2010 Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Training Preview

In 2009 the Pittsburgh Pirates suffered through their 17th consecutive losing season. Along the way they traded away some fan favorites in Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson in an attempt to trim payroll and collect young talent. Unlike at other times in the recent history of the organization there seems to be a plan in place, build with youth. Here we will take a look and see if Pirates fans will have a reason to cheer in 2010.

There was one key loss for the Pirates this off season and that was closer Matt Capps, who signed a free agent contract with the Washington Nationals. Capps saved 27 games in 2009, but carried a giant 5.80 earned run average. Capps became a free agent when the Pirates decided to release him in December rather than offer him arbitration.

The Pirates did try to address their bullpen problems by signing a quartet of relievers, Octavio Dotel, Brendan Donnelly, D.J. Carrasco, and Javier Lopez. Dotel seems to be the obvious choice for the closer's role as he has closed in the past. He had 36 saves in 2004 while splitting time between the Houston Astros and the Oakland A's. Donnelly is a nice veteran pick up that should easily surpass his total of 25 innings pitched in the majors last season. Carrasco will eat up around 80 to 90 innings out of the pen, while lefty specialist Javier Lopez will be called upon to take care of the Ryan Howards and Prince Fielders of the National League.

The Pirates also added a lot of inexpensive veteran leadership to this year's club. Ryan Church will be the team's fourth outfielder with the capability to play all three outfield positions. Akinori Iwamura was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays to patrol second base. He has a decent glove, but he doesn't have much pop in his bat. Shortstop Bobby Crosby also came on board to back up Ronny Cedeno. Crosby was the 2004 American League Rookie of the Year while with the A's, but has been a disappointment since that season.

The Pittsburgh outfield is where the talent is with Lastings Milledge, Andrew McCutchen, and Garrett Jones. 2010 will be the year that Milledge has to prove if he was worth all the praise that was heaped on him early in his professional career. If he manages to stay out of trouble maybe he will not become another in a long list of Major League washouts. Andrew McCutchen is the future of the Pirates. He has both speed and power and seems to truly love the game. Jones was a pleasant surprise last summer when he clubbed 21 home runs. The 29 year old will be looked upon again to add pop to a power depraved lineup.

The starting rotation is led by the steady Paul Maholm. He won eight games last season with a 4.44 ERA. It will be time for 26 year old prospect Charlie Morton to step and prove he is ready for the big leagues. He pitched nearly 100 innings last year and the Pirates will need him to stay with the big club all season long. The rest of the rotation is rounded out by Zach Duke, Ross Ohlendorf, and Kevin Hart.

I believe that all in all the Pirates will improve in 2010 just not as much as some would hope. They will occupy the basement of the National League Central once again, but this just may be they last year they do so. Uber prospect, third baseman, Pedro Alvarez will probably make his debut halfway through the season and give the fans even more hope with his tremendous bat. Prediction 69 wins in 2010 and a much brighter 2011.

Stats courtesy of www.mlb.com