I’ll admit, I became much more excited when I found out he played in the Cape Cod league. He posted good numbers there, too – .323 average, 3 homers, 4 doubles. I think we’re underestimating his offensive potential. His numbers have improved every year in college, particularly the power numbers.

I’ve read some reports that say he has 20-25 HR potential in the Majors. That’s not the power bat we need, but for a catcher, that’s nothing to scoff at. That’s Ryan Doumit with a much better glove. If his defense is as good as the scouts say it is, he’s not just a solid catcher, he’s someone like Pudge Rodriguez – a great defensive catcher that can also hit.

…but not enough, in and of itself, to get me to sign off on him. Sorry.

Yeah, I can agree with what you’re saying. I think the main difference is draft class, though. Moskos WAS a top-10 prospect in that class. If Wieters wasn’t on the board, I don’t think anyone would have been too upset that we took him. But what he represented was the latest in a long line of bad moves by a bad GM, and when Dejan reported that the money to sign Wieters was on the table if Littlefield would have taken it, the shit hit the fan.

On the other hand, the highest upside players in this draft were already taken by the time the Pirates picked. Strasberg and Ackley went 1-2, Donovan Tate went 3 and was far from a sure sign anyway, and what was left was mediocre prospects like Crow that projects to be a #2 or 3 starter. Someone like Crow or Green may have been a better choice, and that’s why there are still grumblings about the Sanchez pick, but they’re not leaps and bounds better than Sanchez, who does project to be a pretty good MLB catcher. At no point were we talking about great upside from any of the first-round talent, it was all middling prospects. The Pirates front office just disagreed about which middling prospect was the best.