WINTER Track & Pirates' Top 10 Minor Leaguers

The "less than an inch" this morning turned into 3-5 inches and closed or delayed most schools here in Pittsburgh (way to go, National Weather Service). We ended up just having a delay which means a rushed day, especially when giving tests in two classes.

Thursday is our debut Indoor Track meet of the season at Pitt. It's nice to get back out there and see where the athletes are. It's always interesting with the jumpers because we don't really have any indoor "sand pit" and the outdoor one is covered with a half foot of snow. So, we've done agility drills, plyometrics, run-throughs, and several other things. But, we'll see what happens when they get on the runway and take off into the pit. It should be fun!

Every off-season, Baseball America comes out with a ranking of every team's minor league system. The Pirates' review came out today and, thanks to my Baseball America subscription Christmas present from the sis-in-law, I was able to check out all the scouting reports and all the "insider" information on the team.

Here's the Pirates' Top 10 from the free part of their website:
1. Jameson Taillon, rhp
2. Tony Sanchez, c
3. Stetson Allie, rhp
4. Starling Marte, of
5. Luis Heredia, rhp
6. Bryan Morris, rhp
7. Rudy Owens, lhp
8. Jeff Locke, lhp
9. Zack Von Rosenberg, rhp
10. Chase d'Arnaud, ss/2b

I've seen #6-8 and 10 at various minor league stops. Sanchez and Marte are slated to start at Altoona this spring (can't wait to see them) and I hope the wave of high school pitchers from the 2010 and 2009 drafts start making their way up the ladder.


Back in August when my dad and I made a trip over to Altoona for a game, we saw Rudy Owens pitch.


Here was my scouting report from August:

Owens' fastball sat in the 86-88 mph range, hitting 90 mph twice. His offspeed pitches produced a lot of swing-and-miss by the opponents. A good comp would be Maholm or Duke with the Pirates.

Here's a portion of BA's scouting report released today:

Owens grew stronger as the season progressed in another way, too, as his fastball went from 87-90 to 90-93 mph down the stretch....His fastball command is solid—occasionally, it's excellent—and the pitch has some late run. His secondary offerings, a slurvy breaking ball and a changeup, are no better than average pitches but he locates them well. ...the way he uses it to pick apart hitter's weaknesses is reminiscent of a young Zach Duke.

Maybe I have a future in scouting....or not.