2011 is an important year

There were two interesting stories related to the Pirates over the weekend: the first was Frank Coonelly’s statements about evaluating Neal Huntington, which made it seem like Huntington’s job is probably on the line this year (they were widely reported since Coonelly made them to the collected media: you can find writeups here, here, and here). The second was Dejan Kovacevic’s trip to Houston to watch Anthony Rendon play. 

2011 is an important year for the Pirates. Since Neal Huntington took over in 2007, the Pirates have been in rebuilding mode. That takes a lot of different forms: first Huntington sold off the assets he inherited from Dave Littlefield, then they spent two years trying out other teams’ failed prospects in hopes of finding hidden value. That’s over now; the club is still rebuilding, but they’re starting to stock the team with their own minor league talent. Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata, and Neil Walker are in Pittsburgh and a group of young pitchers is getting close. This is both exciting and terrifying. 

We know that the Pirates have some talented young hitters in Pittsburgh, but we don’t know exactly what that foursome is capable of. Andrew McCutchen sure looks to be an elite talent, Pedro Alvarez might be, and Jose Tabata and Neil Walker have plenty of upside, but they’re just four players. There’s not a shortstop, first baseman, or right field prospect anywhere to be seen in the system until Startling Marte. Even then, he’s just one guy that more fits the Tabata/McCutchen mold than the power hitting right fielder mold. Of course, for all of the pitching depth Huntington’s added in the last three years, the only real blue chip pitching prospects the pirates have are guys that haven’t thrown professional pitches yet. 

That’s not to say that the core the Pirates are building won’t pan out; it might and it’s more than the Pirates have had in years. But there are still holes to be filled and that makes having the first pick in this year’s draft a huge deal. Right now it’s easy to see how Anthony Rendon fits with the Pirates current squad; he’s the power the team doesn’t have in the minors, the sort of hitter that rounds out the speed the Pirates have with McCutchen and Tabata. But that’s how things look from February. What happens in June after a college season and half of a big league season?

We’re going to learn a lot about the Pirates in the coming year. How the offense comes together, what kind of pitching the club has between Triple-A and Pittsburgh, and just what the Pirates need to help bring everything together. The first pick in this June’s draft is obviously going to be a huge part of that.