Pittsburgh Pirates

The long rain delay in the fourth inning put a bit of a damper on this one, but the Pirates came out of the gates firing on all cylinders against Edwin Jackson and the Cubs this afternoon. In the first inning Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen both singled and stole bases, with McCutchen's hit driving Marte in and a Mike McKenry single driving McCutchen home. In the second, Marte singled again and Travis Snider tripled him home (also: check out this picture of Snider giving the Zoltan face down on third base), and McCutchen singled Snider home. It took a long time for those four runs to hold up, but eventually they did. Vin Mazzaro in particular deserves a hat-tip in this win. The rain delay came just as Jeanmar Gomez was hitting a rough patch, leaving runners on first and third with two outs after the Cubs tallied their first run. Mazzaro came in and got the final out of the fourth, then cruised through the fifth and sixth to give the Pirates the equivalent of a strong start even after the rain delay. I was as skeptical of the Pirates' acquisitions of both Mazzaro and Gomez this winter and while I'm still skeptical of Gomez's ability to be a useful starter long-term, Mazzaro's been a really pleasant surprise out of the bullpen and I think there's a chance that he could be a pretty decent swing-man over the course of the season. Knowing that there's a guy like that in the bullpen is certainly a huge help in games like today's. The sweep of the Cubs is the Pirates' second sweep of the season, and it puts them at 29-18. After splitting with the Mariners, the Pirates have rolled off 11 wins in 14 games against the Mets, Brewers, Astros, and Cubs. That's how good teams are supposed to take care of business against bad teams. I know that's a cliche, but it's one heck of a good feeling to know that it applies to the Pirates at this point in the season, and not in the way that it has in the past.

David Todd and I discussed the Gaby Sanchez trade on our last podcast, and I again came out against it, with the idea being that it's difficult for the Pirates to draft stars, and a competitive-balance pick in the 30s at least represented the possibility that the Pirates might get a star, even if it wasn't a particularly likely possibility. Huntington addressed the Sanchez trade again in his interview with David last week: You see a comp pick, and there's the risk, is that we may have given up David Wright. But ... there's about a 15 percent chance of getting an everyday big-leaguer in the 30 to 40 pick range ... We felt like it was worth that 15 percent chance that we were going to get an everyday big-leaguer. ... The draft is much more scripted than it's ever been, it's much more difficult to get a tough sign to slide later, to be able to maybe take him with that sandwich pick. Looking through previous drafts shows Huntington's analysis to basically be correct -- most years, one or two players between 30 and 40 turn out be decent regulars, and a much smaller percentage turn out to be David Wright (who was taken with the No. 38 overall pick in 2001). * * * Maybe the most striking aspect of my trip to PNC this week was what I saw outside the stadium. You know those huge player photo banners that decorate the outer walls of the ballpark? Remember what a joke those used to be? You'd walk by and wonder if the world really needed a 12-foot portrait of Tike Redman, or Humberto Cota or Josh Fogg, and if it was just a giant joke on you that those portraits existed anyway. Well, this week I walked by the banners and saw six or seven in a row of players performing inarguably well or downright brilliantly. This is not 2005. The Pirates are not a joke. And so, while the Pirates should have assessed (and, I'm sure, did assess) the value of a competitive-balance pick versus the value of Gaby Sanchez based on some quantitative standard (like projected WAR, for example), there's more to the Sanchez deal than that. In 2005, it would have been a ridiculous trade for a team with no future. But in 2012, it meant something different. Sanchez has played very well in 2013. But it's not a case of him merely playing well. He's playing well because he's essentially in the correct role, getting slightly less than half his plate appearances against lefties (against whom he's posted a 1.153 OPS). Moreover, it's a role the Pirates can use, since Garrett Jones doesn't hit lefties well. Sanchez is good for the Pirates, and the Pirates are good for Sanchez. If any fans of, say, the Cardinals happen to read this, they'll probably think, "Well ... yes. And?" But to me as a Pirates fan, I almost feel as if I'm trying to express something there was never any need to communicate before, like Ricky Gervais in The Invention of Lying or something. Look over the Bucs' roster. Jason Grilli looks like he was born to be a closer. Russell Martin is helping all the pitchers look better, while also contributing offensively. The same goes for Starling Marte. Justin Wilson and Vin Mazzaro are ably compensating for the Pirates' starters' difficulties going deep into games. Clint Barmes is gobbling up ground balls induced by pitchers like Wilson and Mark Melancon. In other words, there's symbiosis all over the place, and the roster is full of players who are well-suited to their roles. Those are the marks of a well-constructed team. Gaby Sanchez has been good because of Garrett Jones, who has been good because of Gaby Sanchez. I'm used to seeing this happen in other teams, but I'm not used to seeing it happen with the Pirates, who usually seem to have three or four good players with 21 or 22 average or bad players scattered randomly around them. The Rays' acquisition of Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett prior to the 2008 season was the key move that changed the Rays from a random accumulation of talent to an actual team. It might be premature to declare that the same

Jeanmar Gomez represents the biggest strength of the 2013 Pirates. (Photo Credit: David Hague) After recording the podcast today, I was talking with James and Tom about depth. We were specifically talking about the Dodgers, and how despite their mega payroll, they don’t really have a good team. They’ve had a lot of injuries, but who do they have behind those big salaries? Hanley Ramirez goes down, and Justin Sellers is their shortstop. It’s not like Dee Gordon was doing any better. They’ve lost a lot of pitchers to injuries, to the point where Matt Magill has made four starts, and Stephen Fife has made one. Keep in mind, this is a $216 M payroll. That got me thinking about the Pirates and why they’re better this year than last year. The big reason is depth. Last year it was Andrew McCutchen carrying the offense. This year it’s a group effort. Last year when the rotation fell apart in August, the team fell apart. This year the rotation has fallen apart to the point where Jeanmar Gomez has made five starts. Yet the team is 5-0 in those starts, obviously because Gomez has The Will To Win. Neil Walker goes down for 15 days and Jordy Mercer comes up and starts belting homers. Guys like Vin Mazzaro and Bryan Morris have been stepping up in the bullpen. And there’s depth at pretty much every position in the minors. Think about Gomez and the early season rotation for a second. Here was the depth chart in the pre-season: 1. A.J. Burnett 2. Wandy Rodriguez 3. James McDonald 4. Francisco Liriano 5. Jeff Locke 6. Kyle McPherson 7. Charlie Morton 8. Jeff Karstens 9. Gerrit Cole 10. Phil Irwin 11. Jeanmar Gomez The Pirates would have had to go through two rotations to get to Gomez. And that’s pretty much what they’ve done. Liriano, Morton, and Karstens started hurt. Liriano came back, and Karstens and Morton are close. McDonald, McPherson, and Irwin got hurt during the season. Cole has struggled. And that brings us to Gomez in the rotation for the month of May, despite being the 11th best option in the pre-season. And that 11th best option has a 4.23 xFIP after today’s start. Meanwhile the 9th and 10th options for the Dodgers (Magill, Fife) have been horrible. Sometimes I feel that it’s not all about how good your top five starters are. It’s more about how good your next five starters are. The reason the Pirates look like contenders right now isn’t because of A.J. Burnett, Andrew McCutchen, or any of the other big names. It’s because of smaller guys like Jeanmar Gomez, Vin Mazzaro, Justin Wilson, Jordy Mercer, and all of the other role players that have stepped up. That’s what contending teams do. They’re not built on 2-3 starting pitchers and 2-3 position players. They’re built on the entire 25-man roster, plus all of the guys in Triple-A who can step in if someone from that 25-man roster gets hurt or struggles. That’s the strength of the Pirates this year. Links and Notes **First Pitch will be taken over this weekend. I’ve got some friends coming in from out of town, and will be taking my first days off from the site since last January. That’s January 2012, unless you count when I moved, and I don’t because that’s not time off at all. While I’m out, Tom Bragg (Friday), James Santelli (Saturday), and John Dreker (Sunday) will be posting guest First Pitch articles, giving their thoughts on whatever subject they think up those nights. After the podcast goes up tomorrow, you won’t hear from me until Monday. Unless you count scheduled tweets. Or if you listen to the podcast over the weekend. Then obviously you’ll be hearing my voice. I’ll be back Monday. That’s what I’m saying. **The 2013 Prospect Guide and the 2013 Annual are both available on the products page of the site. If you order them together, you’ll save $5. **A new episode of the Pirates Prospects Podcast will go up t

The 2013 MLB draft is right around the corner, with the first day of the draft starting two weeks from today. Tonight was a big day in college baseball for many teams, the start of their conference tournaments. With the Pittsburgh Pirates choosing #9 and #14 in the first round, this may be their last chance to see some of these players they are considering with those top pick and each of the 39 picks that follow. For now, we concentrate on the top names in this class and how they did on this big Thursday night.  Colin Moran and North Carolina, won their tournament opener 10-0 against Miami today. Moran went 2-for-4 in the rout, walking once and scoring three runs. Kent Emanuel, a 2010 pick of the Pirates, started the game and threw a gem, albeit with an odd stat line. He threw eight shutout innings, allowing four hits and two walks, with no strikeouts. Moran had been in a slump of sorts lately, striking out ten times in his last 38 AB’s, after having just nine strikeouts in his first 176 AB’s. Jonathan Mayo has an article from today on Moran worth checking out. He also has another one taking a look at the best corner infielders in the draft, mentioning Kris Bryant and Moran at the top. Kris Bryant from San Diego, took on BYU on Thursday night. The top-ranked third baseman, walked three times and was hit by a pitch in his first four plate appearances. He struck out in his first official AB in the seventh inning. Bryant scored two runs. The game is in the eighth inning now and this will be updated when it goes final. Bryant is considered by almost all experts, to be a top three pick in this draft. Jonathan Gray had perhaps his best outing of the season at the right time. Against Baylor tonight, he threw a complete game shutout, allowing three hits, one walk and he struck out 12 batters. He threw 121 pitches on the day. The game was delayed 3 1/2 hours by rain before it started, so Gray didn’t make this start under ideal circumstances. It is likely, he sealed the #1 spot with this game, if he didn’t already have it beforehand. Ryne Stanek from Arkansas went tonight against a strong LSU team and he had an impressive outing. Stanek went eight innings, allowing one unearned run on six hits and three walks, while striking out four batters. There is a strong possibility that he could be available when the Pirates make their first pick, something no one would have said early in the season. Not every team started early this week. Mark Appel and Austin Wilson from Stanford will both be first round picks. Their team won’t start conference tournament play this week, they still have one week left in their regular schedule. Appel will take on UCLA tomorrow at home. DJ Peterson took on Nevada today and went 1-for-3, with a homer run, a walk and two runs scored. The home run was his 17th of the year. He has really moved up the draft charts, recently being named often in the Pirates range. Baseball America has an article on DJ Peterson, as well as his brother Dustin, who will also go early in this year’s draft. Nevada’s ace is Braden Shipley, a hard-throwing righty, who will go somewhere in the top ten this season. He took the mound yesterday against Aaron Judge and Fresno State. Shipley went eight innings, allowing three runs(two earned) on seven hits and two walks. He struck out eight and threw 122 pitches. Judge went 0-for-3, striking out twice and walking two times. He scored a run and stole his 12th base. Both strikeouts were against Shipley, while one walk came off a reliever. Phillip Ervin and Samford took a 2-1 loss today to Appalachian State, ending their season. Ervin went 0-for-4, with a run scored and stolen base. He finished the season batting .337 in 55 games, with 14 doubles, 11 homers and 21 stolen bases in 23 attempts. He had 39 walks and 25 strikeouts. Ervin finished third on his team in average, second in homers and first in stolen bases. Hunter Renfroe from Mississippi State, has pla

Top prospect Jameson Taillon will start at home for Altoona tonight, coming off a ten strikeout game in his last start. That strikeout total matched his career high, set earlier this season. Altoona had their game suspended by rain today in the eighth innings with the score tied at two runs apiece. The game will be finished on June 4th before their regularly scheduled game. For a look at the possible starters over the next few weeks, please check out our Probable Pitchers Chart. We have added a Recent Transactions section to the bottom of this page, for all Pirates minor league transactions. A full recap of yesterday’s action can be found here. Jameson Taillon struck out ten in his last outing AAA: Indianapolis (33-15) @ Buffalo (26-19) 7:05pm Probable starter: Kris Johnson (4-3, 3.80) Yesterday’s Result: Indianapolis 7, Buffalo 3 Kris Johnson will make his eighth start of the season tonight. He has also pitched twice in relief. He has a 5.04 road ERA this season in 25 innings. At home he has a 2.04 ERA in 17.2 innings. He has pitched much better as a starter this year as well, posting a 2.79 ERA in the role. Johnson hasn’t been sharp as of late, allowing seven runs on ten hits and four walks over 12 innings, covering his last two starts. AA: Altoona (19-27) vs Richmond (23-22) 6:30pm Probable starter: Jameson Taillon (2-5, 3.02) Yesterday’s Result: Reading 2, Altoona 2(suspended) Jameson Taillon will start for the tenth time this season tonight. Amazingly, it will be his fifth start against Richmond. In the previous four starts against them, he has shut them out twice, both times allowing two hits. In the other two games, he has allowed eight runs on 16 hits over 12 innings. Taillon’s 57 strikeouts ranks him fourth in the Eastern League, just three behind the league leader. His ERA ranks eighth in the league, second on Altoona to Casey Sadler. High-A: Bradenton (19-28) @ St Lucie (26-19) 6:30pm Probable starter: Nick Kingham (5-2, 3.42) Yesterday’s Result: Bradenton 12, Tampa 4 Nick Kingham will get his tenth start of the season tonight. He has pitched a total of 47.1 innings, allowing 39 hits, four homers and nine walks. He has struck out 58 batters this year, the highest total in the Florida State League. His 1.01 WHIP is the 3rd best in the FSL. Two starts ago, Kingham had a very rough outing, giving up four runs in 2/3 of an inning before being pulled. He rebounded great in his last start(against St Lucie), allowing one run over seven innings, walking none and striking out nine batters. Low-A: West Virginia (25-22) vs Lakewood (19-26) 7:05pm Probable starter: Jake Burnette (0-1, 16.62) Yesterday’s Result:  West Virginia 3, Lakewood 2 in 12 innings Jake Burnette will get his third start of the season today. In his season opener 11 days ago, he went 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits(one homer) and three walks. He struck out seven batters. In his last game, he lasted just 2/3 of an inning, giving up six runs on three hits and two walks. Burnette pitched five games for State College last year before being shutdown due to elbow soreness. He went 1-2, 4.71 in 22 innings and recorded eight strikeouts, just one more than he had in his season debut this year. Recent Transactions 5/23 Vic Black placed on disabled list. 5/22 Orlando Castro assigned to Jamestown. Josh Smith added to West Virginia roster 5/20 Alex Dickerson placed on DL. Justin Howard added to Altoona roster. 5/19 Chase d’Arnaud assigned to Altoona roster. 5/18 Jeff Karstens added to Altoona roster.

A full slate on Thursday, but Altoona's game was suspended. -- Indianapolis beat Buffalo, 7-3. Starter Brandon Cumpton allowed two runs in five innings on four hits and two walks, while whiffing four. Ryan Reid, Mike Zagurski, Tim Alderson and Jared Hughes each threw a scoreless inning of relief. Reid and Zagurski struck out the side, although Reid allowed a run in the process. Felix Pie went 2-3 with a double and two walks, Matt Hague (pictured) went 2-5 with his second HR, and Alex Presley hit his fourth HR. -- Altoona's game with Reading was suspended due to rain with the score 2-2 after seven innings. Casey Sadler went six, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out three. Justin Howard went 3-3 with a double and Andrew Lambo had a triple. -- Bradenton gave up 14 hits but still stomped Tampa, 12-4. Every Marauder had at least one hit. Dan Gamache went 2-4 with a walk, Willy Garcia went 2-5, and Chris Lashmet and Eric Avila each drove in three. Alen Hanson went 1-4 with a walk and Gregory Polanco 1-5 with a double. Starter Adrian Sampson allowed nine hits in five innings, but somehow gave up only two runs. Both were unearned due to an error on Hanson. Sampson walked one and fanned four. -- West Virginia pitchers fanned 24 (that is, twenty-four, or two dozen) Lakewood hitters as the Power won in 12 innings, 3-2. Starter Tyler Glasnow struck out a dozen in five innings and now has 62 Ks in 39 IP, or 14.3 K/9. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. The bullpen added another dozen over the next seven innings, with Jason Creasy whiffing six in two and two-thirds. Josh Smith and Thomas Harlan got another six combined in four and a third. The three relievers allowed just two hits and two walks in those seven innings. Every Lakewood hitter fanned at least twice. In case you're wondering, Lakewood is a weak-hitting team, but they're in the middle of the league when it comes to strikeouts. The Power won the game when Josh Bell tripled with two out in the bottom of the 12th, Stetson Allie was intentionally passed, and Eric Wood hit a walkoff single. For the game, Bell went 2-5 with a walk and Wood 3-6. Allie went 1-4 with his thirteenth HR and two walks. Max Moroff went 2-5 with a walk, and Walker Gourley and Junior Sosa had two hits apiece.

TOP OF THE SYSTEM A look at how the current top 20 prospects did today.  Note that this list doesn’t include players currently in the majors. If a player is in the majors, he will be removed, everyone below him will be shifted up a spot, and a new player will be added to the bottom of the list. Rankings are from the pre-season rankings, and links to each prospect writeup can be found by clicking the player names below. Players who weren’t in the original top 20 are linked to their player page on the site. 1. Gerrit Cole, RHP, Indianapolis (3-2, 3.75) - DNP 2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Altoona (2-5, 3.02) - DNP 3. Gregory Polanco, CF, Bradenton (.321) - 1-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, SB 4. Alen Hanson, SS, Bradenton (.286) - 1-for-4, BB 5. Luis Heredia, RHP, Extended Spring Training (Luis Heredia Close to Joining West Virginia) 6. Josh Bell, RF, West Virginia (.275) – 2-for-5, 3B, BB 7. Barrett Barnes, CF, West Virginia (.220) - Low-A DL 8. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, West Virginia (3-0, 2.31) - 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 12 K, 1 HR 9. Kyle McPherson, RHP, Indianapolis (0-1, 19.29) – Triple-A DL 10. Nick Kingham, RHP, Bradenton (5-2, 3.42) - DNP 11. Clay Holmes, RHP, West Virginia (1-3, 6.08) - DNP 12. Dilson Herrera, 2B, West Virginia (.314) - DNP 13. Tony Sanchez, C, Indianapolis (.304) - 0-for-2, BB 14. Wyatt Mathisen, C, West Virginia (.185) – 0-for-4 15. Adrian Sampson, RHP, Bradenton (2-1, 6.10) - 5.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR 16. Vic Black, RHP, Indianapolis (0-2, 2.63) – Triple-A DL 17. Andy Oliver, LHP, Indianapolis (3-2, 2.87) - DNP 18. Jin-De Jhang, C, Extended Spring Training 19. Stolmy Pimentel, RHP, Altoona (2-2, 3.35) - DNP 20. Jordy Mercer, SS, Indianapolis (.333) - In Majors ORDER YOUR 2013 PROSPECT GUIDE The 2013 Prospect Guide is now available, and is the perfect resource to follow the minor league system during the 2013 season. You can order your copy on the products page of the site. Order together with the 2013 Annual and save $5! DAILY SUMMARY Top Pitcher: Tyler Glasnow, RHP (2.31) – 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 12 K, 1 HR Top Hitter: Matt Hague, 1B (.297) – 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI Home Runs: Alex Presley (4), Matt Hague (2), Stetson Allie (13) AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS   Box Score Result: Indianapolis 7, Buffalo 3 Starting Pitcher: Brandon Cumpton, RHP (4-2, 2.91) – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR Top Hitter: Matt Hague, 1B (.297) – 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI Other Notable Performers: Mike Zagurski, LHP (2.18) – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR Alex Presley, CF (.276) – 1-for-4, HR, BB Felix Pie, LF (.277) – 2-for-3, 2B, 2 BB, 2 SB Game Notes: Brandon Cumpton now has a 2.91 ERA in 46.1 innings with Indianapolis, along with a 40:17 K/BB ratio. He also has a 2.76 GO/AO ratio at the level. Mike Zagurski struck out the side and now has 37 strikeouts in 20.2 innings this year. Ryan Reid gave up a one out home run in the sixth inning, snapping his scoreless innings streak at 25 innings. That falls just shy of Indianapolis Indians record set by RHP Scott Strickland who threw 25.2 consecutive shutout innings in 2006. Matt Hague hit his second homer of the year and Alex Presley hit his first to put Indianapolis up 3-0 in the first inning. Felix Pie stole two bases, giving him 18 on the year. AA: ALTOONA CURVE   Altoona was suspended in the 7th inning. The game will be completed on June 4th. A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS Box Score Result: Bradenton 12, Tampa 4 Starting Pitcher: Adrian Sampson, RHP (2-1, 6.10) – 5.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR Top Hitter: Dan Gamache, 2B (.286) – 2-for-4, 2B, BB Other Notable Performers: Willy Garcia, RF (.224) – 2-for-5 Gregory Polanco, CF (.321) – 1-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, SB Game Notes: Adrian Sampson gave up two unearned runs in the first inning after an Alen Hanson fielding error. It was Hanson’s first fielding related error since April 23rd. Sampson went on to throw four

The Cincinnati Reds rolled through a nine-game road trip, and with the struggling Chicago Cubs coming to town Friday night, there’s little reason to think one of the best home teams in the majors won’t continue its success. View full post on Yahoo! Sports – MLB – Pittsburgh Pirates News

Vic Black has been placed on the DL with a left oblique injury. The other day Vic Black left the Indianapolis Indians game after getting one out. Today Black was placed on the Triple-A disabled list with a left-oblique injury. The move was backdated to May 22nd. No word yet on when Black will return, or how serious the injury is.

PITTSBURGH -- Before the Chicago Cubs lost 4-2 to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon, manager Dale Sveum sounded like a man getting frustrated with some of his lineup issues. After the loss he seemed to direct some of that frustration to the team's $52 million offseason signing, Edwin Jackson. He had little command on the mound, giving up four runs to the Pirates in the first two innings while Pittsburgh completed a series sweep."(He) seems to be not coming out with a whole lot of conviction early in games," Sveum said. Read more Edwin Jackson news