Well, Felix Pie was just the lead man for a burst of Bucco signings as the Pirates restock their Indy club. They announced five other additions to the farm system today.
The only other position player the FO inked was IF Alex Valdez, 28. Valdez has spent most of his time at third, but has played all four infield positions in the minors since signing with Oakland in 2004. The Dominican has a lifetime .269 BA in nine seasons in the A's, Nats and Red Sox organizations. That number is inflated by his 2012 year at Ciudad del Carmen in the Mexican League, where he had a slash of .359/.411/.597 with 19 HR and 78 RBI, all far and away career highs.
RHP Brooks Brown, 27, was taken from the Detroit system after entering pro ball as a first round pick of Arizona in 2006. The Bucs should have a good book on the sinker/slider hurler; he's toiled for AA Erie in the Eastern League and AAA Toledo in the International League since 2009. Brown's a starter with a career 43-59/4.33 slash with no standout peripherals and fits the Pirate mold of being tall - 6'3" - and a former top draft pick, which earned him an invitation to camp.
RHP Erik Cordier, 26, was a second round pick of the Royals in 2004 straight from high school. He missed 2007 after shoulder surgery, and looked like he had bounced back in 2009-10 after the Braves acquired him in the Tony Pena Jr. trade. But the last couple of seasons haven't been that kind to him, as he's compiled a 6-12 record and 5.34 ERA as a spot starter and long man, mostly at AAA Gwinnett. The 6'4" righty also got an invitation to camp. He features a mid-nineties heater and an above average slider, but has some serious control issues.
RHP David Bromberg, 25, was a late pick of the Twins from high school in 2005. He's spent the last three years yo-yo'ing between AA and AAA, with a 45-33/3.68 slash and an interesting 644 K in 699-1/3 IP. Bromberg is another big guy at 6'5", and with the usual Bucco drawback - he averages 3.6 walks per nine. He was a starter until last season, when he worked both as a spot starter and out of the pen as he regained arm strength.
The righty led his Class A leagues in strikeouts in 2007, 2008, and 2009, and was named the Twins minor league pitcher of the year in 2009, throwing in the mid-nineties. His performance tailed after making the jump to Double-A in 2010, especially his ability to miss bats, and he sat out most of 2011 when a line drive broke his forearm. Still, at one point he was considered a potential mid-rotation guy, and maybe a change of scenery will help.
RHP Luis Sanz, 25, came from Detroit's organization. He's never pitched higher than A ball in his seven minor league seasons and his peripheral stats don't show much promise; his K-to-BB ratio is 426-223 in 563 IP, not even 2:1.
2 comments:
Okay, so they're having a "cattle call" of minor league arms. Nothing wrong with that, I think it's a smart strategy, particularly when it comes to "depth guys". Hey, once in awhile one or two pitchers like this will actually jump up and help you. Not sure why the Twins---weak as their organization is right now---would give up on Bromberg. He looks like the best of that lot just from perusing his stats.
Cordier could be a sleeper, too, Will. He's had a bunch of nagging injuries; it's possible that he could be useful if he can avoid the tub for a season.
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