Doumit to DL

With the news again that Ryan Doumit is headed to the DL, (Do you think they just have a template available for when this happens to save time?), many are now asking if this hurts his trade value. It is no secret that the Pirates would love to unload Doumit. They have been looking to do that for a few years now, almost as soon as the ink was dry on his contract did the team try to move him.

Throughout his entire career Doumit has been a walking injury waiting to happen. Whether it be a hamstring, ankle, wrist, whatever it seems he can never stay healthy at all. Health is one thing all ballplayers need, but especially catchers as they are going to take a bunch of abuse anyway.

This season Doumit had stayed healthy and was productive. His platooning with Chris Snyder seemed to greatly improve Doumit's play, as he was not being asked to do everything. Seeing Doumit perform better, many theorized, had improved his trade value, that is until getting hurt.

I'd argue that is not the case. Everyone is well aware of his injury history and more than likely knows that if they acquire him, there is good chance he will get hurt. That is no secret. The only thing the injury is hurting is when he can get traded. Obviously it can't happen right now, but it will happen later this year.

When Doumit does get traded, his value will not be diminished by his most recent injury. There are notebooks upon notebooks of his injuries. Instead his value will be what it is for an injury prone catcher that cannot catch every day.

Weekly Farm Report

Team of the Week: Indianapolis Indians
Hitter of the Week: Starling Marte, Altoona
Pitcher of the Week: Brad Lincoln, Indianapolis


Indianapolis: 4-2 For the Week 

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Friday	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Presley	2	6	0	1	1	4	0	4	Continues hot bat
Jaramillo, J	0	2	1	0	0	2	0	2
Bowker	3	9	0	0	0	2	3	3	AAAA
d'Arnaud, C	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	Ready???
Harrison	3	6	1	0	0	0	1	3	Hitting
Hague	2	7	1	0	0	3	3	1
Lambo	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	Struggling
Hernandez, G	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	4
Brown, D	1	3	0	0	0	1	3	3
Marte, A	3	6	1	0	2	5	1	2
Toregas	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Picart	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Lincoln	6	5	2	2	2	7		1		Tough luck
Burres	5.1	6	3	3	4	3	1
Moskos	1	4	2	2	0	1				Not strong
Gallagher	6	5	3	3	2	4		1
Leroux	2	0	0	0	0	1				Nice
Owens	13	12	4	4	1	4	2			Back to normal
Boyer	1	1	0	0	0	1
Meek	2	0	0	0	0	2			1	Rehab
Watson	2.1	1	0	0	0	3				Good work
Wood	2.1	1	0	0	0	2			2
Valdez	4	2	1	1	1	3			1
Thomas	0.2	0	0	0	0	1
Wilson	6.1	10	4	4	1	5	1			Hard working win

Altoona: 4-4 For the Week 

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Durham	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	7
Ford	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	4
Mercer	2	8	3	0	0	4	0	2	Nice RBI total
Watts	3	6	2	0	0	0	2	4
Holt, Br	1	6	0	1	0	5	2	3	Nice week
Marte	3	13	4	0	1	1	0	7	Tons of hits
Latimore	3	6	0	0	0	1	3	7	Still looking for HR
Farrell	3	7	0	0	1	3	1	10	Tons of K's
Sanchez	1	5	1	0	1	1	3	2	Solid
Chalk	2	2	0	0	0	2	1	3
Fryer	3	9	0	0	1	4	1	3	Nice hit total
Hernandez, Jo	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Hughes	6	5	2	2	2	4				Good work
Dubee	4	3	1	0	2	1		1
Alderson	1	1	0	0	0	1				Not much to do
Moreno	1	1	0	0	0	0				Not much to do
Claggett	5.1	2	2	2	3	2
Locke	5	6	5	5	3	6		1		Hit hard
Colla	11	8	1	1	3	8	2			Two wins, two starts
Pribanic	12	17	4	4	1	2	1	1		Hit around
Krol	3.1	1	1	1	0	1	1		1
Thompson	6	7	3	3	1	6
Leach	1.2	4	4	4	2	1
McSwain	5.2	5	3	3	3	6
Morris	6	2	1	1	3	6		1	1	Coming back

Bradenton: 1-6 For the Week 

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Grossman	7	8	3	1	0	0	4	6	Balanced
Anderson	4	7	3	0	2	6	3	6	Two HR's
Gonzalez, B	3	9	1	0	1	3	1	5
Cunningham	4	11	3	0	2	5	0	15	11 hits and 15 K's!!!
Baker, A	4	6	1	0	0	3	6	4
Gonzalez, E	3	6	1	1	0	6	3	5
Chambers	2	4	1	0	1	1	2	8	Looking for more hits
Santos, A	3	3	0	1	0	0	1	1
Rubinstein	1	5	2	0	0	4	0	2	Good week
Brown, K	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2
Cabrera	1	2	0	0	0	1	2	3
Santos	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0
White	1	2	1	0	1	1	1	2
Paulino	2	2	0	1	0	2	0	3

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Leach	1.2	1	1	1	1	2
Erickson	3.1	2	3	1	2	1				Nice work
Welker	1.2	2	2	2	1	4		1
Baker	6	3	0	0	2	8				Good Stuff, ND
McPherson	10	17	6	6	3	7
Ramos	3	5	3	2	2	2		1
Navarro	2	0	0	0	0	1				Scoreless
Lorin	6	2	0	0	1	6	1
Sinkbeil	3.1	7	5	4	0	4		1
Veal	2.1	2	2	2	3	2		1	1	Coming back
Irwin	12	9	5	5	1	16				Ton of K's!!!
Miller	6	7	4	4	0	2		1	1	Still issues
Beckman	0.2	4	5	2	0	0		1

West Virginia: 2-4 For the Week

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Noris	2	3	0	0	1	2	2	10	Lots of K's
Marquez	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2
Vasquez, A	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	1
Maggi	3	5	1	0	0	3	6	4	Nice week
Rojas	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	7	Not much going
Grovatt	3	6	2	0	0	0	3	4	Turning around
Curry	5	9	3	0	0	4	6	3	Solid week
Howard	1	6	2	1	0	4	3	9	Solid week
Mort	0	1	0	0	0	1	4	3
Diaz, El	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
Emsley-Pai	2	4	1	0	0	1	3	1
Avila, Er	4	6	2	0	1	3	1	1
Diaz	1	5	1	0	0	2	0	1
Vasquez	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Foster	1	1	0	0	0	1
Black	1	0	0	0	0	0				Slowly
Cumpton	6.2	3	0	0	1	8	1			Nice work
Decker	2	2	0	0	1	4
Waldron	4.2	6	3	3	2	6		1
Fuesser	5	7	4	4	2	2		1		Hit hard
Cain	11.2	6	6	5	3	9	1	1		Lots of K's
Stevenson	5	6	5	5	1	3				Hit hard
Townsend	1	0	0	0	0	0			1
Von Rosenberg	4	6	5	5	1	3		1		Still not there
Pounders	3.1	4	3	3	0	2
Sadler	2.2	0	0	0	3	5
Taillon	5	7	3	3	1	2				Solid
Lopez	2	3	1	1	0	2

2011 Draft Prospect: Dylan Bundy

Whoa Bundy!: Is Dylan Bundy the next prep arm in the system?

Many young players seem to get by strictly on their talent alone. When some players are just naturally more talented, sometimes the extra work does not get done by some. In the case of Oklahoma righty, Dylan Bundy, he has natural talent and a work ethic that is major league already.

The stocky 6'1" Bundy is a work out freak. He has an extremely strong lower half as he can squat 500 pounds and leg press 1200 pounds. After every start he runs for 25 minutes on a treadmill and as Pirate fans have found recently really likes his throwing program.

While he does not have that projectabile size that many scouts like Bundy uses his strong lower half exceptionally well to pitch as though he is a bigger player. He features a mid 90's fastball, that has been clocked at 100, and a upper 70's curve that some say is big league ready. He is working on a change and from some reports a cutter as well.

Bundy goes really deep into games, often well over 100 pitches, but he does not seem to think it is much of a load. Some point to great mechanics and his strong lower half as reasons why he can handle that load.

Some teams are going to be skittish of Bundy as he is a smaller guy and throws a ton. On the plus side, he seems to have a great work ethic, athleticism, and drive. With some work on his pitches he could be a upper rotation pitcher in the big leagues becoming as fast track as a prep arm could be.

Greg Smith and Neal Huntington do not shy away from prep arms. If the guy seems to fit what they are looking for they go for it. In the past they have taken guys with more projectable frames, but they are always enamoured with power, which Bundy has in bunches.

If that power in his arm is that much greater than anyone else on the board, at least in their eyes, there could be a chance that they will select him with the first pick. If they don't like his size or feel that Gerrit Cole is a better option, Bundy will be looking at a different potential employer.

Taking a Look At Starling

There is perhaps no other minor leaguer in the Pirates' system with a higher celing than that of Starling Marte. From the time he was signed, the physcial tools seemed to jump out at anyone who watched him play. It was easy to start to project and see him being a big time major leaguer. After a few seasons, Marte is now within striking distance of PNC Park manning the outifled in Blair County Ballpark.

Through 29 games, Marte is hitting for a  .328/.356/.456 line at AA. In addition he has stolen 9 bases and driven in 16 runs. He is doing a good bit offensively. Really the one minus is that he has only walked 4 times, while striking out 23 times. His high OBP is pretty much strictly his hitting. As for his play with the glove, all reports have indicated that he is one of the best in the system. He has great range and could perhaps be big league ready with his glove and arm.

With Marte though there are a few questions that need to be asked. One is will he develop a little more discipline at the plate? Right now he does not have all that much and could get into trouble if pitchers start to adjust to him. On top of the plate discipline, Marte has not developed the power that many had predicted. Granted he still has time to grow, but looking even at the periphery numbers, the power really has not been there. Of his 41 hits, only 10 are more than a single.

In a strange note, the righty is also having a ton of trouble with lefties, which would be the opposite of what one would think. Against righties he is hitting a Ted Williams-esqe .407. Against lefties he is hitting only .154 in 39 at bats. That is an odd left/right split.

For Marte to make it to Pittsburgh in short order, he will have to continue to play great defense. That will definitely be a must, as the team has sort of valued that sometimes forgotten part of the game. Additionally he will need to work on his strike zone discipline and adding more power. Perhaps the power will come, though it might not be the amount that many had predicted when he signed.

Marte is definitely an exciting player. He can do a lot on the diamond and will be one to watch. Adding him to an outfield of Tabata and McCutchen would give them a ton of defensive range and a ton of upside.

Pitching Duel

On paper the game tonight seems to be the best pitching matchup on the slate of games in the majors. It features Jair Jurrjens of Atlanta versus Charlie Morton of the Pirates. Both hurlers come into the game at 5-1.

Many may not be surprised to Jurrjens having a great season. He has long been a pitcher held in some regard, it may have been a matter of time before time and chance came together. Seeing Charlie Morton there is a bit of a surprise if you are thinking of the early season Charlie Morton of last season.

This turnaround started late last season when he started to put together some good starts. It went into high gear in the offseason when his mechanics were tweaked. Now we are seeing the results.

If Morton is able to get a win against the Braves it will perhaps create a bit of a stir nationally as well as locally. We could be looking at a guy that people come out to the ballpark to see pitch, something the Pirates may not have had since Oliver Perez first donned the black and gold.

Morton has had some national recognition, but by running his record to 6-1, beating a guy having just as good as a season, it will ger a little more attention.

The attention is a good thing. Morton went through a ton last season and it is good to see all of his work and perserverane rewarded.

2011 Draft Prospect: Gerrit Cole

Gerrit Cole: Future Bucco Ace?

In almost every draft there is a kid that is picked out of high school that does not sign. There are many different reasons for it. Perhaps it is money and perhaps it is just that the kid wants to go to college. Coming out of high school in 2008, Gerrit Cole was drafted by his favorite team, the New York Yankees in the first round. Cole chose to go to UCLA instead of signing and it looks like it might be a great finanical decision.

A 6'4" junior from UCLA, Cole is the best right handed pitcher in the draft. He has the type of body that scouts drool over when trying to find that projectable body. He has the stuff that many like to see as well as he hits 99 mph with his fastball, which he maintains in the mid 90's deep into starts.

Cole also features a low 90's slider and change up, yes a low 90's changeup. Cole has drawn comparisions to Stephen Strasburg and to Johan Santana, especially with his change up. Some think that Cole might not be as good as Strasburg, but could be the better big leaguer.

Many see Cole as being ready to step into a big league rotation rather quickly, perhaps next season, with a short stint in the minors to get used to throwing every fifth day.

If you could draft the next ace of the team, why not automatically take Cole? Well there is some pause as there are some doubts about his work load and how that plays with his arm. Cole has thrown 85, 129 and right now 99 innings in college thus far. That is quite a bit for a younger arm.

The Pirates under Huntington have liked to get value for their picks. With the first overall pick, they will definitely be looking for the most value. Pitching is the most valued commodity in baseball and adding a future ace, one that can come quickly may make Cole a slam dunk choice.

Weekly Farm Report

Team of the Week: West Virginia Power
Hitter of the Week: Chase d'Arnaud, Indianapolis
Pitcher of the Week: Brad Lincoln, Indianapolis
Honorable Mention Picher: Jose Hernandez, OF, Altoona

Indianapolis: 5-3 For the Week 

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Hernandez,	1	4	1	0	0	0	0	1
Ciriaco, P	5	9	0	0	1	3	0	3	Hot stick
Presley	5	8	4	0	0	2	2	5	Keeps plugging away
Hague	3	7	1	0	0	4	3	2
Lambo	3	5	0	0	1	4	2	4	Adds homer
d'Arnaud, C	8	12	1	1	1	6	1	3	Really hot at plate
Harrison	3	8	1	1	0	2	1	3
Brown, D	0	5	2	0	0	2	1	1
Friday	3	4	2	0	0	0	0	1
Marte, A	2	1	1	0	0	1	0	4
Wimberly	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	Struggling
Jaramillo, J	2	4	1	0	0	3	0	3
Bowker	5	9	2	0	2	9	2	5	AAAA?

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Lincoln	14	10	2	2	3	11	2			Knocking at door
Thomas, J	2.1	0	0	0	0	1	1
Burres	6	5	3	3	2	5		1
Watson, T	5	5	2	2	1	4				Nice work
Valdez, C	3	3	1	1	1	3
Gallagher	14	19	8	8	5	9	1	2		Ugly
Meyer	5.2	5	5	5	4	1				Not good
Leroux	1.4	6	0	0	2	2				Not Cut
Wilson, J	5.2	2	1	1	4	4	1			Nice work
Wood, T	1.1	2	1	1	0	2			1
Owens	6	5	2	2	0	3				More like it
Boyer	2.2	1	2	1	3	0
Olson	2	0	0	0	1	2
Meek	2	1	0	0	0	4				Rehab

Altoona: 4-4 For the Week 

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Holt, B	2	11	1	2	0	3	1	7	Plenty of hits
Marte	6	8	2	1	0	0	2	3	Solid
Mercer	2	6	2	0	1	5	2	5	Another HR
Sanchez	1	5	2	1	0	4	0	2	Solid week
Durham	3	5	2	0	0	3	4	7
Latimore	2	5	2	0	0	2	2	8	Not much power
Farrell	5	6	4	0	0	2	3	6
Fryer	3	5	0	0	0	1	2	3
Chalk	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Watts	0	2	0	0	0	1	2	8
Ford	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	1
Hernandez, J	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	2

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Hughes	18.1	14	1	1	5	7	3			3 wins
Dubee	5.1	7	2	2	2	3	1		2	Nice bullpen work
Alderson	14.2	9	3	2	0	4				Getting it together
Morris, B	1	4	4	2	0	1				Returns
Claggett	1.2	4	4	4	2	0
Locke	4.2	7	8	8	6	5		1		Not sharp
Colla	5	5	1	1	1	5
Pribanic	6	2	0	0	0	4
Krol	2	5	1	1	0	3			1
Thompson	1.1	10	10	8	2	2		2		Not good
Leach	1.2	4	4	4	1	0
McSwain	1.1	2	0	0	0	0
Leroux	1	1	1	0	0	1		1
Hernandez, J	1	0	0	0	0	3				3K's for the OF!!!

Bradenton: 2-5 For the Week 

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Grossman	7	7	1	0	1	2	4	4	Having a good season
Cunningham	3	5	1	0	1	3	1	8	Doing everything
Chambers	3	3	1	0	1	2	3	9	Lots of K's recently
Cabrera, Ra	0	2	0	0	0	1	3	2
Anderson, C	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	Not much
White	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4
Rubinstein	0	3	0	0	0	1	1	5
Gonzalez, E	1	8	1	0	1	3	1	2	Good week
Gonzalez, B	3	5	1	1	0	1	1	5
Brown	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	0
Baker, A	1	5	0	0	1	4	0	8	Adds HR
Santos, A	1	3	0	0	1	1	2	4
Paulino, C	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Moreno	4	2	1	0	2	8		1		Lots of K's
Erickson	2.1	1	1	0	1	1
Welker	4	1	1	1	2	3
Baker	7.2	12	11	6	3	4		2		Not pretty
McPherson	6	5	2	2	1	4	1
Ramos	4	2	0	0	2	6				Nice work
Inman	2	4	1	1	0	2		1
Miller, Q	5.2	8	2	2	1	5		1		Better
Navarro	4.1	3	1	1	0	1
Lorin	7.2	6	3	2	0	7			1	Lots of K's
Lopez, P	5	5	5	3	4	5
Beckman, R	3.1	5	1	1	1	5			1
Irwin, P	6	4	1	0	1	4	1			Great start

West Virginia: 5-2 For the Week

Player	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Note
Maggi	1	6	1	1	0	1	2	4	Nice hit total
Rojas	4	7	0	0	0	2	0	8	Turning around
Curry	6	8	2	0	3	5	4	5	3 HR!
Avila, Er	5	2	1	1	0	2	1	2
Howard	4	6	2	0	0	2	2	8
Diaz, El	2	3	0	0	1	3	0	7
Grovatt	2	5	1	0	1	2	0	6	No walks
Noris	4	4	0	2	1	6	2	1	Nice RBI total
Ngoepe	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	3
Vasquez, A	2	4	1	1	1	5	0	6
Mort	3	5	1	0	0	1	1	4
Emsley-Pai	4	5	1	0	0	2	4	0
Marquez	1	2	0	0	0	1	1	3

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	S	Note
Foster	2	1	0	0	1	4	1			Nice bullpen work
Cumpton	13.2	7	3	2	1	8	2			Workhorse
Decker	5	5	4	3	1	7	1
Waldron	6	4	1	1	1	2	1			Solid
Fuesser	6.2	10	2	2	4	8				Good
Cain	5	3	2	2	1	6		1		Solid
Stevenson	2	4	3	3	0	1
Townsend	2.1	1	0	0	0	1			1
Von Rosenberg	2.1	6	6	6	2	1				Not so good
Pounders	3	3	1	1	1	2
Sadler	2	3	0	0	0	2
Taillon	8	11	5	4	1	7		1		Keeps with K's