Winter League Update

One thing that I must bring up is the pitching of Donald Veal. The guy has been an absolute freak of nature so far in the Arizona Fall League and is putting up numbers like he never has before. He leads the AFL in ERA with a 0.54 mark and is 3-0 in 5 starts that cover 16.2 innings. And remember that control issue? Well, he has 17 strikeouts and 2 walks. Also, Baseball America recently did a feature on Veal about how different he looks that is definitely worth a read.

Ronny Cedeno has gotten off to a rough start down in Venezuela as he has a line of .189/.189/.324 through nine games. It is looking more and more like Cedeno is going to be the starting SS heading into 2010 so it would be nice to see him start hitting above the Mendoza Line.

Among all the hitters this winter, the one playing the best so far has been Robinzon Diaz. He leads all Pirate hitters this winter in BA (.400), SLG (.580), and OPS (1.003). He has struck out just twice so far in 50 AB. However, he also has only registered 2 walks so far.

Jose Tabata should also be mentioned as he continues to impress in the Arizona Fall League with a .366/.418/.500 line through 19 games. He also leads his team in RBI (16) despite hitting 1st or 2nd in the lineup most days.

Neil Walker continues to produce good numbers in Mexico as he has a line of .268/.368/.512. It would be nice to see Neil raise that average a bit, but you really can't complain about the OBP and the SLG. He has four homers and eight doubles in 82 AB and his walk rate is better than it has ever been at any point in his career.

There is one more guy who I have rarely ever talked about on this site that I would like to point out. That would be 20-year old Rogelios Noris. After leading the GCL Pirates this season with six HR, he has looked very good thus far in the Mexican Winter League against older competition. Through 12 games, he is hitting .353/.421/.500. He should be someone on your radar screen next year whether he starts at State College or West Virginia.

As far as other pitchers go, the majority of the guys throwing this winter worth talking about haven't really racked up many innings so far. Also, Danny Moskos has looked awful through 10.1 innings and looked even worse in his appearance in the AFL's Rising Stars Game where he gave up four runs while getting two outs.

For a list of all the Pirates playing this winter and their stats, check this out.