The Pirates and their draft signings.

[Jake]

Some interesting numbers from the Pirates draft season after signing Alvarez last night:

Start with the cost ...

 

Alvarez's bonus, part of a minor league contract, far exceeded the $4 million the Pirates paid to pitcher Bryan Bullington, No. 1 overall in 2001. More striking, it was part of total spending on this 32-player draft class that approached $10 million, a figure made possible when owner Bob Nutting early last month authorized a significant increase. That total included $8,166,000 on players in the top 10 rounds and an additional $900,000 yesterday to lure the 20th-round pick, pitcher Quinton Miller.

 

That not only was a record for the Pirates, but it was roughly $2 million more than any major league team spent on the draft last season. The high last season was the New York Yankees' $7.6 million.

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08229/904846-63.stm

 

Seems they're working very hard on exorcising the ghosts of Dave Littlefield and Kevin McClatchy.

 

Remember this when, starting in '10, the Pirates begin a streak of winning the division for the next 5 years. :lol:

 

Seriously...

 

We now have players in the system who are about ready to join the majors in the next two years, and others a couple of years off. I don't think I could ever say that in my years as a Pirate fan.

[Guest]

What's funny is that 5 of the Pirates' top 6 prospects weren't in the system a month ago:

 

1. Andrew McCutchen

2. Pedro Alvarez

3. Andy LaRoche

4. Jose Tabata

5. Bryan Morris

6. Robbie Grossman

 

That's a really good farm system, possibly the best in the division.

[SouthSideRyan]

LaRoche isn't a "prospect" anymore.

[Guest]

Fine. 4 out of their top 5 prospects.

[Ball And Glove]

I wouldn't give up hope on LaRoche. Sure, he hasn't looked good in his first 190-ish MLB at-bats, but he's always had solid minor league numbers (even considering the fact he played in a lot of extreme hitter's parks). He's still only 24...it's not like he's Rickie Weeks and still struggling to hit MLB pitching after 1500 ABs. If anything, Pittsburgh's the perfect place for us to find out if he can play every day in the majors...better than getting yanked around by Grady Little and Joe Torre and constantly getting blocked.

[Guest]

I wouldn't give up hope on LaRoche. Sure, he hasn't looked good in his first 190-ish MLB at-bats, but he's always had solid minor league numbers (even considering the fact he played in a lot of extreme hitter's parks). He's still only 24...it's not like he's Rickie Weeks and still struggling to hit MLB pitching after 1500 ABs. If anything, Pittsburgh's the perfect place for us to find out if he can play every day in the majors...better than getting yanked around by Grady Little and Joe Torre and constantly getting blocked.

 

SSR just meant he lost his prospect (rookie) eligibility. I don't believe he was making any type of judgement on LaRoche's future.

[Ball And Glove]

I wouldn't give up hope on LaRoche. Sure, he hasn't looked good in his first 190-ish MLB at-bats, but he's always had solid minor league numbers (even considering the fact he played in a lot of extreme hitter's parks). He's still only 24...it's not like he's Rickie Weeks and still struggling to hit MLB pitching after 1500 ABs. If anything, Pittsburgh's the perfect place for us to find out if he can play every day in the majors...better than getting yanked around by Grady Little and Joe Torre and constantly getting blocked.

 

SSR just meant he lost his prospect (rookie) eligibility. I don't believe he was making any type of judgement on LaRoche's future.

 

You're probably right. ;) I thought he meant he wasn't a prospect in that he was no longer a player with high upside, which wouldn't be the first time someone said that about LaRoche.

[badnews]

Again, I think Tabata has been overrated.

[RedFlash]

Again, I think Tabata has been overrated.

 

Maybe so, but I think Tabata will be a really good player, once he put it together.

[illiniguy]

What's funny is that 5 of the Pirates' top 6 prospects weren't in the system a month ago:

 

1. Andrew McCutchen

2. Pedro Alvarez

3. Andy LaRoche

4. Jose Tabata

5. Bryan Morris

6. Robbie Grossman

 

That's a really good farm system, possibly the best in the division.

I would still take Milwaukee's.

Mat Gamel is way better than anything the Pirates have, at least until Alvarez plays some professional games

I also like Caleb Gindl, Cole Gillespie, Alcides Escobar, Angel Salome, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jonathan LuCroy. They are still pretty stacked.

 

Oh and Tabata sucks. What has he slugged for his career, .350? No thanks.

[sneakypower]

What's funny is that 5 of the Pirates' top 6 prospects weren't in the system a month ago:

 

1. Andrew McCutchen

2. Pedro Alvarez

3. Andy LaRoche

4. Jose Tabata

5. Bryan Morris

6. Robbie Grossman

 

That's a really good farm system, possibly the best in the division.

I would still take Milwaukee's.

Mat Gamel is way better than anything the Pirates have, at least until Alvarez plays some professional games

I also like Caleb Gindl, Cole Gillespie, Alcides Escobar, Angel Salome, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jonathan LuCroy. They are still pretty stacked.

 

Oh and Tabata sucks. What has he slugged for his career, .350? No thanks.

Gamel is not better than McCutchen, much less "way better", unless you're treating this as purely an OPS ranking while taking absolutely nothing else into account

 

Tabata hit .300 in the FSL at 19 with a bum wrist; i'd gladly have him

[illiniguy]

What's funny is that 5 of the Pirates' top 6 prospects weren't in the system a month ago:

 

1. Andrew McCutchen

2. Pedro Alvarez

3. Andy LaRoche

4. Jose Tabata

5. Bryan Morris

6. Robbie Grossman

 

That's a really good farm system, possibly the best in the division.

I would still take Milwaukee's.

Mat Gamel is way better than anything the Pirates have, at least until Alvarez plays some professional games

I also like Caleb Gindl, Cole Gillespie, Alcides Escobar, Angel Salome, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jonathan LuCroy. They are still pretty stacked.

 

Oh and Tabata sucks. What has he slugged for his career, .350? No thanks.

Gamel is not better than McCutchen, much less "way better", unless you're treating this as purely an OPS ranking while taking absolutely nothing else into account

 

Tabata hit .300 in the FSL at 19 with a bum wrist; i'd gladly have him

My main point is Milwaukee has a better system.

 

Tabata slugged .310 this year, sure he has hit a bit since he went to Pit, but I am sure he will revert back to what he has done in the past.

 

Gamel is a better hitter than McCutchen, thus I like him better as a prospect.

[sneakypower]

well as long as you are admitting you're ignoring significant pieces of the equation i'm fine with that

[wvcbxl]

I'm just glad Jake has something to be happy about this season.

[TruffleShuffle]

Mat Gamel is way better than anything the Pirates have, at least until Alvarez plays some professional games

 

gamel is great as long as he doesn't have to walk out into the field with a baseball glove.

 

the pirates have done some good things with the draft. unfortunately there are no good players here in state college, so the local team is something like 11-45 now, but it seems the pirates are moving in the right direction.