PIRATES PROSPECTSPITTSBURGH PIRATES MINOR LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSACTIONS, AND ARTICLES

Pirates pitching prospects Colton Cain, Zach Fuesser and Brett Lorin will miss the first half of the season with injuries. None are arm...

A pair of relief pitchers for your inspection today: Ronald Uviedo is a Venezuelan native who came to the Pirates in the Venezuelan Summer League after the Mariners released him from their VSL team. �He had a successful 2006 season with the Pirates' VSL team, then came to the US in 2007 and pitched at three different levels. �He made 33 relief appearances for A level Hickory in 2008, earning a 3-1 record and a 3.01 ERA, with 76 strikeouts in 71.2 innings. �Uviedo also pitched in 7 games for Lynchburg that season, with a 2.25 ERA over 16 innings. �After that season, Uviedo was placed on the Pirates' 40-man roster because they feared they would lose him in the Rule 5 Draft. �Uviedo continued his 2008 season in winter ball in his native Venezuela, and continued to strikeout out batters. �He returned to Lynchburg in 2009, where he was put into the starting line-up, presumably to get him more innings. �His first three starts were outstanding, allowing only 2 earned runs over 15 innings. �He had a tougher start on April 27th, when he allowed 4 earned runs on 7 hits -- but also struck out 7 batters over 5 innings. �Uviedo had a couple of difficult starts in May, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits over 6 innings in one, and 4 runs on 6 hits over 5 innings in another. �That boosted his ERA from 2.70 in April to 4.50 in May. �He had another 7-strikeout start on May 19th, and struck out 26 in the entire month of May (17 in April). �He continued with 15 strikeouts over 3 starts in June, and allowed only 2 earned runs in that time, for a 1.13 ERA and 3 wins. �Unfortunately at that point, Uviedo went onto the Disabled List with shoulder tendonitis. �After some rest and 3 starts for the GCL Pirates (3 earned runs on 8 hits in 8 innings and 10 strikeouts), Uviedo returned to Lynchburg, where he made 5 more starts and 5 relief appearances, probably to limit his innings. �He pitched another 33.2 innings for the Hillcats, with a 0-2 record, 3 saves, and a 3.74 ERA (his ERA had been 3.18 overall when he went onto the DL in June). �That gave him a 3.36 ERA and a 5-5 record for the season, with a total of 101.2 innings. �He gave up 38 earned runs on 98 hits and 28 walks, with 79 strikeouts. �Uviedo had a generally good post-season run, appearing in 5 playoff games for the Hillcats. �His one bad game came in the semi-final series, when he took over in the bottom of the 12th with the score tied at 0-0, and gave up a walk and a walk-off homer for the loss. �He won a game in the final series, as he was the pitcher of record when the Hillcats' Jose De Los Santos hit his walk-off homer. �Uviedo also contributed 3 saves, with 3 shutout innings of work. �After the US season ended, Uviedo again returned to play winter ball in his native Venezuela, pitching for Los Leones del Caracas. �He made 21 relief appearances for Caracas, and earned a 3-0 record and a 2.63 ERA. �In 24 total innings, he allowed 7 runs on 17 hits, walked only 6 batters, and struck out 24. �As a member of the 40-man roster, Uviedo has been with the major league team for spring training. �He has appeared in three official Grapefruit League games plus the exhibition game against the Manatees, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing 3 hits but no runs. �The Pirates have indicated that they prefer Uviedo as a reliever, and he seems to be in agreement with that plan. �The 23-year old should begin the season with Altoona, working out of their bullpen. Harrison Bishop came to the Pirates as their 17th round pick in the 2007 draft. �He'd had Tommy John surgery while still in college, but seemed to be fully recovered when he signed right away with the Pirates. �He was solid in the rest of the 2007 season for State College, with 19 relief appearances and a 3.03 ERA. �At A level Hickory in 2008, Bishop was again solid, with a 3.23 ERA and a 5-2 record plus a save in 29 relief appearances. �He'd missed part of that season (in July and August) due to injury, but he did pitch in the Hawaiian Winter League that year, where he got in some extra innings. �Bishop reported to A+ Lynchburg for 2009, where he pitched a career-high 80.2 innings in 35 games, all in relief. �His ERA popped up to 5.02 for the season, and it was elevated for most of the season. �Overall, he gave up more hits (8.3 hits/9 innings) than in previous seasons (6.5 H/9I in Hickory and 7.3 H/9I in State College), though his walk rate had dropped to 2.7 BB/9 innings (3.2 BB/9I in Hickory and 3.9 BB/9I in State College). �He spread it all out over most of the season, beginning with an ERA of 5.79 in April, down to 4.67 in May, and up to 9.00 in June. �July was his best month, when he had a run of 4 scoreless outings of at least 2 innings each, then had two 3-inning outings in which he allowed one run each. �But he was back up to an ERA of 5.25 for August/September. �Bishop walked 8 batters over 14 innings in April and 5 in 17.1 innings in May, but no more than 3 batters per month for the rest of the season. �His strikeout rate dropped from previous seasons -- 8.1 K/9 innings in 2009, down from 9.7 K/9I in 2008 and 10.0 K/9I in 2007. �Bishop also made two�appearances in the Hillcats' playoff run. �In the opening game, he allowed 3 runs in his only inning of work, but in the final series, he pitched a scoreless inning to earn a Hold. �Though it was a disappointing season compared to previous ones, it was still not awful. �Bishop might start 2010 at the A+ level, or with a strong spring, he could open at Altoona.

Pirates �12, �Yankees 7 � �(box) The Pirates found their bats again today, with two 4-run innings, to beat the Yankees in Tampa. �RF Garrett Jones led the charge with a double and a 3-run home run. �SS Ronny Cedeno, RF John Raynor, and DH Bobby Crosby all had two hits each, including two doubles for Crosby and one for Cedeno. �The Pirates opened the game with a single by CF Andrew McCutchen, Cedeno's double, and an RBI single by LF Lastings Milledge. Jones' homer followed for a 4-run 1st inning. �A single and a stolen base by SS Argenis Diaz, a walk to LF Brandon Jones, and singles by Raynor and 3B Pedro Alvarez brought in two runs in the 9th. �1B Steve Pearce added another with a sacrifice fly, and C Hector Gimenez plated the fourth run of the inning with another RBI single. �CF Jose Tabata, PH Neil Walker, and 2B Doug Bernier also got into the game, and Bernier contributed an RBI. Donnie Veal earned the win for the Pirates, pitching 2 scoreless innings (7th and 8th). �Charlie Morton had the start, and he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits -- though all the runs came on two homers. �Brian Burres started the 4th inning, but allowed 4 runs on 3 walks followed by a double and a single, to give the Yankees a 7-6 lead. �Ronald Uviedo relieved Burres and got Alex Rodriguez to ground out to first to end the inning. �DJ Carrasco pitched 2 scoreless innings and struck out 4 batters; Anthony Claggett pitched a scoreless 9th to finish the game.

The Pirates performed at a historically poor level after the trade deadline in 2009. Fans have criticized the front office for making few changes to that roster heading into the upcoming season. But GM Neal Huntington targeted the true weaknesses, and upgraded virtually all of them.

Pirates closer Octavio Dotel made the first step in returning from an oblique injury by throwing 31 pitches in a bullpen session on Tuesday.

Today, we're looking at two shortstops who were drafted back-to-back in 2008: Jordy Mercer was the Pirates' 3rd pick in the 2008 draft. �After getting his feet wet in 6 games at State College, Mercer finished up the rest of the 2008 season at A level Hickory, where he could get in more time at shortstop without having to job-share with Chase d'Arnaud. �Mercer was felt at the time to be the better and more experienced shortstop, so he was the one to be moved up. �Mercer hit .250 at both places, with 5 homers (one at State College) and 20 RBI (2 for the Spikes), and finished the season with a 10-game hitting streak. �The Oklahoma native was assigned to Lynchburg in 2009, and played the entire season at the A+ level. �The early months were not easy, as Mercer hit .236 over April and May, with 14 doubles, 3 homers, and 18 RBI. �Things got better in June, when his average popped up to .274, with 9 more doubles, another homer, and 16 more RBI. �He slipped again in July, down to a .226 average, but still some power: 7 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 12 RBI. �Then in August, Mercer got hot, hitting .303 with 3 more homers and 19 RBI. �He wrapped up his season with a hot week at the plate, going 6-for-18 in his last 5 games. �That finish boosted his average for the season to .255, and he ended with a league-leading 36 doubles, 4 triples, 10 homers, and 83 RBI (5th in the Carolina League). �Mercer's strikeout total was a little high (93), but his walks were ok (41). � In the early part of the season, Mercer was the primary shortstop for the Hillcats. �After Chase d'Arnaud was promoted from West Virginia, the two shared the shortstop position, with Mercer moving over to third when he was not at short. �Mercer has solid defensive skills with good range. �He made 19 errors at short and 2 more at third, neither of which is out of line for a young shortstop. Chase d'Arnaud was drafted immediately after Mercer, in the 4th round. �He had played more third base than shortstop in college (Pepperdine University), so he was the one who stayed at State College for the rest of the 2008 season. �He had a solid professional start there, hitting .286 with 10 doubles, 5 triples, a homer, and 21 RBI. �He also stole 14 bases. �D'Arnaud moved up to West Virginia to begin 2009. �He had a hot start, hitting. 355 with 2 homers, 12 RBI, and 4 stolen bases in April, and that included a 7-game hitting streak in the second half of the month. �He cooled in the beginning of May, but hit .339 over the second half of the month, with 12 RBI and 5 stolen bases. �Even though he slipped a bit in June (.262 in the first three weeks), �by that point d'Arnaud had hit .291 with 14 doubles, 3 triples, 3 homers, and 31 RBI for the Power, plus 17 stolen bases. �It was enough to earn d'Arnaud both a spot on the South Atlantic League's mid-season All-Star Team, and a promotion to Lynchburg. �D'Arnaud got off to a strong start at the plate for the Hillcats. �He had back-to-back 3-hit games to begin July, and went 11-for-19 in the first week of July. �By mid-July, d'Arnaud was hitting .364 for the month, when he went down for two weeks with a wrist injury. �He continued hitting well, though not quite at that astronomic level when he returned, including a 9-game hitting streak and another pair of back-to-back 3-hit games. �He finished the season with a .295 average for the Hillcats, 19 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, and 26 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. �D'Arnaud played exclusively at shortstop in his time at West Virginia (7 errors, not bad). �Up at Lynchburg, D'Arnaud split shortstop duties with Mercer, and split second base duties with Josh Harrison. �He made only 3 errors at short, and 11 errors at second, the position he was less familiar with. Neither Mercer nor d'Arnaud hit particularly well in the Hillcats' semi-final playoff series against Wilmington: �.217 for Mercer and .150 for d'Arnaud. �Both picked up the pace in the final series against Salem. �D'Arnaud had 2 hits and 3 RBI in Game 1, while Mercer singled and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. �D'Arnaud collected 2 more RBI and a double in each of the next two games. �Mercer had a career-best 4 hits in the final game of the series with 2 RBI, and ended his playoff stint with a .314 average. D'Arnaud capped off his strong 2009 year with an assignment to the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. �He got into 20 games for the Scorpions, and hit in the same range as he did during the regular season: �.296, with 5 doubles, a triple, and 6 RBI, plus 13 stolen bases. �He had two 3-hit games (though not back-to-back this time) in November, and hit .372 in the last half of his time in Arizona. �D'Arnaud also got into today's split-squad game in the Pirates' major league camp, coming in as a mid-inning defensive replacement at third base. �He made a nice play on a high chopper at third base on the first batter who came up to the plate. � Mercer also appeared in the other split-squad game today. �He walked and grounded out in two plate appearances. What will 2010 bring for these two 23-year-old shortstops? �They appear to both be headed for AA Altoona, where they will have to share time at shortstop, with Mercer also taking some time at third, and d'Arnaud also playing both second and third bases. �With Josh Harrison also likely to be in Altoona, it may turn out that d'Arnaud gets more of the time at short, and Mercer gets more of the time at third. �The Pirates also signed Kevin Melillo to a minor league contract at the beginning of February. �Mellilo can play all over the infield, but has more recently spent most of his time at third and first bases. �Mercer might share third base duties with him. �Mercer seems to have more power, and maybe a better range at short. �D'Arnaud has more speed, and hit for a higher average. �The Pirates will be happy to have to figure out what to do with two solid middle infield prospects.

The Pirates played two Spring Training games on Monday, for two losses, but several of the minor leaguers saw some action. Yankees 6, Pirates 0 � (box) At McKechnie Field, the visiting Yankees held the Pirates to just one hit. �Clearly, they had used up too much of their hit quota yesterday when they posted 15 hits. �Today's lone hit came off the bat of 1B Steve Pearce. �In the 5th inning, he slipped a single through the right side of the infield for a single. �Only three other Pirates reached base: �SS Doug Bernier and 3B Neil Walker each worked a walk, and CF Gorkys Hernandez reached on an error. �The Pirates had only 4 strikeouts, so they were putting wood on the ball, but each time, the ball went right to one of the Yankees. �RF Jon Van Every, C Luke Carlin, and 3B Chase d'Arnaud (up from minor league camp) also got into the game. �D'Arnaud did not have a plate appearance, but he made a very nice play at third, which is not even where he's been playing for the last year. �He had just come into the game in the top of the 9th and had barely gotten his feet settled on the infield dirt, when the first Yankee batter of the inning hit a hard chopper right to him. �D'Arnaud fielded it cleanly and threw a bullet to first for the out. Paul Maholm suffered the loss in a tough start. �He gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. �He made a slick move to first in the 2nd inning to pick Derek Jeter off first base. �Maholm was going to be allowed 45 pitches, but he was removed after two innings, despite being a bit short of that count. �Jeremy Powell followed Maholm and also went 2 innings. �Powell was the victim of an error by 2B Aki Iwamura, and was charged with an unearned run when he gave up a double. �Virgil Vasquez had another shaky outing, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits in the 7th inning. �Danny Moskos pitched the 9th for the Pirates, and he allowed a run on 3 hits. �Steven Jackson, Javier Lopez, and Justin Thomas each contributed a scoreless inning. Rays 4, �Pirates 3 � (box) In Port Charlotte, the Pirates were able to do more hitting, but still fell short in 10 innings. �The Rays scored first, with one run on a walk, a single, and a sacrifice fly in the 1st inning off starter Brad Lincoln. The Pirates tied the score in the 4th, when CF Jose Tabata slapped a 2-out triple into right field, and DH Pedro Alvarez brought him in with an RBI single. �Alvarez led off the 7th inning with a triple, and SS Brian Friday gave the Pirates a 3-1 lead with a 2-run smash over the left center field wall. The Rays caught up one inning later, though. �With Evan Meek on the mound, former Pirate JJ Furmaniak singled up the middle, and a double and another single brought in 2 runs for a 3-3 tie. �The Pirates threatened in the top of the 10th. �With one out, SS Jordy Mercer walked and 3B Josh Harrison doubled into right field. �Mercer tried to score from first, but was gunned down at the plate with Furmaniak supplying the relay throw. �In the bottom of the inning, reliever Jeff Sues gave up a lead-off double, then got two outs, but a single brought the runner in from second for the walk-off win. Like Paul Maholm, Lincoln was going to be limited to 45 pitches, and he also lasted 2 innings. �Brian Bass and Jeff Karstens each pitched 2 scoreless innings and each gave up one hit. �Jack Taschner and Jean Machi each threw one scoreless inning. �LF Miles Durham, RF John Raynor, C Erik Kratz, and C Tony Sanchez also played in the game.

Justin Upton signed a six-year, $51.25 million contract extension with the Diamondbacks last week. Andrew McCutchen is at a similar career point as the Diamondbacks' young phenom, so it is reasonable for us to speculate how a potential McCutchen extension would compare to Upton's freshly signed deal.

I have spent the past 25 years cheering on the Pirates. From the days of Rafael Belliard and Jose Lind to Jack Wilson and Andrew McCutchen, it has been mostly an experience of disappointment and heartbreak. But I would not trade the memories for anything in the world. Join me as I do my best to recap the past quarter-century.

Looking at some Pirates' prospects... two southpaw starting pitchers today: Rudy Owens was the most pleasant pitching surprise in the Pirates' organization in 2009. �The Arizona native was the Pirates' 28th round pick in the 2006 draft. �He made 4 starts and 2 relief appearances, for 22 innings in the Gulf Coast League in 2007, then made 13 starts and 2 more relief appearances for State College in 2008. �He pitched 58 innings for the Spikes, allowing 32 earned runs (4.97 ERA) on 63 hits and 13 walks, while striking out a solid 45 batters. �Owens was promoted to West Virginia for 2009, and he found the magic. �He made 4 starts in April and won 2 of them, allowing a total of 6 runs over 19.2 innings (2.29 ERA). �Owens lost his first start in May, when he allowed 4 runs on a walk, a hit batter, 2 doubles, and a homer, all in the first inning. �Owens must have really not like losing, because he didn't do it again for the next three months. �He won three of his five starts in the rest of May, allowing 5 earned runs over 28 innings (1.61 ERA). �He gave up 3 earned runs on 8 hits in 6 innings for his first game in June, but didn't bother allowing an earned run for the rest of the month -- 26 consecutive scoreless innings, for 4 wins and a microscopic 0.84 ERA in June. �July was more of the same, with an ERA of 0.90: �2 earned runs on 13 hits in 20 innings, with another win. �At that point in the season, Owens was the proud owner of a 10-1 record and a 1.70 ERA. �He had pitched 100.2 innings for the Power, which was already nearly double the number he'd thrown in the previous season. �He had given up only 15 walks, and had struck out 91 batters. �Owens was promoted to A+ Lynchburg for the last six weeks of the season. �He made 6 starts for the Hillcats, but they limited his innings -- he made two 5-inning starts, but his last two starts were 2 and 3 innings respectively. �He pitched a total of 23.1 innings to finish out the regular season, allowing 10 runs on 29 hits, with 22 strikeouts and only 2 walks, and a 3.86 ERA. �Owens made two starts in the Hillcats' playoff run. �In the second game of the semi-final round, Owens earned the win with 6 shutout innings, and allowed 4 runs and a walk, with 6 strikeouts. �Then, in�the second-to-last game in the final series, Owens pitched 6.1 innings and allowed 2 runs on another 4 hits and a walk, with 7 strikeouts. �The Hillcats came back to tie the game after Owens left, so he did not get a decision in that one. �Owens was named the South Atlantic League's Pitcher of the Year for 2009 and the Pirates' Minor League Pitcher of the Year. �Owens and his three pitches (low 90's fastball, change-up, and curve) may need a little more time at the A+ level with Bradenton, as the Pirates have some specific goals that they expect players to meet at each level, and he was not with Lynchburg for very long in 2009. �But the 22-year-old may reach the AA level in 2010 if he continues to have the magic touch he had last year. Lefty Justin Wilson was the star of the 2008 College World Series (Fresno State University) after being drafted by the Pirates in the 5th round of that year's draft. �Because he'd already pitched 99.1 innings for Fresno State during their regular season, plus more in the CWS, the Pirates did not get him started on his pro career at the end of the 2008 season. �Instead, Wilson made his debut in 2009 and at the A+ level with Lynchburg. �It was tough going for the first three months, though. �Wilson made 4 starts in April, earning a 2-1 record and a 5.00 ERA, as he allowed 10 runs on 16 hits in 18 innings. �May and June were even more of a struggle, as he made another 10 starts and allowed 29 runs on 52 hits in 35.1 innings. �He won one game over those two months and lost 4, with a 7.39 ERA. But at the end of June and beginning of July, Wilson suddenly found his stride. �He made 6 starts in July, and allowed 10 runs in 31.2 innings, for a 2-1 record and a 2.84 ERA. �He dropped that to 2.33 for the month of August, when he allowed only 7 runs in 27 innings, and 4 of those runs came in his last start of the month, when he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits in 4 innings. �His best game came on August 16th, when he pitched 7 shutout innings and allowed 5 hits, no walks, and struck out an amazing 11 batters. �Wilson's season of 26 total starts divided nicely into halves: �in his first 13 starts, he had a 3-5 record and a 6.57 ERA over 50.2 innings; in his last 13 starts, he earned a 3-3 record and a 2.89 ERA in 65.1 innings. �Wilson also made 2 starts for the Hillcats during the playoffs. �In their first semi-final game, Wilson was charged with the loss, though of the 4 runs he allowed only one was earned. �He struck out 9 batters in 5 innings and gave up 6 hits. �Wilson also started the first game of the final playoff series, and this time he earned the win. �He pitched 5.2 innings and allowed only one earned run on 5 hits and 2 walks. �Wilson gave up 55 walks over his total 116 innings (25 in the first half, 30 in the second half), and he'll need to work on his control to get that number down. �His 118 hits was also a bit high (63 in the first half and 55 in the second half), and he needs to keep those down. �Wilson should be in Altoona to begin 2010.

Pirates 15, �Twins 5 �(box) Weird outfield conditions, solid hitting, and some nice pitching in the late innings gave the Pirates the win today. �The Pirates collected 15 hits, and took advantage of fly balls that were blown astray by the winds, plus a couple that bounced off Twins' outfielders' gloves. �CF/LF John Raynor and 1B Bobby Crosby led the hit parade with a triple, a double, and 3 RBI for Raynor, and an RBI single and a 3-run homer for Crosby. �3B Pedro Alvarez added a line drive triple for an RBI in the 1st inning, plus a walk and a single. �C Ryan Doumit and�1B Hector Gimenez each had 2 hits in the contest. Starter Ross Ohlendorf gave up a lead-off walk to CF Denard Span and then a 2-run homer to 1B Justin Morneau in the top of the 1st. �The Pirates came back to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 2nd. �Doumit's line drive single and Alvarez's RBI triple started the rally. �Moments later, Crosby slapped a grounder into the hole deep at short. �Former Indy Indian (2004) SS JJ Hardy dove for the ball and managed to come up with it, but by then it was too late for him to make a throw, and Alvarez scored easily to tie the game. �Raynor's RBI triple that caromed off the right field wall brought in Crosby and the Pirates had a 3-2 lead. Chris Jakubauskas pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 3rd, but got into trouble in the 4th, with 3 walks, a double, 2 RBI singles, a sacrifice fly, and a pop fly dropped by Alvarez at third base. �Jakubauskas did not finish the 2nd inning as planned. �Instead, Ronald Uviedo came in to get a fly out to end the frame. �He was credited with the win, because he was the pitcher of record in the bottom of the inning, when the Pirates took the lead on the 3-run blast that Crosby drove into the wind and over the left field wall. �A screaming line drive that rose up and over the right field wall off the bat of RF Garrett Jones gave Pittsburgh an 8-5 lead. After that, it was all Pirates. �They batted around in the 7th inning to score another 5 runs. �CF Gorkys Hernandez led off with a walk, went to second on Gimenez's single, and Raynor walked to load the bases. �2B Doug Bernier brought in a run with a single. �2B Delwyn Young cleared the bases with a double into center field. �C Luke Carlin lifted a fly ball to center that bounced off the Twins' center fielder's glove, and Young scored the fifth run of the inning. �Raynor drove in two more runs in the 8th, when he followed Hernandez's walk and Gimenez's single with a double, bringing the Pirates' total to 15. Four Pirate pitchers held the Twins scoreless over the last 5 innings. �Vinnie Chulk struck out 5 of the 7 batters he faced, allowing just one hit. �Bryan Morris and Ramon Aguero each pitched a 1-2-3 inning, and Anthony Claggett gave up a hit but then struck out the side. Two other minor leaguers, SS Argenis Diaz and PH/DH Jon Van Every also got into the game, though neither had a hit. Other notes: Former Pirate farmhand Yoslan Herrera signed a minor league contract with the Twins. �Herrera had defected from Cuba and signed a 3-year contract with the Pirates, but never really lived up to the hype. �He made 25 starts for AA Altoona in 2007, earning a 6-9 record and a 4.69 ERA. �He made another 21 starts for the Curve in 2008, and earned the same win-loss record, but with a 3.46 ERA. �He did make one start for the Indy Indians that season, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits in 7 innings. �He was back in Altoona in 2009, and had his best season: �in 15 starts (plus 8 relief appearances), he posted an 11-1 record with a 3.23 ERA. �In another brief stint in Indianapolis, he allowed 4 runs over 15.2 innings (2 starts, 2 relief appearances). �Herrera got up to Pittsburgh for 5 starts in the middle of 2008, but didn't stick there long. �In 18.1 innings, he allowed 20 runs on 35 hits. �His contract was up at the end of 2009, and the Pirates did not renew it.

Looking at some catchers today, and some questions.... Kris Watts was the Pirates' 16th round pick in the 2006 draft. �The California native had been Steve Lerud's backup at A+ Lynchburg in 2008, though when he got the chance to play regularly, he proved to be up to the challenge. �He finished that season with a .285 average for the Hillcats in 63 games, with 4 homers and 34 RBI. �The 2009 began with Watts as the Hillcats' starting catcher. �Though he had struggled with his defense earlier in his career, he improved with the regular work. �He let fewer passed balls past him, and threw out 31% of base runners trying to steal (23% in 2008). �Beside the plate instead of behind it, Watts jumped out to a hot start in April, when he hit .444 with 2 homers and 12 RBI. �He cooled in May (.233), but came back in June, hitting .286 with a homer and 7 RBI. �He fired up again in July, hitting .328 with 7 more homers. �He slid down to .230 in August/September, but still found 9 RBI. �Watts did not strikeout much -- 31 times over the first four months --at least until August, when he suddenly struck out 16 times. �By that point in the season, Watts was spending less time behind the plate and more time as the Hillcats' Designated Hitter, after the acquisition of Eric Fryer. �Watts finished the season with a .291 average (third in the Carolina League), 21 doubles, 3 triples, 7 homers, and 49 RBI. �He was named the Hillcats' 2009 MVP. �The lefty hit right-handed pitching (.304) better than left-handed pitching (.260). �In the Hillcats' playoff run, Watts appeared in six games, as a designated hitter and pinch hitter. �He had a single and a double in 20 at-bats. Eric Fryer is a right-handed catcher. �He is from Ohio, and attended Ohio State, where he hit over .300 in three seasons for the Buckeyes. �Fryer was the Brewers' 10th round draft pick in 2007. �He had a solid 2008 season at West Virginia (then a Brewers' affiliate), where hit hit .322 with 26 doubles, 10 homers, and 53 RBI. �The Brewers had Fryer split his time between catching and the outfield, and it was a little more outfield than catching. �The Brewers traded Fryer to the Yankees, who placed him in the outfield at A+ Tampa for the beginning of 2009 season. �In 59 games, he hit .250 with 11 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, and 24 RBI. �Then came the Eric Hinske trade, and Fryer changed A+ affiliates and positions. �Behind the plate once again, Fryer played the second half of the season with the Lynchburg Hillcats as the primary catcher, bumping Kris Watts to a back-up role. �Fryer did well catching again, with a good arm -- he threw out 36% of runners trying to steal. �His hitting did not improve, though. �He hit .225 with 3 RBI in 23 games in July. �He boosted the RBI to 11 in August with 3 homers and a .235 average. �Fryer finished on a roll, hitting .296 in the last two weeks of the season, and 4-for-9 in his last three games. �That gave him a .242 average for his time in Lynchburg, with 11 doubles, those 3 homers, and 14 RBI. �With Tony Sanchez up from West Virginia to catch, Fryer had only a limited role in the playoffs with the Hillcats. �He was the DH in one game, and went 1-for-4 at the plate. With last year's 2009 #1 draft pick Tony Sanchez likely to be assigned to Bradenton to begin the season, the 25-year-old Watts and the 24-year-old Fryer will by battling for catching spots in Altoona and in Bradenton. �Watts hit better in 2009 and offers a left-handed bat -- �will that matter? �And what happens when Sanchez, who is likely to be on a "fast track", gets moved up to Altoona? �Whomever gets the spot at Altoona at the beginning of the season will likely become the backup to Sanchez when/if he's ready to move up. Billy Killian, who signed a minor league contract with the Pirates about a month ago, may also be in the catching mix in Bradenton. �He played a limited role at the A+ level (Frederick) in the Orioles' system in 2009. �In 33 games, Killian hit .216 with 9 RBI.