FanPost

Mid-Season Minor League Update?



Will someone please give us a mid-season minor league update. I'd like to know how our top prospects are doing so far. Whos played above expectations, who's below them, and any surprises?

A big thanks in advance to whomever contributes.



I read about Nathan Baker's almost no-hitter for the Power on BA today, under their "Helium Watch" section of the "Prospect Hot-Sheet." Gotta feel for the guy. I realize pitch-counts are crucial for saving young arms, but 5 more pitches may have been all he needed to finish the game.

"Nathan Baker, rhp, Pirates: In the minors, development trumps winning and losing. It also trumps getting your name in the record book, as Baker, the Pirates' 2009 fifth-round pick out of Mississippi, found out. Baker threw eight hitless innings for the West Virginia Power this week, but he didn't get to go out for the ninth to try to wrap up a no-hitter. He'd come too close to his pitch limit (he was at 95 pitches and he had a limit of 100), so on came reliever Gabriel Alvardo, who quickly gave up the no-hitter and ended up giving up three runs before the Power finally finished up the win. For Baker, a three-pitch lefty with solid average stuff, the move to the starting rotation in pro ball has worked out pretty well. He's 6-5, 3.21 and has shown the ability to work relatively deep into games."

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