More catchers in the Pirates' minor league organization:

Ramon Cabrera  --   Bats: Both / Throws: Right, 5' 7",  202 lb
The 21-year-old Cabrera made his US debut in 2009 with the GCL Pirates, and the organization thought well enough of him to promote him to West Virginia for 2010.  It worked out reasonably well for Cabrera, who took the job of the primary catcher for the Power.  He still needs work behind the plate, especially since he had only switched to catching shortly before going pro.  He threw out 22 of 158 baserunners (21%), and had 12 passed balls.  On offense, Cabrera started off well, hitting .286 in April with 3 RBI.  The average dropped to .269 in May, but the RBI's increased to 11.  He dropped further to .208 for June, but came back to .284 in July and .286 in August.  He wrapped up his year by going 14-for-37 (.378) over the last two weeks of the season.  That came out to a .269 average for the season, with 14 doubles, 3 triples, one homer, and 40 RBI.  Not a lot of power, but that could improve over the next few years.  Cabrera struck out 42 times in 90 games (12.3%), though his walk rate dropped almost in half -- from 28 walks in 2009 to 22 in 2010.   Cabrera should be ready for A+ Bradenton for the 2011 season.  

Jairo Marquez  --  R/R,  6' 1",  178 lb
Marquez, like Cabrera, is a Venezuelan native who also made his US debut in 2009.  Marquez started the 2010 season at State College, but after getting into just 4 games, he was moved up to West Virginia, where they needed a back-up catcher.  While Cabrera caught 90 games for the Power, Marquez caught just 21.  He has a little more power than Cabrera, hitting .303 with 7 doubles, one triple, 2 homers, and 9 RBI, though that's a small sample.  He threw out 9 of 28 potential base stealers (32%) in his limited action.  It's going to be crowded behind the plate at both the A and A+ levels, so it's not clear where Marquez will fit into that mix.  

Jordan Newton --  R/R,  5' 10",  195 lb 
Newton was the Tigers' 6th round pick in the 2006 draft.  After four seasons in the Tigers' organization, he had reached as high as A+, where he hit .263 with 8 homers and 29 RBI.  When the Tigers released him, Newton began the 2010 season with the New Jersey Jackals in the Can-Am league.  The Pirates signed Newton when they needed more catchers to try to not get hit in the face by pitches in Bradenton.  The Kentucky native got into 27 games for the Marauders, including 10 behind the plate and 5 in left field.  He was ok behind the plate, throwing out just 2 of 25 potential base stealers.  Norton hit well in Bradenton:  .331 with 7 doubles, a homer, and 16 RBI.  He would be able to back up Cabrera in Bradenton in 2011, but will have to fight the rest of the crowd for a spot.   

Continuing to work our way up through the catchers in the Pirates' minor league organization

Matt Skirving --  Bats Left / Throws Right;  6' 2",  215 lbs
Skirving was the Pirates' 30th round pick in the 2010 draft.  He reported to State College, where he played in 43 games, all but one behind the plate.  Skirving had a great month of July at the plate, when he hit .306, but that dropped sharply to .103 in August, and he finished the season with just one hit in his last 10 games.  Overall for the season, Skirving hit .217, with 7 doubles, a triple, and 10 RBI.  His strikeouts and walks were ok -- 21 strikeouts (17.5%) and 12 walks (8.8%).  Skirving threw out 14 out of 76 base runners (18%).  He's got a lot to work on, but he's 21 years old and has some time.  Skirving will likely be ready for West Virginia in 2011.  

Kawika Emsley-Pai --  Bats Both / Throws Right;  5' 11",  195 lbs
Emsley-Pai was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 10th round of the 2010 draft.  He went right to Yakima in the Northwest League (Low A).  He did not hit well there -- .167 with 3 doubles and 8 RBI in 42 games.  He did do a little better in August, when he hit .212.  Emsley-Pai reportedly has an accurate arm (he pitched in high school) and he did throw out 19 of 36 base stealers for Yakima (53%).  It wasn't good enough for the D'backs, though, who released him after the 2010 season.  Emsley-Pai has a connection to the Pirates -- the scout who signed him for the D'backs, Jim Dedrick, is now working for the Pirates.  Dedrick probably put in a good word for him, and the Pirates signed Emsley-Pai to a minor league contract.  His 2011 assignment might depend on where Elias Diaz goes.  It's likely that one of them will go to State College and share duties with Schoenfeld, and the other will go to West Virginia and share with Skirving.

Travis Scott  --  Bats Left / Throws Right;  6' 3",  220 lbs
The Pirates picked up Scott in the minor league part of the Rule 5 Draft in December.  He had been the Mariners' 20th round pick in the 2005 draft, but had not moved up far in their organization.  He spent all of the 2007 -09 seasons at A+ High Desert, and after another 33 games at High Desert in 2010, he was given a brief shot at AA West Tennessee.  In 4 games at West Tennesseee, Scott went 1-for-11, then was released.  He hit .276 overall in all that time with High Desert, with 45 homers and 201 RBI, and his best year at the plate was 2009, when he hit .285 with 15 homers and 71 RBI.  After being released by Seattle, Scott joined Rockford in the independent Northern League, where he played 65 games and hit .300 with 5 homers and 29 RBI.  Scott was going to be back in affiliated ball in 2011 on a minor league contract with the Angels, when he was selected in the Rule 5 Draft.  He could fit in as a back-up at either A+ Bradenton or maybe AA Altoona.

Blue Jays  5,  Pirates  0
 
The Pirates were held to just 4 hits in this afternoon's game against the Blue Jays at McKechnie Field.  3B Pedro Alvarez had two of the hits --  a two-out single up the middle in the 1st inning, and a single on a pop up in the 6th.  The single in the 1st moved CF Andrew McCutchen, who had walked, to third base, and the single in the 6th followed a line drive double by 2B Pedro Ciriaco and moved Ciriaco to third base.  Both times, however, the innings ended without the Pirates being able to get the run in.  The only other hit in the game was by 2B Brian Friday, who led off the top of the 9th by beating out a grounder to third.  After a strikeout, 1B Andy Marte walked, putting two runners on base.  But pinch-hitter Gift Ngoepe struck out and C Jason Jaramillo grounded out to end the game.  

James McDonald made the start and was responsible for 4 of the Jays' runs.  He gave up a double, two singles, a walk, and a sacrifice fly for 2 runs in the top of the 1st.  He retired the side in order in the 2nd, but got into trouble again in the 3rd.  A double and a throwing error by SS Corey Wimberly gave the Jays a run in the 3rd.  With two outs and a runner on second base, McDonald had reached his pitch limit (about 50 pitches), and he was relieved by Justin Thomas.  Thomas gave up an RBI single and a walk, then ended the inning with a strikeout.  Chris Resop surrendered the remaining Toronto run in the 5th.  Back-to-back doubles by former Pirate Jose Bautista (who went 3-for-3) and Travis Snyder brought in that run.  Resop struck out the next two batters, and ended the inning with a ground out.  Joel Hanrahan, Aaron Thompson, Daniel McCutchen, Justin Wilson, and Jeff Locke each pitched one scoreless inning for the Pirates.  McCutchen gave up two hits and Locke gave up one.  Wilson walked one batter and struck out the other three he faced.  

Also in the game:  SS Chase d'Arnaud, LF Gorkys Hernandez, CF Alex Presley, RF Andrew Lambo, 3B Garrett Atkins. 

As we continue to look at the minor leaguers in the Pirates' organization, we'll move on to the catchers:

Joey Schoenfeld -- R/R,  6' 2",  187 lb
Schoenfeld was chosen by the Pirates in the 10th round of the 2009 draft.  He got in just 5 games with the GCL Pirates in that year, and went 0-for-14 at the plate.  In 2010, Schoenfeld was back with the GCL Pirates, sharing playing time with Elias Diaz and Dylan Child.  Schoenfeld still needs a lot of work on his defense, though the Pirates believe the potential is there.  He threw out 2 of 21 base stealers -- definitely a work in progress.  With the bat, Schoenfeld hit .273 in July and improved to .296 in August, to average out at a solid .281, with 3 RBI.  He did strike out a lot:  21 strikeouts in 23 games (32.8%), but also took a lot of walks (10, or 13.3 %).  He'll turn 20 years old in June, so he still has some time to work on everything.  He should begin 2011 in State College.

Elias Diaz  --  R/R,  6' 1",  175 lb
Diaz is a 20-year-old Venezuelan, who made his US debut after just one season in the VSL.  Of the three catchers, he got the bulk of the playing time behind the plate for the GCL Pirates in 2010 (38 games).  Diaz was the best of the three defensively, including throwing out 21 of 51 base stealers.  His hitting needs some work, as he hit just .218, with 2 homers and 20 RBI.  Diaz started out stronger, with a .261 average in 6 games in June, then dropping to .227 in July and .182 in August.  The Pirates are hoping that he will develop more power over the next few years.  He'll probably begin 2011 in State College, sharing duties with Schoenfeld.  He's got an outside chance of being assigned to West Virginia, where he'd share with Matt Skirving.  
Dylan Child --  R/R,  6' 1",  181 lb
Child is an Australian and a product of MLB's Australian Academy.   He made his US debut with the GCL Pirates in 2010, though of these three catchers, he got the least amount of time behind the plate -- just 8 games.  He also played 14 games at first base, and 2 at third.  Partly because he is relatively new to catching (he was a shortstop initially), he needs the most work on his defense.  He threw out only one of 12 base stealers last season.  Child needs to work on his hitting as well -- he hit .179 in 12 games in July and .217 in 9 games in August.  Overall, he had a .180 average with a double and 2 RBI.  His strikeout rate was not high -- 11 strikeouts in a total of 24 games (18%).  Child was listed as a "reserve" on the Adelaide Bite in the Australian Baseball League over the winter, but was never placed on the active roster.  With so little playing time behind the plate last year, the 20-year-old will probably return to the GCL in 2011.