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Monthly Archives: March, 2010

Prospect Watching: Gorkys Hernandez

Continuing to look at the prospects -- another outfielder today:

Gorkys Hernandez came to the Pirates from the Braves' organization. �The Venezuelan native came to the US in the Tigers' organization, and hit very well in his two seasons with them: �.327 for the GCL Tigers, and .293 for A level West Michigan. �He was traded to the Braves, and played at their A+ level Myrtle Beach affiliate in 2008, hitting .264, with 23 doubles, 5 homers, and 42 RBI. �Though he had stolen 54 bases at the A level in 2007, he did not do much stealing in 2008 -- just 20 steals and 4 times caught stealing. �The drop was thought to be due to a hamstring injury. �Hernandez was moved up to the AA level (Mississippi) to begin the 2009 season. �In 52 games, he hit .316 with 11 doubles and 19 RBI. �He stole bases at about the same rate (10) and struck out at a little higher rate than in 2008 (54 K's). �In early June, the outfielder was traded to the Pirates in the deal that sent Nate McLouth to the Braves. �Hernandez was assigned to AA Altoona, but his success in the Southern League did not translate well into the Eastern League. �He hit .244 over 24 games for the rest of June, with just 4 RBI and just 2 stolen bases. �He also struck out 19 times in 24 games. �In July he showed a little more power: �.243 with 2 home runs and 13 RBI, three stolen bases, but a whopping 25 strikeouts in 28 games. �Hernandez's average climbed a bit in August/September, when he hit .285 over 34 games. �He contributed 14 RBI, but still struck out at a high rate -- 32 K's. �That gave him a .262 average for his time with the Curve, with 14 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, and 31 RBI. �He stole a total of 9 bases but was caught 8 times. �He also walked 24 times and struck out 76 times. �In the field, Hernandez made 4 errors while with the Curve, but he has good speed in the field and has a strong throwing arm. �There was also some concern about attitude issues when a couple of incidents occurred on the field, but after those two incidents, nothing more happened. �It may have been a matter of a 21-year-old getting used to a new place and new coaching staff. �Hernandez was added to the Pirates' 40-man roster at the end of the season, and he's reported to spring training with the major league club. �He got into 8 Grapefruit League games with the Pirates, and went 2-for-10 at the plate, with a walk and 4 strikeouts. �In the first round of cuts, Hernandez was optioned back to Altoona, where he'll begin the 2010 season. �He'll need to be working on that strikeout rate, and the Pirates would like to see him show more power. �It would be interesting to have him stealing more bases too.

Farrell Homers For Pirates In Loss

The Indianapolis Indians did not have a scheduled game today; they play again in Bradenton tomorrow, facing the Las Vegas 51's.

Red Sox 6, �Pirates 4 � (box)

Home runs were the order of business in Bradenton today, as the Pirates lost to the Red Sox in Grapefruit League play. �Pirates' starter Paul Maholm gave up three home runs in his 5 innings of work, as he was charged with the loss. �Maholm struck out 7 batters, and didn't walk any. �Of the 5 hits he allowed, 3 were homers. �A single and a homer gave the Red Sox a 2 run start in the top of the 1st. �Solo home runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings, made it a 4-1 game. �In the 5th, a double and a sacrifice fly accounted for another run charged to Maholm. �The Red Sox' other run came in the 6th, on two singles and a sacrifice fly off reliever DJ Carrasco. �Javier Lopez, Brendan Donnelly, and Octavio Dotel each pitched a scoreless inning for the Pirates, and Donnelly struck out two batters. �Dotel made his first Grapefruit League appearance, coming back from a strained left oblique muscle. �He was a little wild -- only 10 of his 22 pitches were strikes, with one wild pitch, and he walked one batter and hit another.

The Pirates scored in the bottom of the 1st inning. �2B Aki Iwamura doubled, then stole third base. �LF Lastings Milledge walked, then RF Garrett Jones brought Iwamura in with a ground ball right to the Sox' first baseman. �The Pirates didn't score again until the bottom of the 9th. �3B Jeremy Farrell, up from minor league camp, had the best hit of the day: �a huge blast over the center field wall for a home run, smacked in front of his father, who is the Sox' pitching coach, John Farrell. �Another minor leaguer, PH Kris Watts, worked a walk, and scored when PH/2B Delwyn Young also homered. �In the innings between the scoring, the Pirates struck out 16 times, with Red Sox starter Josh Beckett collecting 9 of those strikeouts in his 5 innings of work.

Also in the game: �SS Jordy Mercer, 1B Steve Pearce, RF Quincy Latimore, and C�Luke Carlin.

Young to try third base

Rob Biertempfel reports that Delwyn Young has begun working out at third base, in hopes of adding the position to his repertoire.

Prospect Watching: Donnie Veal and Jeff Sues

Looking at two more pitching prospects today....

Donnie Veal came to the Pirates as a Rule 5 Draft pick in December 2008. �He had been the Cubs' 2nd round draft pick in 2005, and had climbed as high as the AA level in their organization, but ran into difficulties with his mechanics and subsequently his control. �Veal had to be kept on the Pirates' major league roster for all of the 2009 season (or else be sent back to the Cubs), and it must have been a frustrating season for him. �He did begin the 2009 season in the Pirates' bullpen, but made only 5 relief appearances over April and May. �Veal was placed on the Disabled List with a groin strain at the end of May, which enabled him to make some "rehab" starts in the minor leagues. �He reported to the Indy Indians on June 8th, and over the next month, the Mississippi native made one start and 8 relief appearances. �He accumulated 14 innings with the Indians, but continued to struggle with his control. �In those 9 games, he allowed 16 walks and 6 hits, for 10 runs and a 6.43 ERA. �He also struck out 13 batters. �Veal continued to see occasional action with the Pirates upon his return, but then he sprained his left index finger, and went onto the Disabled List again. �This time, his rehab time was spent in Altoona, from August 18th to .

Durham Homers In Tribe’s Loss; Ohlendorf Struggles

Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 2, �Indianapolis Indians 1

A home run by 1B Miles Durham gave the Indians their only run in this afternoon's game in Bradenton. �That run wasn't enough, though, as the Iron Pigs tied the game in the 5th with another solo home run, and then rallied to score again in the 8th inning. �Tribe starter DJ Carrasco pitched 2 innings and allowed one hit, while striking out 3 batters. �Reliever Corey Hamman was charged with the loss, as he gave up a single, followed by a stolen base, and then an RBI single by former Indiana University player Kevin Mahar for the winning run. �DH Bobby Crosby had 2 hits for the Indians.

Astros 11, �Pirates 1 �(box)

Righty�Ross Ohlendorf struggled through his roughest start of the spring, as he allowed 7 runs (4 earned) on 9 hits and 3 walks over 3.2 innings this afternoon. �The first two runs came quickly in the top of the 1st, on 3 hits and a walk. �1B Jeff Clement's missed-catch error at first set up the Astros to score two unearned runs in the 2nd. �Run #5 came in the 3rd inning, when Ohlendorf walked a batter, then made a wild pickoff throw for an error, which was followed by an RBI double. �When he got into trouble again in the 4th inning, Ohlendorf was relieved, earlier than had been planned. �Jack Taschner finished the 4th and pitched a scoreless 5th inning. �Then Anthony Claggett pitched 2 innings and gave up 3 more runs on 5 hits. �Steven Jackson gave up a solo home run to former Pirate and Indy Indian Matt Kata in the 8th inning for the Astros' final run. �Jeremy Powell pitched a 1-2-3 inning to finish up the 8th.

The Pirates responded to the Astros' first inning rally with a run -- but it was their only run of the game. �With two outs, RF Garrett Jones singled into right field. C Ryan Doumit worked a walk, and�Jeff Clement brought in Jones when he slipped a single through the right side of the infield. �Clement singled again in the 4th inning -- the only Pirate batter to have more than one hit. �The minor leaguers staged a small threat in the 9th inning, when SS Chase d'Arnaud singled into left field, and PH Gift Ngoepe walked, but two pop outs ended the threat and the game.

Others who got into the game: �3B Jeremy Farrell, C Erik Kratz, CF John Raynor, 1B Steve Pearce.

A Bradenton recap, with photos

A Bradenton recap, with photosIt was an up-and-down weekend for me in Bradenton. There was some beautiful weather, some heavy rain and a refreshing dose of green grass. Here are a few photos from my first trip to spring training.

Walker to perform in utility role at Indy

Jen Langosch confirms that Neil Walker will receive playing time at first base, second base, third base, left field and right field at Indianapolis...

Rangers remain interested in Vazquez

According to Ed Price, the Texas Rangers remain interested in Ramon Vazquez for a utility infielder role. A Vazquez trade has been expected...

Pirates set rotation; Duke to start opener

Zach Duke will start the Pirates' season opener on April 5th at PNC Park. Ross Ohlendorf, Paul Maholm, Charlie Morton and Daniel McCutchen...

Hart, Walker To Indianapolis

The Pirates made more roster moves this morning. �Righty starter Kevin Hart was optioned to AAA Indianapolis. �Pirates' management points out that, because of the scheduling vagarities, there will be only one time in the first 3 weeks of the season when a 5th starter is going to be needed. �With Hart in Indianapolis, he will have the opportunity to make a few starts during those 3 weeks.

Also optioned to Indianapolis: �3B Neil Walker and reliever Chris Jakubauskas.

INF/OF Brian Myrow, C/INF Hector Gimenez, and relievers Jean Machi, Wil Ledezma, and Brian Burres were all reassigned to minor league camp. �All five were signed as free agents. �Myrow and Gimenez both played for Indianapolis last season and with their minor league contracts were expected to return to Indy for 2010. �Machi pitched at AA and AAA in 2009. �All three relievers had an outside chance of making the major league bullpen.

Pirates cut eight, including Hart

The Pirates cut eight players from major league camp today, most notably Kevin Hart. Daniel McCutchen will be the team's fifth starter to...

Prospect Watching: Pedro Alvarez

The most-heralded prospect in the Pirates' system:

Pedro Alvarez was the Pirates' first-round draft pick in the 2008 draft. �The third baseman had played for three collegiate seasons at Vanderbilt University, where he accumulated a .349 average, 49 homers, and 162 RBI. �His third season was hindered by a broken hand, sustained when he was hit by a pitch. �After being drafted, Alvarez was at the center of a huge controversy involving the signing of his contract and his new agent, Scott Boras. �The Pirates had hoped that Alvarez would be able to get his feet wet professionally in the last few weeks of the 2008 season, but the contract controversy precluded that. �Instead, Alvarez made his pro debut at the beginning of the 2009 season, when he was assigned to A+ Lynchburg.

Alvarez started off with a bang, going 3-for-4 on Opening Day, including a homer to give Lynchburg the lead, and a 2-run double to give them the win. �Then he went hitless for the next 5 games. �He muddled along over the next few weeks, hitting .219 for the month of April. �But, he hit 3 more home runs, all in dramatic situations -- one to tie the game, one to break a tie, and one for a walk-off win. �The first two weeks in May continued to be slow, as Alvarez went 7-for-42 over that time, with 2 more homers. �Then he had an offensive burst, hitting in 7 of his next 8 games and going 13-for-32. �He finished the month with 7 more hits, for a .262 average in May and 5 home runs. �There was another spurt of hits, 9-for-16 over 4 games, in mid-June, and Alvarez had a .254 average in 18 games in June, with 5 more home runs. �That gave the left-handed hitter a .247 average over 66 games for the Hillcats, with 14 doubles, a triple, 14 homers, and 55 RBI. �He walked 37 times and struck out 70 times, which was not unexpected. �In the field, Alvarez made 13 errors at third base, also not unexpected for a player in his first pro assignment. �Six of the errors came in the month of April, so he did settle down a bit.

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