Jonathan Sanchez's Pirates Future

Prior to the suspension of Tuesday night’s game against the St Louis Cardinals, Jonathan Sanchez had given up two runs (one earned) over two innings – he gave up two hits while striking out three and walking just one hitter (with all the damage done in the first inning). With Francisco Liriano, Jeff Karstens and Charlie Morton either beginning to make rehab outings or close to it, the Pirates rotation has the potential to get overcrowded fairly soon. The question is where this leaves Sanchez in the future with the club. 

Notes After Opening Day

The 2013 season did not begin in an ideal fashion for the Pittsburgh Pirates, dropping the opener to the Cubs while offering little at the plate. Nonetheless, one defeat doesn’t mean that the Pirates are going to struggle, much like a win today wouldn’t have meant that the Bucs were going to be contenders. The Pirates have a shot at bouncing back on Wednesday night, with Wandy Rodriguez getting the start against Edwin Jackson. Drawing conclusions on how the season is likely to pan out would be nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction at this point; however there are some noteworthy items after today's game:

#19 Pirates Prospect - Justin Wilson

Buried Treasure Top 30 Prospects
#19 - Justin Wilson

Measurables: 6'2, 233
Bats: L, Throws: L
Position: P
Acquired: 5th Round (144th), 2008
Bonus: $195,000
DOB: 08/18/1987
Buried Treasure 2012 Top 20: Not Ranked

Revisiting The Charlie Morton Decision

One of the Pirates’ more contentious moves this winter has been giving Charlie Morton a one year, $2M contract extension despite the fact that he will miss half the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June. It was a questionable choice at the time, however recent moves by the club is making the decision look a little worse now. 

The Pirates Should Carry Two Left-Handers In The 2013 Bullpen

One of the reasons why the Pirates could move Joel Hanrahan is due to the depth in the bullpen; Jason Grilli was signed earlier this winter with a view to close games while the newly acquired Mark Melancon will be the primary setup man. While this will be a popular topic amongst Pirates bloggers since the trade and Tim Williams has comprehensively covered the subject for Pirates Prospects; my argument is why the Pirates need to be carrying two left-handed pitchers in the bullpen this season.

As long as we're jumping to conclusions

Ok, I'll admit that title is pretty snarky. I've said a number of times in a number of places to a number of people that I think it's too early in the season to learn anything meaningful from the results. For the most part, this has been aimed at the results from Pittsburgh's major league ballclub. At the same time, I want to take a look at some things that we've seen from the Pirates' minor league affiliates. Therefore, I'm going to ignore the admittedly small sample sizes and take a look at what we've seen so far from down on the farm. If you want to point out that this is pretty hypocritical, go ahead. That's probably true. Still, I will start off by pointing out that since it is early in the year, a lot can change (for better or worse). Of course, you already knew that. Anyway, here what we know beyond a shadow of a doubt about the Pirates' minor leaguers.