A reliable source recently disclosed this conversation, in September 2007, between Dave Littlefield (as he was packing up his belongings) and Neal Huntington.  

Neal: So, before you go, show me the Pirates’ farm system.

Littlefield: You want to see the farm system?!  I don’t have to show you the farm system!  I don’t have no stinkin’ farm system!!  I don’t neeeed no stinkin’ farm system!!!

The recent losing streak allowed us to wail, gnash our teeth, rent our clothes, and debate the health of the Pirates’ current farm system. I am part of the camp that believes that Huntington needs to be measured as a GM by the baseline of what he inherited.  Some fair-weather fans seem to think that Huntington should be evaluated as if he had the farm system of the Tampa Bay Rays, the resources of the New York Yankees, and the baseball insight of Tony LaRussa. So I decided to display our 2007* (the last year Littlefield meddled with the team) farm system the same way that I’m tracking the Pirates’ current team.

Because this is an attempt to re-create the 2007 farm system, contract status is less accurate. For these charts, I’m using information about a player’s 2011 status to estimate that player’s 2007 status.  I also did not do an in-depth analysis of our prospects.  I simply reviewed players at each level to see whose appearances and ages made them a potential prospect and relied upon some old posts from Bucs dugout – its interesting to see trade deadline open threads with 27 comments!

As always, my starting points are Baseball Reference, Cot’s Contracts, and Bucs Dugout.

(* I believe that the impact of the Bonifay regime is too attenuated for us to complain about. Littlefield was hired to improve, not degrade, the team that he inherited.)