On The Farm
Top Prospects

From new management to new front office personnel, the Pirates will see some changes this off-season. And the quicker the hirings are completed, the faster the management can evaluate the talent and move on from there. With that in mind, we thought we would do our part by listing the top Pirate prospects and how they faired in 2007.

1. Steven Pearce, RF/1B - Pearce started the season playing first base in single A and ended it playing in right field at PNC Park. He hit a combined .333 with 31 homeruns and 113 RBI during his ascent to the majors. Pearce, who never went hitless in back-to-back games last season, was the organizations first Spink Award winner, given to the top minor league player in all of baseball. This winter he will travel to Taiwan to play for Team USA in the IBAF World Cup.

2. Matt Peterson, RHP - In his first season pitching exclusively out of the bullpen Peterson recorded 29 saves, the most ever by an Altoona reliever. He posted a 1.98 ERA while striking out 56 batters in 63.2 innings. He limited batters to a .198 average with runners on base and stranded 83 percent of inherited base runners.

3. Andrew McCutchen, CF - McCutchen shrugged off his slow start in double A last season to eventually earn a promotion to triple A by seasons end. His speed being one of his main assets, he stole 17 bases in 18 attempts at double A. While he batted only .258 in Altoona, he hit .313 in triple A Indianapolis over the final month of the season.

4. Neil Walker, 3B - The big news surrounding Walker going into the season was if he would be able to handle the switch from catcher to third base. And while there were a few speed bumps along the way (27 errors between Altoona and Indianapolis), management is happy with his progress. And while he struggled in his brief stint in triple A to finish the season by batting .208, he hit a consistent .288 in double A.

5. Brian Bixler, SS - Bixler offers something that the Pirates have not had from an infielder since Tony Womack - a legitimate base stealer. Playing the entire season in triple A, Bixler stole 28 bases while only being thrown out four times. He also led the team with ten triples. But his average dipped to .274, a career low, and he struck out a team high 131 times in 475 at bats.

6. Bryan Bullington, RHP - After missing the entire 2006 season due to shoulder surgery, Bullington showed in April why he was selected first overall in 2002. The right handed starter went 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA. He earned the start for the Triple A All-Star game, posting a 10-4 record by the break. Although he eventually wore down, which can be expected from missing so much time, he finished the season 11-9 with a 4.00 ERA and was a late season call-up to the Pirates.