of his high school career, but he has better control of it when it's in the mid 90's.  He also throws a slider and needs work on a changeup.  Control, along with the slider and the changeup, are what Allie is going to need to work on as he makes his pro debut.  He has been pitching in the minor league spring training camp and has struggled a bit as he faced more experienced players.  Allie seems to be slated to do more work in Extended Spring Training before beginning the 2011 season in State College.  

James Archibald  --  Bats L / Throws R,  6' 1", 190 lb
Archibald came to the Pirates in the 36th round of the draft.  He got signed and got down to business in the GCL, at first working out of the bullpen.  He did well in 3 relief appearances, allowing 5 hits and one run (a homer) in 5 relief innings, for a 1.80 ERA, with 3 strikeouts and no walks.  Archibald was moved to the starting rotation, and in 8 starts, he had more trouble.  His first two starts went well, as he allowed one run in 3 innings and one run in 5 innings.  The next three were a little shakier, with 5 runs on 15 hits over 12.2 innings.  His best game was on August 7th, when he struck out 7 batters in 5 innings.  Archibald's last 3 starts were very tough.  He allowed 14 runs on 19 hits in 9.1 innings, ballooning his total ERA to 5.40 for the season.  Archibald will be 21 years old in May.  He might spend some more time in the GCL before heading to State College in 2011.  

2011 Bradenton Marauders Preview: Bullpen

Today we wrap up the 2011 Brdenton Marauders preview with a look at the bullpen.  So far we've covered the infielders, outfielders, and the...

Indians Top Yankees; Pirates’ Top Red Sox

Indianapolis Indians  7,  Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees  2
The Indians had both the pitching and the hitting tuned up this afternoon as they defeated the Yankees at Bradenton.   SS Jordy Mercer, 2B Josh Harrison, and C Eric Fryer each drove in two runs.   The scoring started when Harrison tripled in the 3rd inning, when 3 runs came in. Mercer blasted a solo homer, then Fryer's 2-run double was the gem of the 8th inning, as 3 more runs scored.  Starter Justin Wilson pitched 3 scoreless innings, with 4 strikeouts, to earn the win.  The Yankees scored their 2 runs in the 5th, with reliever Jared Hughes on the mound.  Hughes pitched 2 innings and also struck out 3 batters.  Tony Watson pitched 2 scoreless innings (3 K), and Anthony Claggett (2 K) and Ramon Aguero each pitched a scoreless frame.  

Pirates  7,  Red Sox  5
A 5-run 4th inning put the Pirates well on their way to a win this afternoon at Bradenton.  The rally began when 2B Neil Walker reached base on a fielding error and CF Andrew McCutchen walked.   1B Lyle Overbay lifted a double into left field, which brought in both Walker and McCutchen.  3B Pedro Alvarez grounded to third, where Overbay was out, leaving Alvarez on first.  RF Matt Diaz lined a single up the middle, and C Dusty Brown loaded the bases on an infield grounder that bounced off Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett.  With two outs, Pirates' starter Kevin Correia slipped a grounder into left field, driving in Alvarez and Diaz.   When the throw in to the plate was not in time to get Diaz, the Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia tried to throw back to third to surprise Brown.  The real surprise was when Saltalamacchia's throw sailed into left field, allowing Brown to score and Correia to move up to third.  LF John Bowker gave the Pirates 2 more insurance runs with a homer in the 7th inning.  Correia also singled in the 3rd inning but was out in a force play at second.

2B Pedro Ciriaco doubled after Bowker's homer in the 7th.   CF Corey Wimberly, RF Josh Fields, and SS Josh Rodriguez got into the game.  Steve Pearce played a few innings at third base as well.

Correia pitched 5 innings in his start.  He gave up two singles in the top of the 1st and one in the 2nd, but double plays got him out of both innings.  He zipped through the 3rd and 4th innings, then gave up 3 runs in the 5th.  A walk, a single, and a sacrifice fly brought in the first run.  Two more singles added a second run, then a throwing error by Walker at second and a sacrifice fly added an unearned run.  Joel Hanrahan pitched a scoreless 6th, with 2 strikeouts.  Then Justin Thomas allowed a run to score in the 7th on a run, a double, and a wild pitch.  Fernando Nieve pitched the final two innings and earned the save even though he gave up a run on a double, a walk, and a single in the 9th.  

Report from Pirate City — 3/19

On Saturday the Yankees' upper level minor leaguers visited Pirate City for a pair of exhibition games.  Even the coaches don't generally seem to...

Jodaneli Carvajal Named Top International Prospect

Ben Badler from Baseball America recently posted what he considered the top 20 prospects who played in either the DSL or VSL in 2010....

Busy Day For Pirates; Indians Win 8-3

The Pirates had a busy Spring Training day today:
LHP (starter) Garrett Olson was claimed off waivers from Seattle.  Olson is a 27-year-old California native who was the Orioles' 1st round pick in the 2005 draft.  He made his major league debut in July 2007, and split both the 2007 and 2008 season between Balitmore and AAA Norfolk.  His combined stats for Baltimore:  10-13 record in 31 starts, 165 innings, 6.87 ERA, 111 K, 90 BB.  And combined stats for Norfolk: 10-9 record in 29 starts, 164.1 innings, 3.12 ERA, 159 K, 55 BB.  One big problem, though, is that he surrendered 35 homer runs over those two years.  At the beginning of 2009, Olson was traded to the Cubs, and 10 days later was traded to the Mariners (with Ronny Cedeno) to the Mariners.  He split both the 2009 and 2010 seasons between Seattle and AAA Tacoma.  In 2009, he started 9 games for Tacoma, earning a 2-3 record and a 4.94 ERA, but in Seattle, he was also used in relief.  He made 11 starts and 20 relief appearances for a total of 80.1 innings  -- and gave up 19 home runs.  Olson made 6 starts and 6 relief appearances for Tacoma in 2010, then made 35 relief appearances in Seattle.  His record in Seattle was 0-3 with 1 save, and a 4.54 ERA.  In 37.2 innings, he allowed 6 homers, 15 BB, with 21 K.  Throughout all these seasons, Olson allowed about as many or more hits as innings pitched:  79 hits in 80.1 innings in Seattle in 2009, and 42 hits in 37.2 innings in 2010.  His overall major league total is 10.53 hits/9 innings.  The Pirates plan to have Olson compete for a spot as a lefty out of the bullpen.  Scott Olsen (oh, we're going to have fun confusing those two) and Joe Beimel are also in consideration but have lost time time this spring due to injury.  Brian Burres and Justin Thomas are also in the mix.  In order to make a spot for Olson on the 40-man roster, the Pirates placed Kevin Hart on the 60-day DL.  Olson is out of options, which is why the Mariners had to put him on waivers.  If he does not make the Pirates' active roster out of camp, then he will have to go on waivers again.  The hits and the homers are concerning, and the Pirates will have to see how Olson does in some spring appearances in the next two weeks.


Phillies  3,  Pirates 2
The Phillies rallied in the bottom of the 9th for a come-from-behind win over the Pirates in Clearwater, FL this afternoon.  With Chris Leroux on the mound, the first two batters of the frame both singles.  Former Pirate/Indian Erik Kratz bounced a pinch-hit grounder to third, but instead of going for the double play, 3B Jeremy Farrell went for the tag of the runner going from second to third.  The runner avoided the tag but was called out anyway because he went out of the basepath.  That left runners on first and second with one out.  The next batter slapped a grounder to second, and though 2B Josh Harrison made a great stab to keep the ball from going into right field, he was only able to make the out at first.  With two runners in scoring position, Leroux gave up a single up the middle, and both runners (including Kratz) scored, for the walk-off win.  

Report from Pirate City – 3/18

The Pirates' minor leaguers today went up against Toronto's in two class A level exhibition games.  (The level designations mean little at this stage,...

Battle of the Bench and Today’s Pitchers

Today's spring training game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies allowed us to see all of the players battling for bench spots on...

Tim Alderson’s Future

A lot has been written about Tim Alderson this off-season.  Alderson is coming off a horrible year, where he totally fell apart at the...

Pirates Claim Garrett Olson

The Pittsburgh Pirates have claimed left handed pitcher Garrett Olson from the Seattle Mariners today.  Olsen should compete for a left handed bullpen spot....

Who Is Diomedes Mateo?

The minor league camp rosters were posted the other day by Charlie at Bucs Dugout, and one name was unfamiliar on the list.  That...

2011 Prospect Watching: Heredia, Pevny, Kingham, Weidman

Moving on to look at some of the pitchers in the Pirates' minor league organization, going generally from the lower levels to the upper levels.  

Luis Heredia --  R/R,  6' 6", 185 lb
Heredia is the 16-year-old Mexican phenom prospect, who was signed last year.  He received the highest bonus ever given by the Pirates to an international prospect, but remember that under the Mexican League rules, his Mexican team got 75% of that money.  That still left enough money for Heredia to recently buy a house in Bradenton and have his mom come to live there with him.  Heredia reportedly threw 6 different pitches in Mexico, but the Pirates are having him concentrate on the fastball, curve, and change-up, with emphasis on control and command.  Heredia has been spending a lot of time observing the players in big league spring training camp, and the Pirates have been impressed with his level of maturity for his age.  At 16, he has a lot of work to do, clearly, but the Pirates are very excited about an amazing amount of potential.  There was some debate as to whether Heredia should start his pro career in either the Dominican or Venezuelan Summer Leagues (with other players his same age), or whether he should get right into the Gulf Coast League.  He has been pitching against older players in Mexico, and the DSL/VSL would probably not offer him much competition, but the fact that the Pirates did not dissuade him from buying a house in Bradenton is telling.

Logan Pevny  --  R/R,  6' 3",  190 lb
Pevny was the Pirates' 49th pick in the 2010 draft.  This New Jersey student was a hot-hitting shortstop in high school, and began pitching only in his senior year, almost as an afterthought.  After signing, Pevny began his pro career with the GCL Pirates.  He made three appearances.  The first one was one inning, and he struck out 2 batters.  In the second, he gave up a run on a hit and 3 walks in 1.2 innings.  In the third, he went 2 innings, and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and a homer.  After that, he went onto the DL.  Pevny spent the off season doing a lot of working out, and also doing some teaching with little kids.  At age 19, he's back and ready to go this spring, though, probably heading back to get in more work in the GCL.

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