Catcher- Chris Snyder/Ryan Doumit
1st Base- Lyle Overbay
2nd Base- Neil Walker
Shortstop- Ronny Cedeno
3rd Base- Pedro Alvarez
Left Field- Jose Tabata
Center Field- Andrew McCutchen
Right Field- Garrett Jones
The Pirates have a very solid lineup, and a very fantasy relevant outfield. With Tabata, McCutchen, Jones, and Alvarez the Pirates have a nice core, but with the lack of money in free agency they should continue to be found at the bottom of the league.
The pitching staff is where the Pirates get worse. Right now the projected pitching staff looks like this:
Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf, James McDonald, Kevin Correia, Charlie Morton.
None of the Pirates five starters would be any better than a fifth starter on any of the top 10 teams in the league. The rotation isn't the only problem as the Pirates will have Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan closing out games for the foreseeable future.
Top 5 prospects-
RHP James Taillon- With Pedro Alvarez entrenched as the Pirates third basemen, the title of Pirates top prospect goes to their number one in the 2010 draft. The Pirates took high school pitcher James Taillon with the second overall pick and signed him to a Pirates record $6.5 million dollar signing bonus. He has two plus pitches in his fastball that sits from 95 to 97 mph and his hard breaking curve ball. Like most high school pitchers the 6'7 flame thrower will need to develop a change up before we see him in the big leagues around 2013.
RHP Stetson Allie- Allie is another Pirates draft pick in 2010. The second round pick has an even higher ceiling than the 2nd overall pick in Taillon due to his velocity that routinely hits 100 mph. If Allie can ever figure out his location problems, he could be fast tracked to the majors in a relief role.
C Tony Sanchez- Sanchez is a former number 1 pick out of Boston College, and is as solid as they come behind the plate. He his limited power potential, but that isn’t uncommon with catchers. Sanchez is one of the top defensive catchers in the minors and at 22 years of age could see the majors soon. Unfortunately for 2011, two of the three top paid players for the Pirates in 2011 will be catchers, Chris Snyder and Ryan Doumit.
RHP Luis Heredia- Heredia was another piece of the Pirates plan to stockpile young pitchers this year. Heredia was seen as the top international pitcher, and the Pirates signed the 6 foot 6, 16 year old righter to a $2.6 million dollar deal. At 16 his velocity is already in the 93 mph range and should increase as his body fills out. But, his youth also makes his hard to project and he could be a stud or a waste of $2.6 million dollars.
LHP Rudy Owens- The 23 year old lefty had a great year in double A, and won the ERA title for the Eastern League. The lefty has great control and had a 5 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio. His upside is limited but should be a mainstay at the bottom of the Pirates rotation or in long relief possibly starting this year if he can put together a great spring training.
Payroll and Direction- The early part of free agency was very Pirate like. Their big free agent signings have been, Kevin Correia and Lyle Overbay. Granted they will help the team, but it's far from the splash they needed to make to drag themselves out of the cellar. In 2010, their payroll was around 37 million dollars and it will probably increase to around 40 million this year with the top three paid players making 5.1 to 5.8 million dollars, in Chris Snyder, Paul Maholm, and Ryan Doumit. Although, we like the direction the Pirates are moving with signing three powerful young arms, they are far from major league ready, and ownership will need to spend some money surround them with solid free agents. It will probably be years until the Pirates put everything together and become a contender, but keep your eye out for them.
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