PIRATES PROSPECTSPITTSBURGH PIRATES MINOR LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSACTIONS, AND ARTICLES

Dejan Kovacevic reports that the Pirates have made their first cuts of spring training, sending Ramon Aguero, Argenis Diaz, Brian Friday, Gorkys Hernandez, Brandon...

Unusual that the Pirates have not begun sending people down to minor league camp from the big league camp. �Those moves will come all too soon for some players, unfortunately. �Minor league ST games begin on Wednesday (March 17th). �Meanwhile, we continue to look at some of the minor leaguers who are in camp: Jared Hughes was the Pirates' 4th round pick in the 2006 draft. �He's a tall lanky right hander -- 6' 7" and 220 pounds. �Hughes had been used exclusively as a starter as he worked his way up through the organization, reaching AA Altoona at the end of the 2008 season. �In 6 starts, he earned a 2-2 record and a 4.94 ERA over 31 innings, with 35 hits, 17 earned runs, 16 walks, and 18 strikeouts. �The California native returned to Altoona to begin the 2009 season. �In 7 starts over April and part of May, he threw 28.1 innings and posted a 1.91 ERA and a 1-4 record. �He allowed 26 hits, 6 earned runs, 10 walks and 19 strikeouts. �Hughes pitched 6 hitless and scoreless innings in his first start on April 1oth and 5 scoreless innings on May 11th. �But shoulder problems shut him down for the rest of May, as well as June and July. �He made 3 rehab starts with the GCL Pirates, going a total of 6 innings and allowing one run on 3 hits and a walk with 5 strikeouts. �Hughes returned to the Curve in August, but did not make any more starts. �Instead, he made 10 relief appearances over the remainder of the season, for a total of 18 innings. �He did earn 3 saves, plus 2 losses, for an ERA of 7.00. �He allowed 6 walks and 17 strikeouts as a reliever. �Now that he's had the winter to rest that shoulder, the 24-year-old should be ready to get back into the starting rotation in Altoona for 2010. Canadian Dustin Molleken was the Pirates' 15th round pick in the 2003 draft. �He spent his first few professional seasons battling injuries of one kind or another, including Tommy John surgery in 2004. �But the right-hander is persistent, and in 2008, he finally had a healthy season, which he split between A level Hickory (16 starts) and A+ Lynchburg (16 relief appearances). �He threw 80 innings as a starter, �more innings than in his previous two seasons combined, which may have been why he was moved to the bullpen in Lynchburg. �His walk rate increased from 2.3 BB/9 Innings in Hickory to 4.4 BB/9I in Lynchburg, but his strikeout rate also increased: �6.2 K/9 I in Hickory and 8.3 K/9 I in Lynchburg. �Molleken returned to Lynchburg to begin 2009. �He made 17 relief appearances and one start for the Hillcats, earning one save and one loss, and a 3.48 ERA. �The loss came with the one start, which must have made everyone involved realize that it was just not a good idea: �He got the first batter he faced out, then proceeded to give up a triple, have a batter reach on a fielding error, then give up four singles and a double. �He was charged with 4 earned runs over 0.1 innings. �The relief appearances went generally much better, and Molleken posted a 2.63 ERA over 41 innings, with 8 walks and 42 strikeouts. �On June 22nd, Molleken was promoted to Altoona, where he made 18 relief appearances over the rest of the season. �He had four rough outings, allowing 4 earned runs in two games and 3 earned runs in two other games, but that leaves 14 outings that were at least not bad and often pretty good. �He pitched a total of 37 innings for the Curve and allowed 37 hits, 19 earned runs, 16 walks, and 26 strikeouts, for a 1-1 record and a 4.62 ERA. �Overall, it was a reasonably solid season, and as importantly, the second in a row in which Molleken was healthy. �Another healthy year could give him the chance to take a big step forward. �He should return to the Altoona bullpen for the beginning of 2010.

Red Sox 3, �Pirates 2 � (box) Starter Paul Maholm threw 3 scoreless innings, allowing only a single and a walk, while striking out 3 batters, as the Pirates' pitching staff controlled the Red Sox for all but one inning. �Javier Lopez, Jack Taschner, DJ Carrasco, and Jeremy Powell each contributed a scoreless inning as well. �Anthony Claggett pitched two-thirds of a scoreless inning, as he came on to relieve Chris Jakubauskas in the 7th inning. �That was the only inning in which the Red Sox were able to make any offensive headway. �Jakubauskas began the bottom of the 7th by giving up a lead-off double, then a single, and a walk to load the bases. �Former Team USA player Tug Hulett brought in two runs with a single. �A sacrifice fly gave Boston their third run and send Jakubauskas to the showers, leaving Claggett to mop up the inning. The Red Sox pitchers were also having a fine day. �They held the Pirates to just 4 hits. �2B Delwyn Young homered just inside the right field foul pole in the 6th inning to give the Pirates a brief lead. �PH/DH Steve Pearce missed a home run by inches in the 8th inning. �The ball bounced off the top of the fence in left for a double, and C Erik Kratz (who had walked) scored. �The other two hits were singles by 1B Jeff Clement (2nd inning) and CF Jose Tabata. The Pirates tried to rally in the 9th, and put two runners on base -- LF Jon Van Every was hit by a pitch and RF�Brandon Jones walked. �But the game ended when CF Gorkys Hernandez lined out to short to begin a triple play. Others getting into this game: �2B Doug Bernier, 3B Pedro Alvarez, 1B Bryan Myrow, and SS Argenis Diaz. Other notes: �There had been whispers about the first round of cuts coming at the end of this week, but it looks like that hasn't happened �yet.... it's like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The Pirates got to play 3 innings before being washed out this afternoon. �Pitcher Brian Bass scored the only run of the day, when he singled, moved to second base on another single by CF Andrew McCutchen, and crossed the plate on SS Ronny Cedeno's RBI double. �C Ryan Doumit was the only other Pirate to have a hit. �Starter Ross Ohlendorf went 1.1 innings, allowing two hits and a walk. �He gave up a single to former teammate Nate McLouth, but he and Doumit caught McLouth trying to steal third base. �Ohlendorf was scheduled to go 2 innings, but that was cut short when he was struck in the right leg by a line drive -- he was ok, though. Today, we'll look at two more minor leaguers in the Pirates' organization, both of whom came over in trades.... Jeff Corsaletti is an outfielder who hails from Florida. �He was drafted out of college (University of Florida) by the Red Sox in the 6th round of the 2005 draft, and worked his way up through the Red Sox' organization over the next 4 seasons. �In 2008, Corsaletti reached AAA Pawtucket, where he hit .232 in 44 games, with 2 homers and 13 RBI. �He returned to Pawtucket to begin the 2009 season, but struggled even more at the plate, where he hits from the left side: �.128 with one RBI in 13 games. �In May, the Pirates acquired Corsaletti from Boston, and he was assigned to AA Altoona, where Jose Tabata's injury meant the Curve needed some outfield help. �Corsaletti was able to help in the outfield, where he played mostly left field. �He made 3 errors in 66 games in left, and 2 errors in 4 games in right; he had no errors in 11 games in center field. �Unfortunately, Corsaletti could not help the Curve much at the plate. �In May, he hit .213 with 3 doubles 2 RBI. �In June, he had a touch more power, hitting 2 doubles, 2 triples, and a homer, with 6 RBI, but his average was .209. �That dropped to .188 for July, with 7 RBI. �Corsaletti had a very good August, as his average shot up to .299, with 8 RBI, including a 3-hit game on August 27th. �He also had two 2-hit games in the last week of the season. �Overall, that gave Corsaletti a .230 average for his time in Altoona, with 14 doubles, 3 triples, 2 homers, and 23 RBI. �Corsaletti did not strike out much -- just 33 times in 89 games -- and he showed some patience with 50 walks. �The big walk total is fairly typical for his career. �The Curve look like they are still going to need help in the outfield as the 2010 season begins. �There are a handful of outfielders (Robbie Grossman, Starling Marte, Quincy Latimore, Erik Huber) who will probably begin the season in A+ Bradenton, but won't be at all ready for AA this early. �Corsaletti will be an available body. �He will have to figure it out at the plate if he wants to still have a job when any of those A+ level outfielders really shine and are ready to advance. �He's just turned 27-years old, and is past the "prospect" stage if he's not hitting. Josh Harrison came to the Pirates from the Cubs in the trade that involved Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio coming to the Pirates and Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow heading to Chicago. �Harrison is a 22-year-old Cincinnati native, who has played second base, third base, and some outfield. �He was the Cubs' 6th round pick in the 2008 draft. �Harrison began his pro career with 33 games at Low A level Boise, where he hit .351 with 11 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 25 RBI. �He was promoted to A level Peoria for 31 games, and hit .262 there, with 4 RBI. �When Harrison returned to Peoria to begin the 2009 season, he hit .337, with 17 doubles and 16 stolen bases in 79 games. �He advanced to A+ Dayton and was hitting .286 with 9 RBI when he was traded at the end of July. �The Pirates assigned Harrison to Lynchburg, where he appeared in 34 games over the rest of the season. �He began his Pirate career with a 5-game hitting streak, going 8-for-20 in those 5 games, including a 3-hit game on August 3rd. �He engineered a 7-game hitting streak the next week, going 13-for-31 with two 3-hit games. �Overall, Harrison hit .270 with the Hillcats, but showed little power -- 8 doubles, a triple, a homer, and 13 RBI. �He walked just one time in those 6 weeks, while striking out 19 times, which was a higher strikeout rate and a lower walk rate than before the trade. �Harrison had stolen 26 bases while with the Cubs in 2009, but had only 4 steals in the last 6 weeks with the Hillcats. �While he had played outfield often earlier in the season, he was stationed in left field for only one game with Lynchburg. �He spent the rest of his playing time in the infield, sharing duties at second and third bases with Jordy Mercer and Chase d'Arnaud. �Harrison may need more time at the A+ level in 2010, or he may again be job sharing second and third base with Mercer and d'Arnaud. �He'll need to develop some patience at the plate and work on taking some more walks.

Jen Langosch reports that only standing room and single-seat tickets are available for the Pirates' opener on April 5th.

With just 4 weeks until the minor league season opens.... looking at two pitchers acquired in trades last season. Nate Adcock is a 22-year old right-hander who came to the Pirates from the Mariners, in the trade that sent Jack Wilson and Ian Snell to Seattle. �He was the Mariners' 5th round pick in the 2006 draft, and had moved up as far as A+ High Desert (a pitcher's nightmare) to begin the 2009 season. �The Kentucky native made 19 starts and 2 relief appearances at High Desert, piling up 102 innings and a 5-7 record with a 5.29 ERA. �He allowed 103 hits and 60 earned runs, including 10 homers, while striking out 71 batters and walking 54. �After the trade, Adcock was assigned to A+ Lynchburg. �He maintained essentially the same ERA for the Hillcats -- 5.25-- and earned a 3-2 record in 7 games, including 4 starts. �Adcock had already thrown 102 innings by the end of July, which was about a third again as many as he'd thrown in 2008, and a lot of innings for anyone anyway. �It meant that the Pirates limited his innings in Lynchburg. �In 24 innings for the Hillcats, Adcock allowed 29 hits and 14 earned runs, with 5 homers, 7 walks, and 15 strikeouts. �In 3 of his starts, Adcock did well, allowing 3 earned runs over 15 innings (1.80 ERA). �He had one tough start on August 30th, when he allowed 6 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in just one inning. �In 8 relief innings, Adcock allowed 5 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks. �The Kentucky native has a fastball around 88-92 mph) plus a curve and a changeup. �His walk rate dropped when he came over to the Pirates' organization, though he didn't have a big sample size. �Depending on how he looks in Spring Training, Adcock could return to the A+ level with the Bradenton Marauders, or he could move up to AA Altoona. Jeff Locke is also 22 years old, but he is a left-hander. �Locke joined the Pirates from the Braves, as part of the trade that involved Nate McLouth, along with Charlie Morton and Gorkys Hernandez. �Locke was the Braves' 2nd round pick in the 2006 draft and he had been moving steadily up in the Braves' organization, and like Adcock, was pitching at the A+ level (Myrtle Beach) at the beginning of the 2009 season. �He had made 10 starts for Myrtle Beach, with a 1-4 record and a 5.52 ERA. �In 45.2 innings there, he had allowed 47 hits and 28 earned runs, with 26 walks and 43 strikeouts. �After the move to A+ Lynchburg, Locke made 5 starts in June, and continued to give up a lot of hits-- 34 hits, 18 runs (12 earned) in 24 innings, for a 1-2 record and a 4.50 ERA. �He made another 5 starts in July, with 20 hits and 13 earned runs in 18.1 innings, for a6.38 ERA. �That was boosted by one particular start, though, as he allowed 3 runs on 3 hits without even getting out of the first inning on July 25th. �His very next start, on July 29th, was much better -- one run on one hit with 7 strikeouts in 6 innings. �That outing turned things around for Locke. �He gave up just one run in each of his next two starts (combined 10.1 innings). �Then came another tough start, with 5 earned runs on 12 hits in 5.2 innings. �Two more solid starts followed -- one run in each, with 11 innings. �Locke had another tough start on September 1st, when he gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in 5.2 innings, but then he finished up the season with 6.2 scoreless innings, 4 hits, and 6 starts in his last start. �That gave Locke a 2.76 ERA and a 3-0 record for August/September. �Overall with the Hillcats, he posted a 4-4 record with a 4.08 ERA. �In 81.2 innings, he allowed 37 earned runs, 98 hits, 18 walks, and 56 strikeouts. �The New Hampshire native should be able to begin the 2010 season in Altoona. �He'll need to work on his command, and reduce the number of hits he's allowing.

Rays 16, �Pirates 15 �(box) Despite 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning, the Pirates still fell one run short in a 30-hit, 31-run slugfest in Bradenton. �2B Delwyn Young, LF Lastings Milledge, and 3B Neil Walker had two hits each. �Young contributed 4 RBI and 3B Andy LaRoche brought in 3 runs. �The Pirates jumped out to an early lead with 5 runs in the bottom of the 1st, sparked by a bases-clearing double by LaRoche (his 3 RBI) followed by a 2-run homer by Cedeno. �The Rays tied it up with 5 runs of their own in the 2nd inning. �The Pirates picked up single runs in the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 8th. �1B Jeff Clement's RBI ground out brought in a hustling Milledge after an infield single, a wild pitch, and a passed ball in the 3rd. �Milledge returned the favor by batting in CF Jose Tabata, who had tripled in the 5th. �RF�John Raynor had the triple in the 6th, and he scored on Young's fielder's choice. �Walker's 2-run homer came in the 7th, and Young's homer added another run in the 8th. �In the 9th, C Luke Carlin's sacrifice fly brought in the first run. �Young collected 2 more RBI with a single up the middle, and CF Gorkys Hernandez's single added another run. �That left the bases loaded, but a strikeout and a pop up ended the game. Also in the game: �LF Jon Van Every (single in the 9th), PH/DH Brandon Jones (single in the 6th), SS Doug Bernier (walked and scored), and C Hector Gimenez (walked twice). Of course, if it�was a good day for all the hitters, that means it wasn't such a good day for the pitchers. �Starter Kevin Hart mowed 'em down in the top of the 1st, but allowed 5 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in the 2nd. �Jean Machi had an uncharacteristically tough 5th inning, giving up 3 runs on back-to-back homers, plus a double and a single. �Jeff Karstens had a miserable start to the 7th inning. �In two-thirds of an inning, he gave up 5 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. �Ramon Aguero came on in relief, but gave up a 2-run homer. �Virgil Vasquez gave up another run on 2 hits in the 9th. �Jack Taschner, Evan Meek, Jeremy Powell, and Donnie Veal each pitched a scoreless inning. �Taschner gave up a hit and a walk, and Meek struck out 2 batters. The Pirates are going to be making the first round of cuts within the next day or two... stay tuned.

Neal Huntington was handed a group of major leaguers that were in their prime years, but were no better than average for the most part. In addition to that, they were approaching free agency, and there were few prospects available to replace them. So Huntington waved his magic wand and made that group of players five years younger, setting up the Pirates for potential success several years sooner than expected.

Utility infielder Ramon Vazquez told Dejan Kovacevic that he does not expect to head north with the Pirates at the end of spring training.

There are numerous player projection systems available to the public these days. I figured I would throw my hat into the ring. These are mostly just for fun, but I hope you enjoy.

Orioles 3, �Pirates 2 � (box) The Pirates and the Orioles got busy in the first two innings of this evening's game at McKechnie Field, but pitching took over after that. �Pirates' hurlers held the O's to 5 hits, and four of those came in the first inning. The Pirates scored 2 runs in the 2nd inning. �LF Brandon Moss got the rally started with a walk, then 3B Pedro Alvarez smashed a double to the right-center field wall to drive in Moss. �1B Steve Pearce added a line drive into left field. �Alvarez did some nice base-running, with a pause to make sure Pearce's liner was going to drop in. �With runners on the corners, 2B Ramon Vasquez lifted a single over the outstretched glove of the Orioles' third baseman, bringing in Alvarez. �Pearce tried for third but the throw in from left field beat him to the bag. Alvarez made a nice play at third, starting a 5-4-3 double play in the 7th. He was charged with an error too, when he made a charging scoop of a short infield ball, then threw off-balance to first base. �The throw bounced in front and to the second base side of Pearce. �Pearce had to stretch, but his gloved swipe missed the ball. Also getting into the game: �CF Gorkys Hernandez, SS Argenis Diaz, C Erik Kratz, RF Jose Tabata, LF Brandon Jones, 3B Neil Walker, 1B Hector Gimenez, PH/DH Jon Van Every, and 2B Brian Friday. Tabata beat out an infield hit with two outs in the 9th inning, and it wasn't close. �Then he stole second base, but was left there when the inning and the game ended with Brandon Jones' ground out. Starter Zack Duke had a 50-pitch limit, and unfortunately he used up quite a lot of those in the first inning. �After striking out the first two batters, a hit, two walks, and three more hits gave the O's 3 runs. �Duke settled down in the 2nd inning and into the 3rd, but reached his pitch limit with 2 outs in the 3rd inning. �Steven Jackson finished the inning with a strikeout. �Daniel McCutchen breezed through 2 innings, needing only 18 pitches to set down six Orioles. �Brendan Donnelly retired the next three Orioles in the 6th, and Chris Jakubauskas did the same in the 8th, and Vinnie Chulk also did it in the 9th, including 2 strikeouts. �Javier Lopez gave up a single and a walk in the 7th, but that double play got him out of that little jam. Former Pirate/Indy Indian RF Jeff Salazar was playing for the Orioles, as well as former Pirate DH Ty Wigginton.

Looking at a couple of the Pirates' prospects, now that minor league camp is in full swing: Matt Hague is a native of Washington State. �He was drafted by the Pirates in the 9th round in 2008, after playing outfield, third base, and first base in college. �After signing in 2008, Hague reported to State College, where he appeared in just 7 games. �He went 9-for-27 with 3 doubles there. � When Chase d'Arnaud and Jordy Mercer arrived, both of whom could play short and third, the �Pirates moved Hague up to A level Hickory, to give everyone enough playing time. �At Hickory, Hague played mostly third base, plus 8 games at first base. �Hague's bat got off to a tremendous start for the Crawdads -- a 7 game hitting streak including 3 home runs. �He added a 13-game hitting streak at the end of July and into August. �Hague finished the season with a .321 average over 57 games, with 14 doubles, 6 homers, and 29 RBI. �Hague was advanced to Lynchburg to begin 2009, but Pedro Alvarez was also there to play third base, so Hague was shifted over to first base. �In fact, Hague appeared in just one game at third for the Hillcats, even after Alvarez departed for Altoona. �He did well at first, making only 6 errors over the season. �At the plate, Hague did not show a lot of power, but had a solid average: �.293 for the season, with 30 doubles, 8 homers, and 50 RBI. �The right-handed hitter had a 4-for-5 night in the second game of the season, but settled into a slow month of April, batting .250 with 9 RBI. �He turned it up in May though, including a 7-game hitting streak, for a .313 average for the month, plus 2 homers and 13 RBI. �He pushed that up to .340 in June, though only 7 RBI. �He went hitless in only 3 of his 16 games that month. �His RBI increased to 10 in July, offsetting a drop in hitting to .269, despite an 8-game hitting streak. �Hague recovered with a strong finish to the season, hitting .304 over August/September with 11 RBI. �Hague had reasonable plate discipline, with 40 walks and 67 strikeouts over the year. �The 24-year-old should open 2010 in Altoona, where he will probably see most of his playing time at first base. �Now isn't a great time to be a third baseman in the upper levels of the Pirates' system anyway. �The Pirates would like to see more power from Hague this season. Kyle Morgan has also been moved around the field in his brief career. �The 23-year-old was an outfielder in college before being drafted by the Pirates in the 36th round of the 2008 draft. �He got off to a slow start in the GCL and then in State College in the 2008 season, but found his bat by August, when a 10-game hitting streak boosted his monthly average to .327. �He played exclusively in the outfield for all of the 2008 season. �Morgan did some time at first base during spring training of 2009, and when he �returned to State College when the short season began in June, Morgan played 7 games at first and 3 in the outfield. �He was with the Spikes for only 20 games total (and did some DH'ing), hitting only .224 (15-for-67) but with 4 doubles, a triple, 3 homers, and 17 RBI. �Morgan was moved up to West Virginia in the second half of July, and started hitting. �He hit .297 with another 3 homers and 11 RBI in his first 9 games to finish the month of July. �Then he hit .301 in August, and .382 over the last 10 days of the season. �He had 10 doubles, 6 homers, and 21 RBI over August/September and finished the season with a .296 average for his time with the Power. �Morgan hit southpaws much better than right-handers: �.324 against left-handed pitchers and .288 against righties. �His plate discipline was reasonable too, with 20 walks and 38 strikeouts. �Morgan played exclusively at first base when on the field at West Virginia (and also did some DH-ing) with 3 errors. �He's still working on learning the first base position and getting comfortable there. �The California native is likely to begin 2010 at A+ Bradenton, where he will continue at first base. �He'll probably share both first base and DH duties with Calvin Anderson again. Other notes: Former Pirate farmhand pitcher�Pat Bresnehan has signed a minor league contract with the Mariners. �Bresnehan was the Pirates' 5th round draft pick in 2006, but was released by the organization at the end of spring training last year. The Pirates have released pitcher Chris Aure. The lefty from North Pole, Alaska was the Pirates' 15th round pick in the 2008 draft. �He pitched in 11 GCL games in the 2008 season, with a 3-2 record, 2 saves, and a 3.90 ERA in 27.2 innings. �He pitched only 5.1 innings in 2009, for a 1.69 ERA. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that three of the Pirates' prospects are battling injuries that will keep them off the mound for several more months: Lefty�Colton Cain, last year's 9th round draft pick, had back surgery. Lefty�Zach Fuesser, last year's 34th round pick, broke his finger. Righty Brett Lorin, brought over from the Mariners last year, had hip surgery.