Not So Prospect Flashback

Luis Torres    RHP    5’10    175
B:R    T:R    Born: 6/6/80
Signed: Out of Dominican Republic by Pirates 2/20/98

Despite his small build, Torres was long considered to be the hardest thrower in the system (key word being thrower).  His fastball could reach 97-98 MPH but was more in the consistent range of 93-95.  Like most pitchers with his size there was always the question of durability but through the early parts of his career with the Pirates (98-00) they managed to keep him in the rotation.  Following the 2000 season, Baseball America tagged him as the best fastball in the organization.  After that though, everything seemed to go downhill for him.  He spent most of the 2001 season on the IR and when healthy was very ineffective then completely missed the 2002 season with injuries.  Following the 2002 season, he and the Pirates parted ways and he never was again pitched in the minors.  Torres was never really able to harness this power and suffered from major control issues but ultimately his career was ruined by injuries. 

Chris Corn    RHP    6’3    170
B:R    T:R    Born: 10/4/71
Acquired: From the New York Yankees in exchange for 3rd baseman Charlie Hayes 8/30/96.

When the Pirates acquired Corn from the Yankees for Charlie Hayes during the 96 fire sale, he was in the process of having the best season of his minor league career.  The 96 season was Corn’s first season as a starter in pro ball and he put up a surprising 12-4 record that year at High A Tampa albeit as a 24 year old.  His best pitch was considered his curve ball which helped to make his average fastball just a bit better.  There was some thought at the time that he was damaged goods when the Pirates received him but nothing more came of it.  My hope back then was that the Pirates would try and challenge him due to his age and send him to Double A Carolina for the 97 season but he ended up at High A Lynchburg (after starting the season on the DL) where he mostly pitched out of the pen.  He still managed to put up respectable numbers that year but the writing was on the wall that the Pirates valued him more as an organizational arm.  He didn’t see Double A until the 98 season and by then he was already 26.  The 98 season was his last with the Pirates and in pro ball, he never surfaced again with any other teams.

Akili Smith    OF    6’3    210
B: R    T:R    Born: 8/21/75
Drafted: 7th Round of 1993 Draft

Before he was a star player on the gridiron at Oregon and before he was a flop in the NFL, Akili Smith was a talented, toolsy outfielder in the Pirates system.  Part of an impressive 93 Draft that also landed the Pirates another 2 sport star in Charles Peterson, Smith was thought of as a project and more of an athlete then an actual ballplayer.  Unfortunately for the Pirates, they where never able to tap into the pure talent that was in Smith thus only getting 3 forgettable seasons from him before he opted for football and the possible riches of the NFL that was to come.  In some ways it’s very similar to the path of current Steelers QB Dennis Dixon.  Despite his football talent and the fact that he hadn’t played baseball in 3 years the Braves still drafted him in the 5th Round of 2007 draft mainly because of his speed and arm strength.  Unlike the Pirates who at least got the 3 bad years from Smith, the Braves only got 1 before Dixon walked away to concentrate on football.

Mark Farris    3rd    6’3    190
B:L    T:R    Born: 2/9/75
Drafted: 1st Round (11th overall) of 1994 Draft

As the Pirates 1st round pick in 94, Farris turned out to be one of their biggest busts of the 90’s (to put that in perspective, Nomar Garciaparra went one pick after him to Boston).  Following getting drafted in 94, he missed the entire 95 season due to knee surgery.  It would seem that he was never the same player after that, only hitting above .250 once and that was 1998, his final season with the team. His so called calling card was his hitting ability so it was thought at one time that he and Chad Hermansen would be the future left side of the Bucs infield.  But that never came to be and he left the organization after the 98 season to pursue his football career where he had a few decent years as starting quarterback at Texas A&M before eventually losing his job to a younger, more athletic Reggie McNeal.