Well, it cost the Bucs one of their breakout pitchers, but they did get an outfield bat. The Pirates sent Brad Lincoln, 27, to the Toronto Blue Jays for outfielder Travis Snider, 24, in an exchange of 2006 first round picks. It actually helps both guys in the long run. The Jays will likely use Lincoln as a starter next season, and Snider will get a chance in Pittsburgh to play every day. That's the bet the teams are making regarding relative values; the Jays plan on Lincoln being a rotation guy, and the Pirates get to pencil in Snider as their regular right fielder.
Snider has been up and down in the show since 2009, but never won a starting position. He's a lefty power guy who misses a lot of pitches; he's K'ed 250 times in 917 MLB PA (27%), and gone yard 31 times with 112 RBI, hitting .247 with .734 OPS. In many ways, he's a mini-Pedro, a work in progress with the occasional teaser flash.
He'll go the opposite way at the plate and has trouble with southpaws. "Lunchbox" (he earned the nickname because, well, he likes to eat and is an excellent cook) is just a decent outfielder with good speed and an average arm. It also describes his playing style; he's a hard-nosed, hustle guy.
Snider isn’t eligible for arbitration until after the 2013 season, so is under team control through 2016. That gives the Pirates a starting outfield of Snider, 24, Cutch, 25, and Starling Marte, 23, with fourth man Alex Presley the old man at 27. We'll see how the corners react to the growing pains, but that's one high ceiling if it works out right. Neal Huntington stayed true to his word; no rental overpays. Snider has the opportunity to become a long term piece of the puzzle.
The immediate dominoes? Well, someone has to replace Brad Lincoln, and that would be either Evan Meek or Bryan Morris, both who have been on the big team this year and are on the 40-man roster already. In the long run, the move tells us the Pirates saw Lincoln as a bullpen piece, and with plenty of those guys piled up in the minors, the FO was dealing from a position with depth. And the Bucs do have a good eye for picking up guys on the market if push comes to shove.
Next, someone has to get the heave-ho on the bench; we're thinking Jordy Mercer, who can be optioned and recalled in September, leaving Drew Sutton as a stick for Clint Hurdle.
There's a back splash for guys that remain, too. Alex Presley becomes the fourth outfielder, which is probably the role he's best suited to play. And with Snider in right, Pittsburgh is back to Plan A, platooning Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee at first, which should make that spot more productive. It looks like Kevin Correia may have to get used to his new home in the pen, too, as he now becomes the default multi-inning guy.
And it sure can't be doing much to make Jose Tabata's day at Indy, either.
It's certainly not without risk; Snider is far from a proven commodity and still feeling his way around the league. For all his pedigree, he's never reached the 300 AB mark. Snider's better known for his AAA mashing (in the hitter heaven of the PCL) and siren-song upside rather than actual MLB production.
So basically, the trade says that Toronto has given up on tapping that potential and cutting their losses. The Bucs are betting that a full-time gig will help him figure it out. Well, we'll find out soon enough; he's supposed to report to the team in time for tonight's game.
For this year, he may not be that much help, and that's the major bone of contention of tapping Snider instead of a Victorino, especially among the mainstream media folk. The Pirates will have a lot of guys trying to learn their jobs on the fly. But for the franchise as it heads down the road, it's a roll of the dice worth taking.
Showing posts with label brad lincoln. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brad lincoln. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Pellas On The Pirates: Don't Give Up On Lincoln...Yet
I still have hope that Lincoln can be at least a useful mid-rotation guy
in the big leagues. Correia will, presumably, be gone after this
season (though ya never know), Bedard almost certainly will be, too,
Morton has to prove he's healthy and that he's no longer a space
cadet---at least not on days he's pitching---Karstens has to show that
he can take a regular turn for an entire season, and so on. In short,
there are still plenty of opportunities for Lincoln to show he belongs
in the Pirates rotation.
His incredible-for-a-pitcher stick is a big plus, too. Other than Carlos Zambrano, he might already be the best hitter at his position in the National League. Seriously, he's that good with the bat. So, he doesn't really have to be anything more than reliably average to be a definite asset for this team.
But to this point he hasn't been reliably average or even mediocre. He's had a handful of good outings and about twice as many really bad ones. He also doesn't seem to trust his stuff very much; he's a real nibbler, which is puzzling for a guy who has a true hammer for a curveball. I know he's lost a few feet off his fastball because of the surgery, but if I'm not mistaken his heater is still hitting 92-93 MPH---not great, but definitely a better than average major league fastball.
The fact that he doesn't have a third pitch has been pointed out in various places, and his fastball is also pretty "straight," but even so you'd think he'd go right after hitters a lot more than he does. There are many pitchers, in other words, who have lesser stuff than Lincoln who succeed by being far more aggressive. So, it's very strange.
Maybe his best position would be in the bullpen after all. A number of commentators said so back when Lincoln was first promoted; I have fought against that perception because we need all the starters we can get and because I think we need his bat, but maybe in the 'pen he can dial it up for one or two innings at a time and he'll have better results. I dunno. The clock is ticking with him, that's for sure.
(Will Pellas, GW's co-conspirator, contributes his thoughts on the Brad Lincoln enigma.)
His incredible-for-a-pitcher stick is a big plus, too. Other than Carlos Zambrano, he might already be the best hitter at his position in the National League. Seriously, he's that good with the bat. So, he doesn't really have to be anything more than reliably average to be a definite asset for this team.
But to this point he hasn't been reliably average or even mediocre. He's had a handful of good outings and about twice as many really bad ones. He also doesn't seem to trust his stuff very much; he's a real nibbler, which is puzzling for a guy who has a true hammer for a curveball. I know he's lost a few feet off his fastball because of the surgery, but if I'm not mistaken his heater is still hitting 92-93 MPH---not great, but definitely a better than average major league fastball.
The fact that he doesn't have a third pitch has been pointed out in various places, and his fastball is also pretty "straight," but even so you'd think he'd go right after hitters a lot more than he does. There are many pitchers, in other words, who have lesser stuff than Lincoln who succeed by being far more aggressive. So, it's very strange.
Maybe his best position would be in the bullpen after all. A number of commentators said so back when Lincoln was first promoted; I have fought against that perception because we need all the starters we can get and because I think we need his bat, but maybe in the 'pen he can dial it up for one or two innings at a time and he'll have better results. I dunno. The clock is ticking with him, that's for sure.
(Will Pellas, GW's co-conspirator, contributes his thoughts on the Brad Lincoln enigma.)
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Brad Lincoln
Brad Lincoln was raised in Lake Jackson, Texas, and played baseball & football for Brazoswood High. For a couple of years, anyway. By his junior season, he gave up QB'ing and went full-tilt for baseball. It was a good decision. When his season season ended, Lincoln was named All-District and All-County MVP and an All-State player.
Texas chose Lincoln in the 28th round of the 2003 MLB draft, but he wisely opted to attend the University of Houston, rejecting not only the Rangers but the competing college overtures of Texas A&M, Saint Louis, New Mexico and Texas-Arlington.
He broke out there as a junior when he went 12-2 with a 1.69 ERA, piling up 152 strikeouts in 127-2/3 IPs for the Cougars, launched by a strong 2005 Cape Cod summer league campaign. When he wasn't on the hill, hey, no problemo - he hit .295 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI as a 1B/DH.
Lincoln was honored as the Conference USA Player of the Year, and took home the Dick Howser Trophy (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association top player; Clemson's Kris Benson won it in 1996), the Brooks Wallace Award (College Baseball Foundation's top player) along with the ABCA/Rawlings and Rival.com Player of the Year Awards.
Scouts liked Lincoln a lot as a pitcher, and he sure wasn't one of Dave Littlefield's sign-on-the-cheap selections. He threw in the mid nineties with a hook and a show-me change up. Pittsburgh chose him fourth overall in the first round of the 2006 MLB draft (they took Alex Presley eighth). He signed quickly for $2.75M.
In a show of confidence, Pittsburgh assigned him to Low Class A Hickory after two Rookie League starts rather than to the usual jumping off point, short-season Williamsport. The FO had high hopes of starting his career on the fast track.
But unfortunately, he spent more time in the tub than the track. An oblique strain shut him down after four starts and sixteen frames at Hickory. It would get worse. Lincoln had Tommy John surgery performed by Dr. James Andrews in April, 2007, after complaining of pain in his right arm during spring training and lost the season.
Lincoln returned to the Crawdads in 2008 and was promoted to the High Class A Lynchburg Hillcats at midseason. His stats were workmanlike, with a combined 6-10/4.69 ERA and 1.264 WHIP in 103-2/3 innings. In 2009, he split the year between Altoona and Indy. Lincoln tore up for the Curve, with a 2.28 ERA and 1.080 WHIP, and went 6-2/4.70 with the Tribe in a dozen starts.
The following season, Lincoln got the call for his MLB debut on June 9th vs. Washington, and notched his first MLB win on June 30th against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He pitched seven innings, striking out six and walking just one as the Pirates won 2-0.
But those type performances were few and far between. Lincoln was sent back to AAA after giving up 5+ runs three times in his final four outings. In eleven big league games (9 starts), he was 1-4/6.66 averaging 4 Ks and 2.5 Ws per game.
Lincoln was having noticable mechanical problems and his speed was down by a couple of ticks. Many felt that he was out of sync because of Joe Kerrigan's excessive tinkering, and the way he handled Lincoln may have been the straw that broke the camel's back for Kerrigan.
Again putting up workmanlike numbers in Indianapolis in 2010 (7-5/4.12 and a 1.138 WHIP in seventeen starts) and having gotten a taste of the show, the 26 year old righty came into camp in 2011 looking for a spot in the rotation. But after taking a liner off the arm, he missed some March turns and lost out to Ohlie and Charlie Morton.
He was sent back to Indy - the Pirates still thought highly enough of him that they wanted him to keep making regular starts - and he was the same ol' Brad, 7-8/4.19 with a 1.218 WHIP.
Lincoln was called up in July for a spot start, and then again in August after injuries began to hound the Pirate staff. He was assigned to the pen, where he wasn't very good (4 appearances, 7.94 ERA), and was shortly back to work as a starter.
He was better than 2010, but still inconsistent and much too prone to nibbling instead of challenging hitters. His velocity was erratic and it seemed to take him an inning or two to settle in, as his 1st & 2nd inning ERAs of 10.12 & 7.04 showed. And there was no Joe Kerrigan to blame this time around. He finished 2-3/4.72 with a 1.469 WHIP, not very solid numbers.
With the addition of AJ Burnett, his slim chances of breaking camp as part of the rotation were pretty much, barring injury, turned to ash. He has an option remaining, and the Bucs will probably exercise it to keep him pitching regularly at Indy.
He may eventually slot into the old Jeff Karstens role of long man/spot starter, although we don't think that will be this spring. But it may be soon. Burnett, Morton, Karstens, and J-Mac all return in 2013, and Jeff Locke may bypass Lincoln as the minor league insurance policy this season. After that, there are a lot of young arms trying to get noticed, so it's hard to say how much longer Lincoln's window will remain open.
He's the top pitcher in the Pirate system right now in terms of MLB readiness. And he'll have to take advantage. The rest of the field is gaining quickly.His challenge is threefold: regain his aggressiveness, his velocity, and hit the street running. If he can do that, he can still be a piece of the Pirate future.
Texas chose Lincoln in the 28th round of the 2003 MLB draft, but he wisely opted to attend the University of Houston, rejecting not only the Rangers but the competing college overtures of Texas A&M, Saint Louis, New Mexico and Texas-Arlington.
He broke out there as a junior when he went 12-2 with a 1.69 ERA, piling up 152 strikeouts in 127-2/3 IPs for the Cougars, launched by a strong 2005 Cape Cod summer league campaign. When he wasn't on the hill, hey, no problemo - he hit .295 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI as a 1B/DH.
Lincoln was honored as the Conference USA Player of the Year, and took home the Dick Howser Trophy (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association top player; Clemson's Kris Benson won it in 1996), the Brooks Wallace Award (College Baseball Foundation's top player) along with the ABCA/Rawlings and Rival.com Player of the Year Awards.
Scouts liked Lincoln a lot as a pitcher, and he sure wasn't one of Dave Littlefield's sign-on-the-cheap selections. He threw in the mid nineties with a hook and a show-me change up. Pittsburgh chose him fourth overall in the first round of the 2006 MLB draft (they took Alex Presley eighth). He signed quickly for $2.75M.
In a show of confidence, Pittsburgh assigned him to Low Class A Hickory after two Rookie League starts rather than to the usual jumping off point, short-season Williamsport. The FO had high hopes of starting his career on the fast track.
But unfortunately, he spent more time in the tub than the track. An oblique strain shut him down after four starts and sixteen frames at Hickory. It would get worse. Lincoln had Tommy John surgery performed by Dr. James Andrews in April, 2007, after complaining of pain in his right arm during spring training and lost the season.
Lincoln returned to the Crawdads in 2008 and was promoted to the High Class A Lynchburg Hillcats at midseason. His stats were workmanlike, with a combined 6-10/4.69 ERA and 1.264 WHIP in 103-2/3 innings. In 2009, he split the year between Altoona and Indy. Lincoln tore up for the Curve, with a 2.28 ERA and 1.080 WHIP, and went 6-2/4.70 with the Tribe in a dozen starts.
The following season, Lincoln got the call for his MLB debut on June 9th vs. Washington, and notched his first MLB win on June 30th against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He pitched seven innings, striking out six and walking just one as the Pirates won 2-0.
But those type performances were few and far between. Lincoln was sent back to AAA after giving up 5+ runs three times in his final four outings. In eleven big league games (9 starts), he was 1-4/6.66 averaging 4 Ks and 2.5 Ws per game.
Lincoln was having noticable mechanical problems and his speed was down by a couple of ticks. Many felt that he was out of sync because of Joe Kerrigan's excessive tinkering, and the way he handled Lincoln may have been the straw that broke the camel's back for Kerrigan.
Again putting up workmanlike numbers in Indianapolis in 2010 (7-5/4.12 and a 1.138 WHIP in seventeen starts) and having gotten a taste of the show, the 26 year old righty came into camp in 2011 looking for a spot in the rotation. But after taking a liner off the arm, he missed some March turns and lost out to Ohlie and Charlie Morton.
He was sent back to Indy - the Pirates still thought highly enough of him that they wanted him to keep making regular starts - and he was the same ol' Brad, 7-8/4.19 with a 1.218 WHIP.
Lincoln was called up in July for a spot start, and then again in August after injuries began to hound the Pirate staff. He was assigned to the pen, where he wasn't very good (4 appearances, 7.94 ERA), and was shortly back to work as a starter.
He was better than 2010, but still inconsistent and much too prone to nibbling instead of challenging hitters. His velocity was erratic and it seemed to take him an inning or two to settle in, as his 1st & 2nd inning ERAs of 10.12 & 7.04 showed. And there was no Joe Kerrigan to blame this time around. He finished 2-3/4.72 with a 1.469 WHIP, not very solid numbers.
With the addition of AJ Burnett, his slim chances of breaking camp as part of the rotation were pretty much, barring injury, turned to ash. He has an option remaining, and the Bucs will probably exercise it to keep him pitching regularly at Indy.
He may eventually slot into the old Jeff Karstens role of long man/spot starter, although we don't think that will be this spring. But it may be soon. Burnett, Morton, Karstens, and J-Mac all return in 2013, and Jeff Locke may bypass Lincoln as the minor league insurance policy this season. After that, there are a lot of young arms trying to get noticed, so it's hard to say how much longer Lincoln's window will remain open.
He's the top pitcher in the Pirate system right now in terms of MLB readiness. And he'll have to take advantage. The rest of the field is gaining quickly.His challenge is threefold: regain his aggressiveness, his velocity, and hit the street running. If he can do that, he can still be a piece of the Pirate future.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Lincoln Up, Watson Down
Today's news is that Tony Watson was optioned to Indy and Brad Lincoln called up. Lincoln was 7-8 with a 4.19 ERA for the Tribe while Watson is the only member of the bullpen that still has a live option.
We don't believe this has anything to do with Watson's performance (0-2, 2.73, 25 appearances) as much as the Pirate need for some fresh arms after the pen has been worked to death in the past ten days. We're a little surpised, though; we thought Ross Ohlendorf would get the call. Apparently they want to give him an outing or two more at Indy.
However, a stint in the pen may not be the reason for the call. What we'd watch for is Bad Brad to spot start tomorrow. He hasn't pitched in a week, and Kevin Correia of the notoriously poor PNC record is scheduled to go.
So Lincoln could easily take his place and allow Clint Hurdle to adjust his rotation to give some guys a rest. Only Paul Maholm is used to a full season's workload, and the innings are beginning to show on the staff. It also provides the added incentive of pushing back Correia's start to the road, where he's been much sharper.
Of course, Lincoln could just be Ohlie's placeholder, too. In that case, he'll be returned when Ohlendorf is ready, and in all likelihood both he and Watson will rejoin the club in September.
So tomorrow will tell if the Bucs are just swapping out long men or trying to give a struggling staff an extra day to catch their breath.
We don't believe this has anything to do with Watson's performance (0-2, 2.73, 25 appearances) as much as the Pirate need for some fresh arms after the pen has been worked to death in the past ten days. We're a little surpised, though; we thought Ross Ohlendorf would get the call. Apparently they want to give him an outing or two more at Indy.
However, a stint in the pen may not be the reason for the call. What we'd watch for is Bad Brad to spot start tomorrow. He hasn't pitched in a week, and Kevin Correia of the notoriously poor PNC record is scheduled to go.
So Lincoln could easily take his place and allow Clint Hurdle to adjust his rotation to give some guys a rest. Only Paul Maholm is used to a full season's workload, and the innings are beginning to show on the staff. It also provides the added incentive of pushing back Correia's start to the road, where he's been much sharper.
Of course, Lincoln could just be Ohlie's placeholder, too. In that case, he'll be returned when Ohlendorf is ready, and in all likelihood both he and Watson will rejoin the club in September.
So tomorrow will tell if the Bucs are just swapping out long men or trying to give a struggling staff an extra day to catch their breath.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Bucs Have A Skyblast
Hey, they got the game going in between the storm fronts, and the Bucs seemed appreciative as they jumped off to a quick 1-0 lead. Andrew McCutchen led off with a double, Neil Walker dropped a parachute into left to put runners on the corners, and Ryan Doumit brought McClutch home with a sac fly.
After wasting a Lastings Milledge double in the second, the Pirates went progressive in the third. McCutchen doubled, Walker tripled, and Doumit drilled one into the cheap seats in right for his sixth homer. And Todd Wellemeyer was lucky to escape without the inning becoming a total blowout.
Garrett Jones and Delwyn Young followed with singles, but Andy LaRoche rolled into an easy 4-6-3 DP. Two walks loaded the sacks, but Paul Maholm bounced into a force play, making the third out for the second straight inning.
McCutchen found the seats to lead off the fifth, and after a four-pitch Walker base on ball, Wellemeyer headed for the showers. In three innings, he gave up six runs on nine hits, along with three walks and two strikeouts.
Ol' Bucco Denny Bautista came on and wild-pitched Walker to second before giving up a double to Doumit, making it 6-0 after four.
The G-Men finally got to Maholm in the sixth, when Andres Torres led off with a two-base gapper and Freddy Sanchez doubled him in. Two soft groundouts later, the Giants small-balled Steady Freddy home, and it was 6-2.
An inning later, Maholm got the hook. He was starting to fall behind hitters, and after a line-out and Buster Posey double, JR wasn't going to play around; Evan Meek finished off the Giants in the seventh. Maholm went 6-1/3 innings, giving up two runs on six hits (four doubles) with a strikeout.
Hanrahan did his part in the eighth, and JR brought in Octavia Dotel to get some work; he's been off for a bit between the rain and yesterday's loss. And he sure had a lot of rust to knock off.
He walked the first hitter and then whiffed the next pair. Then came the drama. A bloop single, another walk, and a ground ball single made it 6-3 and the bases were juiced for Freddy Sanchez, who already had a pair of hits and whose only out was a liner.
Sanchez roped the first pitch deep to left center, and it ran away from Milledge, who made things worse by taking a bad route to the bullet. But he made a last second dive, sliding into the 383 mark of the wall, and came up with the ball in his web.
The 36,687 Skyblast fans let out a collective sigh, and sat back in their seats for the band. And hey, how often do you get to see fireworks before and after the show?
Ross Ohlendorf and Tim Lincecum will square off for tomorrow afternoon's get-away game.
-- The beat guys are reporting that Ryan Doumit has been taking balls at first base for the past couple of afternoons, ostentatiously to keep his bat in the lineup during non-catching days. We have to wonder if the effort to show some versatility is to increase his value to the team - or the trade market? After all, how many first basemen can a team carry?
-- Jack Moore of Fangraphs takes a look at the NL Central. He believes it's now a two-horse race.
-- Brad Lincoln made this week's Baseball America Prospects Hot Sheet. They write "...it does appear he's just about ready to make his debut in Pittsburgh, where the Pirates' starting staff, outside of Paul Maholm and Ross Ohlendorf, has given the pitching profession a bad name."
-- But before you get carried away, Matt Eddy, when asked about Brad's potential as a #2 starter in the Baseball America Hot Sheet Chat said "Lincoln's ceiling? I think more along the lines of No. 4 starter or a power reliever, because he'd have better velo(city) out of the pen."
-- The Altoona Curve have the best record in professional baseball going into tonight with a record of 37-18. They're winners of 15 of the last 17. Maybe help is on the distant horizon.
After wasting a Lastings Milledge double in the second, the Pirates went progressive in the third. McCutchen doubled, Walker tripled, and Doumit drilled one into the cheap seats in right for his sixth homer. And Todd Wellemeyer was lucky to escape without the inning becoming a total blowout.
Garrett Jones and Delwyn Young followed with singles, but Andy LaRoche rolled into an easy 4-6-3 DP. Two walks loaded the sacks, but Paul Maholm bounced into a force play, making the third out for the second straight inning.
McCutchen found the seats to lead off the fifth, and after a four-pitch Walker base on ball, Wellemeyer headed for the showers. In three innings, he gave up six runs on nine hits, along with three walks and two strikeouts.
Ol' Bucco Denny Bautista came on and wild-pitched Walker to second before giving up a double to Doumit, making it 6-0 after four.
The G-Men finally got to Maholm in the sixth, when Andres Torres led off with a two-base gapper and Freddy Sanchez doubled him in. Two soft groundouts later, the Giants small-balled Steady Freddy home, and it was 6-2.
An inning later, Maholm got the hook. He was starting to fall behind hitters, and after a line-out and Buster Posey double, JR wasn't going to play around; Evan Meek finished off the Giants in the seventh. Maholm went 6-1/3 innings, giving up two runs on six hits (four doubles) with a strikeout.
Hanrahan did his part in the eighth, and JR brought in Octavia Dotel to get some work; he's been off for a bit between the rain and yesterday's loss. And he sure had a lot of rust to knock off.
He walked the first hitter and then whiffed the next pair. Then came the drama. A bloop single, another walk, and a ground ball single made it 6-3 and the bases were juiced for Freddy Sanchez, who already had a pair of hits and whose only out was a liner.
Sanchez roped the first pitch deep to left center, and it ran away from Milledge, who made things worse by taking a bad route to the bullet. But he made a last second dive, sliding into the 383 mark of the wall, and came up with the ball in his web.
The 36,687 Skyblast fans let out a collective sigh, and sat back in their seats for the band. And hey, how often do you get to see fireworks before and after the show?
Ross Ohlendorf and Tim Lincecum will square off for tomorrow afternoon's get-away game.
-- The beat guys are reporting that Ryan Doumit has been taking balls at first base for the past couple of afternoons, ostentatiously to keep his bat in the lineup during non-catching days. We have to wonder if the effort to show some versatility is to increase his value to the team - or the trade market? After all, how many first basemen can a team carry?
-- Jack Moore of Fangraphs takes a look at the NL Central. He believes it's now a two-horse race.
-- Brad Lincoln made this week's Baseball America Prospects Hot Sheet. They write "...it does appear he's just about ready to make his debut in Pittsburgh, where the Pirates' starting staff, outside of Paul Maholm and Ross Ohlendorf, has given the pitching profession a bad name."
-- But before you get carried away, Matt Eddy, when asked about Brad's potential as a #2 starter in the Baseball America Hot Sheet Chat said "Lincoln's ceiling? I think more along the lines of No. 4 starter or a power reliever, because he'd have better velo(city) out of the pen."
-- The Altoona Curve have the best record in professional baseball going into tonight with a record of 37-18. They're winners of 15 of the last 17. Maybe help is on the distant horizon.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
#3 Brad Lincoln
Bradley Eric Lincoln, born May 25, 1985 in Lake Jackson, Texas, is considered one of the few true prospects mined by Dave Littlefield.
He played baseball for Brazoswood High School. But he was a quarterback for the football team, too, and we all know how that goes in Texas; a lot like it does in Western Pennsylvania. Lincoln didn't concentrate solely on baseball until his junior season.
After his senior year, he showed enough stuff that the Texas Rangers selected him in the 28th round of the 2003 draft. He decided instead to attend the University of Houston.
Lincoln did OK there for the first two years, but really burst on the baseball scene with a strong performance in the wooden-bat Cape Cod League in the summer of 2005, and it launched him into a terrific junior season for the Cougars.
He was 12-2 with a 1.69 ERA, and had 152 strikeouts in 127-2/3 innings of work. At the end of the season, he was recognized as Conference USA Player of the Year.
Bad Brad also won the Dick Howser Trophy (national college baseball player of the year) and the Brooks Wallace Award (the most outstanding college shortstop; he hit .295 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI). Lincoln was also one of finalists for the Roger Clemens Award, losing to Andrew Miller of the University of North Carolina.
He also was named to the Louisville Slugger, Pro-Line Cap/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and Baseball America All-America First Teams as a DH/utility player.
Scouts all loved him, and despite that, the Pirates chose him with the fourth overall selection of the first round in 2006. Lincoln inked a $2.75M deal, and the Bucs had plans to fast-track their budding ace.
Lincoln's right wing had other ideas. He almost immediately encountered injury problems; an oblique strain limited him to 24 innings in 2006. It didn't get better.
The pain continued through spring training, and it was off to see Dr. James Andrews for Tommy John surgery on his right arm in April. Lincoln was done for the year.
Lincoln returned in 2008, making 19 starts between low-A Hickory and high-A Lynchburg, and went 6-10 with a 4.69 ERA. He whiffed 75 and walked 17 in 103-2/3 frames. The results weren't there, but the command was and his heater was hitting 93 MPH, his pre-TJ velocity, and his curve was snapping. It was quite an encouraging comeback, considering he had just spent a year in the tub.
He started 2009 at Class AA Altoona, and after 13 games with the Curve, Lincoln had bad-luck 1-5 record, 2.28 ERA, and in 75 innings struck out 65 and walked 18. So it was off to Indy at the end of June.
His first four starts were miserable, but he picked up the pace and proved he belonged. Lincoln posted a 6-2 slate, 4.17 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and had a sharp 29:2 K/BB ratio in 41 innings pitched.
Between the two clubs, Lincoln made 25 starts, with a 7-7 record, 3.37 ERA in 136-1/3 innings pitched, and a 1.20 WHIP.
Lincoln then took Dan McCutchen's spot for the USA World Cup team, and the squad took home a gold medal. In his four starts, Lincoln had 3-0 record, 2.70 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and K'd 12 while walking six in 23-1/3 innings. He was placed on the 40-man roster this year.
Lincoln was rated the number four prospect by Baseball America in the Pirates' system coming into 2009. John Sickels has him rated #6 going into 2010.
He has a fastball that ranges between 90-93, and touches 95 MPH. He also has a plus curveball with a late break. And like so many other farmhands, he needs a change up; lefties hit 40 points higher against him than righties overall last year, and nearly 100 points higher in his time with the Tribe.
Lincoln's strikeout rate hovers around 6+ per nine innings, which is OK, but not overpowering. He's best when he's getting ground ball outs, and he had some problems with that in AAA.
He needs to keep guys a little more honest; his line drive and home run rates both went up significantly at Indy, too. That's partially a by-product of being around the plate so often, but also shows the need for him to develop a third pitch.
GW always liked Lincoln, but we project him more as a 2-3 pitcher, not an ace. And hey, that ain't bad. His comeback has been impressive, and we'd kinda like to see him settle into a rhythm at Indy and get a full season at one level under his belt. He'll be 25 in May, so age isn't a serious consideration.
That's not likely, though. Unless the wheels fall off, and there's no reason to think that will happen, he should be up at PNC Park by late June or so, avoiding the dreaded Super Two arbitration clock.
(Next - #2 Jose Tabata)
He played baseball for Brazoswood High School. But he was a quarterback for the football team, too, and we all know how that goes in Texas; a lot like it does in Western Pennsylvania. Lincoln didn't concentrate solely on baseball until his junior season.
After his senior year, he showed enough stuff that the Texas Rangers selected him in the 28th round of the 2003 draft. He decided instead to attend the University of Houston.
Lincoln did OK there for the first two years, but really burst on the baseball scene with a strong performance in the wooden-bat Cape Cod League in the summer of 2005, and it launched him into a terrific junior season for the Cougars.
He was 12-2 with a 1.69 ERA, and had 152 strikeouts in 127-2/3 innings of work. At the end of the season, he was recognized as Conference USA Player of the Year.
Bad Brad also won the Dick Howser Trophy (national college baseball player of the year) and the Brooks Wallace Award (the most outstanding college shortstop; he hit .295 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI). Lincoln was also one of finalists for the Roger Clemens Award, losing to Andrew Miller of the University of North Carolina.
He also was named to the Louisville Slugger, Pro-Line Cap/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and Baseball America All-America First Teams as a DH/utility player.
Scouts all loved him, and despite that, the Pirates chose him with the fourth overall selection of the first round in 2006. Lincoln inked a $2.75M deal, and the Bucs had plans to fast-track their budding ace.
Lincoln's right wing had other ideas. He almost immediately encountered injury problems; an oblique strain limited him to 24 innings in 2006. It didn't get better.
The pain continued through spring training, and it was off to see Dr. James Andrews for Tommy John surgery on his right arm in April. Lincoln was done for the year.
Lincoln returned in 2008, making 19 starts between low-A Hickory and high-A Lynchburg, and went 6-10 with a 4.69 ERA. He whiffed 75 and walked 17 in 103-2/3 frames. The results weren't there, but the command was and his heater was hitting 93 MPH, his pre-TJ velocity, and his curve was snapping. It was quite an encouraging comeback, considering he had just spent a year in the tub.
He started 2009 at Class AA Altoona, and after 13 games with the Curve, Lincoln had bad-luck 1-5 record, 2.28 ERA, and in 75 innings struck out 65 and walked 18. So it was off to Indy at the end of June.
His first four starts were miserable, but he picked up the pace and proved he belonged. Lincoln posted a 6-2 slate, 4.17 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and had a sharp 29:2 K/BB ratio in 41 innings pitched.
Between the two clubs, Lincoln made 25 starts, with a 7-7 record, 3.37 ERA in 136-1/3 innings pitched, and a 1.20 WHIP.
Lincoln then took Dan McCutchen's spot for the USA World Cup team, and the squad took home a gold medal. In his four starts, Lincoln had 3-0 record, 2.70 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and K'd 12 while walking six in 23-1/3 innings. He was placed on the 40-man roster this year.
Lincoln was rated the number four prospect by Baseball America in the Pirates' system coming into 2009. John Sickels has him rated #6 going into 2010.
He has a fastball that ranges between 90-93, and touches 95 MPH. He also has a plus curveball with a late break. And like so many other farmhands, he needs a change up; lefties hit 40 points higher against him than righties overall last year, and nearly 100 points higher in his time with the Tribe.
Lincoln's strikeout rate hovers around 6+ per nine innings, which is OK, but not overpowering. He's best when he's getting ground ball outs, and he had some problems with that in AAA.
He needs to keep guys a little more honest; his line drive and home run rates both went up significantly at Indy, too. That's partially a by-product of being around the plate so often, but also shows the need for him to develop a third pitch.
GW always liked Lincoln, but we project him more as a 2-3 pitcher, not an ace. And hey, that ain't bad. His comeback has been impressive, and we'd kinda like to see him settle into a rhythm at Indy and get a full season at one level under his belt. He'll be 25 in May, so age isn't a serious consideration.
That's not likely, though. Unless the wheels fall off, and there's no reason to think that will happen, he should be up at PNC Park by late June or so, avoiding the dreaded Super Two arbitration clock.
(Next - #2 Jose Tabata)
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Who woulda thunk it?
Nate McLouth from Pirates.com
(photo by Keith Srakocic, AP)
No one said it would be easy, but the Bucs finally got the Cub monkey off their backs today 7-6. But someone needs to hose down Alfonso Soriano with some very cold water and soon, because he's on fire right now.
He was 5-5 with two more long balls, a double, and added three RBIs and three runs scored, collecting extra-base hits off of three of today's four Buc hurlers. Soriano has 20 hits in his last 37 at-bats (.541) with seven homers, four doubles and 15 RBIs, raising his average to .295 after a brutal start to the campaign.
Damaso Marte, who got the win, was lucky enough to miss facing him in the eighth inning.
It took a Pirate three-of-a-kind to trump Chicago's ace.
Pittsburgh upped the ante with Freddie Sanchez, Nate McLouth, and Adam LaRoche. Together, they collected eight hits, including a homer, two doubles and four RBIs along with five runs scored to offset the Cubby wild card, Soriano.
McLouth's two run shot that just nestled into the right field netting in the ninth brought home the win, set up by a hustling infield hit by Sanchez. Pity poor Carlos Marmol (1-1). He's allowed just two homers this season, both by McLouth.
The Bucs almost iced it in the fifth inning. Starter Carlos Zambrano was so frustrated by his strikeout while batting in the fourth that he snapped a bat over his leg. Ouch. And that may have been the key to getting to him with the next at-bats.
The Pirates got their first five runners aboard and had the bases juiced with no one out and two runs already in against the flustered and perhaps hobbled Zambrano. Mike Wuertz came on, and Xavier Nady lifted a medium foul fly to right to bring another run home and set up runners on the corners.
Doug Meintkiewicz, starting at third base again, blistered a shot up the line. Derrek Lee, playing in front of the runner, squeezed it and doubled up LaRoche on first. If the ball got past him and into the corner, Pittsburgh would be on the road to a potentially huge, Soriano-proof, inning. But at least it didn't come back to bite them.
Duke again kept the Pirates in the game with another adequate effort, going 6-1/3 and giving up four runs. The bullpen carried Pittsburgh the rest of the way, although staggered by an Alfonso homer and two-out, ninth inning double that led to the Cubs' final run and a few new gray hairs on John Russell's head.
Phil Dumatrait (1-1, 3.96 ERA) takes on Jason Marquis, a free agent bust so far this season for the Windy City nine (1-3, 5.26 ERA) in the series clincher tomorrow.
On the Pirate front: Though Russell put Mientkiewicz in the lineup at third base for the third straight day, the manager maintains that he is not yet looking at a platoon situation with him and Jose Bautista playing out in the near future. Maybe he should.
Both infielders' season and career numbers favor a long look at platooning. Bautista has hit right-handed pitching at a .204 mark this season (.229 overall), while Mientkiewicz has a .264 average off right-handers in 2008 (.271 career).
The difference is even more striking against lefties. Mientkiewicz's .100 average against southpaws this season (.265 lifetime) is dwarfed by Bautista's .294 mark this year (.262 career).
Jack Wilson went 2 for 2 with a double and an RBI in his second rehab game at Indy. He played six innings and fielded three balls. He should be ready to return to the bigs late next week if all continues to go well.
Indy's off Monday, and it's unknown whether he'll stay put, visit the docs, or go to Altoona to get an extra game in.
Nady made a great diving catch near the right-field warning track to rob pinch hitter Ronny Cedeno leading off the seventh inning. The grab was good enough to make ESPN's Top Ten Plays of the Day segment.
Equally as nice was Ronny Paulino's block of home and tag on Geovany Soto in the third to end the inning and keep the Cubs off the board. It ended up being a big run.
It looks like that extra work with Manny Sanguillen and the other coaches on plays at the plate in the spring is paying dividends now. The questions about Paulino's heart have been put to rest so far this season.
On the minor league front: RHP Brad Lincoln, 23, will be making his first start since 2006 tomorrow when he takes the mound for the Class A Lynchburg Hillcats. Lincoln, who had TJ surgery on his right elbow in April of 2007, will climb the hill after back-to-back 80-pitch outings in extended spring training.
He was selected by the Pirates as the fourth overall pick in 2006 out of the University of Houston. (Lincoln went 12-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 127 2/3 innings while walking 32 at UH. A two-way player, he also hit .295/.368/.536 with 14 HR as a 1B/DH for the Cougars. He came out of school as a junior.)
Lincoln went from college to the GCL rookie league to Class A Hickory that season, where he went 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA and 10 strikeouts. Some baseball people believe that the 160 inning workload that year may have led to his elbow problems.
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