Pirates/MLB
Pittsburgh Pirates 
Catcher Ryan Doumit will miss his second consecutive game due to a concussion. Bobby Crosby is also out due to an illness. He did not travel with the team. Lineup: 1. McCutchen, CF, 2. Walker, 2B, 3. Milledge, LF, 4. Jones, 1B, 5. Young, RF, 6. LaRoche, 3B, 7. Cedeno, SS, 8. Jaramillo, C, 9. Karstens, P.
Stephen Strasburg makes his highly anticipated debut tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over 200 media credentials have been issued to see what some call a “once in a lifetime” pitcher.
The Pittsburgh Pirates philosophy in the 2010 MLB draft has been pitching as the team has selected 12 pitchers through round 15. The Pirates focus has also been on right handed pitching, selecting 11 right handers thus far. The Pirates draft is headlined by 1st round pick RHP Jameson Taillon and 2nd round pick RHP Stetson Allie. Allie is an exceptional talent but will be very difficult to sign, which is why he dropped to No. 52 overall.
With the 207th overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected high school pitcher RHP Austin Kubitza (6-5, 190) out of Heritage High School (Texas) in the 7th round. Kubitza is committed to Rice University..
With the 177th overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected high school pitcher RHP Jason Hursh (6-3, 190) out of Trinity Christian Academy High School in the 6th round. Hursh is committed to Oklahoma State.
With the 147th overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected college pitcher RHP Tyler Waldron (6-2, 205) out of Oregon State in the 5th round. Waldron was 4-6 with a 5.90 ERA in 2010. Waldron is projected by most scouts be a reliever in the minors.
With the 117th overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected high school pitcher RHP Nicholas Kingham (6-5, 210) out of Sierra Vista HS (Las Vegas, NV) in the 4th round. Kingham was 8-3 with a 2.01 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 2010. His fastball reaches 92-93 and he has an above average changeup. Kingham is committed to the University of Oregon.
With the 84th overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected JUCO CF Mel Rojas, Jr (6-3, 200) out of Wabash Valley College in the 3rd round. Rojas, Jr, batted .398 with 12 home runs and 71 RBI’s this season. Led the nation in JUCO with 61 steals in 64 attempts.
With the 52nd overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected high school RHP Stetson Allie out of St. Edward, HS in the 2nd round. Allie was the No. 8 overall prospect by Baseball America. Allie is regarded as having one of the best pure arms in the draft. His fastball reaches the upper 90’s with a lot of movement.
The Pirates tonight selected right-handed pitcher Jameson Taillon with the second overall pick in the annual First-Year Player Draft. In 11 games as a senior with The Woodlands (TX) High School this season, the 18-year-old Taillon went 8-1 with a 1.78 ERA. He also struck out 114 batters and walked 21 in 62 innings.
The 2010 MLB draft is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on the MLB network. The Pirates will select either high school shortstop Manny Machado or right handed pitcher Jameson Taillon. With just three hours until the draft begins, word continues to leak that Taillon is likely going to be the Pirates pick at No. 2
As of 4:00 p.m., the Pirates still have not listed a starter for Wednesday’s game. Neal Huntington again today called 2006 1st round pick Brad Lincoln a “strong” candidate to make his debut Wednesday night. Lincoln is 6-2 with a 3.16 ERA.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (23-34) dropped their second game in a row, losing to the Chicago Cubs 6-1 Monday afternoon. Eveland was hit hard in his debut, giving up three runs, two walks and six hits in five innings of work. Eveland did not record a strikeout and was pulled after the 5th inning with a pitch count of 76 (44 strikes. The Pirates are now 11 games under .500.
Contributor and baseball insider John Perrotto (Baseball Prospectus.com) has a new article up on the Pirates latest draft buzz as Manny Machado being the Pirates selection is no longer a certainty. A source with knowledge of the situation tells Perrotto that the Pirates are wrestling the decision on who they will take. College pitcher Drew Pomeranz has been ruled out, Perrotto has learned.
The Pirates have selected a college player four straight years and twice under GM Neal Huntington who is entering his third draft with the Pirates. That is going to change tonight as the Pirates will select right handed pitcher Jameson Taillon or shortstop Manny Machado. (2006) Right-Handed Pitcher Brad Lincoln: (2007) Left-Handed Reliever Danny Moskos: (2008) Third baseman Pedro Alvarez: (2009) Catcher Tony Sanchez
GM Neal Huntington is enamoured with power pitchers and the hard throwing Taillon (6-foot-6, 225 lbs right-hander) has been clocked at 98 MPH and is the hardest throwing prep pitcher. Taillon is represented by Randy and Alan Hendricks who are very tough to deal with and are believed to be seeking a signing bonus in the $8 million range.
Neal Huntington is known to stay away from high school pitchers in the 1st round but among the national media, there has been a growing consensus that the Pirates are suddenly leaning towards Taillon. Buster Olney of ESPN tweets that the Pirates are expected to take Taillon.
There continues to be word that the Pirates have not decided on who they will take with the No. 2 overall pick. The Pirates are keeping things very close to the vest as the team is considering shortstop Manny Machado, pitcher Jameson Taillon and college pitcher Drew Pomeranz. Manny Machado is believed to be the highest paid player on the Pirates board.
