The Pirates announced two roster moves this afternoon:
RHP Mike Crotta had been not-entirely-officially told that he'd make the major league team.  Now it's official:  Crotta and reliever Garrett Olson are on the Pirates' Opening Day roster. 
That means that reliever Chris Leroux will be assigned to Indianapolis.  Olson, a lefty, will be the only lefty in the bullpen, at least until Scott Olsen is healthy again.  Olson also pitched more effectively in last night's pre-season game against the Phillies.  It was not a good night for Leroux to surrender runs.  

Also, the Pirates have traded INF Jim Negrych to the Marlins, in exchange for minor league catcher Carlos Paulino.  Negrych had asked to be traded if he was not going to be assigned to AAA Indianapolis.  
 
Paulino is a 21-year-old Dominican native, who made his US debut with the Marlins' GCL team in 2008.  He moved up to the short-season A Jamestown team in 2009, and hit well there, though without much power:  .291 average, 11 doubles, one triple, one homer, and 14 RBI in 42 games.  In 2010, Paulino caught 60 games for A level Greensboro, but did not hit well, and still showed no power:  .184 with 10 doubles and 10 RBI.  He made 9 errors and 2 passed balls, and he threw out 33 of 81 batters trying to steal.  He was moved up to A+ Jupiter for 3 games, where he hit an RBI double in 8 at-bats.  Paulino's small size makes it easy to see why he doesn't have a lot of power.  He appears to have been the back-up catcher for his team in the past two seasons, and he's likely to do that again for the Pirates.  The Pirates have a lot of catchers already vying for a spot on the West Virginia and Bradenton teams, so it's not clear where Paulino will be assigned.  

Phillies  8,  Pirates  5

The Pirates' regular starters played the entire game on a chilly night in Philadelphia -- a big change from the weather they'd enjoyed in Florida for the past 6 weeks.  2B Neil Walker provided the offensive boost, reaching base in 4 of his 5 at-bats, with a walk, three singles, and one RBI.  Starter Ross Ohlendorf lasted 4 innings, and allowed 6 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits, one walk, and 3 hit batters.

LF Jose Tabata led off the game with a walk, and Walker followed with a single slipped into right field in the top of the 1st.  1B Lyle Overbay brought both runners in with a double, to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.  The Phillies got one run back in the bottom of the frame, on a pair of singles and a throwing error by C Ryan Doumit.  Ohlendorf began the bottom of the 2nd by surrendering a solo homer to Phillies' Ben Francisco, then loaded the bases with a walk and two hit batters.  A fielding error by SS Ronny Cedeno and a sacrifice fly brought in two more runs for Philadelphia.  The Phillies made it 6-2 in the 4th, when Ohlendorf hit his third batter of the game, and allowed 3 more singles.  

Minor leaguer Mike Dubee, whose father Rich Dubee is the Phillies' pitching coach, pitched a perfect 5th inning for the Pirates.  Chris Leroux started the 6th inning and allowed a walk and a single, then an RBI ground out.  He was relieved by Garrett Olson, who finished the inning with a fly out and a ground out.  Jose Veras threw a 1-2-3 inning in the 7th.  Evan Meek took the bottom of the 8th, and began by giving up two singles, including one to former Pirate/Indy Indian C Erik Kratz.  A fielding error by Walker kept the inning going, and Kratz scored an unearned run on an RBI ground out.  

The Pirates scored again in the top of the 5th.  Pinch-hitter Josh Rodriguez and Tabata both walked to open the inning, and Walker lined into right field, where Francisco misplayed the ball.  Both runners scored and Walker ended up on third base, credited with a single.  CF Andrew McCutchen plated Walker with another single.  

The Indy Indians were scheduled to play the Las Vegas 51's in Dunedin this afternoon -- no word on the results. 

Moving on up, as we look at the Pirates' minor league pitchers....

Aaron Pribanic --  R/R,  6' 4",  200 lb
Pribanic came to the Pirates in July 2009, as a part of the trade with the Mariners for Jack Wilson and Ian Snell.  He was assigned to West Virginia, where he made 6 starts and one relief appearance to finish the season, earning a 4-2 record and a 2.15 ERA.  He didn't walk many 5 (1.2 walks/ 9 innings), but didn't strike out many either (18, 4.3 K/ 9 innings).  Pribanic was promoted to A+ Bradenton to begin 2010, and he spent the whole season there.  He was a starter for the whole season, making 27 appearances, and earning a 7-6 record with an overall 3.33 ERA.  He began the season slowly, with 4 starts in April, in which he gave up a total of 12 earned runs in 17 innings (6.35 ERA).  May was a little better, with 18 earned runs in 33.1 innings (6 starts), for a 4.86 ERA.  He gave up 11 runs in his first three starts in June, but by the second half of the month, things were beginning to turn around.  Pribanic gave up 4 runs over his last three starts in June (21 innings).  July was even better:  5 earned runs in 30 innings for a 1.50 ERA.  Pribanic finished up the season with 8 runs in 44.2 innings (1.61 ERA) in August/September.  Again in 2010, he did not walk many (33, 1.9 walks/ 9 innings) and did not strikeout many  (71, 4.2 K/ 9 innings).  Pribanic was assigned to the Arizona Fall League, where he made 11 appearances, all in relief, for the Mesa Solar Sox.  He threw 18 innings and allowed 4 earned runs on 18 hits (2.00 ERA), with 6 walks and 9 strikeouts.  The low strikeout rate has been attributed to Pribanic not having particularly strong breaking pitches.  He does get a lot of ground ball outs, though, which explains why he can allow 157 hits in 154 innings and still give up "only" 57 runs.  Pribanic needs to work more on those breaking pitches, as the Pirates would really like to see more strikeouts.  He should begin 2011, at age 24, as a starter for AA Altoona.

 
Brian Leach --  R/R,  6' 3", 195 lb
Leach was chosen by the Pirates in the 25th round of the 2008 draft.  He pitched as both a starter and a reliever in his first two seasons in the Pirates' organization, but in 2010, Leach pitched almost exclusively as a starter, with just 2 relief appearances.  He was promoted to Bradenton for the season, and like Pribanic, he got off to a slow start, leading the Marauders in earned runs (15) and walks (16) for the month of April, when he made one relief appearance and four starts, for 20.2 innings, for a 6.53 ERA.  He cut back on the walks in May (9), and did a little better with runs, for a 4.70 ERA in 23 innings.  Leach too turned things around in June, when he allowed 7 runs in 30 innings (2.10 ERA), with 7 walks.  That ballooned up to a 4.75 ERA in July, though he kept the walks down to 6, and slid back to 3.26 ERA in August/Sept, with 9 walks.  Overall, Leach earned a 9-9 record and a 3.85 ERA, with 144 hits in 138 innings.  He walked 44 (2.9 walks/ 9 innings), and struck out 98 (6.4 K/ 9 innings).  Leach also participated in the Arizona Fall League after the regular season.  He made 10 relief appearances for the Mesa Solar Sox, and while he allowed 11 hits and 7 walks in his 10 innings, he did not allow a run.  Leach has been somewhat on-again-off-again with his control -- it was better during the second half of the regular season, and not so great during the AFL.  He needs to work on that in 2011, when at age 25, he should be joining Pribanic in the Altoona starting rotation.

Continuing through the Pirates' minor league pitching ranks:

Gabriel Alvarado --  R/R,  6' 2",  175 lb 
Alvarado is a Venezuelan native who made his US debut in 2008 after two seasons in the Venezuelan Summer League.  He moved up to West Virginia for 2009, where he pitched mostly as a starter, with an additional 4 relief appearances.  He earned a 6-10 record and a 5.05 ERA, and in 114 innings, he allowed 135 hits, 64 runs, and 33 walks (2.6 walks/ 9 innings), with 96 strikeouts (7.6 K/ 9 innings).  Alvarado returned to West Virginia for 2010, but this time made just 4 starts and the rest of the time pitched in relief.  He earned a 3-5 record, with 5 saves and a 4.21 ERA.  He threw 83.1 innings, and allowed 86 hits, 39 earned runs, and 26 walks (2.8 walks/ 9 innings), with 60 strikeouts (6.5 K/ 9 innings, a bit down from the previous season).  Alvarado is going to turn 24 years old in May.  He did not shown a lot of progress last season, but he now has two seasons of A-level experience.  With the crowd that is going to be looking for a spot in the West Virginia bullpen, Alvarado will probably begin the season at A+ Bradenton, due to that experience.  He'll need to get going and get the strikeouts up.  


Maurice Bankston --  R/R,  6' 4",  205 lb 
Bankston was the Pirates' 8th round pick in the 2007 draft.  He pitched for the GCL Pirates in 2007 and at State College in 2008, then moved up to West Virginia to begin the 2009 season.  He struggled in 9 starts there (1-4 and 4.98 ERA, and 48 hits in 43.1 innings), and was moved back to State College later in the season.  He made another 9 starts for the Spikes with better results:  2-4, 2.34 ERA, and 54 hits in 50 innings.  He struck out 25 batters at both levels.  Bankston returned to West Virginia for the 2010 season, but made just 2 starts, and like Alvarado, was moved to the bullpen.  He began the season well, with a 2.93 ERA in 6 relief appearances and 13 hits in 15.1 innings in April.  He slipped to a 4.41 ERA in 6 relief appearances and one start in June, with 16 hits in 18.1 innings.  June was a horrible month for Bankston, with an exploding ERA over 11, and 31 hits in 17.1 innings.  He settled back down for the rest of the season, as he earned a 3.29 ERA in July and finished the season with a 1.32 ERA for August.  Bankston finished the season with a 4.68 ERA and a 7-4 record with 3 saves.  In 82.2 innings, he allowed 43 earned runs and 85 hits.  He walked 29 batters (3.2 walks/ 9 innings), and struck out 58 batters (6.3 K/ 9 innings).  Bankston is in a similar position to Alvarado -- he'll turn 24 in the middle of the 2011 season, and despite not having made a lot of progress in the past couple of seasons, he will likely begin the 2011 season in Bradenton's bullpen.