And So It Beings!!
Pirates fans everywhere were brimming with excitement, knowing their team held the 5th overall pick in the draft. When it came time to pick, it was an easy decision for GM Joe Smith, who had manager Clint Hurdle by his side...Third Baseman JOSH DONALDSON - the bringer of rain himself. Having a long wait until the next pick, the Pirates new brain trust decided to go after two of the top pitchers available in Justin Verlander & Cole Hamels.
The remainder of the roster was what the GM called "A blend of perfect circumstances, veterans and high upside youngsters". The Pirates feel they have a long term solution up the middle in SS Trevor Story, 2B Ceasar Hernandez & CF Joc Pederson. The young core supplements the veterans on the lineup, and should bring excitement to the ballpark daily.
Heres how the 25 man shaped up for Opening Day against the Red Sox:
- Catcher
- Blake Swihart (S)
- Garrod Saltalamacchia (S)
- First Base
- Derek Dietrich (L)
- Second Base
- Cesar Hernandez (S)
- Whit Merrifield (R)
- Third Base
- Josh Donaldson (R)
- Kelly Johnson (L)
- Shortstop
- Trevor Story (R)
- Eduardo Escobar (S)
- Left Field
- Jayson Werth (R)
- Center Field
- Joc Pederson (L)
- Desmond Jennings (R)
- Right Field
- Andre Ethier (L)
- Starting Pitcher
- Justin Verlander (R)
- Cole Hamels (L)
- Jon Gray (R)
- Patrick Corbin (L)
- Tyler Chatwood (R)
- Relief Pitcher
- Joe Blanton (R)
- Jerry Blevins (L)
- Casey Fien (R)
- Brad Hand (L)
- Matt Belisle (R)
- Ross Stripling (R)
Although I chose to manually draft all 90 rounds of the draft, here are my first 40 picks in order:
1) 3B Josh Donaldson - 94 Overall
2) SP Justin Verlander - 88 Overall
3) SP Cole Hamels - 85 Overall
4) CP Glen Perkins - 81 Overall
5) 2B Cesar Hernandez - 81 Overall
6) SP Jon Gray - 80 Overall
7) SS Trevor Story - 78 Overall
8) RP Jerry Blevins - 83 Overall
9) CF Joc Pederson - 78 Overall
10) RP Joe Blanton - 85 Overall
11) C Jarod Saltalamacchia - 76 Overall
12) C Blake Swihart - 75 Overall
13) LF Jason Werth - 80 Overall
14) RF Andre Ethier - 75 Overall
15) 1B Derek Dietrich - 71 Overall
16) 2B Whit Merrifield - 73 Overall
17) SP Jason Vargas - 75 Overall
18) SP Patrick Corbin - 73 Overall
19) CF Desmond Jennings - 71 Overall
20) SP Tyler Chatwood - 72 Overall
21) RP Brad Hand - 72 Overall
22) LF Chris Coghlan - 71 Overall
23) RP Casey Fien - 71 Overall
24) SP Dan Straily - 72 Overall
25) 3B Kelly Johnson -73 Overall
26) RP Ross Stripling - 68 Overall
27) SP Archie Bradley - 70 Overall (A Pot / 24)
28) SS Cliff Pennington - 68 Overall
29) RF Joey Rickard - 68 Overall
30) C Austin Romine - 67 Overall
31) CP Koda Glover - 58 Overall (B Pot / 23)
32) 3B Jason Canon - 64 Overall (B Pot / 19)
33) SS Eduardo Escobar - 67 Overall
34) 3B Jacoby Jones - 60 Overall (B Pot / 24)
35) RP Matt Belisle - 72 Overall
36) CF Jim Cagle - 63 Overall (C Pot / 19)
37) RP Joe Kelly - 68 Overall
38) C Rene Rivera - 69 Overall
39) SP Jeffrey Parson - 66 Overall (C Pot / 23)
40) SP Darren Dixon - 67 Overall (D Pot / 21)
Opening Day Victory 12-6
Justin Verlander was almost unhittable, going 6.1 Innings, allowing 2 hits & 1 Run (a solo homer to Will Meyers) while striking out 11. Brad Hand & Ross Stripling struggled in mop up duty, giving up 5 runs to end the game. Somehow, Verlander was overshadowed by his young short stop Trevor Story. Story went 5-5 with 3 singles, 2 HR & 3 RBI in the season opener. Two more games on the road, and the Pirates will return home to open the season in front of the home town fans.
MAJOR INJURY
Starting in Left Field in order to allow Jayson Werth to preserve some energy while DHing, Whit Merrifield tore his calf in the 6th inning, sliding back into 1st on a pick off attempt. Merrifield's injury is a sore start to the season, as he projected to have a major role on the roster as the defaction super-utility guy as well as Andre Either's right handed platoon partner. Merrifield is projected to be out 1-2 months, and in his absence Joey Rickard has been called up to add to the Outfield Depth.