Preview Position Players

With Spring Training just around the corner it might be helpful for us to look at the competition for the Pirates team. However there is not a lot of competition to look at. I will break this into multiple posts. Position players, Starting Pitching, and Bullpen. However all of the real competition is for that last one: the bullpen.

The Position Starters are basically set with the outfield being the crown jewel. Milledge, McCutchen, and Jones provide a very dangerous outfield combination. The real question mark is whether or not Garrett Jones can duplicate his success over the course of the whole season. If so the Pirates can expect 30+ homeruns from him. He needs to improve with people on base, but that should not be so hard if people like Ryan Doumit stay healthy to take some of the pressure off. Milledge has a history of being up and down, but all signs are positive so far.

The infield is improved from the end of last year and might even be improved from the beginning of last year. Iwamura at second is the key addition. Expect him to hit second and with McCutchen in front of him, he ought to have plenty of RBI chances. Jeff Clement appears to be given the firstbase job, and Ronny Cedano will have the short stop position. Andy LaRoche, with Alvarez on the horizon, will be under some serious pressure to perform at third, but will start the season there. How well LaRoche hits is a key to the team’s overall success. They need him to improve his .250 average and if he could get a little more power the team would benefit greatly. Cedano is going to be the hole on the team, but it seems reasonable that he will hit better than he did last year, which was a career low for him. Still Cedano is the weak link.

Catcher of course will go to Ryan Doumit. Doumit is an injury prone guy. Last year he was supposed to be the guy who was the Carrier, the one who got the extra base hit, had the decent average, and could deposit the ball in the seats. His hurt hand ended that and the Pirate hopes. Not so much is riding on him this year, but he is still an important cog in the Pirate machine. His power should be back with a completely healthy hand. That is something Pirates sorely lack without him. He needs to provide the pop so that Jones is not burdened with the sole responsibility. He must stay healthy. If he does the RBI opportunities will be there for him.

The Bench is set as well. Jason Jarmillo is the back up catcher despite protestations that he will have to earn it. Bobby Crosby is the back up short stop, and Ramon Vasquez is the utility infielder. Ryan Church is the fourth outfielder. This bench is already better than last years. Jarmillo is improved after a year of playing. Crosby is better than Luis Cruz, and Church is about a 30 point improvement over Brandon Moss in average, and probably more. Thus, the pinch hitting should go up for the Pirates, and Vasquez no longer has to play short stop where his range is a problem. All this leds to the fifth and final spot on the bench. The Pirates contend it is an open spot and that Brandon Moss and Dwelven Young both have a chance to compete for it along with John Raynor and maybe even Steven Pierce. However, Moss, Young, and Pierce all played last year and the Pirates were less than pleased. Plus, the Pirates will lose money and Raynor if they do not keep Raynor on the roster for the whole year. Raynor has his place on the team unless he self-destructs. Young would be the only other person who has even a remote chance because he hit over .300 as a pinch hitter. Raynor brings a perfect pinch runner to a rather slow bench. He also can fill in at center to rest McCutchen, which will not happen much. A perfect fit for a Rule 5 guy.

My opinion of this team is that it is good. The best the Pirates have put on the field in a while. However, it is still founded on some question marks such as Garrett Jones. I loved him this past year, but less than half a season may not be a good indication of what he will do this year. Ryan Doumit’s health is always a question. And Andy LaRoche must step up. Short Stop is still a hole no matter who you put there. But the biggest question mark of all is Jeff Clement. I do not think he is ready for the big time, especially as a first baseman. But the Pirates really have no choice. Pierce has shown he will be ineffectual. I would be happier with Jones at first and Tabata making the opening day roster, but that is not going to happen.

Still the Pirates have a good team. The real interesting thing to watch during the season is how they will fit all of their new young talent into this team as they are ready to come up. Trades? It will be an interesting season for the Pirates.