Although I'm
not a scout, I have no shortage of opinions, as you'll soon see if you haven't
already. I certainly believe a lot can be told from minor league
stats. A lot of observation is needed, too, of course. I try to dig
up information where I can, mostly on the web, and I add my own observations,
especially where I've seen a player a lot and feel reasonably confident about
the impressions I've formed. I'm perfectly happy to add the observations
or opinions of others, including dissenting opinions. I'm very
interested in observations from other fans who get the chance to see the team's
prospects in action and read them whenever they're posted on various
Pirate-related blogs and the like. I'm not too hard to find online if you
have observations you'd like to share. What I'm trying to do here is not
to provide "definitive" reports on these players, even if I was capable of doing
that, so much as present the best information I can find about players both well
known and obscure.
Wilbur Miller
WHAT'S NEW
2/2/10 -- Added C
Billy Killian, 3B Kevin Melillo and OF Anthony Norman, all of whom signed minor
league deals. Dropped SS Angel Gonzalez, who signed with the
Nationals.
1/29/10 -- Added SS Doug Bernier, who signed
a minor league contract.
1/28/10 -- Dropped RHP Juan
Mateo, who signed with the Angels.
1/27/10 -- Noted that
RHPs Anthony Claggett and Steven Jackson cleared
waivers.
1/21/10 -- Noted that the Pirates designated
RHP Anthony Claggett for assignment.
1/20/10 --
Added RHP Octavio Dotel, who agreed to terms on a one-year deal with a team
option. Dropped 1B Jamie Romak, who signed with the Royals, SS Ray Chang,
who signed with the Red Sox, and SS Pedro Lopez, who signed with the
Nationals.
1/19/10 -- Added OF Brandon Jones, whom the
Pirates claimed off waivers from the Braves, and noted that the Pirates
designated RHP Steven Jackson for assignment.
1/18/10 --
Added 3B Jesus Brito and dropped SS Brian Bixler following trade with
Indians.
1/16/10 -- Added RHP Brendan Donnelly, who
agreed to terms on a one-year contract, and dropped RHP Denny Bautista, who
signed with the Giants.
THE
PLAYERS
I've changed the way the players are organized
under each position. What you'll find are the following lists for
each:
40-Man Roster Prospects Trying to Get
Established Minor League Vets and Organizational Players Where Are They
Now?
I think these are fairly self-explanatory. I'm not
going to try stating exact criteria for each, as there's inevitably some
subjectivity in saying whether a guy is a "prospect," although I've
interpreted it pretty broadly. A lot of it is a function of time. At
the lower levels, most players fall into the "trying to get established"
category. At the upper levels, most players will either be prospects or
veteran/organizational guys. It's usually pretty obvious from the way the
team handles promotions, roles and playing times.
The "Where Are They
Now?" category literally covers guys whose whereabouts I'm uncertain
about. Usually they're players who've gotten hurt and haven't played for a
year or more, or players who've probably retired or been released, but I haven't
seen anything to indicate for certain that they are or aren't with the
organization any longer. Once I find out for sure, I'll either move them
to the appropriate category or drop them. Once each season ends, I'll also
include in this category minor league free agents who were with the
organization during the previous season, until they sign either with
the Pirates or somebody else. There should be periods when this category
disappears.
If you're interested in
following the Pirates' Latin American prospects in the Dominican and
Venezuelan Summer Leagues, here are some suggestions, including some prospects
to follow.