Moving up through the outfielders in the Pirates' minor league organization:

Starling Marte  --  R/R,  6' 1",  170 lb
Marte is the much-heralded Latin American signing, joining the Pirates' organization in 2007, thanks to scout Rene Gayo. He reached the US after one season in the Dominican Summer League, and jumped up to A+  Bradenton to begin 2011.  Marte jumped out to an amazing start in April, with a .345 average and 9 RBI.  He did strikeout 15 times in 16 games, and also was hit by pitches 4 times in the month.  He kept up the pace in the first week of May (3 more RBI and 2 more times being hit by pitches), then suffered an injury to his left wrist.  Marte eventually had to have the hamate bone removed -- same surgery that Pedro Alvarez had in college.  Marte was out until August, but came roaring back with a .358 average for that month, and 21 more RBI.  He did not have a lot of power either before or after the injury, and his high strikeout rate continued after his return.  He also kept getting hit by pitches -- a total of 15 times over the season.  Marte has good speed, both on the base paths (22 stolen bases) and in center field.  Marte also got in 28 games with Los Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League.  He was surprisingly weak at the plate there, hitting just .213 with 3 RBI and one stolen base.  At age 22, he should be the main center fielder in AA Altoona for 2011.  He'll need to work on that strikeout rate and also work on taking more walks, but expect him to move along quickly.  I'm hoping to see Marte get a little bit of time in Indianapolis at the end of the season.

Robbie Grossman  --   Bats Both / Throws L,  6'1",  190 lb
Grossman was the 6th round draft pick in the 2008 draft.  He spent all of 2010 in A+ Bradenton, and managed to avoid the injury jinx there.  After hitting .266 at A level West Virginia in 2009, he started out with a .309 average for the Marauders in April 2010.  That didn't last long, though, as he slipped to a .185 average for the month of May and .222 in June.  The rest of the season was a little better:  .278 in July and .258 in August.  That gave him .245 over the whole season, with 29 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers, and 50 RBI.  He hits right-handers better than left-handers (.333 vs. .279), so while he's a better lefty hitter, he's probably not ready to give up switching just yet.  Grossman's strikeout rate was about the same as Marte's in 2010, 118 strikeouts in 125 games.  Grossman played just over half of his games in right field, and just a few in left for the Marauders, and he slid over to center field when Marte was out with his injury.  Marte definitely has the edge over Grossman in center field, both in speed and throwing arm.  Grossman turned 21 shortly after the 2010 season ended, and that puts him in good position to be starting in Altoona for 2011.    

Continuing to work our way up the chain of outfielders in the Pirates' organization, today looking at two from the 2009 draft.


Evan Chambers  --  R/R,  5' 11",  210 lbs
Chambers is a Florida native who will turn 22 years old next month.   He was chosen by the Pirates in the 3rd round of the 2009 draft.  After a slow start at State College that season, he picked it up in the last month of the season, to finish 2009 with a .245 average, 4 homers, and 22 RBI in 58 games.  Chambers was promoted to A level West Virginia for the 2010 season, and he spent the whole year there, as the team's starting center fielder.  Chambers appeared in 116 games, all but one in center field.  He has reasonable speed and a reasonable throwing arm  -- he had 12 outfield assists in 2010.  At the plate, Chambers has shown a lot of patience, which turns out to be both his strength and his weakness.  He led the South Atlantic League in walks with 92 (18%).  But, sometimes he also watched strike three go by, averaging one strikeout per game (116,  28%).  That added up to a low batting average for most of the season.  He did hit .284 in May, then dropped back down to .226 in June and .294 in July.  Chambers started pulling it together in August, hitting .311 in the first half of the month, but then had his hot streak abruptly halted when he was hit in the head by a pitch.  When he returned to the line-up two weeks later, he went 1-for-19, then finished with a pop, going 3-for-4 on the last day of the season.  He showed some power, with 21 doubles, 2 triples, 12 homers, and 52 RBI.  Chambers hits righties and lefties about the same (.236 vs. .247).  When he does get on base, he can steal.  He stole 35 bases, though was thrown out 17 times.  Chambers should move up to A+ Bradenton for 2011, where he'll need to work on dropping that strikeout rate.   More hitting will also mean more power numbers.

 
Jose Hernandez  -- Bats Right / Throws Left,  5' 11",  190 lb
Hernandez was the Pirates' 23rd round pick in the 2009 draft, taken in his senior year of college (University of  Texas - San Antonio).  That makes him on the older side for playing in West Virginia last year (24 years old) and presumably Bradenton in 2011.   He reported to State College after being drafted in 2009, but only got into 8 games before being sidelined by an ankle injury.  Hernandez was assigned to West Virginia for 2010, despite so little time at State College, and once he got some playing time, he was able to get going.  He hit .242 in May, but popped up to .319 in June, with 5 homers and 14 RBI.  The average dipped to .267 in July, but he kept up the power, with 4 more home runs and 18 RBI.  He was back to .312 in August, adding 3 homers and 13 RBI.  His strikeout rate was high (81, 22%), but not as high as Chambers'.  Hernandez was steady in the outfield, both left and right, and he also did a lot of DH-ing.  He may not be a regular in the outfield in Bradenton, but they will be happy to have his bat in the lineup, so look for him to DH quite a bit.

We're looking at the Pirates' minor leaguers, starting with the outfielders.  Generally, we're moving from the lower levels to the upper levels of the minors, but not specifically in any order.
Today, we'll consider two outfielders who need to show some improvement this season:


David Rubinstein --  R/R,  6' 2",  190 lb
Rubinstein was chosen in the 11th round of the 2008 draft, coming out of Appalachian State University.  In college, he pitched a little, but mostly played outfield and hit well.  He had a so-so start at State College for the remainder of the 2008 season, hitting .249, then another uninspiring season back at State College in 2009, when he hit .267 with 3 homers and 36 RBI.  Rubinstein was moved up to A level West Virginia for 2010, and things got better.  He split outfield duties with a handful of others, playing mostly right field but also some center field.  He's got a reasonable amount of speed, so it isn't crazy to have him playing in center.  Rubinstein took a big step forward at the plate in 2010.  His average popped up to .289, and he started hitting doubles (37), along with 3 triples, 3 homers, and 50 RBI.  He hit lefties much better than righties, so that will be something to work on for 2011.  He also needs to work on dropping the strikeout rate (95 in 113 games) and being more selective at the plate --  only 31 walks.  He'll probably be doing that work at A+ Bradenton, but he needs to get moving, because he's going to be 24 years old in May, and he can't afford to fall further behind others his age.  

Austin McClune --  R/R,  6'2", 175 lb
McClune is 22 years old, and because he was drafted out of high school, he has already been in the Pirates' organization for 5 seasons.  He was the 7th round pick in 2006, and that season he had his highest batting average in pro ball:  .291.  He has not been an offensive star at all, hitting just .222 with 13 doubles, a triple, and a homer, plus 30 RBI in 99 games for Bradenton in 2010.  McClune's strength is his defense.  He played both right field and center field for the Marauders.  His throwing arm is strong and accurate -- he had 17 outfield assists last season.  The problem he's going to run into is that other prospects are coming along who can play decent outfield but who can also hit.  McClune will likely start back with Bradenton for 2011, and he needs to figure it out at the plate.

 

Continuing to look at Pirates' minor league outfielders:

Rogelios Noris --  R/R,  6' 2",  192 lbs
Noris is a 21-year-old Mexican native, who made his US debut with the GCL Pirates in 2009.  He was promoted to A level West Virginia for 2010, where he hit .236, a little lower than the .250 he'd achieved in the GCL.  Noris blasted 15 homers and had 57 RBI for West Virginia, and he has the potential to be a power hitter.  His big drawback, though, is his high strikeout rate -- he struck out 144 times in 111 games (35%).  Combined with very few walks (15), Noris needs to work on his approach at the plate this season.  He did show some improvement in that regard in his second winter season with his hometown Venados de Mazatlan.  Noris appeared in 49 games in the winter league, hitting .246 with 2 homers and 10 RBI.  He walked 12 times, and struck out 34 times, which was a drop to 27%.  He could go back to West Virginia for 2011, but there are going to be a lot of outfielders at that level, so Noris could be pushed on up to A+ Bradenton.

Pat Irvine  --  Bats L / Throws R,  6' 0",  197 lbs
Though Irvine is listed as an outfielder, he has also played some third base and has also done some catching.  Irvine was the Pirates' 33rd round pick in the 2009 draft.  He played third base and left field at State College in 2009, then began the 2010 season in West Virginia as a catcher.  Unfortunately, the opponents' base runners took Irvine's presence behind the plate as their free ticket to the next base.  In 10 games, 19 batters stole on him (he threw out one), and he had 3 passed balls.  He also struggled at the plate, hitting .212.  Irvine was sent back to State College, where he proved again that catching was not his future.  He returned to the outfield, where he was ok but not spectacular.  Irvine hit .271 in July, with 7 RBI, but sagged to .227 in August, with 6 more RBI.  He did draw 25 walks in 39 games, but that alone is not going to be enough to get the 25-year-old back to West Virginia for 2011, and he is getting "old" for those lower levels.

Other notes:
Remember infielder Tony Mansolino?  He was the Pirates' 26th round pick in the 2005 draft, but was released in June 2008.  He played in the Northern League in 2009 and in the American Association in both 2009 and 2010.  Last week he was signed to a minor league contract by the Cleveland Indians.  
C Miguel Perez, who played for the Curve and the Indy Indians in 2008 -09, signed a minor league deal with the Nationals.