2012 Record: 79-83
Key Acquisitions
RP Jose Contreras (MILB deal)
SP Jeanmar Gomez (Trade with CLE)
3B Brandon Inge (MILB deal)
SP Francisco Liriano (1 year $1M MLB deal with club option for $8M in 2014)
SS Russell Martin (I'm hilarious, I know. Thank you)(2/$15M)
RP Mark Melancon (Trade with Farrell's empire)
SP Jonathan Sanchez (MILB Deal)
Key Departures
C Rod Barajas (MILB Deal w/ Arizona)
SP Erik Bedard (MILB Deal w/ Houston)
SP Kevin Correia (2/$10 w/ Twins)
CL Joel Hanrahan (Trade w/ Farrell's empire)
2B Brock Holt (Trade w/ Farrell's empire)
RP Chad Qualls( MILB Deal with Blue Jays South)
Impact Acquisition
The self centred unpatriotic shortstop wanna be named Russell Martin sadly wins this award. Although all 30 million or so Canadians hate him right now (although I'd be shocked if even 1/30 knew who he was), there is no denying his talent (or lack there of technically). Martin is a better version of J.P Arencibia (looks aside of course, please), as he is does possess the home run swing that JP has, but he can also take a walk, something JP obviously cannot do. Now I'm going to stop talking about JPA, because I don't want this part to be so long. Martin is going to hit 20 homers, hit for a low average, and be worth somewhere between 1.5-2.5 rWAR. You can do much worse than him at catcher (look no further than the Jays), and for $7.5M a year, that's a pretty good get of 2 WAR these days. His defense is nothing special either, in case you were wondering. He'll fit nicely into the 6 spot in the Pirates lineup, behind the powerful Pedro Alvarez and in front of Travis Snider (sigh). Because of Liriano's injury that might not let him be ready for the season, this goes to Martin, but if Liriano is healthy, I like his signing a lot more than the Martin one.
Spring Training Battles
Who'll be the 4th and 5th starters?
With the injury to Liriano, this isn't as clear cut as it should be, meaning there might be a little competition for two spots, instead of just one. He is projected to start the season on the DL, so we'll look at the pitchers competing for the final two spots, even if one of them is only for a couple of weeks. The pitchers who will be eyeing these last two spots are Jonathan Sanchez, Kyle McPherson, Jeff Karstens and Jeff Locke.
Sanchez- Sanchez in my mind the weakest candidate for this job, and you really don't have to look past his control to see why. He has a career BB/9 rate of 5.0, and last year, in 15 starts, he was walking players at a rate of 7.4/9...Thats a whole 2.2 BB worse than Ricky Romero's 2012 to put it into perspective for you guys. He really has nothing going for him right now, and the only way he makes this rotation is if he suddenly has a crazy good spring for the next 3 weeks. Right now he has a 18.9 BB/9, so the odds are stacked against him for sure.
McPherson- After pitching in AA and AAA last year, McPherson got the call to the majors at the end of August, and pitched pretty well in a small sample if 26.1 IP pitching to 4.01 FIP to finish of the year. From what I've read on various Pirates sites, he seems to have the inside track to lock up the #5 spot if Liriano can't start the year, but I'd expect him to get more seasoning in AAA once his services in the rotation are no longer needed.
Locke- Locke has nothing left to prove in AAA given his fantastic stats there over the past 2 seasons, but in his small cup's of coffee in the majors over that same period, he has not impressed, pitching to a 5.19 FIP. Most projection systems have him around a 4 ERA in the majors in 2013, so it should come as no surprise that some people think he will get the 4 spot.
Karstens- In just 90 IP last year in the Majors due to a lot of injuries, Karstens was pretty good posting a 3.32 FIP, one that would obviously rise in a bigger sample. He has suffered another injury during camp, and if he can't start the season with the big club, that'd be pretty bad for him, given that he is expected to be he #4 starter. The soft tossing righty can provide some decent innings when he is healthy, but health is always the key for him.
You can make a case that there is a battle going on for right field, but it will be won(and isn't much of a competition even) by a platoon of Travis Snider and Gaby Sanchez, so there is really no point talking about it.
Questions heading into the season?
As always, can they break the streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons?
The past two summers looked liked the years it will finally end, but the Pirates have faded both seasons, ending with losing records in both. Full productive seasons from the top half of their lineup including the likes of Andrew McCutchen,Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and more should get them to .500 at least, and if the rotation which is made up of a bunch of 3's-5's can salvage a decent season, maybe they'll be able to stop the losing. The bullpen is of little concern because it has some nice power arms that should be able to close games out, and with the expected arrival of uber prospects Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole mid-season into the rotation, whoever occupies that back end of the staff miht be able to go into the bullpen and help them out if needed.
Will Travis Snider fulfill his potential?
Maybe.
Prospect that will make a contribution in 2013?
I'd talk about Taillon the Canadian, but Ewan already did so in his sort of Team Canada preview, so instead I'll talk about the other can't miss pitching prospect the Bucs have in Gerrit Cole, who, is actually ranked higher than Taillon in every reliable prospect list( I think). Cole is the type of pitching prospect every team dreams they can have. A big power arm with Ace potential and 3 pitches that are a 70 on the 20-80 scale. He has proved everything he can in just 1 year in the minors, so after he destroys AAA in the next couple of months, expect to see him in Pittsburgh black and gold in the summer. His slider and change work beautifully alongside his wicked fastball, and if he can refine his delivery and put the finishing touches on his pitches, he should be part of the exclusive "ACE" club soon enough, joining the likes of Strasburg, Kershaw, and Verlander.
PROJECTED 25-MAN ROSTER
(*indicates left-handed batter **indicates switch-hitter)
Projected 'Go-To' Starting Lineup
1 LF Starling Marte
2 2B Neil Walker**
3 CF Andrew McCutchen
4 1B Garrett Jones*
5 3B Pedro Alvarez*
6 C Russell Martin
7 RF Travis Snider* vs RHP
8 SS Clint Barmes
Projected Bench
C Michael McKenry
1B Gaby Sanchez vs LHP
IF Brandon Inge
IF/OF Josh Harrison
OF Jose Tabata
Projected Starting Rotation
1 RHP A.J. Burnett
2 LHP Wandy Rodriguez
3 RHP James McDonald
4 RHP Jeff Karstens
5 RHP Kyle McPherson BA#7
Projected Bullpen
CL RHP Jason Grilli
SU RHP Mark Melancon
SU LHP Tony Watson
MID RHP Jared Hughes
MID LHP Justin Wilson BA#8
MID RHP Bryan Morris
LR RHP Chris Leroux
Projected 2013 record: 78-84 (4th in NL Central)
Honestly, this projection seems like it should be pretty accurate, but if the team can play near .500 ball until Cole and Taillon come up, and they hit the ground running, a winning record is definitely possible. Things are looking up in Pittsburgh. This year won't be the year, but starting in 2014, this is is going to be a fun team to watch.
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Pirates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Pirates. Show all posts
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Snider Traded: Blue Jays Nation Cries
| We will miss you Travis! |
To Pittsburgh Pirates: Travis Snidarggggh(see what I did there?)
Travis came up to the Jays in 2008 and was fantastic. Since then he has never lived up to his potential of a future MVP type player. It seems like every time he doesn't hit a home run, he strikes out. He has K'd 13 times in 34 at bats this season, which is way to much. He does have potential obviously as potential doesn't leave a player, but he was never going to be a successful in Toronto. We have to understand that as we react to this trade. He was a player that AA would usually pounce on. Out of favor young star with loads of potential. Would Colby Rasmus or Brett Lawrie have become who they are today if they still played on their original teams? Probably not. This scenery change is amazing for Travis, and I really hope he does win some MVP awards while in Pittsburgh. He now gets to go into a playoff race(weird saying that about the Pirates), and he deserves it. One last thing, Snider is under control until 2016.
To Toronto Blue Jays: Brad Lincoln(Hopefully Brandon Morrow 2.0)
Before you think Lincoln is horrible because you have never heard of him, look at this guys 2012 stats!
9.10 K/9
2.12 BB/9
3.44 xFIP
He is 27(not bad), and is under team control until 2018. The Jays need starters to compete this year. But the plan has never been to compete in 2012! Especially with all these injuries, there is no way the Jays are making the playoffs this season. So be happy that they strengthed the team for 2013-2014. With Lincoln they just acquired a reliever who if they want they can convert into a starter. I wouldn't because his numbers are great as a reliever, and could be a key piece in the 2013 bullpen which actually looks like it is shaping up pretty well. He throws a fastball(93 MPH), a sinker(92 MPH), a Curve(With a -43.81 Vertical Break), and a Change up(8 MPH slower than fastball with a 30.75 break). And one more thing. The Jays have the most scouts in the MLB. AA doesn't do this trade unless he has good reason too. Obviously he has good Intel that this trade is a smart. Lets hope Lincoln is truly the Pittsburgh Pirates "Travis Snider" as Kevin Goldstein described him earlier tonight on the Fan590.
As you all know Eric Thames was also traded(to the Mariners for Steve Delabar). Ewan will have an article up about that later tonight(or morning I guess). All I have to say about that trade: NINJA! Thames has no hit tool, and Delabar has a great fastball(11.29 K/9). Looks like a steal right now for the Jays.
By the way... Which reporter gave these trade away? #TheyDidnt #AA7 #Ninja
Would love to discuss these trades with you guys, so leave your comments in the section below.
You can follow me on twitter, @gideonturk.
To connect with the site, Follow us on Twitter, and Like us on Facebook.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Travis Snider Gets the Call: or The Last Stand of the Lunchbox Hero
Last Stand of the LunchBoxHero
In the game Thursday night after leading off the 2nd inning with a home run (his 3rd in his last 4 at bats), Travis Snider was removed from the game when his spot in the order came up later that inning (Go PCL baseball). This caused the Twitterverse to explode with speculation. Had Snider fallen to the curse that this Blue Jays team seems to be under this season, and sustained yet another injury? Or had our long national nightmare finally ended, and was Travis Snider getting the chance that a lot of Blue Jays had been waiting for?
After hours of speculation via Twiter, which had Snider being traded to any of 10-15 MLB teams, as well as his head popping clear off his body while rounding the bases, there was clarification from one of the few the man it usually does, Sportsnet insider Shi Davidi, who tweeted out…
“Snider en route to Boston, although his activation no certainty”
So we know Snider is on his way to join the big club, but not for sure whether a roster move has been made yet. In all likely hood by the time you’re reading this tomorrow Brett Lawrie will have been placed on the DL, and after almost a full calendar year Travis Snider will be back in the major leagues.
This addresses many of the issues the team has had over the past little while. First off it takes Rajai Davis out of the starting lineup. After posting perfectly acceptable numbers during May & June (.291/.331/.441), he has completely fallen apart in July, posting an absolutely pitiful .216 OBP, and only getting 3 extra base hits. When the team had Bautista, Lawrie and the rest of the top of the order carrying the offense, this black hole of nothingness was something the team could win in spite of. With two of the big bats in their lineup, they badly need more production out of left field if they are going to keep the even slim chance they have to make the playoffs.
The other major problem this addresses is the lack of left-handed hitting alternatives. Last week in the first game back from the All-Star break the Jays faced off against Justin Masterson of the Indians, the starting pitcher who’s the toughest on right handed batters in the league. Since the Jays have been carrying 8 bullpen arms, they had no option but to send Rajai out there to flail hopelessly against Masterson and his submarining delivery.
Even though this move could have a serious impact to the team’s chances to win this season, and stay in a pennant race that they are still nominally in (even though that’s looking more and more like a pipe dream), this really is about Snider’s future in a Blue Jays uniform.
Snider’s career thus far has been an absolute roller coaster. He might have been the highest regarded prospect in Jays history, being ranked #5 by Kevin Goldstein, and #6 by Baseball America in 2009, and he has raked at every level of the minor leagues (Career minor league OPS over .900). However, aside from a September cup of coffee in 2008, this pedigree has never translated to any modicum of major league success. There are many possible explanations. Perhaps he was rushed to the majors before he was truly ready. Maybe his erratic playing time under Cito Gaston screwed up his timing, and confidence. Lastly, and most concerning, its possible that he’s the type of Quadruple A hitter that just can never adjust to pitching at the highest level (ala Brandon Wood, or Dallas McPherson).
Really though, it doesn’t matter why he’s failed in the past, because he can’t worry about those things now. The team has to leave him in the majors and even if he gets off to a slow start, he still needs to play. With the current state of the team’s medicals, fans and the team itself needs to realize that the playoffs are nothing more than a pipe dream, so the most important aspect down the stretch is to find out what you have in assets like Snider. Perhaps they can protect him against a tough lefty, and play Davis, but otherwise Snider needs to be starting in left field day in and day out until the seasons end. The Jays need to know come seasons end whether they have their left field solution in house, or whether its time to cut bait, and look elsewhere.
The rest of this season is Travis Snider’s Waterloo. Will he emerge from all the adversity to be the hero we’ll remember til the end of days? Or will he just go down as another footnote in the big book of failed prospects?
We’ll know one way or the other come Ocotober.
You can follow me on Twitter, @Mentoch.To connect with the site, Follow us on Twitter, and Like us on Facebook.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
