Perrotto: Just how thin is the Pirates lack of pitching depth in their system?

The Pirates' lack of pitching depth is never more evident than at the present.

Left-hander Zach Duke missed his scheduled start Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers at Arlington because of muscle soreness in his pitching elbow. He is penciled in to start Saturday night against the Athletics at Oakland but is also questionable for that turn in the rotation.

If Duke cannot pitch Saturday, the Pirates are considering four different pitchers to start that night: left-handers Brian Burres and Dana Eveland and right-handers Daniel McCutchen and Charlie Morton. That those are the best candidates the Pirates can muster is sad.

Consider what the four have done this season:

--Burres was 2-3 with a 5.62 ERA in 10 games, seven starts, with the Pirates earlier in the year. The 29-year-old hasn't been any better at Class AAA Indianapolis, going 1-2 with a 6.60 ERA in three starts.

--Eveland was acquired from Toronto in a waiver trade on June 1. The portly southpaw was put into the rotation then removed after only one start against the Chicago Cubs on June 7 and has pitched just once in relief in the last 15 days. In all, Eveland is 3-5 with a 6.10 ERA in the major leagues this season in 11 games, 10 starts.

--McCutchen began the season in the rotation but lasted less than a month as he went 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA in four games, three starts. He has been OK at Indianapolis, going 4-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 10 starts, but more should be expected from a 27-year-old at the Triple-A level.

--Morton was an abomination before the Pirates invented a shoulder fatigue injury that would allow them to send him on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment as he was 1-9 with a 9.35 ERA in 10 starts.

He hasn't showed a lot of signs of turning his career around at Indianapolis, going 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in three starts

Ready for some ugly numbers?