The Future Is Now
Many Pirates Prospects Are Ahead Of Expectations
By John E. Sacco

The best case scenario was for the Indianapolis Indians' lineup to be sporting Brad Eldred at first, Jose Bautista at third and Ronny Paulino at catcher.

The best laid plans. . .

As the Pirates' entered June, Eldred continued his recovery from thumb surgery and Bautista and Paulino were starting players in Pittsburgh.

This isn't how general manager David Littlefield or the Pirates' minor league brass had envisioned things for 2006.

The plan was for Eldred, Bautista and Paulino to sharpen their skills in Class AAA one more season and then make a big push to join the Pirates' 25-man roster in 2007.

But things happen.

First baseman Sean Casey was injured in April. Joe Randa, signed as a free agent during the off-season to play third base, was injured shortly thereafter. Ryan Doumit, slated to at the very least split time with Humberto Cota, also was injured and disabled for a period of time.

All of this left the door open for Bautista and Paulino.

Neither seems headed back to the minor leagues any time soon.

That has left the Pirates with a major league club full of most of their top prospects.

And most expect their best starting pitching prospect, Tom Gorzelanny, to make his big-league debut sometime this year.

Said one national writer: "Gorzelanny might be their best starting pitching prospect of all. He has a chance to be a No. 1-type pitcher. There's not much left for him to do. I think he'll be treated like Duke was last year. At some point, the Pirates are going to bring him up. I don't think he'll go back down."

Late last month, Gorzelanny lost a tough 2-1 decision. He scattered seven hits through seven innings. He struck out seven and walked none. After that effort, his earned run average was 2.56.

The scouting reports are better than the numbers.

After that particular outing, Gorzelanny wondered what was left for him to do.

"I don't think there's really much left to work on," he said. "I've just got to be consistent and stay in games longer. Just win ball games. That's the whole mentality this season."

Gorzelanny would give the Pirates another left-handed starter to go with Zach Duke, Paul Maholm and Oliver Perez.

Some members of the national media, who cover the minor leagues as well, suggest that Gary Ruby - the Pirates' minor-league pitching coordinator - needs to be credited for the success the organization's young pitchers are experiencing.

Ruby said recently that everything the organization said four years ago that it was going to do is being done.

"To have four guys under 25-years-old in your starting rotation, that's really special," Ruby was quoted as saying.

"You sit back every day and say, 'we want to win in the big leagues - and we will, eventually. But this is four years paying off for everybody."

The Pirates' other top pitching prospect at Indianapolis is left-handed starter Sean Burnett, who is trying to work his way back to the Pirates after Tommy John surgery.

Burnett is the one prospect who has followed the big club's plan. While he enjoyed a fine spring, Pirates' brass wanted Burnett to take his recovery slowly while pitching in Class AAA.

Burnett's return to the big leagues is a bit cloudy, however. Gorzelanny is ahead of him and it would seem the young starting pitchers, at least for the moment, are entrenched.

The again, few expected Paulino or Bautista to be playing such large and important roles for the Pirates.

Paulino seized his opportunity and has shown a strong ability to handle the pitching staff as well as give glimpses of a strong arm. His emergence has allowed the team to experiment with Doumit at first base and has pushed Cota to the point where the team is considering moving him in a trade.

Bautista gives the Pirates many options, not only game to game, but for the future. While he is a third baseman, Bautista has played all outfield positions in Pittsburgh and many think he'll be an outstanding defender there.

He possesses a strong arm and shown the ability to go get the ball.

Manager Jim Tracy said he has to see "Jose Bautista show that he can't do something."

Former Pirates' manager and coach, Bill Virdon, thinks Bautista has the ability and talent to be an outstanding defensive outfielder if the club decides to move him to one of the three positions permanently.

While it was Littlefield's plan to have Randa play third and Jeromy Burnitz to play right field for the Pirates in 2006, it now seems the emergence of Paulino and Bautista has ensured the two will be dealt at the trade deadline at the end of next month.

Littlefield has said all moves are not intended to be permanent, just a response to injuries and other matters.

Tracy said is unfair to expect the new staff to pick its ultimate 25-man roster in six weeks of spring training.

He added that people have talked a lot about what has happened to the Pirates over the last 13 years.

"You're talking about some people who were here that were dear friends of mine, people I hold with the utmost respect for their capabilities as baseball people. There's some work to be done here."

Eldred seems to have the most work in front of him.

He suffered a fracture/dislocation in April. He was hitting just .226 at the time for the Indians with three home runs and 10 RBI in 18 games.

If the Pirates keep Casey, a free agent at the end of the season, or intend to use Doumit at first base long-range, it would seem Eldred, at best, is looking at a platoon situation. It's likely he'll spend another season in Class AAA in 2007.

The Pirates only other top prospect at Indianapolis is pitcher Josh Sharpless, who was dominant at Class AA Altoona before being promoted to Triple A. The 25-year-old Sharpless might be given a crack at the Pirates' bullpen at some point this year.

Other top prospects, such as Neil Walker and Andrew McCutcheon, are still progressing at the Class A level.

The status of centerfielder Chris Duffy, demoted by the Pirates in May, is unclear. Duffy refused to report to Indianapolis after the demotion. While his offensive performance in 2006 at Pittsburgh was poor, he would still be considered a prospect in the organization. He did hit .341 in limited play for the Pirates at the end of 2005. He is an outstanding defender.

With Nate McLouth and possibly Bautista playing centerfield in Pittsburgh, and his refusal to report, it would seem Duffy will have a long road back to Pittsburgh.

His case has just been one of a handful of unexpected twists to the Pirates' plan for their top prospects this year.

Wrote one MLB contributing editor, "Unfortunately for Pirates fans, the majority of the organization's best prospects are currently taking their lumps on the big-league club, meaning things don't figure to get significantly better (in terms of wins and losses) this season."

John E. Sacco has covered the Pirates and Major League Baseball for PSR since October 1998. He previously covered the team from 1985 to 1992 and is a former member of the Baseball Writer's Association of America, Pittsburgh Chapter.