Overlooked Rotation Option

Phil Irwin

Coming into the 2013 season, Jeff Locke and Kyle McPherson are the young up and coming candidates to earn a rotation spot.  Both pitchers started the 2012 season in the minor leagues before seeing action at the big league level in the latter part of the year.  Both are solid prospects and project to have a chance to be usable rotation parts for years to come.  Because of McPherson and Locke, along with top prospects Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, and Luis Heredia, another solid pitching prospect who could find his way into the rotation in the near future often gets overlooked.

31+ Mini Series

Currently, I'm working on my top 30 Pirates prospect list. As I write this, I'm one-sixth of the way through with prospects 26-30 finished.  What's most exciting is that a list of 30 actually includes 30 intriguing prospects.  In years past, finding 20 players in the Pirates system worth writing about was often difficult.  That's finally changed, and even 30 may not be enough. 

 In the past, I've written articles about several players that didn't make my top 30. Below is the current list.  They will start a new mini-series "31+" that will feature spotlights on other players in thefarm systems in a more narrative writing style.  Make sure to check back regularly as this will be updated regularly.  Enjoy!