WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2012
R:  0-4-0, 12.66 ERA, 2.77 WHIP, 21.1 IP, 14.8 BB/9, 7.6 K/9
A-:  0-0-0, 20.25 ERA, 4.50 WHIP, 1.1 IP, 33.8 BB/9, 13.5 K/9

Despite being a college draftee, Gibbs spent most of his debut season in rookie league.  He put up about as bad a line as you’ll see.

The Pirates must regard Gibbs as a project.  He’ll probably appear in the GCL.

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2008
R+:  1-1-11, 4.44 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 26.1 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 14.7 K/9

Yacko posted mostly good numbers in his debut, including an exception K rate, but he allowed a HR every five innings.

2009
A:  2-2-4, 3.52 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 69.0 IP, 2.0 BB/9, 11.2 K/9

In low A, Yacko continued to fan a lot of hitters without walking many.  He also got his HR rate down to one every 14 innings, but he gave up slightly more than a hit per inning.

2010
A+:  6-5-5, 3.50 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 64.0 IP, 2.5 BB/9, 9.8 K/9

Yacko had a very similar season to the previous one, and did it in the high-offense California League.

2011
A+:  1-6-3, 1.86 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 72.2 IP, 1.7 BB/9, 7.9 K/9

The Rockies sent Yacko back to the California League and he put up similar numbers again, except he allowed only one HR, which helped cut his ERA roughly in half, and his K rate dropped.

2012
A+:  6-4-1, 3.64 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 59.1 IP, 2.1 BB/9, 7.6 K/9
AA:  0-1-0, 15.43 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, 2.1 IP, 7.7 BB/9, 15.4 K/9

Yacko went back to the Cal League yet again, except for a two-game stint in AA.  He got hit harder and allowed seven HRs this time.

The Rockies seem to have concluded that Yacko was maxed out at high A.  The Pirates signed him after West Virginia and Bradenton had had a very rough first week, including significant bullpen problems.  Once Yacko emerges from extended spring training, he’ll probably join one of the class A bullpens.

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2011
R:  200/282/345, 110 AB, 7 2B, 3 HR, 8 BB, 25 K, 0-1 SB
A:  222/222/333, 9 AB, 1 2B, 3 K

The Braves assigned Snitker to the GCL, which is a low level for a college draftee.  He didn’t hit much and threw out 27% of opposing base stealers.

2012
R+:  274/369/411, 73 AB, 7 2B, 1 HR, 10 BB, 24 K
A+:  000/000/000, 3 AB, 1 K

Snitker moved up to advanced rookie ball and hit much better.  He threw out only two of 23 base stealers there.

The Pirates acquired Snitker because they were short on catchers at the lower levels of the system.  He isn’t likely to be more than an organizational catcher.

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

1996
A-:  270/354/331, 278 AB, 11 2B, 2 HR, 32 BB, 49 K, 11-12 SB

In his debut, McDonald played short in the New York-Penn League.  He showed some patience, which didn’t last, but little power.

1997
A+:  259/324/348, 541 AB, 27 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 51 BB, 75 K, 6-11 SB

The Indians moved McDonald up to high A and he posted numbers that would be typical of his minor league career.

1998
AA:  230/293/284, 514 AB, 18 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 43 BB, 61 K, 17-23 SB

In AA, McDonald’s walk rate continued to drop and his power disappeared.

1999
AA:  296/351/363, 226 AB, 12 2B, 1 HR, 19 BB, 26 K, 7-10 SB
AAA:  316/349/376, 237 AB, 12 2B, 1 3B, 11 BB, 23 K, 6-9 SB
MLB:  333/333/333, 21 AB, 3 K, 0-1 CS

McDonald split the season evenly between AA and AAA, and hit much better at both locations.  He also got a brief callup in July, then returned to Cleveland in September.

2000
A-:  118/211/176, 17 AB, 1 2B, 2 BB, 3 K
A+:  333/333/333, 3 AB
AAA:  269/315/353, 286 AB, 17 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 21 BB, 29 K, 4-7 SB
MLB:  444/444/444, 9 AB, 1 K

McDonald was the regular shortstop in AAA, but missed a chunk of the season due to a pulled quad.  Baseball America rated him the Indians’ 13th best prospect after the season.  He got called up in late August but didn’t play much.

2001
AAA:  244/305/305, 410 AB, 17 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 33 BB, 72 K, 17-27 SB
MLB:  091/167/136, 22 AB, 1 2B, 1 BB, 7 K

The Indians left McDonald in AAA most of the year, outside of two games in April.  He did get a September callup.  He had a dismal season at the plate in AAA.  BA nevertheless rated him the team’s 14th best prospect, solely on the strength of his glove, comparing him to 1960s-era, good-glove, no-hit shortstops like Mark Belanger.

2002
MLB:  250/288/326, 264 AB, 11 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 10 BB, 50 K, 3-3 SB

By now 27, McDonald finally spent the season in the majors.  With Omar Vizquel at short, McDonald played mostly second.  Cleveland that year had replaced Roberto Alomar with Ricky Gutierrez, a move that failed badly.  McDonald played the position regularly for long stretches in June, August and September.  He hit very little, producing a slash line very similar to his career mark of 239/276/331.

2003
A-:  000/333/000, 2 AB, 1 BB
A:  000/000/000, 3 AB
MLB:  215/258/280, 214 AB, 9 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 11 BB, 31 K, 3-6 SB

Apart from missing a little time with injuries, McDonald stayed in Cleveland and backed up at second, short and third.

2004
MLB:  204/237/344, 93 AB, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 11 K

McDonald spent the season in Cleveland, playing very sparingly.  The Indians had Ronnie Belliard at second, Vizquel at short and Casey Blake at third, all having good years, so McDonald did little other than backing up the aging Vizquel.  After the season, the Indians sent him to Toronto in a minor trade.

2005
MLB (Tor):  290/340/323, 93 AB, 3 2B, 6 BB, 12 K, 5-5 SB
MLB (Det):  260/308/329, 73 AB, 3 2B, 1 3B, 5 BB, 12 K, 1-2 SB

McDonald stayed with Toronto through late July, backing up at short and a little at second.  The Jays then effectively loaned him to Detroit, where he played the same role the rest of the year.  Although he hit for a solid average (.277 overall), he did so little other than hit singles that his OPS+ was only 75.  After the season, Detroit sent him back to Toronto for cash.

2006
MLB:  223/271/308, 260 AB, 7 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 16 BB, 41 K, 7-9 SB

Thanks to Russ Adams’ struggles, McDonald ended up starting about half of Toronto’s games at short.  His hitting was worse than usual.

2007
MLB:  251/279/333, 327 AB, 20 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 11 BB, 48 K, 7-9 SB

The Jays brought in Royce Clayton to play short, but he proved to be washed up and McDonald became the starter for the majority of the season, setting a career high in ABs.  Late in the season he signed a two-year contract extension with the Jays.

2008
A+:  364/417/364, 11 AB, 1 BB, 1 K
MLB:  210/255/269, 186 AB, 8 2B, 1 HR, 10 BB, 25 K, 3-4 SB

McDonald mainly backed up David Eckstein at short, missing out on an opportunity for playing time when both he and Eckstein got hurt on the same play.  At the plate, McDonald fell to a miserable OPS+ of 42.

2009
MLB:  258/271/384, 151 AB, 7 2B, 4 HR, 1 BB, 18 K, 0-2 SB

McDonald mostly backed up at short.  He got his hitting numbers up, mainly in the form of an improved slugging average that resulted from three more HRs.  After the season he became a free agent, but signed a two-year, $3M deal with the Jays just over two weeks later.

2010
MLB:  250/273/454, 152 AB, 9 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 6 BB, 26 K, 2-3 SB

McDonald backed up at all three infield positions.  He had by far his best offensive season, entirely in the form of a one-time power spike as the Jays inexplicably launched 257 longballs on the season.

2011
A+:  250/250/250, 4 AB
MLB (Tor):  250/285/345, 168 AB, 8 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 8 BB, 18 K, 2-6 SB
MLB (Ari):  169/222/203, 59 AB, 2 2B, 4 BB, 9 K

In Toronto, McDonald divided his time between backing up at second, short and third.  In late August, the Jays sent him to Arizona in what was otherwise a swap of secondbaseman, the Diamondbacks exchanging Kelly Johnson for Aaron Hill.  The D’backs had lost Stephen Drew, so McDonald spent the rest of the season alternating at short with Willie Bloomquist.  Arizona at that point had developed an obsession with scrappy players, thanks to the influence of manager Kirk Gibson, and they signed McDonald to another two-year, $3M deal two days after he became a free agent.

2012
R:  000/333/000, 8 AB, 3 BB, 1 K
MLB:  249/295/386, 197 AB, 9 2B, 6 HR, 12 BB, 33 K, 0-1 SB

Other than missing time in June and July with a strained oblique, McDonald spent the season with the D’backs.  He subbed at short for Bloomquist and Drew, and became the regular there in September when Bloomquist was hurt, with Drew having been traded.  He had his second best hitting season, again entirely due to a much more modest power spike as he tied his career high in HRs.

McDonald will be the Pirates’ middle infield backup.  It’s difficult to see what purpose he’ll serve.  They already have an outstanding defensive shortstop in Clint Barmes, whose bat isn’t as anemic as McDonald’s, so they don’t need a defensive sub there.  He could replace Pedro Alvarez at third in the late innings.  Otherwise, he’ll probably see action in double switches and after Barmes comes out for a pinch hitter.  If the Pirates’ history with no-hit utility infielders is any indication, he’ll probably also pinch-hit himself fairly often, a role in which he has a career OPS of .575.  McDonald’s acquisition is consistent with the Pirates’ practice under Neal Huntington of stocking the bench with veterans, a practice that’s been uniformly disastrous so far.  Perhaps the reasoning with McDonald is that, unlike players like Casey McGehee, Nate McLouth and Ryan Church, nobody will expect McDonald to hit at all, so they won’t be disappointed when he posts abysmal numbers.  The Pirates also seem unwilling to accept the fact that, especially on a National League team with a five-man bench, backups need to be able to produce some offense or their team becomes helpless against fireballing, late-inning relievers.

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2011
VSL:  200/308/233, 90 AB, 3 2B, 14 BB, 16 K, 2-10 SB

Chourio handled a little less than half the shortstop duties for the Pirates’ VSL entry.  Other than putting up good walk and K rates, he did little at the plate, which isn’t unusual for a 17-year-old in his first pro season.

2012
DSL:  —/—/—, 0 AB

Chourio had Tommy John surgery and effectively missed the season.  He got into two games, but had no plate appearances.

Although he was doing some drills at Pirate City, Chourio wasn’t fully healthy.  He is only in Bradenton to rehab his injury.  He will return to the Dominican Republic when Spring Training ends to continue his rehab and prepare for the DSL season.

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2010
VSL:  0-0-0, 6.30 ERA, 2.30 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 9.0 BB/9, 7.2 K/9

Rocha mostly struggled in very brief pro debut.

2011
VSL:  4-2-0, 3.29 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 54.2 IP, 4.3 BB/9, 8.6 K/9

Rocha returned to the VSL, pitching mainly as a starter.  He was much more effective, although he had some control problems.

2012
DSL:  6-1-0, 1.81 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 49.2 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 9.6 K/9

Having eliminated their VSL affiliate, the Pirates sent Rocha to the DSL.  He pitched mainly in relief, although it didn’t cut into his innings total much.  Despite the tougher league, he improved, with a much lower walk rate and more than a strikeout per inning.  His ratio of groundouts to air outs was over two and a half to one.

Rocha was in camp in March and will probably head to the GCL in 2013.

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2011
DSL:  6-2-2, 3.53 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 51.0 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 3.4 K/9

Splitting his time between starting and closing, Del Rosario pitched effectively but with an extremely low K rate.

2012
DSL:  5-2-0, 2.66 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 61.0 IP, 1.6 BB/9, 4.1 K/9

Pitching strictly as a starter, Del Rosario improved, mainly in the form of an extremely low walk rate, but he continued to fan very few hitters.

Del Rosario was in camp and will compete for a spot on the 2013 GCL team.

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2009
VSL:  2-1-0, 5.64 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 22.1 IP, 1.2 BB/9, 6.0 K/9

Lopez struggled a little in his debut, although his peripheral numbers were better than his ERA.

2010
VSL:  5-0-0, 3.90 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 27.2 IP, 1.6 BB/9, 6.8 K/9

Lopez showed some improvement in his second year.  He started a trend that continued throughout his first four seasons:  his walk and K rates both increased.

2011
VSL:  1-3-0, 2.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 18.0 IP, 3.0 BB/9, 7.0 K/9
DSL:  1-1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 2.2 BB/9, 13.5 K/9

For some reason, Lopez got into two games in the DSL as well as 13 in the VSL.

2012
DSL:  3-2-4, 2.73 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 26.1 IP, 4.4 BB/9, 9.2 K/9

The Pirates dropped their VSL affiliate after 2011, so Lopez moved to the DSL.  He fanned over a batter an inning, but apparently at the cost of a high walk rate.

Lopez has played the maximum four years in the Latin American summer leagues.  He’ll get a shot at making the GCL team for 2013.  Despite not having played in the US yet, he’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in the fall.

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2011
DSL:  0-1-0, 5.40 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 5.0 IP, 7.2 BB/9, 7.2 K/9

Grullon pitched only briefly after signing.

2012
DSL:  1-4-0, 4.23 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 27.2 IP, 4.2 BB/9, 7.2 K/9

The Pirates used Grullon as a starter in the DSL, but he still didn’t get many innings.  He pitched respectably.

Despite having very limited experience as a pro, Grullon will get a shot at the GCL in 2013.

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2012
DSL:  0-0-0, 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 6.2 IP, 2.7 BB/9, 8.1 K/9

Rosario got into just three games after signing.

The Pirates brought Rosario to camp despite his having almost no pro experience, so they probably see at least a little potential in him.  He was throwing 92 mph early in camp.