As one might expect from a team that hasn’t finished above .500 in nearly two decades, the Pirates are being quite diligent in attempting to look through all the sources of talent they can possibly find. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that they’ve invited 22 players to camp, many of whom provoke some intrigue. Here’s a look at thirteen notable players vying for spots.
1B/3B Garrett Atkins—Atkins’ 2006-07 peak is now pretty far back in the rearview mirror, as he struggled through 44 games with Baltimore last year, hitting an unacceptable .214/.276/.286 with just one home run. He hasn’t showed power in two years, and his strikeout rate jumped way up last season. At this point, he’s basically confined to first base defensively as well. All that said, this is a 31-year-old who’s a career .285/.350/.449 hitter, so it can’t hurt to take a look and see if some of the old skill is back.
LHP Joe Beimel—A nice pickup on the free agent wire, Beimel returns to the team for whom he began his career in 2001. Like Atkins, his best days (2007-08) are probably behind him, but unlike Atkins, the 33-year-old hasn’t fallen completely flat after exiting his peak years. He’s well worth the minimum salary, and as Pittsburgh saw last year with Javier Lopez, sometimes guys like this can bring back something at the trade deadline.
LHP Brian Burres—Burres is a stringy lefty with fringy stuff; he certainly doesn’t look the part of a big league pitcher. But still, he posted a 4.99 ERA and 4.93 FIP last year with Pittsburgh, so the 29-year-old isn’t an abomination. Sure, he’s the sort of player teams are always looking to upgrade from, but Burres has actually been above replacement level in each of his five big league seasons (Yeah, it surprised me, too). That’s certainly worth a camp invite from a team like the Pirates–if other pitchers around him implode, you know Burres can go out and give you those 5 IP, 3 ER lines.
3B Josh Fields—Fields missed most of 2010, but hit well when he did play: .436/.439/.641 in an 11-game Double-A rehab assignment and .306/.320/.490 in 15 games with the Royals. At 28, the career .234/.303/.421 hitter is in his prime. He brings some pop, but has to keep his strikeouts (33% career) in check to be viable, since he’s not a good gloveman and doesn’t have exceptional plate discipline. He’s another player who’s clearly got flaws, but has enough going for him that he could help a big league team in the right situation.
RHP Sean Gallagher—A bit of an enigma at this point, Gallagher has the stuff to pitch in the front of a big league rotation, but the control for Double-A. That’s decidedly weird, because it wasn’t too long ago that he was considered a high-polish, no-stuff guy. He made it to the big leagues so early (2007) that it seems like he’s been around forever, but Gallagher’s just 25. With San Diego and Pittsburgh last year, he walked 41 and struck out 43 in 57 2/3 innings. The Pirates would probably be best served by letting Gallagher get in some work as a starter in Triple-A, as he seems to have better command in that role. If he’s back on track mechanically, Gallagher’s four-pitch mix could prove very effective in the bigs.
1B/3B Andy Marte—Another fallen prospect trying to resurrect his career, Marte is a career .218/.277/.358 hitter. He’s hit .232/.293/.400 and .229/.298/.382 the past two seasons, so the 27-year-old has improved slightly, but with poor defense at third base and average glovework at first, his bat hasn’t been anywhere near good enough to play in the majors. Marte actually makes decent contact, but he rarely walks, and while some of his many fly balls get over the fence, most wind up falling harmlessly into outfielders’ gloves.
RHP Fernando Nieve—Nieve actually struck out 38 batters in 42 innings with the Mets last year, but earned a 6.08 FIP anyway, thanks to ten homers and 22 walks. While he’s got a nice fastball, Nieve’s never come up with a good second pitch, and he works up in the zone too much. He’s a nice live arm, and he’s not likely to give up 2 HR/9 again, so he’s certainly worth a look at, but let’s not go crazy because he got some whiffs and throws pretty hard.
LHP Rudy Owens—Few prospects are as divisive as Rudy Owens, a lefty with an excellent changeup and pristine command. Reports of his velocity vary widely–some say he hits 93 with his fastball, while others claim he’s in the 87-90 range. In any case, Owens was untouchable in Double-A last year, with a 132/23 K/BB in 150 innings. Just 23, he’ll likely open 2011 in Triple-A and should be in Pittsburgh quickly if he maintains his command. It’ll be interesting to see how hard he actually throws.
C Tony Sanchez—The other notable prospect NRI in camp, Sanchez was known as an overdraft after being selected fourth overall in 2009, but has done nothing but impress offensively. Strangely, he’s not considered as good of a defender as he was when he was drafted, but Sanchez sure hits plenty, with a .314/.416/.454 line in a tough High-A environment last year. 23 in May, he’s not that young, and one would expect such a polished prospect to move slightly faster, although an injury ended Sanchez’s 2010 early and quashed his chances of a promotion. He’s on track to be a very solid starting MLB catcher, probably sometime in 2012.
LHP Justin Thomas—Thomas radically tightened up his control last year and cruised in Triple-A, with a 51/10 K/BB in 54 1/3 innings. He still threw strikes in the majors, but only got five strikeouts and allowed three homers in 13 frames. That’s obviously inconclusive, but Thomas’ 88-92 mph fastball isn’t particularly special and wasn’t effective in setting up his plus slider and splitter. His AAA performance was good enough that he probably deserves a longer look, although Pittsburgh can’t be blamed if they go with the more proven Beimel. They may have room for Thomas as a second lefty, though.
RHP Cesar Valdez—Valdez is an interesting pitcher. He relies heavily on a changeup that is all of 2-3 mph slower than his fastball, but, weirdly, it’s actually a good pitch. Unfortunately, the fastball and his little-used slider aren’t good pitches, and he doesn’t have pristine command. Still, he keeps the ball down and can get a strikeout with the change here and there, so Valdez is a useful fifth starter or swing arm. 26 in May, he’ll be looking to rebound from some bad luck in 2010: he posted a .340 BABIP in AAA and .380 in a 20-inning stint with Arizona.
RHP Jose Veras—Veras still doesn’t throw enough strikes with his fastball/curveball combination, but it worked well enough last year, as he struck out 10.13 batters per nine innings with Florida. With the exception of a poor 2009, Veras has been pretty consistent for much of his career: he’s a nice fourth righthander for a bullpen, throwing in the mid-90’s with a plus curve and too many walks. The Pirates are lucky to have him on a minor league deal; it should pay dividends.
UTIL Corey Wimberly—An old-school leadoff type with plus speed and absolutely no power, Wimberly’s been drifting around the high minors for a while now, but he was oddly left in Double-A for three straight years before spending his first year in Triple-A in 2010. He hit .284/.372/.353 in the A’s organization, with a 64/58 K/BB and 56 steals. He was also hit by 18 pitches. He played extensively at second, short, third, left, and center field last season, so he’s versatile, although Wimberly’s defense is closer to average than plus at most of his positions. He’s a worthwhile bench guy in the NL, especially since he switch-hits. Plus, who doesn’t love this?