Pirates Journal

John Sickels put out his top twenty Pirates prospects list and like the Kevin Goldstein list, Sickels gives some nice ratings to some Pirates farmhands.  Topping the list is RHP Gerrit Cole again.  This kid is a stud and it’ll be fun to see him move up the chain.  Number two is Jameson Taillon.  Given an A-, Taillon is working on his other pitches as he moves up the ladder but he should also be fun to watch.

Rounding out the top five are Josh Bell (OF), Starling Marte (OF) and Robbie Grossman (OF).  Grossman showed a lot next year but Bell is the best overall talent of the position players.

Kevin Goldstein recently penned his list of the top eleven Pirates prospects and this team definitely has some talent in the pipeline.  He does a star rating and the Pirates have four five star prospects.  Topping the list is right handed pitcher Gerrit Cole.  The team’s first round pick this past year, Cole signed to late to play but he’s described as a typical college power pitcher.  Goldstein projects him to start in the Florida State League but with his college experience, he’ll most likely be on the fast track.

Number two is another picher, Jameson Taillon.  The team’s first round pick in 2010 he had a solid debut at the Single A level.  Next stop is High A but this kid should move up the chain pretty quickly.  Luis Heredia is number three but he’s several years away but he had a nice showing as a 17 year old in the Rookie League.  Josh Bell (OF) and Starling Marte (OF) round out the top with Marte being the closest to making his major league debut.

The Pirates pulled the trigger on a trade as they traded setup man Jose Veras to the Milwaukee Brewers for third baseman Casey McGehee.  After the Brewers picked up Aramis Ramirez, McGehee was expendable and he could be an interesting haul.  He had a career year in 2010 but in 2010 he hit just .223.

Where McGehee plays will depend on how Pedro Alvarez is doing.  He’s been named the starter at third and if he shines, then McGehee will probably play first base or at one of the corner outfield spots.  At one time, he also played second base for the Brewers so he could fill in there as well.

The Pirates got some solid production from Jason Grilli last year after he joined the team mid-stream in 2011 and they resigned him to a one year deal.  He’ll be paid $1.1 million and by the end of the year, he was being used as the team’s set up man.  He struck out 37 in 32 2/3 innings with a 2.48 ERA.

I like the move because it’s low cost and you can’t go wrong with these little one year deals.  There’s a pretty good chance that Grilli reprises his role as the set-up in 2012 with Jose Veras being gone.  Evan Meek is another option but he had a tough time last year.