Can We Finally Quit Complaining About the Nate McCouth Trade

For those that haven't been paying much attention, your once favorite player Nate McLouth was sent down to the minors by the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.  Can we please now quit complaining about the trade?

After being dealt away from Pittsburgh, McLouth just wasn't very good for Atlanta, especially this year where he was hitting .168 on the season.  I've said it before and I will say it again.  Being the best player on a bad team makes you nothing more than that.  It doesn't mean you are great or a superstar.  It doesn't make you anything special by any means, yet most casual fans are still upset over the deal.  There are fifty Nate McLouth type players in the big leagues right now.

Granted, he was the best player on the 2008 Pirates team.  He was an all-star and won a gold glove, but his numbers were nothing more than above average.  He hit .276 that season with 26 homers and 94 RBI's.  Solid numbers, but nothing that would make him untouchable.

As for the trade, in which the Pirates received Charlie Morton, Gorkys Hernadez and Jeff Locke, I liked it then and feel it can still work out well for the Pirates.  If Neil Huntington could go back and do it over, I'm sure he wouldn't pass on the deal.  Not to mention that by dealing McLouth opened up a spot for Andrew McCutchen to be promoted.

Yes, Morton has been terrible this season, but he showed at the end of last season that he has the ability to pitch at this level.  Hopefully he can figure things out in the minors and become a solid middle of the rotation guy for the Pirates for a few years.

Hernandez still has a ton of upside.  While it likely won't be with the Pirates, he still has value and can be used a valuable trade chip.

Locke was the biggest return in the trade and it's still to be determined on how that will work out, but he's having an outstanding minor league season.  Between stops in Bradenton and Altoona, the lefty starter is 10-3 with a 3.22 era this season.

The McLouth trade still has a chance to work out pretty well for the Pirates.  Now if everyone can just let it go and realize that the Pirates really didn't give up much.

Minor League Report

Usually I write my weekly Pirates Minor League Report and seeing that as we are over a month into the season and I have yet to do one,  now seems like a good time.

Searching through the organization, I have been very excited and have really kept tabs on what a lot of these guys are doing.  It's not a joke, for the first time in decades, the Pirates have REAL prospects.  Not only do they have real prospects, they have real good prospects with high ceilings.

I will try and make this a weekly thing again but I have been very busy of late.  So let's take a look at the minor leagues.

Indianapolis Indians (AAA)-  Neil Walker has been tremendous with both the bat and the glove and had played all over the diamond.  Scouts are raving about his versatility and he is hitting. 325 with 6HR/25RBI.  Jose Tabata has been very good as well, hitting .315 2/11 and also has 17 steals.  Many feel we will see both guys very soon in Pittsburgh.  Pedro Alvarez had some problems with the batting average early, but is all the way up to .265 with 9HR and 36 RBI's in 36 games.  he's starting to hit for power off lefties as well, which is something the organization has wanted to see.

On the mound, Brad Lincoln is off to a 4-1 start with a 3.23 era.  He is throwing three pitches consistently for strikes and once he gets a little more confidence in his change up, then PNC Park should be the next step.  Donnie Veal and Daniel McCutchen have been decent down in AAA but keep your eye on Michael Crotta.  Crotta who wasn't listed among the Pirates Top 50 prospects a year ago has quickly climbed through the ranks.  After getting promoted from Altoona earlier in the season, Crotta has made three very good starts with the Indians, going 2-1 with a 2.86 era; including seven strong innings on Friday.  Crotta is a sinker baller with above average stuff that just gets people out.

Altoona Curve-  The prospects starting with Alttona and lower in the organization are really worth keeping an eye on.  Looking at the position players at Altoona, outfielder Alex Pressley leads the team with a .361 average.  Infielders Josh Harrison and Jim Negrych are both hitting over .300 as well.  Harrison is highly thought of and this seems to be a bounce back year for Negrych, who is back on the map.  There isn't really much power to pay attention for the Curve off the bat.

Two guys struggling to keep an eye on are shortstop of the future Chase D'Arnaud and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez.  Both got off to very slow starts at the plate, but both are still highly thought of.  Some have said D'Arnaud may be the best athlete in the minor leagues at the moment.  D'arnaud has picked things up lately though his numbers don't look like it.  He's hitting only .216 and hasn't shown any power. Scouts say not to expect numbers like that for long.  Hernandez on the other hand has only two extra base hits all season and is only hitting .205.  he may quickly be getting passed up by other young talented outfielders.

On the mound, right hander Jared Hughes and left hander Rudy Owens have been very good.  Hughes is 7-1 with a 3.16 era and Owens sits at 3-2 with a 3.86 era. Owens should have a few more wins but his body of work has been great; especially his 40 strikeouts to only eight walks.  Tim Alderson has a 2-1 record but an inflated 6.19 era.  I'm not really worried about the era because that came as the result of one bad outing.

Keep your eye on Daniel Moskos.  Moskos will be forever linked to Matt Wieters, but seems to have found a role as a left handed reliever.  Moskos is 1-0 with a 1.15era in 15.1 innings of work.

I will have a report on Bradenton and West Virgina posted tomorrow

First Two Rounds of Roster Cuts

The Pirates made their first two rounds of roster cuts the last two days, re-assigning a total of 13 players; including a few heralded prospects.

Optioned to AAA- Brad Lincoln (pictured), Donnie Veal, Argenis Diaz and Brandon Jones

Optioned to AA- Gorkys Hernandez, Ronald Uviedo and Ramon Aguero

Optioned to A- Bryan Morris,

Optioned to Minor League Camp- Tony Sanchez, Jeff Sues, Virgil Vasquez, Jeff Thomas and Brian Friday.

All of the youngsters have shown good things to management during camp and have been re-assigned to play everyday.  This was going to happen anyways so there is nothing to read into it.  Just the first of many roster cuts during the spring.

My Thoughts on the Neil Huntington Rebuild

Many have asked about my overall opinion of Neil Huntington's rebuild of the Pittsburgh Pirates or for my letter grade of it, so here we go. This may be long so bear with me. First of all we are going to look at this as a 2 year rebuild, not just at the current trades of this season.

First I want to look at the guys that we dealt, since opening day 2008. In no particular order, they were: John Grabow, Jose Bautista, Tom Gorzelanny, Freddy Sanchez, Ian Snell, Jack Wilson, Adam Laroche, Nyjer Morgan, Sean Burnett, Nate Mclouth, Jason Bay, Damaso Marte, Xavier Nady, Soloman Torres and Ronny Paulino. A total of 15 guys that had spent time on the big league club the last two seasons.

For the most part, everyone on this list was under 28 and contributed somewhat at the MLB level. I will argue that we really didn't part with much at all. Aside from Bay, who went into an ideal situation, with a stacked lineup, where he will see a ton of fastballs; what did we give up? Maybe you can argue about Mclouth, but I still view him as a very good player, not a superstar. I would rather have Andrew McCutchen in center field than Mclouth, and that is no knock on Nate.

The rest of the list are just simply average to above average major leaguers. Most were upcoming free agents who weren't going to be here anyway. We really didn't give up anything other than a collection of guys who simply were not getting the job done in Pittsburgh. Most of these guys really had no value here and that includes Sanchez and Wilson. A total rebuild was necessary and that's what Neil Huntington did different than his predecessors. You can't rebuild a franchise like the Pirates by dealing one or two guys. The farm system needed replenished. Aside from Bay, none of the guys will be impact players for their new clubs. We really didn't give up anything of value. I thought Huntington said it best when he said, "It's not like we broke up the '27 Yankees."

Now, I will agree that a rebuild like this, requires taking on some risk. It requires an excellent job from the scouting department all the way up to the GM. This time they can't miss with their decisions. Do we know what we got with all the acquisitions? Not at all, and don't expect all these guys to pan out. Out of the 30 guys brought in since opening day 2008, if 15 prove to be solid major leaguers, then it was a great job by Huntington.

Now realize one thing, when Huntington took over the team, the cupboard was bare. Entirely empty. At the minor league level, there was McCutchen and Neil Walker. That's sad. The Pirates farm system was drained completely, by years of mismanagement. In Huntington's two seasons, he has tried to completely give the farm system a make over. You don't think he's doing it? Take a look a the current list of top 10 prospects. Only Brad Lincoln remains on that list from the Littlefield era. Now after the job Huntington did, Walker isn't viewed as a top 15 prospect. I'd say the makeover of the system is working.

The 30 guys brought in, in no particular order: Robinson Diaz, Jeff Clement, Andy Laroche, Lastings Milledge, Gorkys Hernandez, Jose Tabata, Tim Alderson, Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen, Jeff Locke, Argenis Diaz, Ross Ohlendorf, Delwyn Young, Nathan Adcock, Bryan Morris, Kevin Hart, Mariano Salas, Josh Harrison, Brett Lorin, Aaron Pribanic, Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen, Kevin Roberts, Jose Ascaino, Hunter Strickland, Ronny Cedeno, Tyler Yates, Charlie Morton, Joel Hanrahan and Jason Jaramillo (I hope I didn't leave anyone out). that list doesn't include finally having a couple of good drafts and even signing a guy like Garrett Jones. On paper, it looks like quite the haul in exchange for a bunch of guys who simply weren't in the plans.

It's entirely about value and how you value a certain player. All I hear is complaining that all we got was minor leaguers. Well, that's the point. The idea is to be able to compete for years to come, not just take a shot at .500 one season. While I see value in what we got in return, it is a hard thing to figure out how these guys will do at the MLB level. Could I be over valuing some of these guys? Sure. However, the Pirates fan base definitely is guilty of over valuing guys like Wilson, Sanchez Gorzo,etc. Like it or not, none of those guys brought anything to the table for the future. Take your blinders off and realize that we really didn't part with much during the last two years. Again, the goal is winning, not taking a run at.500.

Now from here on, everything is based on projections and how these guys do at the minor league level. I expect Clement, Milledge,Hernandez, Tabata and Alderson to be solid major leaguers with upside. That's five more than currently on the roster. Mostly everyone else projects into the next tier of guys that should get to the big leagues, especially the 3 arms acquired from Seattle. If a good portion of these guys succeed, then it was a good rebuild.

Now to the question on why we are just getting good prospects in return and not great ones. To start, I thought we did well with Alderson and Clement this week. First part of the answer is that top tier, home grown guys just aren't available anymore, especially arms. Secondly, we didn't have any talent to trade worthy enough of teams shelling out top prospects. We traded average guys with no upside. Which is why I was shocked the Giants parted with Alderson for Sanchez and that we got a guy like Clement in a deal for Wilson and Snell. I thought the whole process of Huntington worked. In each case he sold low and bought high. No longer did we trade trash for trash. We traded trash for upside and I am fine with it. I do feel it was important to rid itself of the losing culture that spreads throughout that locker room like a cancer.

Therefore, we really only brought in 2 big time prospects, but not by lack of trying. So as far as a letter grade, I give the whole process a solid B. Everyone brought in has some upside and something to offer this team in the future. Just look at the organization from March 2008 until today. We had zero power and now we have a few guys with major league power in the system, We had zero arms and now we have a ton of guys with not only potential, but serious arms strength. We are stacked at a few positions, most notably outfield and corner infielders.

I also feel it's important to create competition throughout the organization. We haven't had that in a long, long time. We have more talent all through the organization now, than at any point in the past. The guys currently on the MLB roster now get a chance to prove they belong. They can secure a job for years, by simply producing. If not, there are now guys behind them to push them for jobs. Healthy competition is always good.

Part two of the rebuild is soon to begin. I still expect Duke and Capps to be shipped out, either in August or in the off-season. Now the goal is to start filling in at the MLB level. Spring training will be fun to watch, as many of these guys will be given opportunities to win jobs. Some of the outfield prospects can now possibly be dealt to sure up other positions. So, Neil Huntington's work is no where near done.

Part 3 of the rebuild is on Bob Nutting and I don't know if that's a good thing. He absolutely has to start spending some money on the product on the field. In the next two seasons, we should be able to add quality on the free agent market (I say quality because I know superstars are out of the question). By 2011, there is no reason, a team like the Brewers, in a smaller market should have double the payroll as the Pirates. Fans got the worst news possible today, when Nutting announced that ownership will not change anytime in the near future.

However, this is it. I bought into the plan and have liked the results so far. The payroll is down to the $25-$30 mil range. It's time to start adding and most importantly, it's time to start winning. No more rebuilds. This is the group that the organization likes, well let's start producing and winning. The goal here is 2011 and 2012.

Down on the Farm- Bucco Minor League Report

First an update on the Miguel Angel Sano situation. The MLB investigation on Sano's age should be completed in the upcoming days. Sources close to the situation leave the Bucs and Orioles as likely landing places for the 16 year old super prospect. It's been reported that Sano has said he wants to sign with the Pirates, but his agent wants him to take the highest offer. We all know how that goes with this organization. It's time for the Bucs to open up the checkbook.

Indianapolis (AAA) (41-49)- Brian Bixler made a position switch, as he is seeing time in center field. Steve Pearce is the team leader with 12 homers. Once second baseman of the future Shelby Ford continues to struggle, hitting .167 with no power. He doesn't appear to be in the plans any longer

On the mound, Daniel McCutchen has 8 wins, but is allowing nearly a hit an inning. There are already too many pitchers like that in the organization. Brad Lincoln has an ERA in the 4's, and is 1-1. Guys who could get a late call up include Tom Gorzelanny, Chris Bootcheck and Steven Jackson- all throwing well at Indy. Ian Snell has thrown 20 innings and is 1-1 with a 0.45era. Snell has fanned 27 to only 3 walks. It makes me sick, but maybe he has figured things out.

Altoona (AA)(33-58)- Curve fans have to be pretty excited. Most of the Bucs future resides in Altoona at the moment. In 16 games with the Curve, Pedro Alvarez is hitting .230 with 4HR and 9RBI, also has K'd 27 times. Jose Tabata is starting to get healthy and has seen the average climb to .275, still waiting on the power at the moment. Second baseman Jim Negrych is hanging in well, but has seen the power drop off. He is hitting .270, but only 3 long balls. After a slump, Brian Friday has picked it back up. The average is only at .250, but has gone yard 6 times.

I've heard good reports on Gorkys Hernandez. I've heard the ball just jumps off his bat and has good gap to gap power. He is currently hitting .285. Jason Delaney is leading the Curve in RBI's with 40

On the hill, I hear Daniel Moskos has been throwing well. Before you ask, my source on that is drug free, because I thought the same thing. Moskos leads the Curve in innings pitched and his era is down to the low 4's, with a 6-7 record. However, almost 1 walk per strike out and well over a hit per inning Kyle Bloom has only 2 wins, but a very nice 3.30 era. Jared Hughes has been up for seven starts and, while only having a 1-4 record, he has posted a 1.89 era. One reliever has shown some promise at the moment and that has been Sean Smith.

West Virginia (A) (38-49)- This years first round pick, Tony Sanchez, has made an immediate impact, starting off hitting .408 with a homer in 12 RBI's in 10 professional games. he isn't the only one to get off to a good start with the power. Outfielder Starling Marte, who the Bucs are very high on, got promoted to West Virginia 15 games ago. He has hit .369, with a homer, 8 RBI and 7 steals in that time.

Last season draft pick Robbie Grossman is hitting .279 with 4 homers and 33 RBI. calvin Anderson and Quincy Lattimore are also performing well for the Power. First Baseman Anderson leads the team with 9 Hr and 52 RBI and Lattimore has 7 bombs and 49 RBI's.

On the hill, Rudy Owens has been the story all season. His 10-1 record and 1.87 era have opened up eyes. As is his 88 strikeouts to 13 walks. It's a wonder why he hasn't been bumped up, but the Bucs say they have a schedule for him and they are sticking to it. Brian Leech and Casey Erickson have also been dominant, and Kyle McPherson is coming along nicely as well.

Lynchburg (A) (51-36) Lastings Milledge homered twice yesterday and should be on his way to Indy, then hopefully to PNC Park. I have heard he has been a model citizen down there, excited about the fresh start. A couple names to keep an eye on are shortstops Chase d"Arnaud and Jordy Mercer. I hear they have opened up some eyes. On the mound, prospects Jeff Locke and Bryan Morris have struggled, both have battled injuries as well.

State College (A) (13-12) Not much to report here, but keep your eye on Evan Chambers, who has got off to a slow start.

GCL (A) (5-12)- Brooks Pounders has debuted here and is throwing the ball nicely. One note is that the two pitchers for India the Bucs signed, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, have made their professional debuts. Patel has appeared in 2 games, pitching 2.2 innings without allowing a run and allowing only 1 hit. He has struck out 2 without a walk. Singh has pitched in 4 games and has picked up a win. He has allowed 4 runs in 3 innings of work, striking out 3 while walking 2.

Breaking Down the Nate Mclouth Trade

On Thursday, the Pirates traded the face of their franchise, Nate McClouth to the Atlanta Braves. In the four days since, I have heard it all. "Same old Pirates," basically is what the public thinks. The casual baseball fan has never heard of Charlie Morton, Gorkys Hernandez or Jeff Locke (the players the Bucs received). The casual baseball fan is very upset at the move, but I'm here to tell you why the move makes sense. Look, the facts are this. The Pirates are at least two years away, if that. No knock on Nate, but if McClouth is your best player then you have too many holes.

First, the timing of the move. While the announcement did come out of no where, it was a trade Neil Hunnington had to make and probably wouldn't have gotten a better offer had he held onto McClouth until the trading deadline. Looking back at trades teams have made over the last ten seasons, most teams tend to hold onto prospects as the deadline approaches. The public will say that we were only four games under .500 at the time. It's not Hunnington's job to get to .500, his job is to put together a team that can eventually compete year in and year out. If it takes two more years of stockpiling young talent, then i say keep sticking to the plan.

Secondly, being the best player on a bad team doesn't make you anything more than that. McClouth is a very good player, but not a full fledged superstar. On the season, he is hitting only .251 with 9 homers and 35 RBI. In addition, McClouth is only a .260 hitter for his career, hardly superstar like. He is a great guy and will be missed in Pittsburgh, but if you give me three young players who can possibly make an impact in Pittsburgh in the next couple seasons, then I have to pull the trigger on the deal. I give Hunnington credit on dealing while McClouth's value is high.

Next, is Andrew McCutchen had to get to Pittsburgh some way. When is the last time the Pirates made a deal, when they replaced the player they gave up with someone with equal or in this case, even more talent. McCutchen will go through some growing pains, but will be very fun to watch. The guy can hit, maybe not for the power of McClouth, but he can get on base and will utilize his speed. Defensively, while McClouth did win a gold glove, he just had sub par range. Between McCutchen and Nyjer Morgan, they will cover a ton of ground. The funny part is that the new outfield of Morgan, McCutchen and Brandon Moss has a combined one home run on the season. It's way to early to give up on Moss by the way, he has been playing very well after a slow start, so as it looks, this outfield should be productive.

It was a tough decision for Hunnington to part ways with McClouth, but good teams take those kind of risks and make them pay off. Fan reaction has been very negative towards Hunnington. I believe legendary basketball coach Bobby Knight once said "If you make decisions based on the fans reaction, pretty soon you will be sitting with the fans."

If Pirate fans have anyone to blame, it's Dave Littlefield. Look at the farm system when Hunnington took over. The cupboard was bare. The top prospects in the system were McCutchen and Neil Walker. That's it. With Hunnington's moves the last two seasons, not only through trades but actually drafting for talent instead of budget, Walker is now the 14th ranked prospect in the organization. The farm system was in dire need of repair and this is the way to do it. Now the list of prospects include: Brad Lincoln, Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez, Brian Friday, Hernandez, Locke, Morton, etc.. Now will all of them pan out? Not a chance, but if most do the light at the end of the tunnel may be in sight.

The positive thing is that this was truly a baseball trade. It was not finacially motivated. There was no Aramis Rameriz for Bobby Hill deal here. However with the excess cash saved, it would be nice to see the Bucs lock up Dominican shortstop Miguel Angel Sano.

Pirate fans probably are sick of hearing about a 3 year plan or a 5 year plan. So am I, but despite hearing that for the last 16 seasons, that hasn't happened. What the Pirates have had was 15 years of bad management, so I am willing to give Hunnington the benefit of the doubt for now. Tomorrow, if he has a strong draft, Hunnington would have done more for this franchise than anyone in the last 16 seasons. I say stick to the plan and watch it pay off. If that means dealing Sanchez, Adam Laroche and Wilson, so be it.

My only problem is the payroll. If they continue to draft quality youngsters, eventually the payroll will have to increase. Comparing market sizes, there is no reason the Brewers should have an 80 milion dollar payroll when the Pirates struggle to hover around 50 mil. Until the Nutting family decides to get in the 70-80mil range, the only way to build is through trades and the draft. No qualiy player in his right mind would want to come play here. That has to change.

Will this turn out to be a good trade? Time will tell, but I like what Hunnington has been able to do so far.

Potential Lineup Opening day 2011 (baring trades)
c Ryan Doumit
1b Pedro Alvarez
2b Shelby Ford
3b Andy Laroche
ss Brian Friday
LF Gorkys Hernadez
CF Andrew McCutchen
RF Jose Tabata
SP Brad Lincoln, Paul Maholm, Zach Duke, Charlie Morton