pedro alvarez

[warner892001]

Does anyone have any sort of idea as to when he is coming up? Hes still in single A ball and my other top prospects are mashing in AA and or just got promoted to AAA and are raking.

Hes just sitting on my roster taking up a valuable space - is he worth hanging onto or can i get something for him in a trade or just drop him?

[J35J]

With a 70% contact rate and being almost none existant against lefties he's got plenty to work on. His contact rate in college wasn't great either so I'm not expecting him to fly through the minors personally.

[Steve-o]

With a 70% contact rate and being almost none existant against lefties he's got plenty to work on. His contact rate in college wasn't great either so I'm not expecting him to fly through the minors personally.

MY recollections was that the Pirates did want him to fly through the minors with an eye on playing time next year and a full time gig in 2011. Granted, his performance so far may have slowed their expectations, but I think that was the Pirates original plan

[MaudDib]

With a 70% contact rate and being almost none existant against lefties he's got plenty to work on. His contact rate in college wasn't great either so I'm not expecting him to fly through the minors personally.

MY recollections was that the Pirates did want him to fly through the minors with an eye on playing time next year and a full time gig in 2011. Granted, his performance so far may have slowed their expectations, but I think that was the Pirates original plan

No matter what his numbers aren't going to get him in the majors this year. He is still going to have to get through AA before they even think about bringing him to the majors.

Other than his BA and K's, his numbers are nice. I expect him to be in AA before long but don't expect him in the majors this year. So if this is a yearly league than cut him loose. He has no trade value.

[Amatter32]

Don't drop him, he has too much value. Trade him if you want (I would if I had him), but don't drop him.

[FouLLine]

Does anyone have any sort of idea as to when he is coming up? Hes still in single A ball and my other top prospects are mashing in AA and or just got promoted to AAA and are raking.

Hes just sitting on my roster taking up a valuable space - is he worth hanging onto or can i get something for him in a trade or just drop him?

I've always felt this guy was extremely over rated. I couldn't believe he went 2nd overall in the 2008 draft. He was virtually drafted based off of his Fresh/Soph seasons in college. I know he had an injury of some sort his junior year but still his numbers were still down from before as well as there were plenty of players who put up much better numbers that year in full seasons. But let's keep in mind Pittsburgh's track record in first round picks: 2008: 2nd overall Pedro Alvarez. 2007: Daniel Moskos 4th overall. 2006: Brad Lincoln 4th overall (just starting to finally show some promise). Of the top of my head I'd have to say Pittsburgh is the worst team at drafting.

It might be too early to drop him just yet as the scouts rave hard on this guy. They all love him. But he has a lot of holes in his hitting approach. Trouble with plate discipline and cannot hit lefties for the life of him. He is getting better at hitting lefties, but he still OPSes 200 points lower against lefties right now in high A ball. Also remember he will play in a pitching friendly park in PNC.

All in all I'd say hold onto him for a bit longer but if he doesn't catch fire soon trade him before the season's end.

[MaudDib]

he Pirates have promoted top prospect Pedro Alvarez from Single-A Lynchburg to Double-A Altoona.
Alvarez will arrive in Altoona in time for Tuesday's contest. The 22-year-old had 14 home runs and 55 RBI for Lynchburg, but also hit just .247 and struck out 70 times in 243 at-bats. "Pedro has demonstrated to us that he is ready for the challenge," director of player development Kyle Stark said Sunday night. "People typically focus on performance when it comes time for promotions, but we focus on the process.

[MaudDib]

Interesting to see Alvarez hitting now in AA. After getting promoted, it seemed most people were surprised after batting only .247 even though he supported a .342 OBP. I am glad to see that he is figuring things out. His K rate is a little higher than what I would want but everything else is looking good. I would bet that the Pirates leave him in the minors all year and after a stint in the AFL he might get a shot early next year if all goes very well.

[warner892001]

is he worth stashing on the bench in a 12 team keeper league?

[TitusIII]

Interesting to see Alvarez hitting now in AA. After getting promoted, it seemed most people were surprised after batting only .247 even though he supported a .342 OBP. I am glad to see that he is figuring things out. His K rate is a little higher than what I would want but everything else is looking good. I would bet that the Pirates leave him in the minors all year and after a stint in the AFL he might get a shot early next year if all goes very well.

Still don't see the Pirates bringing up Pedro to the bigs this year, as finishing the season tearing up AA pitchers in year 1 is probably the best thing for both Pedro(confidence boost after rough start) and the Pirates(he 'aint quite ready for MLB pitchers, but he has made some strides). I've attended a few of Alvarez's games this year, and you can't deny his raw talent/power/bat-speed. He may never hit .275, but he will hit 30+HR''s, and I'd keep him in that 12man keeper league on the off-chance he wins a spot in Spring Training '10.