The Pittsburgh Pirates have released seven minor league players this week, Pirates Prospects has learned. The players that have been released are Adenson Chourio, Christian Colonel, Casey Erickson, Pat Irvine, Gerlis Rodriguez, Jose Luis Solano, and Mike Williams. Here is some information on each player:
Adenson Chourio – Had good results in his second and third years in the VSL, along with his first year in the GCL. After that he struggled to hit for average, and his walk rate was inconsistent. He also has no power. Chourio was used as a bench player in low and high-A ball last year.
Christian Colonel – He was signed by the Pirates on March 1st. He’s a corner utility player who hits for average, but lacks home run power, which limits him to being a bench player. He was with four organizations in 2010.
Casey Erickson – Erickson was acquired in the Eric Hinske trade with the New York Yankees a few years ago, with the Pirates paying the rest of Hinske’s salary to get him and Eric Fryer in the deal. He made it up to high-A last year, with a 3.38 ERA in 80 innings. That was mostly out of the bullpen, although he did make six starts.
Pat Irvine – The Pirates moved Irvine behind the plate in West Virginia last year, after he previously worked at third base and left field. The experiment didn’t work, as he went 1-for-20 against base stealers, and was demoted to State College. He caught a few games in State College, but mostly played left field.
Gerlis Rodriguez – Outside of his third year in the Dominican Summer League, Rodriguez hasn’t hit for average in his career, and struggled to get on base. He also lacks power, with ten homers in 799 career at-bats.
Jose Solano – The Pirates signed Solano in 2010 out of the Dominican Republic at the age of 22. Solano only received 94 at-bats in the Gulf Coast League, and played mostly second base, serving as middle infield depth.
Mike Williams – The Pirates drafted him in the 44th round of the 2008 draft, and had him pitching in low-A and short season-A ball the last two years. Last year he put up a 4.75 ERA in 55 innings, and saw some improvements with his control, but only put up a 4.7 K/9 ratio.
