After the major league part of the 2010 Rule 5 Draft, in which the Pirates chose SS Josh Rodriguez from the Cleveland Indians, the draft moved on to the minor league section.

In the AAA part, the Pirates chose OF Brad Chalk from the Padres.  Chalk, who will turn 25 in January, was drafted by the Padres in the 2nd round of the 2007 amateur draft.  He played at A level Fort Wayne in 2008, and hit .275 with 43 RBI.  He moved up to A+ Lake Elsinore in 2009, where he hit .301, with 2 home runs and 63 RBI. The South Carolina native split the 2010 season between Lake Elsinore, AA San Antonio, and AAA Portland.  About half of his season was at the AA level, where he hit .214 with 15 RBI in 65 games.  At AAA Portland, Chalk hit .313 with 5 RBI in 27 games, but in late June, he was sent to AA, and then in early August, he was moved down to A+.  Not clear what was going on there.  Not a lot of power in his swing, but at least at the AAA level, he was getting on base often.  

C Travis Scott was chosen from the Angels in the next round of the AAA part of the draft.  This Milwaukee native was drafted out of college in Illinois by the Mariners in the 20th round of the 2005 draft.  He moved slowly up through the Mariners' organization, reaching as high as AA West Tennessee for 4 games in 2010.  Scott began the 2010 season with A+ High Desert, where he hit .269 with 5 homers and 22 RBI, then was moved to West Tennesee at the end of May.  But after just those 4 games, he was released.  Scott played for Rockford in the independent Northern League for 65 games, where he hit .300, with 5 homers and 29 RBI.  He must have been picked up by the Angels at some point, but did not get to play in their organization before being selected in this draft.  

Because Chalk and Scott were chosen in the minor league portion of the draft, they do not have the same requirement to stick with the big league club for the season.  The Pirates can assign them where ever they see fit.  

Also joining the Pirates' organization today is starting pitcher Cesar Valdez.  Valdez is the player-to-be-named in the trade that sent Zach Duke to the Diamondbacks.  Valdez is a Dominican native, who made 18 starts (plus 2 relief appearances) for AAA Reno in the D'backs' organization in 2010.  He earned a 6-10 record with a 5.90 ERA.  In 97.2 innings, he allowed 110 hits and 64 runs, with 49 walks and 92 strikeouts.  Valdez also pitched for Reno in 2009, with slightly better results:  a 7-6 record and a 4.78 ERA in 96 innings, with 103 hits, 51 runs, and 30 walks.  He had only 30 strikeouts that season.  Valdez has been playing in his native Venezuela this winter, making 7 starts and one relief appearance for Los Toros del Licey.  He has a 3-1 record with a 4.14 ERA.  In 37 innings, he has allowed 36 hits and 10 walks, with 21 strikeouts.  Valdez is not automatically added to the 40-man roster, though it's likely he'll be invited to big league camp for spring training and be given a shot to make the major league team.

The Pirates are plus-one-minus-one in the major league portion of the 2010 Rule 5 Draft.
With the first pick of the draft, the Pirates took SS Josh Rodriguez from the Cleveland Indians.  The Houston native was Cleveland's second round pick in the 2006 draft, coming out of Rice University.  He moved up through their organization, spending all of 2008 and 2009 with AA Akron, though he appeared in only 33 games in 2009 --probably due to injury.  He hit .241 in 2008, with 7 homers and 49 RBI.  He was hitting better in 2009, with a .295 average and 12 RBI in those 33 games.  Rodriguez split the 2010 season between AA Akron, where he hit .317, and AAA Columbus.  In 86 games for the Clippers, after being promoted in late May, Rodriguez hit .293, with 23 doubles, 12 homers, and 46 RBI, and was a key player for the Clippers as they won the International League championship.  He had a particularly good June, hitting .380 with 5 homers and 15 RBI in 20 games.  His filding is not the best it could be -- something to work on.  As a Rule 5 draftee, Rodriguez will have to remain with the major league team in Pittsburgh, or else be returned (or at least offered back) to Cleveland.  Rodriguez will turn 26 years old next week.  

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals think they have a spot on their roster for pitcher Nate Adcock.   This 22-year-old righty was drafted by the Mariners in the 5th round of the 2006 draft, and came to the Pirates in July 2009 as part of the trade for Jack Wilson and Ian Snell.  Adcock had been at the Mariners' A+ level, and he plugged right into the Pirates' A+ team, which was then in Lynchburg.  He made 4 starts and 3 relief appearances over the last month of the 2009 season, earning a 3-2 record and a 5.25 ERA -- he had been 5-7 with a 5.29 ERA at A+ High Desert.  Adcock spent all of the 2010 season at the A+ level with the Bradenton Marauders, where he made 26 starts and one relief appearance.  He earned an 11-7 record and an improved 3.38 ERA.  He threw 141 innings, and allowed 131 hits, 53 earned runs, and 38 walks, with 113 strikeouts.  Adcock will have to remain on the Royals major league team, which means a three-level jump for him, or be returned to the Pirates.  

Day Three of the Winter Meetings...the Rule 5 Draft will be tomorrow (Thursday)
Today, the Pirates added another player to their 40-man roster.  Matt Diaz is an outfielder who was drafted by the Rays in the 17th round of the 1999 draft.  He reached the major league level for the first time in 2003, but played in only 14 games for the Rays over the 2003 and 2004 seasons, and went 5-for-30 at the plate.  The Oregon native was released by the Rays in February 2005 and a few days later was claimed off waivers by the Orioles, then signed by the Royals the next day.  His 2005 season was shortened by injury, but he did hit .281 in 34 games for the Royals.  The Royals traded Diaz to the Braves after the 2005 season, and he remained in their organization for the next 5 years.  Diaz played full-time in 2006 and 2007, but a left knee injury prevented him from playing for most of the 2008 season.  He was back in full swing in 2009, when he hit .313 with 13 homers and 58 RBI for the Braves.  An infected thumb limited Diaz again in 2010.  He was able to play in 84 games for the Braves, and hit .250, with 7 homers and 31 RBI.  Diaz will turn 33 in early March.  He's expected to play in right field for the Pirates.

Cheering for Pirates' players and friends in Wednesday's winter league action:
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
Leones del Caracas  7,  Navegantes del Magallanes  0  --  Corey Hamman had a better outing tonight than he did yesterday.  He pitched 2 innings, taking the mound with a runner on second and no outs in the 7th.  Hamman gave up a single and a sacrifice fly, to bring in one run (charged to the previous pitcher), then another single and a double play.  In the 8th, Hamman worked around a single to keep Los Leones from scoring.  Jose Ascanio pitched his first competitive inning since recovering from injury.  He gave up a double to the first batter he faced, then retired the next three batters.  Caracas's 5-run 5th inning was all the firepower they needed.

Tiburones de La Guaira  4,  Caribes de Anzoategui  3  --  Jose Tabata made his Venezuelan debut, OK'ed by the Pirates, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two walks.  Los Caribes scored 2 runs in the 4th and another in the 5th, to take a 3-1 lead. Tabata's RBI single drove in the run in the 5th.   But Los Tiburones bit back with a 3-run 8th inning for the win.  


Bravos de Margarita  7,  Cardenales de Lara  3  --  A 5-run rally in the bottom of the 1st inning, including a grand slam, gave Los Bravos a lead they would not give up.  Starter Yusmeiro Petit pitched 7 innings for Los Bravos, allowing one run.  He was relieved to begin the 8th inning, by Bobby Livingston (who pitched in one game for the Indy Indians in 2009.  Livingston gave up 2 runs on two singles and a double, then was relieved by Anthony Claggett.  Claggett ended the inning with a strikeout, then retired the side in the 9th.  

Aguilas de Zulia  2,  Tigres de Aragua  1  --  SS Ronny Cedeno scored Los Tigres' only run in the bottom of the 1st.  After a double, Cedeno reached base on a fielder's choice, then stole second base, and scored on an RBI single.  Back-to-back home runs in the top of the 4th gave Zulia the lead in the 4th inning.  Cedeno was hitless in his other 3 plate appearances.  1B Hector Gimenez singled in the 4th, when Los Tigres loaded the bases, but did not score.  LF Lastings Milledge went 0-for-4, and C Raul Chavez went 0-for-2 for Los Tigres.