Tim Williams was nice enough to send me a copy of the Pirates Prospects Prospect Guide, and I'm glad to have it - it's going to be really convenient to have when I go down to Spring Training here in a few weeks, and when I'm visiting minor-league ballparks in April.
The book begins with brief interviews with Pirates pitching prospects Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie, Zack Von Rosenberg, and Zack Dodson. There are then short recaps of each Pirates minor league affiliate's 2010 season.
The bulk of the book, though, consists of brief profiles of Pirates minor leaguers, and it's these profiles that make the book such a valuable resource. Of course, we already have Wilbur Miller's Pirate Player Profiles available for free online, and the Pirates Prospects book sometimes seems like a book version of Wilbur's site. (Wilbur also contributed to the book, which I'm sure strengthens that impression.)
But the book is also crammed with hard-to-find bits of information, like the signing bonuses of obscure late-round picks. The authors (Tim, Wilbur, Kevin Creagh, and John Dreker) also have clearly seen a whole lot of these players in person, and I've yet to see, for example, a description of a pitcher's stuff that's not consistent with what I myself have seen. The book is also up-to-the-minute - for example, Corey Wimberly, who was just acquired a few weeks ago, figures in the Top 50 prospects list.
What really makes the book nice to have around is the many profiles of players beyond the top 50. The reason this book is great to have at Spring Training is for its profiles of recent draft picks and international signings who could emerge as big prospects within the next year or two. There are over 200 profiles in all. Congratulations to Tim and Pirates Prospects on getting this book out there, and I'd recommend you pick up a copy.