Josh Harrison slated for Altoona

[81omar]

    Story from the Altoona site lays out most of the Altoona roster according to Kyle Stark. Written by Jim Lane



<<<<<<<<<A few familiar faces will be donning Altoona Curve uniforms when the club opens the 2010 Eastern League season against Southern Division opponent Harrisburg at Blair County Ballpark on Thursday, April 8.

Kyle Stark, the Pirates’ director of player development, is putting the minor league rosters together and said right-handed pitcher Tim Alderson, who came to the Pittsburgh organization in the Freddy Sanchez trade to the Giants last July, should be one of the pitching stalwarts for the Curve.

The 22-year-old Alderson (6-6, 225) was the Giants’ No. 1 pick in the 2007 season. In 2008, he compiled a 13-4 record with the Giants’ San Jose team in the Class A California League. He began 2009 in San Jose and was 1-1 in five starts before being promoted to Class AA Connecticut where he went 6-1 in 13 starts before coming to the Curve.  He started seven games with Altoona and went 3-1 with a 4.66 ERA in 38 2/3 innings.

Stark said pitchers Michael Dubee and Dustin Molleken also will return to Altoona. Both pitched at Class A Lynchburg before being promoted to Altoona for the second half of the 2009 season. With the Curve, Dubee was 3-0 with a 2.91 ERA In 26 appearances. Molleken (1-1, 4.62) pitched in 18 games for the Curve.

First baseman-outfielder Miles Durham and second baseman Jimmy Negyrch also will be back at BCB. Durham divided 2009 between Lynchburg and Altoona, playing 65 games at each stop. At Altoona, he batted .275 with five homers and 34 RBIs. The Pirates’ 2008 minor league player of the year, Negrych played in 93 games with Altoona last season, batting .272, before suffering a season-ending injury in a collision with shortstop Brian Friday on July 27. Stark said Negrych has recovered from the injury and should be ready to go.

Catcher Kris Watts, who played in 17 games with the Curve in 2008 then spent all of 2009 at Lynchburg (.291 BA in 103 games), will be the Altoona backstop.

Several good infield prospects, including Chase d’Arnaud and Jordy Mercer, will be with the Curve. D’Arnaud batted close to .300 with State College, West Virginia and Lynchburg, is rated the Pirates’ fifth best prospect by Baseball America and was tabbed as the organization’s “best athlete” entering this season. Mercer ranked second among Pirate farmhands with 83 RBIs last season at Lynchburg.

Also ticketed for Altoona, according to Stark, are infielders Jose L. De Los Santos, Matt Hague and Joshua Harrison. 

Depending on what shakes out the remainder of spring training, Stark said former Curve pitchers Daniel Moskos (LHP) Kyle Bloom (LHP), Mike Crotta (RHP), Derek Hankins (RHP) and Moises Robles (RHP) could be back in Altoona. Other pitching possibilities for manager Matt Walbeck and his staff are Harrison Bishop, Jeff Locke, Rudy Owens, Matt McSwain, R.J. Rodriguez and Justin Wilson

[Woobie]

Harrison doesn't impress me at all. I doubt he even makes the majors.

Isn't the bigger story here keeping Alderson in Class AA? While he should get a call-up sooner than later, I assumed all along that he would start the year in Indy.

[81omar]

    When the year ended most people thought Alderson would start the year at AAA but they more or less said he would at least start the year at AA.Hopefully he wont last long there. This is the first I've heard about Harrison starting at AA from anyone and Stark probably knows better than anyone else,maybe it means he came to camp and has looked impressive

[WTM]

I thought McSwain retired.

No mention of Tony Watson, Ron Uviedo, Ramon Aguero (Uviedo and Aguero were already optioned to Altoona), or Tom Boleska.

No mention of Shelby Ford.  I saw him taking grounders at third at Pirate City, so he may be slated to be a UT guy in AAA.

[81omar]

    I might be able to explain the McSwain,Aguero and Uviedo....the story is from the 11th so the latter two were still in big league camp. As far as McSwain,we only heard a few days ago that he retired,not sure if it was a very recent decision on his part

[befubashi]

Corey Giger's article in the Altoona Mirror
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/527852.html?nav=727

The Curve pitching staff should have a legitimate ace this year in right-hander Tim Alderson, and despite a solid showing in 2009, lefty Daniel Moskos may be back for another season in Double-A.

The Pirates acquired Alderson from the Giants last year in a trade for Freddy Sanchez, and he finished up with the Curve after spending half a season with Connecticut in the Eastern League. The 21-year-old has a herky-jerky delivery that the Pirates may decide to tweak at some point, but they might want to leave him alone given his success so far.

Alderson, the No. 22 pick in the 2007 draft, is 23-7 with a 3.29 ERA in 54 career games (53 starts). He was 6-1 with a 3.47 ERA at Connecticut a year ago, only to struggle a bit with the Curve as he was 3-1, 4.66.

One major drawback for Alderson, who's 6-foot-6, is that he's been unable to develop a blazing fastball given his size. Some scouts have said the leg hitch in his delivery prevents him from throwing harder, but it's always dangerous tinkering too much with a pitcher's mechanics because it could do more harm than good.

"When I'm doing it, it feels smooth to me," Alderson said of his delivery following a start with the Curve last year.

Moskos, the No. 4 pick in the 2007 draft, made 25 starts for Altoona last season. His 11-10 record and 3.74 ERA were decent, but the Pirates have to be concerned about his control.

Moskos walked 58 with only 77 strikeouts in 149 innings, and opposing teams frequently hit him hard as he was around the plate too much.

Pirates farm director Kyle Stark listed Moskos as a question mark to return to the Curve, meaning the pitcher has a chance to earn a promotion to Triple-A with a strong showing this spring. The Bucs maintained all last year that they like Moskos as a starting pitcher, though it wouldn't be a surprise if they move him to the bullpen this season.

Several familiar names are set to return to the Curve this season, including outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, infielder Jim Negrych and pitchers Mike Crotta, Jared Hughes and Derek Hankins. Tony Watson, last year's opening-day starter, also will be back after an arm injury limited him to only five games in 2009.

One intriguing prospect to keep an eye on will be reliever Ramon Aguero, who looked impressive with a lively 95 mph fastball during a late-season call-up last year.

Aguero initially came to the Pirates under false pretenses as he went by the name Samuel Vasquez and claimed he was 19 years old. It turned out he not only had a different name, he actually was 23.

Aguero is now 25, and the organization needs to find out about him in a hurry to determine if he can be a key component of the future.

2010 Curve roster preview

A tentative look at some of the players expected to be on the Curve's opening-day roster, given that several jobs are still up for grabs in spring training. Pirates farm director Kyle Stark listed Moskos, Crotta, Hughes and Hankins, in particular, as potential question marks for Altoona's roster.

Position players

Position Name 2009 Team Avg. G AB R H HR RBI

C Kris Watts Lynchburg .291 103 340 54 99 7 49

1B Brad Hague Lynchburg .293 122 454 52 133 8 50

2B Jim Negrych Altoona .272 93 323 51 88 3 30

SS Chase d'Arnaud Lynchburg .295 54 210 45 62 4 26

SS Jordy Mercer Lynchburg .255 131 513 64 131 10 83

3B Josh Harrison Lynchburg .270 34 141 15 38 1 13

OF Gorkys Hernandez Altoona .262 86 344 45 90 3 31

OF Miles Durham Altoona .275 65 240 31 66 5 34

Pitchers

Pitcher Name 2009 Team W-L ERA G GS IP BB SO

RHP Tim Alderson Altoona/Conn. 9-2 3.88 20 20 111.1 27 64

LHP Daniel Moskos Altoona 11-10 3.74 27 25 149.0 58 77

LHP Tony Watson Altoona 0-3 8.22 5 5 15.1 11 14

RHP Mike Dubee Altoona 3-0 2.92 26 0 34.0 10 28

RHP Ramon Aguero Altoona 0-2 2.84 8 0 12.2 6 13

RHP Ronald Uviedo Lynchburg 5-5 3.36 23 18 101.2 28 79

RHP Derek Hankins Altoona 3-4 4.42 19 9 71.1 26 66

RHP Mike Crotta Altoona 7-8 4.76 27 27 143.2 33 97

RHP Jared Hughes Altoona 1-6 3.88 17 7 46.1 16 36

Potential midseason call-ups

Pitcher Name 2009 Team W-L ERA G GS IP BB SO

LHP Rudy Owens West Virginia 10-1 1.70 19 19 100.2 15 91

LHP Justin Wilson Lynchburg 6-8 4.50 26 26 116.0 55 94

LHP Jeff Locke Lynchburg 4-4 4.08 17 17 81.2 18 56

RHP Aaron Pribanic West Virginia 4-2 2.15 7 6 37.2 5 18

RHP Brian Leach West Virginia 7-4 2.96 32 12 109.1 39 88

[befubashi]

Owens, Locke, and Wilson as "potential call ups"?  Hopefully they are just saying that while they decide weather to drop Hankins, Hughes, or Crotta.  Locke is actually on the DL for a while, right?

[81omar]

     Lorin is the one on the DL till June/July not Locke. Thats a little odd those 3 are listed as call-ups,I would've bet on at least 2 of them being there to start the year.

   I guess Matt Hague changed his name

[gamecckfn]

Moskos going back to AA?  I figured he was going to be in the pen at AAA.

[Piratesprospects]

    I might be able to explain the McSwain,Aguero and Uviedo....the story is from the 11th so the latter two were still in big league camp. As far as McSwain,we only heard a few days ago that he retired,not sure if it was a very recent decision on his part

Was it confirmed that he retired?

[MAL]

    I might be able to explain the McSwain,Aguero and Uviedo....the story is from the 11th so the latter two were still in big league camp. As far as McSwain,we only heard a few days ago that he retired,not sure if it was a very recent decision on his part

Was it confirmed that he retired?

I'm going to ST next week.....I'll find out.

[RJReynolds]

Harrison doesn't impress me at all. I doubt he even makes the majors.

Isn't the bigger story here keeping Alderson in Class AA? While he should get a call-up sooner than later, I assumed all along that he would start the year in Indy.

Harrison intrigues me slightly. His plate discipline completely disappeared when he came over to the Pirates org...so moving him up to AA should be a pretty big challenge for him. If they can groom him to play 2B, I could see him sliding into a Pokey Reese type player with a bit better plate discipline. Not sure how his glove is but I think his bat can carry him to the edge of the bigs if he can regain the plate discipline he had shown throughout his college and pro career before the trade.

RJR

[81omar]

Harrison doesn't impress me at all. I doubt he even makes the majors.

Isn't the bigger story here keeping Alderson in Class AA? While he should get a call-up sooner than later, I assumed all along that he would start the year in Indy.

Harrison intrigues me slightly. His plate discipline completely disappeared when he came over to the Pirates org...so moving him up to AA should be a pretty big challenge for him. If they can groom him to play 2B, I could see him sliding into a Pokey Reese type player with a bit better plate discipline. Not sure how his glove is but I think his bat can carry him to the edge of the bigs if he can regain the plate discipline he had shown throughout his college and pro career before the trade.

RJR

   I agree,its hard for me to write a guy off who is still just 22 and has a .309 minor league average,with speed,and can play 4 different positions. I think putting him in AA might be a good test for him to see if he can handle it and let us know if hes a legit prospect or not

[befubashi]

Altoona Mirror
BRADENTON, Fla. - Pirates officials have made up their minds - for now at least - that Daniel Moskos can best help the organization as a relief pitcher.

"I'm assuming for the long haul now I'm going to be a reliever," Moskos said Monday following a one-inning outing in a minor league intrasquad game.

Pirates personnel spent all of last season discussing Moskos' potential as a starter, while the 2007 first-round draft pick was having his ups and downs in that role with the Curve.

Moskos, who always expresses a refreshing positive attitude, didn't really care which role he wound up in. He simply wanted a decision made, and the Pirates made one three days ago by telling him he'll be in the Curve's bullpen.

. . .

Moskos got off to a slow start last season, then former Curve pitching coach Dean Treanor worked to help him drastically change his delivery. Moskos was lifting his front leg straight up, but Treanor convinced him to bring it back past his hip.

The pitcher called his season "a tale of two deliveries."

"I really took off with it," he said of the new approach, which he has fine-tuned. "There were, as can be expected, some inconsistencies because it was a pretty big change.

"Some starts I went out there and I was really good, really comfortable with it. And then some starts I felt like I was a little all over the place. This year the delivery feels great. My mechanics feel better than they probably have ever been."

Moskos did not receive an invitation to big league spring training, somewhat of a surprise given he was a first-rounder just three years ago.

"I felt a little bit snubbed," he said. "But the way they explained it, it made sense, and I'm OK with it. I didn't have a chance really to make the team even if I went, so there's no point in being up there and struggling with inconsistency, not getting enough time, no one working with me, not getting innings."

More at:
http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/528348.html?nav=727

[MAL]

Harrison doesn't impress me at all. I doubt he even makes the majors.

Isn't the bigger story here keeping Alderson in Class AA? While he should get a call-up sooner than later, I assumed all along that he would start the year in Indy.

Harrison intrigues me slightly. His plate discipline completely disappeared when he came over to the Pirates org...so moving him up to AA should be a pretty big challenge for him. If they can groom him to play 2B, I could see him sliding into a Pokey Reese type player with a bit better plate discipline. Not sure how his glove is but I think his bat can carry him to the edge of the bigs if he can regain the plate discipline he had shown throughout his college and pro career before the trade.

RJR

   I agree,its hard for me to write a guy off who is still just 22 and has a .309 minor league average,with speed,and can play 4 different positions. I think putting him in AA might be a good test for him to see if he can handle it and let us know if hes a legit prospect or not

The starting Curve infield that I've seen in several minor league ST games has been ....Mercer, D'Arnaud, Harrison, Hague...3rd to 1st