The 2011 rosters haven’t been released yet, but here are some notes/links for the top two levels in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ system:
-Scott McCauley, the broadcaster for the Indianapolis Indians, previews the 2011 Indians, with his projection of who should end up at the level.
-Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror lists the projected starting lineup in Altoona. That’s similar to my preview of the team from several weeks ago. The main differences are that Jordy Mercer will be playing shortstop, Jeremy Farrell will start the year in AA, and Brad Chalk will be the third outfielder. Giger also mentions that there is no word yet on whether Justin Wilson or Tim Alderson will start at the level.
-Jameson Taillon mentioned yesterday on Twitter that he will be starting off in extended Spring Training, before moving to West Virginia. I first mentioned this last week in my feature on Taillon, after talking with him and Kyle Stark. In short, Taillon will throw about 90-100 innings this year, and the Pirates would rather have him reaching his limit at the end of the season, rather than in July. They also want to keep him from pitching in the colder months of the year, as cold weather can be damaging to a pitcher’s arm, and it’s not something the Texas pitching prospect is used to dealing with.
