John Van Benschoten, the Pirates' top pick in the 2001 draft, has been shut down from any throwing activity for two weeks after a visit to Dr. James Andrews, the noted orthopedist in Birmingham, Ala.

Van Benschoten decided to see Andrews after continuing discomfort in his surgically repaired right shoulder kept him from participating consistently in a throwing program since early spring. Andrews performed a non-surgical examination and prescribed only the brief period of rest.

"He told me that I shouldn't rush, that I should just work on strengthening the shoulder once these two weeks are up," Van Benschoten said last night from Bradenton, Fla., where he has been working with the Pirates' trainers all year. "It's better news than what I might have gotten."

Van Benschoten, 26, had surgery in early 2004 on the right shoulder, two others on the left one.