Pittsburgh Pirates

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Game on.

Jun 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Bud Norris (20) pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports As the trade deadline draws closer, trade rumors start to heat up. The buyers and sellers are starting to become more well known as the season gets into the dog days of summer, the picture may not be completely clear yet, but it’s starting to take shape, and one team that’s certain to be selling this summer is the Houston Astros. The best target available from Houston right now is right-handed starting pitcher Bud Norris. Norris is making a modest salary of $3 million ($1 million after the deadline), and he becomes a free agent in 2016. He’s 5-7 on the year, but his ERA is 3.64, and his peripherals are decent. The Astros are already out of contention, so they should be willing to deal Norris away for the right price. The Pirates philosophy coming into this season seemed to be that you can never have too many arms, and so far they’ve been correct. A.J. Burnett is on the DL, along with Wandy Rodriguez. The Jonathan Sanchez experiment was a nightmare. James McDonald appears to have completely lost his ability to pitch (even to minor league hitters), whether due to mental problems, injuries or whatever it might be. They had tons of depth both for the bullpen and starting pitching between the big league club and Indianapolis, but they can never have too much of it if they want to make a run at the playoffs coming down the stretch, even with the pleasant surprise of Jeff Locke, and the recent calling up of Gerrit Cole. The price for Norris might end up running somewhat high. The starting pitching market this year isn’t exactly loaded, which will drive up the cost of acquiring a guy like Norris at the deadline. The question is what the market price for a player like Norris would be, and if the Pirates would be willing to pay that. Norris should not be at the top of the Pirates trade targets list, but if the opportunity presents itself for the right price, they ought to pull the trigger and make the deal.

Apart from Heredia, the Power also added RHP Clario Perez and IF Chris Diaz from extended spring training. They replaced Stetson Allie, Orlando Castro and Joely Rodriguez, who were all moved up. Perez is fairly similar to Isaac Sanchez; he's a smallish righty who throws pretty hard, generally 92-94 (practically all their young pitchers throw at least in the low-90s these days), and has a potentially good curve. He's also had command problems. He probably profiles as a reliever, but made a few starts at State College last year. Diaz played at State College after being drafted last year. He didn't hit much and probably profiles as a utility infielder. The Pirates promoted Jordan Steranka a couple days ago. That's more promotions to the Power than from the Power, so I'm not sure exactly how it works out. Anyway, Steranka would have signed quickly after the draft last year, but couldn't pass a physical because he had mono. He ended up signing in September, so he'll make his pro debut with the Power. He'll probably play first, third and left, and could get a lot of Allie's time at first.

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports Not many fantasy baseball fans projected the Pittsburgh Pirates number one starter to be Jeff Locke at this point in the season. However, the southpaw has been absolutely embarrassing the competition this year and has outpitched every other hurler on the staff. Through 82.1 innings of work this year, Locke has only allowed 20 earned runs. The 25-year-old has a sizzling 2.19 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP to go along with his outstanding 6-1 record. He has somehow pitched even better in the last several weeks, as he has allowed just four earned runs over his last six starts. Locke is only throwing 92.4 pitches per starts, so the team is obviously being careful with their future ace. However, the fact that he is pitching so well in just his second season in the bigs shows amazing fantasy potential for dynasty league owners. J-Lo has mixed in three pitches exceptionally well. According to FanGraphs, Locke is throwing his fastball 62.2% of the time, but he is also throwing his curveball 19.7% and changeup 14.1%. Locke’s ability to mix up pitches has frustrated opposing hitters all year and has helped him constantly get ahead in the count. Not many pitchers have a three-pitch repertoire, but this kid has three above-average pitches. Locke has developed into a reliable mid-level starter this season. He has amazing keeper potential and is showcasing it on a weekly basis. If you have Locke on your roster, this is the year to lock him up. Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.

Here is the live box score

It's Jeff Locke (6-1, 2.19) vs. Bronson Arroyo (6-5, 3.27) in round #3 of the Buc-Reds throwdown. This series hasn't been this competitive and so much fun since the Lumber Company and the Big Red Machine used to mix it up in the seventies.Hard to believe, but Jeff Locke is the only starter who broke camp still standing on the hill. Wandy and AJ are hurt, Jonathan Sanchez is gonzo, and soon J-Mac may be, too. Numerically, Locke's been the creme of the rotation and is coming off a masterful shutout of the Dodgers. Arroyo, a former Pirate, has been a Reds workhorse and is 6-7 with a 3.88 ERA lifetime against his old mates.The game starts at 7:10 and will be aired on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.Pirate lineup: Starling Marte LF, Russll Martin C, Andrew McCutchen CF, Garrett Jones 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Travis Snider RF, Jordy Mercer SS and Jeff Locke P.Reds lineup: Shin-Soo Choo CF, Derrick Robinson LF, Joey Votto 1B, Brandon Phillips 2B, Jay Bruce RF,Todd Frazier 3B, Zack Cozart SS, Ryan Hanigan C and Bronson Arroyo P.The Pirates struck out a season-high 17 times in Tuesday’s 4-0 victory. According to Elias Sports Bureau, that matches the highest strikeout total in any of the Pirates’ victories of nine or fewer innings since 1900. Pittsburgh is 1 for 25 with RISP in their last four contests.The Pirates and Reds not only bounce baseballs off one another, but are prime targets wherever they play. The Bucs lead the MLB in hit batsmen with 41; Cincinnati is second at 38. Shin-Soo Choo heads the majors with 19 beanings, Starling Marte is second at 14 and Neil Walker fourth at nine.Jeanmar Gomez was rained out of his start yesterday with Indy and will try again tonight. He's on schedule to step in the spot that Bradon Cumpton is now filling, especially with a couple of off days on the calendar next week..LHP Mike Zagurski cleared waivers and was assigned him to Indy.Carson Cistulli of Fangraphs wrote up Altoona's Nick Kingham in his Fringe Five column, a look at prospects that are under national Top 100 radar.

Jerry Sands has been placed on the Triple-A disabled list. (Photo Credit: David Hague) Here are the minor league moves from this afternoon. **Jerry Sands has been placed on the Indianapolis DL, and the move has been backdated to June 17th. No word on the injury, although the minors only have a seven day DL, so the fact that this is backdated indicates that he won’t be out long. **Oscar Tejeda has been promoted from Altoona to take his place on the roster. **Eliecer Navarro has been officially added to the Altoona roster and will start tonight. **Kelson Brown has been placed on the Altoona DL. **Stetson Allie and Orlando Castro have been officially added to the Bradenton roster. **Taylor Lewis has been placed on the 7-day DL for Bradenton. **Dan Grovatt has been activated from the 7-day DL. **2012 draft pick Chris Diaz, who had been rehabbing in extended Spring Training, has been added to the West Virginia roster.

Here is the live box score

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com The subhead for this blog notes that content can range anywhere from Cardinals to baseball to anything of consequence. Consider this an entry that fits into the latter category. In about two months, the nearby town of Kimmswick will be hosting a 5K and 1-mile walk and fun run to raise money for the ALS Foundation and the Nancy Ratliff Medical Fund. I realize there are races in this area all the time, most of which are formed to help various reputable charities. But I have a personal connection to this one, and I wanted to use any reach I have to bring some attention to this particular race. One of my MLB.com colleagues, Jason Ratliff, began this now-annual race three summers ago. His mother, Nancy, was diagnosed with ALS (more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in 2009, and their family has been dealing with escalating medical costs since. You won’t read Jason’s byline anywhere on MLB.com, but his handprints are all over what we do. Jason does most of the behind-the-scenes work with our prospect pages and Minor League content. He is an invaluable part of our team. Whether you’re an avid runner, a sometimes walker or someone who would like to give running a try for the first time, I hope you will consider participating in this race. Here are all the details: WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 17 at 8 a.m. CT WHERE: The Blue Owl Bakery and Restaurant in Kimmswick, Mo. Click here to go to the race website for additional details and/or to register. If interested, you can also set up a fundraising page in order to increase your contribution. Now I know not everyone gets exited about the opportunity to wake up on a Saturday morning to run. If you fall in that category, I hope you will still consider making a donation to the ALS Foundation/Nancy Ratliff Medical Fund. I have set up a fundraising page (click here) through which you can make a donation. If you have any additional questions on the event, let me know and I’ll do my best to provide an answer. Thank you for reading. Follow me on Twitter: @LangoschMLB