A few brief notes...
-The Pirates added three more non-roster invitees to Spring Training today, according to Dejan Kovacevic. Those three players are shortstop Brian Friday, infielder Doug Bernier, and catcher Hector Gimenez. None are really expected to compete for a roster spot, and only Friday has a future with the team. The Spring Training tracker is updated with the additions.
Bernier is new to the organization. He turns 30 in June, and has just four at-bats in the majors, with no hits. He spent seven seasons in the Colorado Rockies' farm system, combining for a .277/.388/.396 line in 670 at-bats at the AAA level. In 2009 he signed with the New York Yankees and hit for a .181/.305/.238 line in 227 at-bats at the AAA level. At best he will be a bench player for the Indianapolis Indians, assuming he sticks with the organization after Spring Training.
-Bryce Harper makes his debut tonight for the College of Southern Nevada. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the number two pick in the 2010 draft, and could be in position to take Harper, depending on whether the Nationals pass on him. For those of you up late tonight, you can listen to the broadcast of the game here. I'll be uploading my Bryce Harper tracker tomorrow.
-Speaking of the 2010 draft, I'll also be uploading other prospect trackers next month as the rest of the season begins. There are two guys I'll focus on heavily for now. Those two are Harper, and my personal favorite, Anthony Ranaudo. I'll have a tracker for several other players, but not as much detail as I'll have with Ranaudo and Harper. As players emerge to potential number two pick status, I'll add more information. This avoids the situation I ran in to last year with dedicating a lot of time to guys like James Paxton, who started the year as top prospects, and who fell to the point where they were more likely to be second round picks, rather than first round guys.
-The Pirates added three more non-roster invitees to Spring Training today, according to Dejan Kovacevic. Those three players are shortstop Brian Friday, infielder Doug Bernier, and catcher Hector Gimenez. None are really expected to compete for a roster spot, and only Friday has a future with the team. The Spring Training tracker is updated with the additions.
Bernier is new to the organization. He turns 30 in June, and has just four at-bats in the majors, with no hits. He spent seven seasons in the Colorado Rockies' farm system, combining for a .277/.388/.396 line in 670 at-bats at the AAA level. In 2009 he signed with the New York Yankees and hit for a .181/.305/.238 line in 227 at-bats at the AAA level. At best he will be a bench player for the Indianapolis Indians, assuming he sticks with the organization after Spring Training.
-Bryce Harper makes his debut tonight for the College of Southern Nevada. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the number two pick in the 2010 draft, and could be in position to take Harper, depending on whether the Nationals pass on him. For those of you up late tonight, you can listen to the broadcast of the game here. I'll be uploading my Bryce Harper tracker tomorrow.
-Speaking of the 2010 draft, I'll also be uploading other prospect trackers next month as the rest of the season begins. There are two guys I'll focus on heavily for now. Those two are Harper, and my personal favorite, Anthony Ranaudo. I'll have a tracker for several other players, but not as much detail as I'll have with Ranaudo and Harper. As players emerge to potential number two pick status, I'll add more information. This avoids the situation I ran in to last year with dedicating a lot of time to guys like James Paxton, who started the year as top prospects, and who fell to the point where they were more likely to be second round picks, rather than first round guys.
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