Pirates Leaning Toward Pedro Alvarez or Tim Beckham

by Charlie on May 21, 2008 3:11 PM EDT

The Pirates are leaning toward taking either Vanderbilt infielder Pedro Alvarez or Georgia high school shortstop Tim Beckham with the second overall pick in the draft, the Post-Gazette reports. Tampa Bay, who picks first, may take Florida State catcher Buster Posey, so the Pirates might have their pick between Alvarez and Beckham.

I don't know everything there is to know about these guys, but I'd take the player with the most upside, and from what I've read, that's Beckham. Alvarez missed a bunch of time with a broken hand this year, and I might be wary that the hand injury could affect his power.

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Alvarez v. Beckham

It may invlove a bit more risk,but a shortstop with Beckham’s apparent skill set(can you say Troy Tulowitzski?)is harder to find than a third baseman with power. Of course,we could use both. Do you think they’d let us pick twice…...?

by rissaldar on May 21, 2008 5:08 PM EDT 0 recs

Alvarez

I figure the Pirates would take Alvarez. He’s closer to the majors and bats left.

by bolton on May 21, 2008 5:28 PM EDT 0 recs

Someone who may be a starter in 2010 is a big draw for me.

Maybe it’s stupid, and everyone is doing a good job of convincing me Beckham is the guy, but I just want to see a top pick pan out soon so badly.

by DITO on May 21, 2008 6:32 PM EDT up 0 recs

how bout the new regime

just flip a coin? They can’t lose with this one.

by Bad Andy on May 21, 2008 6:19 PM EDT 0 recs

Yeah

it’s a good problem to have. But the Bucs have had it before and lost (though old regime).

by DITO on May 21, 2008 6:33 PM EDT up 0 recs

i think

given the new regime, this will be a hard one to screw up. between alvarez, beckham, beckham, smoak, and mosler (maybe even skipworth?) there’s too much higher-end talent to not make a wise choice. since we don’t really have any slots anywhere in the system that are “set”

by geeves on May 21, 2008 8:25 PM EDT 0 recs

How about we take the HS guy with a huge upside

in Tim Beckham, be patient and hope he develops over the next 3-4 years like Andrew McCutchen, and possibly Neil Walker, and cross our fingers that the combination of young talent above, other draftees, and whatever new people we bring in through the expected trades later this year and beyond make the Pirates a perennial contender from 2011/12?

Overly optimistic, probably yes, but I just don`t like the idea of of taking the “safe” college hitter in Pedro Alvarez, talented to be sure but coming off an injury-interruped season, and someone who many seem to say may not be a third baseman in the majors. Why do this when we could have a guy like Tim Beckham who COULD be the first true top-notch prospect to enter the Pirates` organization since McCutchen was drafted?

If Beckham is as talented as the scouting reports say that I`ve been reading in recent days, then let`s have him do for us in the coming years what B.J. Upton should be doing now, instead of AAA retread Bryan Bullington reminding us every five days of one of the many piss-poor decisions of Dave Littlefield and Co.

I`m not saying that drafting Alvarez would be the equivalent of our wasted pick on Bullington, not by a longshot, I just think that there are no quick fixes for what has been ailing our team for 15 years, and we need to show patience in our drafting and development of players so we can build a farm system that is deep and helps the team have the potential for success year in and year out in the next decade.

by patthatt on May 21, 2008 11:33 PM EDT 0 recs

Alvarez v. Beckham

Alvarez can flat out rake, from what I understand (I’ve had him described to me as “Evan Longoria with more power,” which is likely a tad optimistic, but whatever). Picking a college hitter over a high school one isn’t necessarily a “safe” pick with the bad connotation you’re implying when the college hitter can hit.

http://whereisvanslyke.blogspot.com
http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/mlb

by whygavs on May 22, 2008 10:06 AM EDT up 0 recs

Alvarez's injury

A broken hamate bone is no big deal at all. Zero long-term consequences (unless you’re Dave Hollins, of course).

I like Smoak a little more than Alvarez, but Alvarez is a VERY good hitter.

by Vlad on May 22, 2008 11:23 AM EDT up 0 recs

I said that Alvarez is a talented hitter,

but I see a lot more upside from what I`ve been reading about Tim Beckham. My point with the safe comment is more related to a couple of other comments from different posters above who seem to want a first round selection who is closer to MLB-ready.

by patthatt on May 22, 2008 10:37 AM EDT 0 recs