Friday Notes: Bucs offer Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez extensions

The PG reported that the Pirates have offered both SS Jack Wilson and 2B Freddy Sanchez contract extensions. The offers surely will put the trade talk about these two on hold for a short while. However, if the deals are not signed by the deadline, I still se the Pirates moving at least one, if not both, of these guys. 

Dejan Kovacevic goes on to say that this offer is unique in that either both will accept it or both will deny it. He says that Sanchez and Wilson are best of friends and will stick with each other both on the field and off it. So it's essentially a package deal, or nothing.

I think this is interesting and as much as you all probably think I am all for just blowing this team to pieces and starting from scratch (I can sound like that sometimes), I do feel that if trade offers for either of these two guys are not good and do not make sense, then NH should not trade them. I would think different, however the total failure that a middle infield made up of Brian Bixler/Luis Cruz/Ramon Vazquez might make the entire Pirates' fan base, including myself go insane. 

Both players are strong defensively and are above average overall at their positions. Once again, I think if a good trade is offered, NH has to take it. But if no one wants to "pony up" then by all means keep these guys around a bit longer.

Other news and notes:

- The Pirates are finally playing baseball today! Tonight at 7:05, Paul Maholm takes the mound against reigning NL Cy Young winner, Tim Lincecum.

- Check out #2 prospect, Brad Lincoln.

- Miguel Sano wants to sign with the Pirates, but his agent won't let him...yet.

- Ian Snell didn't give up an ER over 6.1 innings to lower his AAA ERA to 0.34.

- Lastings Milledge and Neil Walker both rejoined Indianapolis. Milledge was 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI, and 2 walks. Walker went 1 for 4 with an RBI.

- The "Big 3" in Altoona all had great games. Gorkys Hernandez was 3 for 5 with a double and an RBI. Jose Tabata ran his hit streak to 10 with a 2 for 5 night. Pedro Alvarez went 3 for 5 with a homer, his 5th for the Curve and 2nd in as many games.

- Victor Black gave up 2 ER in 1 IP for State College.

- 2009 21st rounder Philip Irwin gave up 1 ER in 4 IP today to go along with 6 K's. So far he has given up just 1 ER in 11 innings for the Spikes. He's struck out 13 and walked only 2, also.

- 2009 2nd round pick, Brooks Pounders pitched 4 scoreless innings today for the GCL Pirates.

- The Bryce Harper Standings have been updated. With Washington's loss today, the Pirates fell to 12 games back in the standings.

Pittsburgh Pirates #2 Prospect: Brad Lincoln

Well, Brad Lincoln holds the great distinction of being the first (and only) prospect who made this top 10 list who was not acquired by GM Neal Huntington.

Lincoln was the team's 2006 1st round draft pick and was chosen 4th overall that year out of the University of Houston. A stellar Cape Cod League stint put him on everyone's radar and a great junior season propelled him to the top of prospect charts where he was 12-2 with a 1.69 ERA.

Lincoln signed fairly quickly and started 6 games that season between the GCL Pirates and the Low-A Hickory Crawdads before being shut down with a strained oblique. 

However, during spring training of the next season, Lincoln was faced with an injury a bit more severe. He underwent Tommy John surgery in late March of 2007, thus shutting him down for the entire season, and almost half of 2008.

2008 then became a season that Lincoln had to simply get through. He was able to accomplish that by starting 11 games for Low-A Hickory before being promoted to start 8 games at High-A Lynchburg. Between the 2 levels, Lincoln went 6-10 with a 4.69 ERA. His K:BB ratio was 75:17 in 103.2 innings. That was a huge positive for Lincoln as showed he had not lost any of his command after the surgery. 2008 really could not have gone better for Lincoln as reports showed he looked sharp with a 93 mph fastball and he still possessed his signature curve ball.

Lincoln started out 2009 at AA-Altoona and immediately started to pitch like the pitcher the Pirates had drafted. After 13 games with the Curve, Lincoln had a 2.28 ERA, a 65:18 strikeout to walk ratio, and held opposing hitters to a .228 BA. Toward the end of his stay with the Curve, Lincoln was so overpowering, the Pirates were forced to promote him to AAA. After 3 starts there, he is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA.

What's amazing is how fast Lincoln has actually moved through the system, considering how much time he has missed. In fact, to date, Lincoln has only pitched in 217.2 innings, which amounts to about a year and a half of time in the minors. 2009 will be his first full season playing pro ball, so the fact that he is at where he is at is pretty impressive.

Lincoln entered the season as the Pirates' #4 prospect, but has since jumped over Tabata and has clearly separated himself from any other pitcher in the system. I would even say that Lincoln could be ML ready by the end of the season, however I do not expect the Pirates to start his clock until 2010.

Lincoln has the stuff to be a future ace. His fastball hovers around 93 mph and his curveball is pretty filthy. Mark my words, Lincoln WILL be in the Pirates rotation for 2010 and I really do think he will be quite successful off the bat.

Expected time to be in the 'Burgh: 2010

Current Top 10:

1) July 18th

2) Brad Lincoln

3) Jose Tabata

4) Tony Sanchez

5) Robbie Grossman

6) Gorkys Hernandez

7) Bryan Morris

8) Jeff Locke

9) Chase D'Arnaud

10) Daniel McCutchen

The crazy case of Miguel Sano

If you are interested in any of this. Make sure you follow @jorgearangure on Twitter. He is constantly giving good stuff. Here are just his updates from today:

"Bottom line is Sano wants to sign with Pirates, and agent wants him to sign with whoever offers most $, whether it's Pirates or not"

"We will see whether the agent is working for the client or the other way around"

"Biggest problem for Sano is that teams that offer most money (Red Sox, Yankees) don't like dealing with his agent."

"Can't overstate how overwhelming this is for the Sanos, a poor family with no experience in biz of baseball. A lot of pressure on them"

"@aso513 For me, the gap in $ between Pirates and everyone else has to be very wide for him to sign elsewhere"

"@GarCasey No. If they wanted Sano, they would have gone after him in the first place. They don't like dealing with his agent."

Ok, so it looks to me we have a pretty serious case here. Sano wants to sign with the Pirates. So much so that "the gap in $...has to be very wide for him to sign elsewhere." However, his agent wants him to sign with the highest bidder. Problem is, the possible highest bidders "don't like dealing with his agent."

I don't know about you, but this seems like Arangure is fairly confident the Pirates will ultimately sign Sano because he really wants to sign with the Bucs and they "heavy hitters," like the Yanks, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc. just won't even get involved in talks because of his agent.

If they agent does his job and does what Sano wants, he's a Pirate. Hopefully this doesn't get into a situation where Sano's agent is being so unethical that he is going to force Sano to do what he doesn't want to, and that's wait for someone to offer much more, which apparently hasn't happened yet.

I do feel bad for the Sanos. This is a life altering situation they are in and I hope the ultimately make the right decision, whether that is signing with the Pirates or not. Although, I really hope he signs with the Pirates.

UPDATE:

I asked Jorge Arangure if he still believes the Pirates will sign Sano and how long he thinks it will take. He answered saying that he believes he will sign with the Bucs, just as he has said many times before. 

Arangure's confidence in Sano signing with the Bucs continues to be very different from the reports Dejan Kovacevic has put out. Kovacevic has been wary to instill too much confidence in the situation for Pirates fans and even went as far as to report that Arangure's "90% chance" of the Pirates signing Sano report was false.

Thursday Notes: One...More...Day

Sorry about getting this post up a little late. I had a job interview this morning. So real life had to take a front seat to blog posts...

- It seems like forever since the Pirates last played. They are off, once again, today. Even though they were playing terrible before the break, I still miss it. Good thing we got a game tomorrow.

- Didn't get this up earlier, but Tyler Yates had successful Tommy John surgery on Tuesday. To my knowledge, no one even knew he was going to have it outside of him, the doctors, and the club, so it came as bit of a surprise. What this means is you will never see "Flood Gates" Yates on the hill again in a Pirates uniform. Hopefully Yates makes a quick and full recovery. This is his 2nd TJ surgery and I wish him the best of luck.

- The Top Prospect list continued today with #3 Jose Tabata.

- Brian from Raise the Jolly Roger reviews his opening day expectations.

- Lastings Milledge homered twice yesterday for High-A Lynchburg. Makes one wonder how much longer it will be before we see him in black and gold.

- The Yankees are looking at Ian Snell. Interesting.

- In our "Bryce Harper Standings Watch" today, Washington, San Diego, Cleveland, and Oakland are all in action. It would be nice for all of them to win so we can gain some ground.

- To go along with the Bryce Harper Standings, check out this week's poll question.

Pittsburgh Pirates #3 Prospect: Jose Tabata

We have already seen some benefits from the Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte deal last summer that send those two to the Yankees for both Ross Ohlendorf and Jeff Karstens. Ohlendorf has been pretty impressive and Karstens is a solid spot starter/long relief option. But the crowned jewel of that trade could very well be young OF Jose Tabata.

New York parted ways with Tabata due to off the field problems and were simply tired of him. Tabata, at the time of the trade was 19 years old and already in AA. He was struggling in AA, in part to lingering affects from a wrist injury, but the fact he was even there is pretty astounding. His line while playing for Trenton was .248/.320/.310. 

Maybe all Tabata needed was a change in scenery because he lit it up for Altoona in the final month of the year posting numbers of .348/.402/.562. He also hit as many homers (3) in 89 AB than he did in 294 AB for Trenton. All this combined him to put up a pretty impressive 1st year of AA ball at the age of 19.

At age 20 now, Tabata is once again in Altoona. He started off the season pretty slow and then missed some time with an injury. But he has come back from that and is currently on a 9-game hitting streak, helping him raise his line to .271/.354/.353. He's hit 2 HR in 170 AB.

Tabata has been compared to Manny Ramirez, and due to the power numbers he is putting up, there is still a lot to be seen before he will ever become the player Manny is. But once again, he's still just 20 years old and has PLENTY of time to develop some pop. Tabata's minor league SLG currently stands at .395, which is decent, but no where near Manny-good. He will have to start hitting more doubles if the home run totals do not come up for him to become the type of player that his ceiling projects him as.

Tabata's hamstring injury may also be affecting his base running abilities as well. Last season, he was successful on 18 of 20 steal opportunities. This year he is just 6 for 11. Hopefully, this will simply be a one-year thing while he still gets over the injury, but it will be another thing, along with the power development to watch out for.

I don't see Tabata as a Manny-type player, but I do see him blossoming into an above average outfielder who will be plenty capable of occupying a corner spot at PNC Park alongside Andrew McCutchen. He has an above average arm and I can still see him developing into a 20 HR guy. It's always possible that he could blossom into more than that, but that's what I would guess he will become. He also has good strike zone judgement. He doesn't strike out all that often and he walks a decent amount, which are very good signs at age 20.

Estimated time to be in the 'Burgh: Mid-2010

Current Top 10:

1) July 18th

2) July 17th

3) Jose Tabata

4) Tony Sanchez

5) Robbie Grossman

6) Gorkys Hernandez

7) Bryan Morris

8) Jeff Locke

9) Chase D'Arnaud

10) Daniel McCutchen

Wednesday Notes: Pirates get shutout...again

It's not the normal shutout that usually happens to us. We've had a lot of those this year. No, this time, the Pirates got shutout of the All-Star Game. There were even 2 representatives this time around, but neither got in. Knowing that made me so happy I had other stuff going on tonight and didn't waste my time watching a 3 hour exhibition game.

For one, there shouldn't be 13 pitchers on the team. That's ridiculous. Pick 9 at the most. So in that case, Duke probably wouldn't be awarded the privilege of canceling his vacation and not spending the break with his family. 

My one gripe with the game (well, other than fans voting) is that if a team is going to select someone, they should play them. These are all professional baseball players who get to spend no time whatsoever with their families during the season due to constant travel and moving around, that if their 4 day break is going to be interrupted, it better be for a good reason. I'm sure that Duke and Sanchez will say the right thing like, "it's just a privilege to be there," but I'm sure each one would rather spend those 4 days with their families if they knew that they weren't even going to play.

Also, don't mention anything to me about Tim Wakefield making his first ever All-Star Game and not being put in, either. Absolutely ridiculous.

Other news and notes:

- The American League beat the National League 4-3. That means that in the crazy circumstance that the Pittsburgh Pirates climb out of 6th place to get to the World Series, they would not have home field advantage...Yet another stupid thing the All-Star Game determines.

- The day after the ML All-Star Game...the saddest day of the year. It's the only day in the 365 day calendar where essentially nothing in the sports world takes place. No MLB, no NFL, no NBA, no NHL, no College Hoops or Football. Nothing. There may be MLS or WNBA games. However, there is now way of finding that out.

- The Philadelphia Phillies have signed Pedro Martinez to a 1-year deal (technically 1/2 year) worth $1 million plus another $1.5 million in incentives. Pedro wanted a $5 million deal to start the season. I wonder what this does to Philly's chances of trying to acquire Roy Halladay.

- Continuing the top 10 prospects: Today is #4 Tony Sanchez. Also, if you haven't noticed, all 6 guys I've listed so far have been acquired post-Dave Littlefield.

- Speaking of prospects, Tim at BuccoFans.com has his Top 30 listed.

- Pat at WHYGAVS compares 2008 Zach Duke to 2009 Zach Duke.

- Justin Wilson gave up 2 ER in 5 IP for the Hillcats today. 

- Lastings Milledge went 1 for 5 with a double.

- Quinton Miller gave up 3 R (2 ER) in 5.1 innings for West Virginia.

- Robbie Grossman's 28-game on base streak ended.

- Tony Sanchez ended his 9-game streak with an 0 for 3 night.

- Ronald Uviedo, who is rehabbing with the GCL Pirates, pitched 3 scoreless frames.

Pittsburgh Pirates #4 Prospect: Tony Sanchez

When the Pirates drafted Tony Sanchez with the #4 overall pick in this year's draft, there were a lot of people who denounced the pick. After all, Sanchez was expected to be a late first round pick at best. He was the #1 ranked catcher in the draft, but the #32 overall player in it. 

The Pirates chose Sanchez because it allowed them to go after some guys they took later in the draft who will require large bonuses due to solid college commitments. Sanchez signed for right about "slot" money at $2.5 million. 

Sanchez just finished up his junior season at Boston College where he put up a solid line of .346/.443/.614. He hit 14 HR and played in arguably the best conference in college baseball. He's considered to be a very good defensive catcher and is said to already be major league ready in that aspect of his game.

Unlike the Pirates' situation last season with their 1st round pick, Sanchez signed quickly. This allowed him to get about a half season of pro ball under him, before heading into this offseason. So far, Sanchez is putting up college-like numbers with the wooden bat. 

He was originally assigned to Low-A State College, where he played 4 games and went 4 for 13 (.308) with a double and a walk. He was then sent to A-West Virginia, where he has been hitting the cover off the ball. In 10 games so far with the Power, Sanchez' line looks like this: .405/.522/.622. He reached base safely in his first 9 games with the club and hit his first professional homer. He has also driven in 12 runs and has hit 5 doubles.

A lot of people compared Sanchez to Yadier Molina during the draft. If all things go well and Tony Sanchez develops into Yadier Molina, then by all means this was an excellent pick. Either way, it is basically a guarentee Sanchez will not be a total flop due to his defense. He will be a major leaguer, and he will get there rather quickly. If he can hit .270 or so and add 10-15 HR, he could become one of the premier catchers in the majors.

Expected time to be in the 'Burgh: 2011

Current Top 10:

1) July 18th

2) July 17th

3) July 16th

4) Tony Sanchez

5) Robbie Grossman

6) Gorkys Hernandez

7) Bryan Morris

8) Jeff Locke

9) Chase D'Arnaud

10) Daniel McCutchen