The Forgotten Man

Avila at 3rd.

Yesterday, Baseball America published it's top 20 prospects for the South Atlantic League. The West Virginia Power, a prospect-laden team, landed two players on the list. Outfielder Gregory Polanco came in at #3 and shortstop Alen Hanson came in at #6.  Other West Virginia prospects of note that did not make the list include young hitters Jose Osuna and Willy Garcia, injured bonus baby Josh Bell, and top pitching prospect Nick Kingham.

In fact, those are the six names that are almost always talked about in conversations regarding the West Virginia Power.  Eric Avila rarely gets thrown in to that list.  He's become the forgotten man.

Offseason: Potential Trade Targets

Catcher of the future?

Last offseason, two trades stood out - at least they stood out to me - as major trades that reaped major dividends for the buyers.  The Cincinnati Reds traded away a package of prospects that included Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal to acquire at least 4 years of service of stud pitcher Mat Latos.  The Washington Nationals sent A.J Cole, Derek Norris, Brad Peacock, and Tom Milone for Gio Gonzalez, who could win the National League Cy Young this year.

With the Pirates struggles with pitching during their second half collapse this year, it's natural to look to the trade market this offseason for pitching.  That said, their aren't too many great candidates like Latos and Gonzalez for the Pirates to go after.  Plus, the Pirates will have Burnett, Wandy, and James McDonald back next year.  McPherson, Locke, top prospect Gerrit Cole, along with veterans Jeff Karstens, Rick VandenHurk, and Chris Leroux give the Pirates plenty of options for the rotation.  Arguably shortstop and catcher are much more glaring holes.

However, if the Pirates do decide to go after pitchers in the offseason, here are a few candidates.

From Eastern Europe With Love

Eastern Europe

Traditionally, Major League Baseball players come from two places: The United States and Canada and Latin America.  Lately, Asia has joined the ranks in as far as supplying Major League Baseball with talent.  Other than that, places like Africa and Europe have done little to produce professional baseball talent.  That doesn't mean teams won't look for the diamond in the rough in those areas.

The Pirates are no exceptions.  Recently, the Pirates have signed two players from India, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, and a player from South Africa, Gift Ngeope.  Negope and Singh are still in the minor league system and both have an outside shot of one day being big leaguers.  In addition to those signings, the Pirates had two intriguing pitchers on their GCL squad this year, both from Eastern Europe. Dovydas Neverauskas hails from Lithuania while Alex Lukashevich is a native of Belarus.

International Bounty: 2012

Julio De La Cruz at the plate.

The Pirates have willingly spent significantly more money in Latin America during Neal Huntington's tenure.  Part of the new emphasis in Latin America has come from a directive put forth by team owner Bob Nutting.  Thus far, the results have been mixed.  Overall, the Latin American pipeline has been a boon over the past few years, with Starling Marte, Luis Heredia, Alen Hanson, and Gregory Polanco all becoming top prospects in all of baseball.  Interestingly, Heredia is the only player of the four who received a significant bonus, which turned out to be a seven-figure bonus.

And We're Back...

The great thing about hobbies is the fact that they can be ignored from time to time.  It's for pleasure and enjoyment.  That's certainly true about Buried Treasure.  Unless something insane happens, this blog isn't bringing home anyone's bacon.  Because of that, I'll most likely go AWOL from time to time.  The last few months has been that time. Now I'm back.

I can't guarantee I won't go AWOL again and it could be soon.  I'm not going to lie.  That said, I've got some baseball writing fever again and with the look of things in Pittsburgh - 2nd half collapse, great farm system, potential new management - there will be plenty to write about, so I'm going to sit back and enjoy the ride. Y'all - yes I said "y'all" are welcome to come along.

Buried Treasure is back baby.

MLB Draft 2013

Compilation of 2013 MLB Draft information. Click the links to go to that particular post.

01/26/2013 - Names to Know for the 2013 Draft v. 5.0
12/27/2012 - 2013 MLB Draft - Personal Favorites
12/23/2012 - Names to Know for the 2013 Draft v. 4.0
12/11/2012 - Notable Former Pirates Draftees
12/09/2012 - Names to Know for the 2013 Draft v. 3.0
10/06/2012 - Names to Know for the 2013 Draft v. 2.0
06/07/2012 - Names to Know for the 2013 Draft 

Unlikely Extension Candidate

Starting pitcher Brad Lincoln has been a disappointment for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over the last 2+ seasons, the Bucs have given the, now-27 year old, several shots to grab a spot in the rotation and it just hasn’t worked out. He’s been OK at times, good at others but mediocre far too often. As a starter, Lincoln becomes too much of a one-pitch pitcher. His fastball doesn’t maintain its velocity as well over extended outings and his change has not been very effective against major league hitters so he is often left with hitters just sitting on his curve. For a former #4 draft pick, a player taken ahead of Tim Lincecum and Clayton Kershaw, this…well…sucks. Hear me out, though…