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Pirates Prospects Daily

P2Daily: Happy Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day!

We all follow the game of baseball for a different reason. It typically relates to our childhood. The game has a certain energy level...

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Pirates From an Outsider’s Point of View

I wanted to get an educated, yet non-biased, view of the Pirates and where they stand in baseball, so I decided to ask an outsider...

Ian Snell Retires

B.J. Rains of Fox Sports Midwest reports that Ian Snell has retired, after being sent to minor league camp by the St. Louis Cardinals....

Good News and Bad News For Anthony Rendon

Two updates related to Anthony Rendon today from Kendall Rogers via Twitter (@KendallRogersPG), who spoke to Rice head coach Wayne Graham: The good news from...

Historical Context For The Big Four

In the second half of the 2010 season, the Pirates offense was paced by Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez. ...

2011 Draft Prospects Rundown: 3/15

Here is a recap of how each of the top 2011 draft prospects did this past week.  Click on their names to go to...

Two More Rounds Of Reassignments, Plus Game Notes

Catching up after being away for a few days...

On Saturday, the Pirates sent four pitchers to minor league camp:
RHP Bryan Morris and RHP Kyle McPherson, both on the 40-man roster, were optioned down, with Morris going to AAA Indianapolis and McPherson going to A+ Bradenton.   
Two lefties, Rudy Owens and Justin Wilson, were also sent to the minor league camp, and though their exact level is still not official, both should begin the season with the Indy Indians.  

More moves were made today:
From the 40-man roster--
LHP Jeff Locke, LHP Aaron Thompson, and RHP Ramon Aguero were optioned to AA Altoona 
LHP Daniel Moskos and LHP Tony Watson were optioned to Indianapolis
Outfielders Gorkys Hernandez and Alex Presley were optioned to Indianapolis
Moskos and Presley both spent part of 2010 with Indianapolis, while Watson and Hernandez will make their debut at the AAA level.  Locke, Aguero, and Thompson all spent part of 2010 with Altoona.

Not on the 40-man yet --
Infielders Chase d'Arnaud and Brian Friday and outfielder Andrew Lambo were reassigned to minor league camp.  Friday played in Indianapolis for most of 2010 and should return there.  D'Arnaud and Lambo were in Altoona for 2010;  Lambo is ready for AAA, though d'Arnaud may be asked to go back to Altoona for part of 2011.  


Andrew Lambo and Chase D’Arnaud Go To AAA

Earlier today the Pittsburgh Pirates cut ten players from Major League camp.  Andrew Lambo, Chase D'Arnaud, and Brian Friday were all among the cuts,...

Update On Players Who Are Out Of Options

 With a handful of players who are both on the bubble and out of options, the Pirates will be facing some tough roster decisions...

Pirates Prospects Annual now available in paperback version

The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. The 2011 Pirates Prospects Annual is now available in paperback form. ...

Pirates Cut Ten Players From Major League Camp

Locke was optioned to Altoona today. According to Rob Biertempfel, the Pittsburgh Pirates have made ten cuts this morning, lowering their Spring Training roster...

2011 Prospect Watching: Cunningham, Gonzalez, And Friends

Continuing to look at the middle infielders in the Pirates' minor league organization:

Jarek Cunningham --  R/R,  6' 1",  185 lb
Cunningham was the Pirates' 18th round pick in the 2008 draft.  After a solid debut with the GCL Pirates (.318 average with 5 homers and 22 RBI), he missed the entire 2009 season due to knee surgery.  He returned with a healthy knee in 2010, assigned to West Virginia.  Cunningham jumped right out to a good start, hitting .304 in April, with a homer and 5 RBI.  He slumped in May to just .194, with 2 more homers and 5 RBI.   Then he popped up again in June, with a .317 average, 3 homers, and a big 17 RBI.  The average slipped a little in July, to .279, though the power production continued, with 4 homers and 14 RBI.  The slip continued into August, as he dropped to .214 with 2 homers and 6 RBI.  He finished the season with a .258 average, and not much left-right difference (.265 against lefties and .256 against righties).  He had 37 doubles, 7 triples, 12 homers, and 49 RBI.  He struck out a lot -- 132 times in 121 games (27%), and that rate was highest in July and August.  He walked just 30 times (5.6%), and that was best in June and July.  Cunningham played entirely at second base during the 2010 season (2008 was split between shortstop and third).  Now that there is less concern about his knee, and with his good range and arm, he could spend time at shortstop too.  The 21-year-old should be ready for A+ Bradenton for 2011.  He'll need to work on plate discipline and cutting back on the strikeouts.  

Benji Gonzalez  --  R/R,  5' 11",  160 lb
Gonzalez was picked in the 7th round of the 2008 draft, coming out of the Puerto Rican Baseball Academy.  After two seasons in the GCL, Gonzalez was promoted to West Virginia for the 2010 season.  He had hit a solid .286 in the GCL in 2009, but that did not carry over to 2010 with the Power.  He hit .196 in the first half of the season, then he improved to .279 for the second half, for a .236 average overall.  Gonzalez has limited power, with just 12 doubles, one triple, one homer, and 35 RBI in 2010.  He stole 18 bases, but was also thrown out 14 times, so that needs some improvement.  Gonzalez was the main shortstop for West Virginia in 2010, and showed strong defensive play with good range and a strong arm.  He'll need to work on cutting back on the errors (32) of course.  After the regular season, Gonzalez went back to Puerto Rico and played in 19 games for the Puerto Rican Winter League's Gigantes de Carolina.  He did not hit well there either, just .184 with 2 doubles.   Despite the low hitting, Gonzalez will likely be assigned to A+ Bradenton for 2011, where his hitting will need to improve.

George Van Haltren and the Pirates

The following is from Pirates Prospects contributor John Dreker, as part of his ongoing Pirates History feature. The feature focuses on the history of...
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