Say What You Want, but Pedro Alvarez is a Stud

With all the prospects the Pittsburgh Pirates have attempted to accumulate over the years, none have had the pedigree of Pedro Alvarez. With the attempt made to focus on the draft the last three seasons, no pick has generated the buzz around Pittsburgh that Alvarez did. Alvarez tore through minor league pitching and in a little over a year after making his professional debut, got the call to the big leagues.


While many (me included), felt it was way to early to summon Alvarez to PNC Park, he got the call anyways. Despite Pirates General Manager Neil Huntington proclaiming just hours earlier that "Alvarez isn't ready," the Pirates front office caved in to fan backlash and called up Alvarez anyways.

What did they get in return? They got a kid that looked lost and over matched at the big league level. Pedro Cerrano had a better chance of hitting a breaking ball without the help of his trusted fried Jobu then Alvarez had a chance of making contact in any particular at bat. Pirates fans started to boo the young Alvarez and basically said "Here we go again."

Alvarez, or better know as "The Savior," got of to a whopping 9 for 57 start with 29 strikeouts. That's hitting at a .158 clip if your scoring at home. That includes riding a five-game hit streak into July 3rd as well or the numbers would be much worse.

Then on July 3rd, Alvarez connected with his first major league homer, a solo shot off of the Phillies Kyle Kendrick. Since that time, we've seen a different Alvarez. We've seen more of the player we expected to see all along and it's a great sign for the Pirates.

Take out Alvarez's horrible start and we see a different player. Since connecting with his first dinger, Pedro is hitting at a .282 clip with 6 doubles, 10 homers and 25 RBI's. That's a 30 game span and I will take those results. Project that out for an entire season and you are looking at a guy that will put up some serious numbers.

Has he looked like a rookie at times? Absolutely, and he will continue to do so. Has he looked like a stud at times as well? Absolutely, and he will have more days like this then he will bad days.

It was a special moment Saturday night when Alvarez hit his 3-run walkoff in the 10th inning against the Colorado Rockies. Pirates fans should get used to that feeling, as Alvarez will continue to put up big numbers in Pittsburgh for a long time.

NL EAST Preview

I spent last week breaking down the American League. This week I will break down the National League, starting with the east.

Projected order of finish

1. New York Mets- The Mets won't collapse this season. G.M. Omar Minaya went out and fixed the teams real weakness, the bullpen. Adding K-Rod and Putz will make a difference. After Johan Santana, the rotation isn't great, but will give them innings. With the improved bullpen, I think the starters won't have to pitch deep into games and that will make a difference. I am also predicting that Minaya will acquire the best arm available at the deadline, likely to be Roy Halladay.

Offensively the Mets have a nice balance of power and speed and scoring runs shouldn't be a problem. Delgado will be the player he was post all-star break last season and Wright and Reyes, already young superstars will be even better. Carlos Beltran is healthy and will have an MVP like season. 2009 will be the season the Mets win the East.

2. Phiiladelphia Phillies- Picking the Mets to win the East is no knock on the Phillies. I like them to win the Wild Card. I mean the Mets can't possibly tank it 3 Septembers in a row. Can they? The Phils are like the Mets offensively, with power and speed, but better at both. The Phils are also alot better defensively than their rivals. The only move the world champs made in the off season was to replace Burrell with Ibanez, an upgrade.

The Phils will need some right hand power, but I just don't know where they would play. The staff is good and the bullpen is strong. The Phils will be playing in October again. One guy that could make a difference as a fifth starter is Carlos Carrasco. Keep an eye on him. He should be up this season.

3.Atlanta Braves- Here is a team I like alot to bounce back. I don't have them higher because I think the Phils and the Mets will be real good. The Bravos fixed their rotation adding 3 new starters. Lowe and Vazquez will give the Braves innings, which they didn't get a season ago. The question with the staff will be the bullpen and can a guy like Mike Gonzalez stay healthy for an entire season to anchor the back end of the pen.

Bobby Cox is a winner. Chipper Jones is a winner. Everyone else is young and unproven. Escobar, Kotchman, Francorer and McCann are good young players. The Braves are good in their farm also. Look for Jordan Schaffer to come up and win the center field job and Tommy Hanson to find his way into the Braves rotation by the all-star break.

4. Florida Marlins- I like this team because they always find ways to hang in the race. They have a superstar in Hanley Ramirez and an up incoming star in Cameron Maybin. They are an aggressive team and will run alot.

The best part of this team is a good young rotation. No household names, but some good arms. Nolasco, Johnson, Sanchez, Miller and Volstad all throw hard and can get people out. They will keep the fish in alot of games, but the division is too tough for the Marlins to win.

5. Washington Nationals- This is one of the few teams in the bigs that have no chance. They did add Adam Dunn which should give them some pop and Ryan Zimmerman will be healthy. The outfield could be surprisingly good with Dunn, Dukes and Milledge, but that's about it for Washington.

Some arms are on the way. Jordan Zimmerman should break camp with the big club and fit nicely into a bad rotation. Also Washington has the first pick in the draft and if they don't get scared away from the Scott Boras price tag, San Diego St right hander Steven Strausberg and his 102 MPH fastball is considered big league ready.