Pirates Notebook: News and Notes

Tony Sanchez, the Pirates 2009 1st round pick will begin his professional baseball career with the State College Spikes tomorrow, Saturday, June 20. He will remain with State College thru Wednesday, June 24, and will report to the West Virginia Power on Saturday, June 27. *The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to terms with second baseman Brock Holt from Rice University today. Holt was the teams 9th round selection. Holt hit .348 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI in 59 games as a junior for Rice. *A National League Scout tells Inside Pittsburgh Sports, that “Pittsburgh has two potential All-Stars in Andrew McCutchen and Gorky’s Hernandez.” McCutchen (.333 avg) has had some tough at bats at times and a few miscues

MLB Draft: The Latest Pirates Draft Rumblings

Live Updates 5:12 p.m. – War Room Buzz: Here are the Pirates final four considerations 1. Tony Sanchez, Catcher, Boston College (Expected to be the teams Selection) 2. Zach Wheeler, Pitcher, East Paulding HS 3. Aaron Crow, Pitcher, Fort Worth 4. Grant Green, SS, USC. From a pure value standpoint ( no consideration for financial demands) Crow is the best value followed by Zach Wheeler, Grant Green and then Tony Sanchez. 5:00 p.m. – TIOPS baseball Insider John Perrotto tells me he’s hearing an agreement has been made with Sanchez but no confirmation to this point from team officials. 4:02 p.m. – Pirates will pass on Aaron Crow according to industry sources. Sanchez will likely be the pick and could

MLB Draft: Doubts about Doumit’s long-term health has Sanchez rising the Pirates draft charts

Latest Draft Buzz: Crow remains Pirates top target on eve of Draft On the eve of the MLB draft, speculation continues that top hitting prospect Dustin Ackley is seeking more than Pedro Alvarez ($6.35 million) and his asking demands may lead to the Seattle Mariners passing on Ackley. Ackley is a nice prospect but he is not Pedro Alvarez, which is why it is very unlikely that any team will go above $6.35 million to sign him. This is typical posturing from Scott Boras but Boras does not tell teams directly before the draft what his asking price for a particular prospect is. If Seattle decides to pass on Ackley because of his demands, it’s believed they will draft pitcher