Results tagged ‘ Pittsburgh Pirates ’
More debuts
I wrote about Gordon Beckham this morning because, as a White Sox fan, it interested me the most, however, there was another highly-anticipated debut this afternoon in Pittsburgh. Last night the Pirates surprisingly dealt All-Star center fielder Nate McLouth to Atlanta for three minor league players and in a corresponding move, summoned outfielder Andrew McCutchen from Class AAA Indianapolis to make his major league debut.
Beckham was less than spectacular. He received a standing ovation before his first at-bat, but finished the day 0-3 with a strikeout in a, 7-0, loss to the A’s. McCutchen, on the other hand, helped spark the Buccos to an, 11-6, win and a sweep of the Mets. McCutchen went 2-4 with a stolen base and three runs scored for Pittsburgh. I watched a little bit of the game on SNY and McCutchen really impressed me with his speed. I think John Russell could let McCutchen and Nyjer Morgan man the outfield by themselves and play with five infielders the rest of the season. Just kidding, but I really think he’s going to be a lot of fun to watch and maybe today was the start of new era in Pittsburgh as well.
Another much-anticipated debut will take place on Saturday when the Braves send Tommy Hanson to the mound against the Brewers. A big-time strikeout pitcher, Hanson could have a similar effect that David Price had in Tampa Bay last season.
Quick Thoughts
I have two quick thoughts as the night games get underway shortly on this Wednesday:
1. All-Star voting began on MLB.com today, barely two weeks into the season. I know they want to generate as many votes and as much online traffic as possible, but why not wait one more week and kick it off on May 1st? I’ll be waiting at least until then to cast my first ballot because right now the sample size is too small.
2. After I wrote so glowingly about the Marlins on Monday morning … they were swept by the Pirates in a three-game series in Pittsburgh. Sorry Fish fans, I feel partly responsible.
Fine Nine
Sure, they’ve only played a handful of games this season, but I want to take a look at how the Top 9 8 picks from the June 2008 draft are playing in a small town near you. Partially because I’m curious myself, but mostly because I like typing Minor League team names.
1. Tim Beckham (Rays) : The shortstop drafted out of Griffin High School in Georgia has been assigned by the big club to the Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods of the South Atlantic League (SAL). In 11 games this season, Beckham is hitting .326 (14-43) with a homer and eight RBI. He’s off to a much better start than last summer when he hit just .243 (43-177) with two home runs and 14 RBI in 46 games with the Princeton Rays in the Appalachian League (APPY).
2. Pedro Alvarez (Pirates) : The former Vanderbilt star is playing third base for the Class A Lynchburg Hillcats. The slugger’s power numbers are there through 11 games with three homers and 16 RBI, but his average sits at .250 (9-36). The RBI number is impressive, however, keep in mind that he collected four on Opening Day and six on 4/16 against the Winston-Salem Dash (Warthogs, R.I.P.). In that game, he hit a walk-off three-run blast to lead the Hillcats to a 9-6 win.
3. Eric Hosmer (Royals) : Kansas City made the left-handed slugger the third overall pick and the second high schooler taken in June. Hosmer is playing first base for the Class A Burlington Bees in the Midwest League. Hosmer played well in the Bees’ opening series against Clinton, batting .364 (4-11) with two doubles and an RBI, but since then he has just one hit in his last five games, bringing his average down to .172 (5-29).
4. Brian Matusz (Orioles) : The southpaw was the first pitcher taken in the 2008 draft and joins Alvarez in the Carolina League, throwing for the Frederick Keys. In three starts in ’09, Matusz is 1-1 with a 3.45 ERA (6 ER/15.2 IP). He’s averaging 10.7 K/9.0 IP and has walked seven batters this season.
5. Buster Posey (Giants) : One of the hottest hitters in all of Minor League Baseball to start the 2009 campaign, Posey was named California League Co-Batter of the Week (4/8-19) along with teammate Brandon Crawford. Posey is hitting .391 (18-46) with four doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI in 12 games for the San Jose Giants. He has reached base safely in every game and collected three hits on three different occasions thus far. Posey launching a three-run homer (1):
6. Kyle Skipworth (Marlins) : The Marlins followed the Giants’ lead in grabbing a catcher, only they dipped into the high school ranks. Skipworth has tremendous talent at the plate and is beginning the season with the SAL Greensboro Grasshoppers. The left-handed batter is hitting .235 (8-34) with three doubles, a homer and eight RBI in the early going. Like Beckham, he received some heavy playing time last summer with the Gulf Coast League Marlins where he batted .208 (33-159) with five homers and 21 RBI.
7. Yonder Alonso (Reds) : The power-hitting Alonso was the first college first baseman selcted in the draft, ahead of USC’s Justin Smoak who went later to Texas at No. 11. Like Hosmer, Alonso has gotten off to a bit of slow start, batting .200 (8-40) through 10 games with the Sarasota Reds of the Florida State League.
8. Gordon Beckham (White Sox) : Beckham begins the season at Class AA Birmingham, the highest of all the Top 10 picks. He opened eyes in Spring Training and even made a push to make the Opening Day roster as second baseman. So far with the Barons, Beckham is hitting .366 (15-41) with four doubles, two homers and seven RBI in 10 games. He has played nine games at shortstop and one at second base so far. Like Posey, Beckham is making a name for himself and could be getting promoted to Class AAA Charlotte by the All-Star break. Here’s Beckham turning a double play against Chattanooga (2):
9. Aaron Crow (Natinals Nationals) : Did not sign. The right-hander will be eligible to be selected in the June 2009 draft.
There you have it, a brief synopsis of how some of the top picks from June are doing today. Alvarez has shown flashes, Hosmer and Alonso are off to slow starts and Posey and Beckham are on the fast track to the show.
1 – https://www.sedonamg.com/sjgiantssecure/ConPics/Con1669/Posey,_Buster_by_Chris_Talley_web.jpg
2 – http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-sports/2009/04/large_Beckham%20throws.jpg
3 – All stats are from Howe Sports Data
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