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News Roundup: Jesse Chavez Makes Team, Altoona Announces Roster

-P- The Post-Gazette's writeup on Pedro Alvarez:

One National League scout, who requested anonymity, doesn't foresee that future lasting long at third.

"His frame will need to slim down and quicken up to play third base," this NL scout said. "Looks like he may migrate across the diamond [to the power-hitting spot of first base], but he has the bat to do that."

Based on Alvarez' body type and all the scouting reports I've read, I do think this is probably the case. He's not going to be a third baseman. The Pirates have a number of prospects at third, but their ranks could thin out quickly--Alvarez has a brilliant future at another position, and Neil Walker has a lot to do to prove he's a starter there. Let's hope Andy LaRoche works out.

-P- I'm sure you saw this yesterday, but the Bucs made Jesse Chavez the last addition to their roster. I won't mistake Chavez for a high-leverage pitcher, but I'm more optimistic about him than most--he struck out more than a batter an inning last year, he has a pretty good minor league record and decent stuff, and he isn't old. Home runs will probably be an issue for him, but he's shown enough in the minors to deserve a shot.

-P- The Class AA Altoona Curve have announced their roster (see the PDF at the bottom). Here it is, with my guesses about some of the specific positions:

C Steve Lerud, Hector Gimenez, Miguel Perez

1B Jamie Romak (he's listed as an infielder), 2B Jim Negrych, SS Brian Friday, 3B Angel Gonzalez, IF Pedro Lopez

CF Jose Tabata, OF James Boone, OF Brad Corley, OF Jonel Pacheco

SP Brad Lincoln, SP Tony Watson, SP Mike Crotta, SP Danny Moskos, SP Yoslan Herrera, SP Jared Hughes, SP Derek Hankins

RP Jeff Sues, RP Eric Krebs, RP Juan Mateo, RP Lincoln Holdzkom, RP Shawn Nottingham

Obviously, not all those starting pitchers will make the rotation. I'm not sure who will move to the bullpen, but the most obvious candidates are Moskos, Hughes, Herrera and Hankins.

Altoona is the first Pirates minor league affiliate to release what looks like a complete, reliable roster, so much remains to be seen about the assignments, but here are some thoughts about what we know so far.

-The Bucs likely view Mateo as purely an organizational player, which is kind of a shame, because he pitched very well at Altoona last year.

-The Pirates probably do not view 2004 third-rounder Eddie Prasch or 2006 eighth-rounder Alex Presley as prospects. If they did, those guys would have been at Altoona.

-It appears that Kyle Bloom (recently returned from Detroit) will be sent to Indianapolis, which is good, since he pitched so well down the stretch for Altoona last year.

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Huh. They must’ve just put that up. When I posted they only had one outfielder listed.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 4, 2009 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions  

Shouldn’t be a very good team in terms of wins and losses, but it should be better than State College last year. Spain and Huber, who could’ve been bumped to Lynchburg, should help.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 4, 2009 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions  

Who of these pitchers

can be considered a real prospect, other than Welker?

by DITO on Apr 4, 2009 9:02 PM EDT up reply actions  

None of them, including Welker. There are a couple who theoretically have some smidgen of upside, but I wouldn’t bet on any one of them reaching AA.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 4, 2009 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions  

It’s interesting, though. I wonder where Kyle McPherson will be. Or Justin Wilson.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Apr 4, 2009 9:24 PM EDT up reply actions  

Hopefully high A, especially Wilson.

by WTM on Apr 4, 2009 10:18 PM EDT up reply actions  

If you held a gun to my head...

…and made me pick three beyond Welker, I’d probably say Owens, Leach, and Alvarado, in that order. We’re talking about a low-percentage chance of becoming bullpen filler in all three cases, though.

by Vlad on Apr 5, 2009 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions  

So that’s where Lincoln Holdzkom is now.

by bolton on Apr 4, 2009 3:20 PM EDT reply actions  

Glad to see Negrych

should get a ton of innings at 2B. It will be fun to see if he can handle it at all.

by DITO on Apr 4, 2009 8:58 PM EDT reply actions  

Yeah,

his error total will probably run neck-and-neck with his RBIs.

Nice hitter, sucks in the field.

by patthatt on Apr 5, 2009 12:13 AM EDT reply actions  

As for Moskos

He probably should go to the ’pen but I remember seeing this article saying Moskos would remain a starter again this year.

by poorboywilly on Apr 5, 2009 5:03 PM EDT reply actions  

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