Now that is over for the year,I intend to be back up to par here/
I know that I have said that before,but my intentions are good.
I am feeling great and ready to get back to work....
The Pirates made their two moves in an attempt to stay in contention for the NL Central title.
The first was to shore up the rotation on the mound,while the second was aimed at adding a bat to the lineup with an internal solution.The big move was the addition of lefthander Wandy Rodriguez from the (for now) division rival Houston Astros.
Rodriguez will upgrade the rotation instantly, is under contract for 2013 and a team option for 2014 as well with the Astros picking up a large chunk of his contract for both years should the Pirates choose to pick up the option.
Rodriguez has won double figure games in each of the three years and has never been above a four ERA in any of those years.
Rodriguez is 7-9 this year for the last place Astros and his ERA is a decent one at 3.79.
One would think that the move from Minute Maid Park to PNC Park should be a positive one for the southpaw as PNC favors pitchers far more than the offensively oriented MMP.
Rodriguez will make his debut as a Pirate tomorrow night in Houston against his former team.
The cost for a pitcher of Rodriguez's caliber never is cheap and the Pirates paid a hefty price to bring Wandy to Pittsburgh in three prospects from three different levels.
The best of the three was outfielder Robbie Grossman,who I ranked as the fifth best prospect in the system entering the season.
Grossman had begun to hit his stride here of late at AA Altoona after a slow start and projects to be a starting outfielder in either left or center in 2014.
Grossman has above average speed,but projects as a 10-15 homer player,which might hinder him from a full time corner slot.
Grossman was assigned to AA Corpus Christi.
Rudy Owens improved this season in his second season at AAA Indianapolis,but projects to be a fourth or fifth starter at the big league level.
We ranked Owens as the fourteenth prospect in the system entering the season.
Owens walks few (25 walks in 117 innings this year),but lacks top notch stuff,which will keep him from being any more than a back of the rotation starter.
Nothing wrong with that as one can make quite a lucrative career from being a fourth or fifth starter,although those pitchers do tend to bounce around somewhat.
Owens was sent to the Astros AAA affiliate in Oklahoma City.
The final of the trio sent to Houston was lefthanded pitcher Colton Cain.
Cain,who we ranked in the ninth spot of our rankings,had some early season injury issues at High A Bradenton before returning to the mound in June.
Cain's strikeout numbers dipped a bit this season (51 K's in 75 innings),but that could be needing time to round back into shape.
I always liked Cain the best of the "tough sign" high school pitcher crop from the 2009 draft that has yet to pan out,but the issues with his back are definitely a concern.
Cain was shipped to High A Lancaster in the California League....
I wish the Pirates had been able to keep Grossman,but quality comes at a cost and the Pirates were able to acquire a quality lefthander with surrendering any of their top four prospects or the breakout star of the year Alen Hanson,so I will not argue a large amount on the deal.
You have to give to get,so on the overall spectrum-I have no issues....
The Pirates attempted to give the lineup a jolt with the callup of their top hitting prospect Starling Marte from Indianapolis.
Marte smashed the first pitch that he saw in last nights win over Houston into the bleachers for a memorable big league debut.
Marte should slide into the leadoff spot in the batting order and be the full time left fielder,which considering his plus defensive abilities will come in very handy in the wide canyon that is left/left center in Pittsburgh,
We had Marte rated as the third best player in the system,so the system has taken quite a shot over the last few days with number three being called up and five,nine and fourteen being moved to Houston.
The Pirates are rumored to be not finished yet in swapping players before the deadline.
Adding Wandy Rodriguez might mean that Kevin Correia could be on the move and I still think that they would look for another bat.
Could Joel Hanrahan bring that bat? Do the Pirates feel comfortable using Brad Lincoln or Jason Grilli to close games?
If they do,Hanrahan might be the ticket to land that club to the lineup.
We will see soon,but the two above moves seem to be plus moves to me.
More tonight from the work office (Signal permitting) as I have plenty to say and time to say it!
Photo Credit:Unknown
No comments:
Post a Comment