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© 2007 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved. |
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Pirates' system peppered with talent 10/26/2007 8:00 AM ETBy Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com
Before the 2007 season began, MLB.com took an in-depth look at every big league team's Minor League system. Now, it's time to recap all 30 organizations, from top prospects to the recent draft class.
The Dave Littlefield era is now over. Just what did it mean from a Minor League standpoint? The ultimate objective of turning the Pirates into a winning franchise at the big-league level was obviously not reached. It's also safe to say that the goal of turning the farm system into a rich, deep stable of talent, funneling players to Pittsburgh to keep it a winner also wasn't met. But it would be going too far to call the last several years a total failure. Many of the players on the Pirates' big-league roster are home grown, with Pittsburgh having one of the highest percentages in baseball of players signed and developed from within. A debate could be raised about the level and success of that talent, but getting players to the big leagues in those sorts of numbers is not a negligible feat. This year on the farm, the Pirates -- strengthened by tremendous clubs in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela -- finished with a .521 winning percentage, though Altoona and Hickory were the only teams stateside to finish above .500. Top prospect Andrew McCutchen suffered through an awful slump, but recovered and is still the cream of the crop in the system. He could end up being the best legacy Littlefield and company leave behind. Organizational Players of the Year PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Andrew McCutchen, OF: He seemed the obvious choice before the season started, but who could have predicted how slowly he would start the 2007 season? The slump lasted nearly the entire first half, as he hit .240 with a .660 OPS before the break. The good news is that he did come out of it, hitting .306 in 121 at-bats in the second half with a much more respectable .844 OPS before getting promoted to Triple-A. In 17 games there, he batted .313, allowing him to finish with a .265 average, 11 homers and 21 steals. It's not exactly the 20-20 season we predicted, but he's still just 21 and ready to knock on the door.
Todd Redmond, RHP Our prediction was that Redmond would continue to get the job done while flying under the radar. He did finish second in the organization in strikeouts with 107, and his ERA was sixth best among the system's full-season pitchers. But the K's came spread out over 160 innings and sixth-best was 4.39. Giving up 166 hits for the year led to a pedestrian .269 batting average against. He was actually sharpest during a three-start stint in Double-A in June, posting a 3.12 ERA and holding Eastern League hitters to a .227 batting average.
POSTSEASON SELECTIONS Steven Pearce, 1B/OF: Considering he was MiLB.com's -- and the Pirates' official -- Minor League Player of the Year, this was an easy choice. The overall numbers, compiled across three levels, tell you all you need to know: .333 average, 31 homers, 113 RBIs, 40 doubles, 14 steals, 1.016 OPS. He was among the Minor League leaders in a host of offensive categories, and it wasn't even close within the organization.
Luis Munoz, RHP: The Pirates gave this award to John Van Benschoten, and there was some temptation to give it to reliever Matt Peterson, but Munoz nearly came away with the organization's pitching Triple Crown. The 25-year-old Dominican spent most of the year in Altoona, with three Triple-A starts mixed in, and went 14-6 with a 3.57 ERA. He struck out 105 and walked just 36 in 153 2/3 innings. He topped the organization in wins and ERA (among full-season pitchers) while finishing third in strikeouts. Climbed the Ladder
Nyjer Morgan, OF: Morgan missed three months with a torn thumb ligament, but still managed to reach the big leagues. Considering he had spent just 56 games in Double-A the previous year, the fact that he needed only 164 at-bats in Triple-A before getting a September callup was indeed impressive. Morgan than added a nice spark to the Pirates in the final month of the big-league season, hitting .299 and stealing seven bases over 28 games.
Steven Pearce, 1B/OF: There weren't too many players who climbed as far as fast as Pearce did in 2007. He began the year "too old for his level" in the Carolina League, then made stops in Double-A and Triple-A before hitting the big leagues. And he raked at every level, more than holding his own over 23 games in September, while learning how to play the outfield. Needless to say, his days as a Minor Leaguer might be over. Kept Their Footing
Brian Bixler, SS: Bixler had played just 60 games above A-ball when the Pirates decided their second round pick from 2004 was ready for Triple-A. He handled the jump well, hitting .274 with a .368 OBP and 28 steals. He was much better in the first half, hitting .297 with an .840 OPS, than in the second (.235, .638). A Triple-A All-Star who has primarily been a shortstop but also saw time at second base, he may have opened the door to a utility spot in 2008.
Andrew McCutchen, OF: The season may not have gone quite as well as hoped, but it certainly wasn't a total waste. Yes, McCutchen struggled for much of the first half, and it took him quite some time to pull out of the slump. But the good news is that he did make the adjustment, and in the second half of the year looked like the top prospect everyone thought he was. He'll be playing all of 2008 at age 21, so even if some or all of the season happens in Triple-A, he's still way ahead of the curve.
Neil Walker, 3B: Playing all season at age 21, Walker started showing some of the offensive skills that made him a first-round pick in 2004. The Pittsburgh native spent most of the year with Altoona, where he hit .288 with 13 homers and 30 doubles in 117 games before a late callup to Triple-A. He even stole nine bases there and drew 53 walks (against just 73 strikeouts) for a respectable .362 OBP. Considering he was playing a new position -- third base -- for the first time in his career, those numbers become even more impressive. He's got some work to do, understandably, at the hot corner, but most think he'll be able to stick there. Slipped a Rung Yoslan Herrera, RHP: There were high hopes for the 26-year-old Cuban defector, some expectation, in fact, that he would contribute at the big-league level at some point this year. He's on the 40-man roster, but he never came closer to Pittsburgh than pitching for Altoona. Herrera went 6-9 with a 4.69 ERA in 25 starts as Eastern League hitters batted .296 against him. He was a bit better in the second half, particularly in July (2.78 ERA), but it certainly didn't live up to the advance billing. Brad Lincoln, RHP: It's never fair to penalize a guy because of injury, but the truth is Lincoln lost a year of development time because of Tommy John surgery. And while this certainly wasn't the fault of the Pirates' 2006 first-round pick, his injury put a strong magnifying glass on the organization's difficulties in keeping its young arms healthy. John Van Benschoten, RHP: Yes, he was the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year. And yes, he had a nifty 2.56 ERA for Indianapolis in 19 starts. But he had a ghastly 10.15 ERA in 11 games in the big leagues. He'll be 28 next season, and time is running out. Maybe the Pirates should let him start swinging the bat more frequently. On the Radar
Jason Delaney, OF/1B: An 11th-round pick in 2005 out of Boston College, Delaney had a nice initial full season in 2006, spending all of it in Class A Hickory and hitting .300. This past season, he moved up to Lynchburg and set the Carolina League ablaze by hitting .340 with a .968 OPS over 72 games. That earned him a bump up to Altoona, and while he slowed down some (.774 OPS), his overall numbers look good: .304, 16 HR, 79 RBIs, .403 OBP, .474 SLG. The Pirates thought enough of him to send him to the Arizona Fall League.
Shelby Ford, 2B: The Pirates' third-round pick in 2006 out of Oklahoma State, Ford spent his first full season with Class A Advanced Lynchburg. He was named a postseason Carolina League All-Star after hitting .281 and going a perfect 14-for-14 in stolen base attempts over 94 games. He was red hot in July with a .346 average (after a .321 June) and would likely have had better overall numbers had he not been sidelined by a back problem for the final month of the season. It did not require surgery, and he should return to form after rehabbing this offseason.
Jonel Pacheco, OF: Yeah, yeah, we know that Pacheco was too old for the South Atlantic League at age 24. And yes, we're aware that he's listed at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, But it was too hard to ignore the season he had. With the exception of a nine-game stint with Lynchburg, Pacheco played for Hickory all year and hit .315 in 119 games. He also hit 27 homers, drove in 99 runs and stole 18 bases. It was his first season in the organization, signing after playing last year in the Mets' system. His highlight of the year came in late April, when he homered three times in one game. Does he have a future? It's hard to know for sure -- next year will be the true test -- but at least now you should be curious to find out. 2007 Draft Recap
Daniel Moskos, LHP: The No. 4 overall pick in the draft this past June, the Clemson product logged 15 2/3 total innings, mostly with State College in the New York-Penn League. Combined, Moskos had a 3.45 ERA in 13 relief outings, allowing 23 hits but striking out 16. There was some debate coming out of the draft whether he would start or relieve, but the Pirates seem intent on having him come out of the bullpen, and hopefully hop on the fast track to the big leagues.
Duke Wellker, RHP: The big right-hander out of Arkansas generally pitched in the shadow of first-round pick Nick Schmidt (Padres) while in college, but he did just fine making a name for himself during his pro debut. In seven starts for State College, Welker compiled a 2.35 ERA over 30 2/3 innings, allowing 29 hits and 10 walks while striking out 27.
Brian Friday, SS: Rice University has developed a reputation as a pitching factory (granted the parts break a lot), but that doesn't mean it's devoid of position-player talent. Friday played short for the Owls, then did so for the State College Spikes. Over 40 games, he hit .295 and stole six bases, making eight errors in 39 games at short. Others of note: TCU catcher Andrew Walker (fifth round) hit .317 for State College, with a .390 OBP and 24 RBIs in 46 games. ... LHP Tony Watson (ninth round) was a New York-Penn League All-Star who went 6-1 with a 2.52 ERA in 10 starts for State College before being promoted and pitching well briefly for Hickory. Combined, he had a 2.79 ERA and held hitters to a .237 batting average while walking just eight and striking out 58 in 67 2/3 innings. ... C Andrew Biela (13th round) hit .304 for the GCL Pirates, compiling a .408 OBP in 34 games. ... RHP Harrison Bishop (17th) pitched very well out of the State College bullpen, posting a 3.03 ERA in 19 outings and holding batters to a .224 average while striking out 33 in 29 2/3 innings. ... OF Keanon Simon (25th) hit .335 with nine steals in 54 games with State College. ... RHP Taylor Cameron (31st) had a 1.80 ERA in 30 relief innings for State College. ... RHP Gary Amato (48th) had a 3.34 ERA and a .194 batting average against while striking out 29 in 29 2/3 innings in the Gulf Coast and New York-Penn Leagues.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
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