Mound Talk

1. Andrew McCutchen, CF, AAA. McCutchen was one of the heralded five-tool high school outfielders taken in the 2005 draft and has done well to represent that group thus far. He has great bat speed and is a very smart baseball player. He has a pretty good eye at the plate and good speed. 20/20 is not out of the question by any means. McCutchen strikes out a little too much and needs to work on generating some loft on his swing.
2. Steve Pearce, 1B/OF, MLB. Pearce is a very strong offensive player. He has the ability to hit for average and power while drawing a lot of walks. He spent time in High-A, Double-A, Triple-A and MLB this season with success at every level. In 290 at-bats in Double-A, Pearce posted a .334/.400/.586 line with 14 home runs and 27 doubles. In 122 Triple-A at-bats, Pearce hit .320/.366/.557 with six home runs and nine doubles.
3. Neil Walker, 3B, AAA. Walker converted from catcher in 2007 to the hot corner where he immediately succeeded posting minor league career highs in OBP and SLG for an overall Double-A line (431 at-bats) of .288/.362/.462. Walker is a switch hitter with good power potential and plate discipline.
4. Daniel Moskos, LHP, A-. Moskos was taken with the fourth pick in the 2007 draft and was a big surprise. Despite having success as a starter in college, the Pirates moved him to the bullpen where he was, in limited action, effective. He has a good fastball that sits mid-90s and a plus-slider in the upper 80s. His curveball and change need work. If he stays in the bullpen, expect him to move quickly, perhaps even seeing big league action in late 2008.
5. Brad Lincoln, RHP, A. Lincoln did not pitch in 2007 due to Tommy John surgery. After being drafted with the Pirates top pick in 2006, Lincoln was fairly successful in his professional debut, albeit in only 23.2 innings. He was shut down with an oblique injury and that was followed by TJ surgery. Prior to his injury, Lincoln threw a good fastball with mid-90s velocity and good downward movement. His curveball had hard break and could be his best pitch. Command was a concern before the injury and that leaves concerns for the future.
6. Jamie Romak, OF, A+. Romak came over in the Adam LaRoche trade with Atlanta last January. In 2007 he saw his power increase and his approach at the plate improve. He’s a strong right fielder offensively but fairly average defensively. He works counts very well, but tends to end them in strikeouts (90 in 294 High-A at-bats).
7. Shelby Ford, 2B, A+. Ford is a switch-hitter with decent power from both sides of the plate. He is a little erratic at the plate and tends to chase too many pitches but makes up for it by controlling pitches in the zone well. I fully expect him to become a more disciplined hitter. He has a good arm for a second baseman with decent range. In 360 High-A at-bats (before being sidelined with an oblique injury), he hit .281/.360/.433 with five home runs, seven triples and 26 doubles. He’s ready for the move to Double-A in 2008 and ought to be given a full season there with a solid second baseman in the bigs already for Pittsburgh.
8. Brad Bixler, 2B/SS, AAA. Bixler spend all of 2007 in Triple-A racking up 475 at-bats in which he hit .274/.368/.396. He hit 23 doubles, ten triples and five home runs to go along with 28 stolen bases. He has good gap power but won’t rack up big home run numbers. Bixler is very good on the bases and has a great understanding of hte game. On the negative side, he struck out 131 times in 2007. His defense isn’t great either. His speed hasn’t translated into great range and his arm isn’t great. He’ll likely find a role as a utility infielder in 2008.
9. David Davidson, LHRP, AAA. Davidson is a groundball pitcher with pretty good control. He pitched well in the Arizona Fall League this year and stands to earn a spot on the big league club with a good Spring Training.
10. Duke Welker, LHSP, A-. After being drafted out of Arkansas in the second round of the 2007 draft, Welker found himself in State College of the New York-Penn League where he had seven successful outings. In 31 innings he struck out 27 batters and allowed 29 hits. He has a good, long body. His fastball is low-90s but he could add some velocity. He has an average, at best, curveball and changeup.
Flier. Todd Redmond, RHSP, AA. Redmond has very good command walking just 35 batters in 160 innings between High-A and Double-A in 2007. He doesn’t strike out man (107) but with a little work, Redmond could be a good breakout candidate in 2008.

The Pirates are far from a good system. The talent level really drops off after Walker. Moskos is talented, but has a lot to prove while Lincoln coming back from TJ surgery scares me a lot. With a new group in control, Pirates fans can take solice in knowing they won’t be automatically priced out of the best talent in the draft. The top three guys will be ready to contribute at some point in 2008 and by 2009, they will combine with Jason Bay to give the Pirates a decent lineup, at least at the top. But they still lack the pitching quality and depth to really be a top notch team.

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