Finishing up with the rest of the Pirates' minor league pitchers:

Justin Thomas  --  L/L,  6' 3",  215 lbs
Thomas is a 27-year-old reliever, chosen by the Mariners in the 4th round of the 2005 draft.  He'd moved steadily up through their organization, mostly as a starter and made his major league debut in September 2008.  He was moved to the bullpen, but struggled there in 2009 at AAA Tacoma, and at the end of that season, he was put on waivers and claimed by the Pirates, who later outrighted him to AAA Indianapolis.  Thomas started the 2010 season at Indianapolis, where he generally shut down the opposition.  After allowing 3 earned runs on 6 hits over his first 3 appearances (5.1 innings), Thomas did not allow another run in his next 15 innings/ 9 appearances, and gave up only 4 hits in that time.  He gave up a homer in his next appearance, then allowed only one run over his 13.1 innings/ 11 appearances, with 5 hits.  Thomas was promoted to the Pirates in late June, but appeared in only 3 games there, allowing 6 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings.  After about 2.5 weeks, he was returned to Indianapolis.  Over the next 6 appearances, he allowed 7 runs, though 6 of them came in two games.  Thomas was back up to Pittsburgh at the beginning of August, and got into 4 games in a week, and this time pitched very well -- 3.2 scoreless innings and 5 hits.  Even so, he was heading back to Indy after the week, where he gave up 2 runs in one of his 5 outings, and otherwise pitched 5.1 scoreless innings.  Thomas must have been thinking that he was a yo-yo -- back to Pittsburgh for one game in late August, when he gave up 2 runs in 2 innings.  The yo-yo bounced right back to Indy, for another 5 games, and only one run in 6.2 innings.  When the minor league season ended, Thomas was again brought up to the Pirates, to appear in 4 more games, allowing one home run in one of the game, but pitching 2.1 scoreless innings in the other three.  (Whew!)  Thomas's final stats at Indianapolis:  5-0 record and 4 saves, with 2.48 ERA, and 15 earned runs on 33 hits over 54.1 innings; also 10 walks (1.7 walks/ 9 innings) and 31 strikeouts (8.5 K/ 9 innings).  And his final stats in Pittsburgh, not as impressive:  0-1 record, with 6.23 ERA, and 9 earned runs on 21 hits in 13 innings; also 5 walks and 5 strikeout, for 3.5 walks/ 9 innings and 3.5 K/ 9 innings.  Thomas was again removed from the 40-man roster at the end of the season, then signed to a minor league contract.  Thomas also pitched 19.1 innings of relief for Los Bravos de Margarita in winter ball.  He earned a 1-2 record and gave up 11 earned runs, for a 5.12 ERA.  He had trouble with walks for Los Bravos also (10), and struck out 14 batters.  Thomas was invited to the Pirates' major league spring training, but was reassigned to Indianapolis, where he will begin the 2011 season.  If he can repeat last season's domination in AAA, he will see Pittsburgh again.



Sean Gallagher  --  R/R,  6' 2",  235 lb
Gallagher came to the Pirates from the Padres, who had designated him for assignment in June 2010.  He'd initially been drafted by the Cubs in the 12th round of the 2004 draft, and later was traded to the A's and then to the Padres.  Gallagher began the 2010 season with the Padres, and allowed 10 runs on 14 hits in 13 innings of relief over 9 appearances.  He was sent to AAA Portland in mid-May, and made 3 starts there, where he gave up 6 runs over 11 innings.  Gallagher was called back to San Diego at the end of May, resuming a relief role for the next 6 games.  He allowed 4 runs in 10.1 innings, including one game in which he pitched 3.1 scoreless innings and gave up just 2 hits.  After arriving in Pittsburgh, Gallagher again pitched out of the bullpen.  He made 7 appearances in July, and allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in 9 innings (4.00 ERA).  He made another 13 appearances in August, and gave up 4 runs on 5 hits in the first 9 of those (7.2 innings).  That was followed by a tough week, when Gallagher gave up 5 runs in two different games, and one run in each of three more games.  He finished the season with 10 better outings, allowing 2 runs over 9.2 innings.  His stats for Pittsburgh:  a 2-1 record and a 6.03 ERA, with 23 earned runs and 38 hits in 34.1 innings, with 22 walks and 22 strikeouts, for 5.8 walks and strikeouts per 9 innings.  Like Thomas, Gallagher was removed from the Pirates' 40-man roster and assigned to Indianapolis.  At age 25, he'll begin the season at Indy, where he will need to regain the form he had in the lower minors in the Mariners' organization.

Not exactly prospects, but we have a few more Pirates' pitchers to look at:

Brian Burres  --  L/L,  6' 1",  165 lb
Burres, who will turn 30 years old this week, was the Giants' 31st round pick in the 2000 draft.  He pitched for 5 years in their organization, then three years in the Orioles' organization, making his major league debut in Baltimore in September 2006.  He was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays and pitched for them in 2009, then was signed by the Pirates for the 2010 season.  He was initially assigned to AAA Indianapolis to begin the 2010 season, but at the last minute was called back to Pittsburgh, due to injuries.  He made 7 starts and 3 relief appearances for the Pirates over April and May.  In the relief spots, he allowed 4 runs on 6 hits in 6.2 innings.  He had a couple of good starts, going 5.1 and 7 scoreless innings, but also had some tough starts, allowing 6 runs and 5 runs in two 6-inning starts.  He allowed 22 runs on 38 hits in 35 innings, for a 5.66 ERA. Burres was sent to Indianapolis at the beginning of June, and remained there until the end of August, pitching in the starting rotation.  July was his best month, when he earned a 3.96 ERA and two wins, allowing 16 earned runs on 29 hits in 36.1 innings.  Overall, for his time at AAA, Burres had a 5-4 record and a 4.50 ERA, with 41 earned runs on 75 hits in 82 innings.  His walk and strikeout rates were just ok, with 34 walks (3.7 walks/ 9 innings) and 61 strikeouts (6.7 K/ 9 innings).  He did have one start, on June 12th, when he struck out 8 batters in 5.2 innings.  Burres returned to the Pirates at the end of August, and finished the season there, first making 4 generally difficult relief appearances, then 6 starts.  Those 6 starts were his best pitching of the season, as he allowed 12 earned runs on 31 hits in 34.2 innings, for a 3.12 ERA.  He walked batters at about the same rate for the Pirates (3.9 walks/ 9 innings) and struck out fewer than in AAA (5.1 K/ 9 innings).  Burres was non-tendered by the Pirates at the end of 2010, but was soon signed to a minor league contract.  He was invited to spring training, but was reassigned to minor league camp.  He will begin the 2011 season in the Indians' starting rotation.


Anthony Claggett  --  Bats: Both / Throws: Right;  6' 3",  195 lb
Claggett was a waiver claim by the Pirates in September 2009, coming from the Yankees, who obtained him in a trade with the Tigers.  He pitched in only one game for the Pirates at the end of the 2009 season (one run on 2 hits in one inning).  In 2010, Claggett began the season at AAA, where he pitched entirely in relief.  He struggled in April, allowing 9 runs in 13 innings (6.23 ERA), but had his best month in May, when he allowed just 6 runs on 9 hits in 17.2 innings/ 9 appearances (3.06 ERA).  Unfortunately, he had some tough outings in June, as his ERA soared to 6.60 for the month.  In early July, Claggett was sent to AA Altoona, where he made 12 relief appearances over about 7 weeks.  There he gave up 5 runs on 15 hits in 15 innings, for a 3.00 ERA, and those 5 runs came in just two appearances.  In his last 7 games for the Curve, he did not allow a run in 10 innings.  That earned him a trip back to Indianapolis, where he finished the season.  He pitched well in his first three games back in Indy, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings.  Then he allowed 12 runs in 4.2 innings over his next three appearances, until he finished with one scoreless inning in the last game of the season.  His final stats at Indianapolis:  3-1 record and one save, with a 6.26 ERA, 38 runs and 55 hits in 54.2 innings.  Claggett's strikeout rate was decent:  7.2 K/ 9 innings in Indianapolis and 7.8 K/ 9 innings in Altoona; but his walk rate was up:  3.6 walks / 9 innings in Indy and 3.0 walks/ 9 innings in Altoona.  Claggett was removed from the 40-man roster again over the winter, but cleared waivers and signed a minor league contract for 2011, though he was not invited to major league camp.  The 25-year-old might have been back at AAA, but seems to have been squeezed out by all of the other pitchers who did not make the Opening Day roster, so he will begin 2011 at Altoona.

Just a few notes from here and there:

Check out this story by Lee Judge of the Kansas City Star. He talks about Clint Hurdle, but it generally applies to almost any minor league system.  I'm trying to picture players sleeping in the luggage racks.

The Indy Indians (and presumably the rest of the Pirates' minor league camp) have finished their official spring training games, with the last one yesterday against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs in Bradenton.  No word on the results.  The Indians usually arrive in Indianapolis on Monday or Tuesday, and have a couple of final workouts before Opening Day on Thursday.

Some former Pirates and Pirates' farmhands are moving around:
P Romulo Sanchez was released by the Yankees, and has signed to play with the Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan.
P Ty Taubenheim was released by the Rangers.
The Diamondbacks have signed Inf Josh Wilson.
The Nationals have released OF Jonathan Van Every.
The White Sox released P Jeff Sues, but snapped up Inf Christian Colonel after the Pirates released him this week.   
Inf/Of Luis Cruz was removed from the Brewers' 40-man roster and elected to become a free agent.
P Eric Hacker signed a minor league contract with the Twins.  
The Rays have released P Jonah Bayliss. 

UPDATE:  The Altoona Curve roster has been announced:  check it out here 
Note that Rudy Owens, Justin Wilson, and Tony Watson are NOT on the Altoona roster, so they should be in Indianapolis.  Also, Chase d'Arnaud, Matt Hague, and Gorkys Hernandez should be in Indy.