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For all of the doubters, take a look at where the Pirates’ overall organizational depth is right now compared to where it was at this point three seasons ago.

While it doesn’t currently show at the major league level, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington and staff have done a tremendous job of loading up the organization with young talent.

For a change, the Pirates have “real” prospects in the organization, and that’s a positive sign that things will eventually turn around. Now that another successful draft is over for the Pirates, I thought I’d take a look at the top 10 prospects currently in the organization.

This list was harder to cut down to 10 than I originally thought, so enjoy and feel free to comment with your top 10.

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As a Pittsburgh Pirates fan myself, the last thing I want to do is throw a wet towel on a great week.

With the signings of Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie, and Luis Heredia, the Pirates have added three power arms.

They signed the best American high school arm, arguably the second best American arm, and the top international arm of 2010.

For a team like the Pirates, this is a major step in the right direction. Every year they get slammed for not spending money at any level.

You cannot make that statement this year, as they have spent what appears to be $12 million on the draft. They then dropped another $2.6 million on Heredia.

You’re looking at almost $15 million being dropped on players this week. This is what the Pirates need to be doing, and finally this year they have done it.

With Taillon and Allie you immediately put two pitchers in the system that can reach 100 miles per hour on the radar gun. Heredia is younger at 16 but already reaches 94 miles per hour.

Taillon and Heredia are destined to be starting pitchers for the Pirates, and Allie could be too. If he doesn’t carve out a niche as a starter, he will be the closer of the future.

If you look past the first two picks, the Pirates did a great job of getting players signed. They signed six of the top 10 draft picks and 27 of the 50 overall players.

It would have been nice to see more of the top 10 signed, but it is what it is. You add in the signing of Heredia, and the loss of four top-10 draft picks isn’t as bad.

With these three young stud pitchers (and 14 more pitchers), this is the kind of draft that I truly believe changes the Pirates franchise.

They have the young position players in place at the major league level and now have the pitchers that can make a rotation. They may be three or four years off, but the cavalry is on its way finally.

This is the third good draft in a row for the Pirates, but this is the one we will look back on and say, “That is when everything changed for the Pittsburgh Pirates.”

The biggest testament of this draft may not even be the players. Some of these guys won’t pan out, and some of them will.

The lasting effect of this draft may be the money spent on it. Taillon got $6.5 million, Allie got $2.25 million, and fourth rounder Nick Kingham got double his slot money at $480,000.

That list could go on for a lot more players. The Pirates drafted the people they wanted and then made sure they got them on the club.

Now all this is great and dandy but let’s get honest with ourselves here.

The Pirates are going to have their 19th straight losing season. This is something that needs to be repeated every year.

We should be 19 years in and finally get our first big international signing. Yes, this is the third good draft in a row, but we have missed some important signings in that time period.

We, the fans, should be downright giddy because of what has happened this week. We should also remember that the Pirates have been bad for a long time, and this should just be the start of something great.

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In a comment to my recent article article about Josh Lueke , someone commented that the public at large has a short memory when it comes to ballplayers’ past transgressions.  I was reminded of that fact today when I read about how Pirates’ rookie Jose Tabata’s estranged wife pleaded guilty to kidnapping today.

Not too long after the Pirates obtained then minor-leaguer Tabata from the Yankees as the centerpiece (for the Pirates) in the Xavier Nady trade, it was news that in early 2008, Tabata married a woman named Amalia Pereira, who was more than twice his age (she’s 23 years older), and that in early 2009 she had been charged with kidnapping.

I had completely forgotten about Mrs. Tabata and the kidnapping charges against her, until I noticed today’s news article.  The back-story is as follows: Amalia pretended to be an immigration official and threatened the mother of a two-month old baby that her family would be deported, that she (Amalia) wanted to help, but had to take the baby from them.

The parents were in fact undocumented immigrants, which has a lot to do with why they accepted such a crazy story and turned over the child.  However, within about six hours, with the assistance of a friend who spoke English, the parents reported the abduction to the police.

Meanwhile, Jose Tabata was reported by AP to have said that prior to the kidnapping his wife had lied to him that she was pregnant with his child.  Here’s the wikipedia article with links to the contemporaneous news articles: I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.

Now, on to the part that really has some relevance to major league baseball.  In reading the wikipedia article above, I noticed this link to a recent Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article in which Pirates’ management acknowledge all the rumors that Tabata may actually be in his mid-20′s and not age 21 as claimed.

This is actually very important news as far as the Pirates and Tabata’s future development are concerned.  If Tabata turns 22 on August 12th, he’s a hell of prospect, given his past minor performance, even if he isn’t much of a major league left-fielder today.  On the other hand, if Tabata turns 25 on August 12th, he isn’t much of a prospect at all.

Tabata hasn’t shown a lick of power in his professional career to date.  If he’s 21, that’s alright, because he may add power as he matures.

Also, his one proven ability as an offensive player is his ability to hit for average.  If he’s in his early 20′s, he will almost certainly be a future .300+ hitter in the major leagues.  If he’s closing in on 25, he isn’t going to get a whole lot better than he is now: at best a .290s hitter with no power and not a lot of walks.

In other words, if Tabata’s only 21 today, he has a good chance to be the next Matty Alou, who hit .330 or better four years in a row for the Pirates in the late 1960′s.  If he’s 24 today, he’s a lot more likely to be the next Lastings Milledge.

That’s perhaps not fair to Milledge, who was the 12th player selected in the 2003 Draft and had a fine year at age 23 for the Mets in 2008; Lastings, at age 25, still has time to develop into a star.  However, the point is obvious: at this moment in time Milledge doesn’t look like he’s going to be any better than a fourth outfielder at the major league level.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates officially called up 3B prospect Pedro Alvarez from Triple-A. He was called up before Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox and batted sixth for the Pirates.

Alvarez, the second overall pick in the 2008 June Draft, was hitting .277/.363/.533 with 13 HRs and 15 doubles in 242 ABs in Triple-A. He will be the everyday third baseman moving forward and Andy LaRoche will move into a utility role for the Pirates.

From a fantasy perspective, if you are in a Keeper League, then Alvarez should be picked up immediately. While he does strike out a lot (68 in 242 AB’s), he does have 35 HR potential.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Let’s face it—the Pirates are a bad team. Just look at the numbers of their pitching staff, and you cannot help but cringe.

A team ERA of 5.27 is awfully telling, as they have maybe two or three usable pitchers for fantasy owners.

Help may be on the way. Top prospect Brad Lincoln has been tearing up Triple-A, earning him a recall to start tonight against the Nationals. Just look at his production:

Six Wins
68.1 Innings
3.16 ERA
1.00 WHIP
55 Strikeouts (7.3 K/9)
14 Walks (1.9 BB/9)
.255 BABIP

There was talk that he could make his debut yesterday, with the Pirates in need of a starting pitcher. However, that would have placed him in the crosshairs of the Stephen Strasburg hoopla, so the Pirates opted to keep him back in Triple-A for an extra day.

He has been a little bit lucky this season, but the control is a huge plus in his favor. With a career BB/9 of 1.8 over 263.2 innings heading into 2010, there’s no reason to think that he can’t continue throwing strikes.

The strikeout rate is not a selling point. Over his minor league career prior to 2010 he had a K/9 of 6.9, not a number that catches fantasy owners’ attention. You unfortunately have to wonder if he will ever regain the strikeout potential that helped him become the fourth overall selection of the 2006 draft.

At the University of Houston in 2006 he struck out 152 over 127.2 innings, but he has never shown that upside in the minor leagues. It is quite possible that the Tommy John surgery that cost him the 2007 season will have longstanding effects in this area of his game.

He has the stuff, however, if he can get his changeup on par with his other pitches.  Look at what Baseball America had to say prior to the season:

“Lincoln has two plus pitches, a 90-93 mph fastball that reaches 95 with good late life and a curveball that breaks big and late.

“Lincoln’s changeup is improving but still needs work.”

Besides his changeup, the righty needs to improve on getting left-handed hitters out before he can make a real impact in the major leagues. Currently this season lefties have hit .273 against him.

That is the big, tangible statistic that we can watch and monitor. We also can look at the strikeouts, but clearly that’s not going to be the best gauge on if his secondary offerings have improved, especially at the major league level.

He’s not going to be a top fantasy option, even if he can increase the strikeouts significantly. Pitching for the Pirates, how many wins will be possible? Still, in deeper formats, he could prove usable as soon as the end of 2010. He’s not going to match the dazzling line posted by Strasburg last night, but he could be solid just the same.

What are your thoughts on Lincoln? How good could he be? Will he be usable?

Make sure to check out other recent Scouting Reports:

• Brett Cecil
• Jason Donald
• John Ely
• John Jaso
• Jonathan Lucroy
• Jonathon Niese
• Mike Stanton
• Andres Torres

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

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Charlie Morton has not been exactly what you would call a “good pitcher” for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season.

In fact, Morton has been something you would call a “horrible pitcher that deserves to be sent to the minors” this season.

Morton, 26, was expected to become one of the Pirates’ better pitchers this season after they acquired him in the Nate McLouth trade.

He has been the polar opposite.

Morton is 1-9 with a 9.35 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. 

The numbers are horrible, far from what was expected of the hard-throwing righty.

Morton’s best pitch (yes, he actually does have a good pitch) is his fastball. His heater usually ranges from 93 to 95 mph—not bad for a starter. His curve isn’t half bad, and he also has a decent change-up.

Morton has stuff. The problem is, he doesn’t know how to use it. Sometimes he fails to be aggressive with his above-average fastball. Other times he is too aggressive and walks a lot of batters.

And sometimes, Morton just can’t avoid the big inning. That was the case last night, as the Pirates lost 8-2 to the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds scored seven of their eight runs in the first and second innings. Morton was pulled after the second.

Morton was making progress, inch by inch. His latest start set him back 10 yards. 

As of right now, Pirates manager John Russell is keeping Morton in the starting rotation.

But Brad Lincoln is knocking on Morton’s door, and he seems to be the favorable option for Pirate fans right now.

Former first-round pick Lincoln, 25, is currently having a decent season with Triple-A Indianapolis. Lincoln is 5-2 with a 3.77 ERA and is scheduled to start tonight for the Indians against the Charlotte Knights, the White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate.

Morton will hold on to his starting spot for a while, but if performances like last night’s continue, expect Lincoln to be starting for the Pirates soon.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have not had a winning season since 1992, and it does not appear that will change in 2010.

However, with a strong core of good young ballplayers already on the club and another group working their way through the system, the streak of losing seasons could be nearing an end.

The group in Pittsburgh is led by Zach Duke, Ross Ohlendorf, Paul Maholm, and Andrew McCutchen. Include Pedro Alvarez (third base, Indianapolis), Brad Lincoln (starting pitcher, Indianapolis), Jared Hughes (starting pitcher, Altoona), and Tony Sanchez (catcher, Bradenton), and the future looks bright in Pittsburgh.

The big hurdle is, the future has looked bright before, only to have management disassemble it. If management will keep this group together, a winning season should not be too far off.

The potential lineup and rotation of this group gives the Pirates’ future the look of a winner.

POTENTIAL LINEUP AND ROTATION

Pos.   Player       

C      Sanchez

1B     Steve Pearce

2B     Akinori Iwamura (if he can get his bat and glove back)

3B     Alvarez

SS     Brock Holt

LF     Lastings Milledge

CF     McCutchen

RF     Garrett Jones

SP     Duke

SP     Ohlendorf

SP     Maholm

SP     Lincoln

SP     Hughes

The offense may not impress you so much, but the rotation could be one of the best in baseball and is where I place my hopes for the Pirates’ future.

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I was sitting on my couch on Tuesday night and turned on the Cincinnati Reds-Pittsburgh Pirates game, mainly to watch Mike Leake pitch. In the top of the eighth, Leake got into a little bit of trouble and Dusty Baker called on Arthur Rhodes to help bail out him out.

Here is the beautiful thing about writing: you start to watch a baseball game with a thought in mind about what or whom you are going to write and then something happens during the course of a game that completely changes your train of thought.

I was fully prepared to write about Leake, but then as soon as Rhodes came into the game, I thought, “Wow, I can’t believe this guy is still pitching, but pitching so well.”

Middle relievers rarely get any love in these parts, so it’s time to give some love to Arthur Lee Rhodes.

Has anyone else noticed that Rhodes has a 0.47 ERA going into tonight’s action? What is impressive about Rhodes’ ERA is that after giving up a run (HR to Jeff Baker) in his second inning of work this season, he has reeled off 17.1 scoreless innings.

Rhodes is 40 years old and has a 0.47 ERA and 19 K’s in 19.1 IP. He also has only given up eight hits on the season and has not allowed more than a single hit in any appearance.

The guy is just getting the job done.

Rhodes is enjoying his most success with runners on base. Going into last night, Rhodes is stranding 100 percent of the runners on base. That number won’t last throughout a 162 game schedule, but is still absolutely incredible.

Rhodes is a big reason why the Reds are in first place and he should be recognized for his tremendous start to the season.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Expert handicapper ESPN rates the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 favorite over the Pirates in PNC Park tonight.

But the Pirates’ Charlie Morton can beat the Cubs’ Ted Lilly. Because Morton already has. Last year, in Chicago.

It won’t be easy, of course. Recent history suggests that Lilly will go about six innings against the Pirates, giving up about three runs, more likely than not for a quality start.

Basically, the Pirates figure to score against him, but not run up the total. He is aged 34, which is to say that he figures to decline with each passing year.

The wild card, of course, is Morton, who is at the beginning of his career. He is capable of pitching from one to nine innings, giving up from 0 to 10 runs. At least against the Cubs, because he has done both. (The run total has been inversely related to his tenure.)

Don’t talk about averages with this guy, because he doesn’t fall into the usual probability distributions. A “mediocre” performance, something like four runs in five innings that used to be the staple of Zach Duke, is not typical of Morton. Against Lilly, that might represent a “garden variety” loss.

But Morton is on an improving trend lately. Lilly, on a decline. At some point, the paths may cross in the Pirates’ favor. Hopefully, that point will be tonight.

Morton has a “lights out” K/9 rate, striking out more than one batter an inning. He doesn’t walk an awful lot of players. But he has given up one home run every three innings in 2010. That rate has historically been one in 10.

Morton’s 2010 batting average of balls in play (BABIP) is an exceptionally high .439. Unless he’s hurt, that suggests that he’s been unlucky over a small number of innings.

Last year, that average was a perfectly normal .310. Lilly’s is under .300, on the low side of normal, meaning that his results might get worse.

Morton also pitches better at home. Last year, his ERA in PNC Park was just over 3.00. That’s decidedly better than Lilly is likely to be.

The bookies are saying that Morton won’t pitch his best game tonight. But a 2-1 bet against the Pirates is one that I’m willing to take on the long odds side. Because they’re probably shorter than that.

The only thing that I’m not willing to bet on is that Morton will match Lilly inning for inning, run for run. Because Morton is likely to be better than Lilly—or else a lot worse.

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