Pirate City Observations – 3/20/12

Today is my last day down here, but Tim, Kristy, and Wilbur will still all be down here for a little while. I got over to Pirate City at 9:30 a.m. to check out the action and see the intra-squad scrimmages.

Here’s some quick thoughts on players that I saw:
* Yhonathan Herrand — Herrand was sitting 92 and touching 93/94, but he had very little command of his fastball. He plunked Ferrell and buzzed at least 2 other hitters during his 2 innings.

* Luis Heredia — Heredia was sitting 92 today and showed a sloppy curveball around 74 twice. Heredia covered 1B on a ground ball the 1B had to field. He was a little slow getting started, but moved well once he got going. He made the catch from the 1B in stride.

* Logan Pevny — I didn’t get a gun reading on him (Tim borrowed it for a minute and he is the boss) but he slings it at a 3/4 cross-fire delivery.

* Alex Lukashevich — He was at only 83-84 on his fastball, but his curve was fantastic in the 76 mph range. He had a few hitters flailing.

* Tim saw Andrew Lambo hit an absolute bomb off on Nate Baker. Baker had an 88 mph fastball and a so-so slider at 84 when I was watching him.

* Jake Burnette — Burnette was in the 87-88 mph range today on the fastball. His fastball was tailing away from lefties and normal to righties.

* Clayton Holmes — Holmes was 89-91 with his fastball.

* David Jagoditsh — He was only 90-91 on his fastball, but he had a great curve at 76-77 mph and the makings of what appeared to be a slider at 84. One of the players charting his pitches said “He’s damn near at the plate by the time he releases it,” due to his huge frame.

* Jackson Lodge — he was 83-85 on his fastball today.

* Tony Sanchez — I watched Sanchez slide effortlessly to his right to block a pitch in the dirt. Then on the very next pitch he got a foul ball into a very sensitive man-area.

* Carlos Paulino — If the Pirates had a catcher with a better throwing arm, majors or minors, I would like to see that catcher. He delivered laser-straight throws to 2B on stolen base attempts and a frozen rope on a pickoff attempt to 1B. If his offense continues this year, his stock could put him only behind Sanchez as a catching prospect in the system.

* Alex Dickerson — The Alpha Dog, as I will call him this year, tried to drag bunt a hit. He runs fairly well for a player of his size.

* Victor Black — Tim saw him throw 92-95 and was very wild.

* Jin de Jhang — he was consistently throwing high on throws to 2B.

It was fantastic being here for 5 days. It’s a prospect junkie’s dream trip, as you can see so many players play at the same time over the 4 fields. You want to just keep rotating all around the tower.

Food note — Tim and I had lunch at a good and gritty place called Pompey’s Seafood Shack. It’s down 26th Ave, near 9th Avenue’s intersection I think, about 5 minutes from Pirate City. I had some shrimp in garlic butter, potatoes, and corn. Tim had a pulled pork sandwich and fries. Worth checking out if you need a break from Mixon’s and want to stay local.