KEEPING TABS ON THE PIRATES' LATIN AMERICAN PROSPECTS

Latin American scouting and development has long been a completely hidden aspect of the operations of major league baseball teams, but that's starting to change. In the last couple years, Baseball America has provided increasing coverage of scouting and signings in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and elsewhere. Statistics and other information from the Dominican and Venezuelan Summer Leagues are available at minorleaguebaseball.com and baseball-reference.com. On the down side, disreputable practices like bonus-skimming, which has produced an FBI investigation, are also being covered in the mainstream press.

If you're a Pirate fan, you have it better than most now thanks to coverage in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of the team's newfound interest in Latin scouting. Dejan Kovacevic penned an outstanding three part series on the team's scouting efforts in the Dominican. He even included a list of the team's top five international prospects among players who have not yet reached the US, according to the Pirates' director of Latin American scouting, Rene Gayo. Kovacevic also summarized the Pirates' top Dominican signees in 2009.

Following the DSL and VSL Pirates during their seasons is now possible because MiLB.com includes DSL and VSL box scores on its front page scoreboard. The DSL season runs from the end of May or beginning of June until late August, the VSL season from mid-May to early August. MiLB.com also has team pages, including links to stats, for the Bucs' DSL and VSL entries. Baseball Reference has prior year stats for the DSL and VSL going back to 2006 as I write this. Of course, you have to take all stats in these leagues with a grain of salt because the players are extremely raw at that stage.

Finally, below are some of the team's top Latin American prospects as of the end of the 2009 season. Ages are as of the end of the season. A number of these players should be in the Gulf Coast League in 2010. Links are to the player's pages at MiLB.com and bb-ref.

Eric Avila, 3B. Age: 19. Country: Dominican Republic. Avila was the best hitter on the DSL Pirates in 2009 and was named to the post-season All-Star team.

Jonathan Barrios, SS. Age: 18. Country: Colombia. Barrios starred at an academy operated by the White Sox and signed with the Pirates for $250,000 during the summer 2008 signing period. He's stocky and, despite a strong arm, may need to move to 2B or 3B. One of Gayo's top five international prospects, according to both Gayo and BA Barrios has a strong bat with some power potential. The Post-Gazette reports that he was invited to Fall Instructional League in Bradenton in 2009, which was unusual at his age. He was having a very good season in the VSL in 2009 until he went into a bad slump the last few weeks.

Jorge Bishop, SS. Age: 18. Country: Panama. Bishop was not one of the Pirates' more heralded Latin signings in 2008, but he got off to a huge start in the VSL in 2009, although he cooled off late in the season.

Jodaneli Carvajal, SS. Age: 17. Country: Dominican Republic. Another of Gayo's top five, Carvajal signed for $350,000, the second-most in team history for a Latin player, excluding Cuban defectors. He's a speedster with an outstanding glove, but his bat is suspect. He played in the DSL in 2009, although he missed close to half the season with an injury.

Exicardo Cayonez, OF.Age: 18. Country: Venezuela. Cayones, another of Gayo's top five, was possibly the Pirates' top international signing in 2008 and his bonus of $400,000 was the largest the team has handed out in Latin America, again excluding Cuban defectors. Gayo believes he has the speed to stay in CF, and both Gayo and BA are impressed with his left-handed bat. He had a good debut in the VSL in 2009.

David Pino, OF. Age: 18. Country: Venezuela. Pino hit for good power in his second VSL season.

Gregory Polanco, OF. Age: 17. Country: Dominican Republic. The Pirates think Polanco has good potential with the bat, including the potential to hit for power, although he hasn't done it yet. He had a respectable first season in the DSL, including a lot of walks but also a lot of strikeouts.

Michaelangel Trinidad, 1B. Age: 21. Country: Curacao. Trinidad was a good hitter for the VSL Pirates for two years, but didn't get a chance in the US because he wasn't in good shape. He missed the 2008 season, then improved his conditioning and had a huge year in 2009. He's old for a guy who hasn't reached US rookie ball yet, but being in better condition may get him a shot.

Jesus Vasquez, OF. Age: 17. Country: Dominican Republic. Vasquez hit for good power in his first pro season and was a mid-season All-Star.

Martires Cadet, LHP. Age: 18. Country: Dominican Republic. Cadet pitched well in long relief in his first pro season.

Fraylin Campos , RHP. Age: 19. Country: Dominican Republic. Campos was the top starter on the DSL Pirates in 2009. He's not a big guy, but he did have a very high K rate.

Emmanuel De Leon, RHP.Age: 18. Country: Dominican Republic. De Leon signed for about $50,000, then saw limited action in his first DSL season. He pitched regularly in his second season there. He fans a lot of hitters but appears to have control problems.

Roberto Espinoza, RHP. Age: 17. Country: Mexico. Espinoza was one of several young pitchers the Pirates signed out of Mexico. He was one of the VSL Pirates' top starters in his first season, as his fastball jumped to the 88-93 range. He also throws a slider.

Porfirio Lopez, LHP. Age: 19. Country: Dominican Republic. Although he's a small guy at a listed 5'10", Lopez was ridiculously hard to hit in the DSL in 2009, holding opponents to a batting average of .125. He also had a high K rate.

Clario Perez, RHP. Age: 16. Country: Dominican Republic. Perez had a very good first pro season in the DSL in 2009 at a very young age.

Remberto Romo, RHP. Age: 17. Country: Mexico. Romo was another of the young Mexican pitchers whom the Pirates signed. He struggled in his first year, which isn't surprising given his age.

Raul Ruiz, LHP. Age: 18. Country: Venezuela. Ruiz was the VSL Pirates' top reliever in his second year.

Yoldi Sierra, LHP. Age: 17. Country: Dominican Republic. Sierra pitched very well in his first three appearances in the DSL, than apparently got hurt and didn't return. Unlike most of the LHPs with the Pirates' two Latin affiliates, he's not a small guy.

Mario Zapari, RHP. Age: 17. Country: Mexico. Zapari was another of the Mexican pitchers who signed with the Pirates. Like Romo, he struggled in his first pro season.

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