Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic
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Q: Is this the year we finally see the full-fledged youth movement?
When we look at Florida last year and a number of other teams in previous years who started out entirely young, but were able to piece it together, it seems like it could work. We have some pieces already in place. Why not just try Nate McLouth, Ryan Doumit, Jody Gerut, Xavier Nady, Brad Eldred and Jose Bautista at the other spots?
I do not want to see Trot Nixon or any other 30-plus player on the downside of his career coming in to take time away from someone who could be significant to the future.
Bryan Menk of Richmond, Va.
KOVACEVIC: It is hard to describe what the Pirates are doing as a full-fledged anything movement, Bryan. And there have been no signs yet that is about to change.
All youth? No. That would involve making trades specifically aimed at infusing elite-level prospects into the system. And those generally come at the expense of your best guys, such as Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez or the young starters. That is not about to happen.
Remember: Florida did not simply decide to go with the youngsters they had. They traded some of their best talent on hand for other teams' best prospects. It was bold, but it appears to have paid off early in the process.
Could the Pirates go with all one age group? Sounds like they would like to, but that, too, involves making bold trades that might forfeit an area of strength (pitching) to shore up an area of weakness (hitting). So far, it is clear the Pirates are unwilling to do that. Thus, it seems quite likely they will have to go outside the desired age group to fill the need.
And that, in turn, keeps them from spending that money where it would do the most good (minor-league system) and so on and so on ...
Q: With Nyjer Morgan, Chris Duffy and Rajai Davis all capable of playing center field, of these three, who do you feel has the greatest potential to be a consistent impact player for the Pirates?Matthew Painter of Manheim, Pa.
KOVACEVIC: Um ... Andrew McCutchen?
Of the group you cite, Matthew, the clear answer is Duffy. He has exceptional defensive abilities and, as we have seen in two-month spurts, he is capable of making much happen offensively when confident at the plate. Davis has yet to excel in Class AAA, and Morgan has yet to play in Class AAA. Neither is young, and upside becomes more limited with each season that passes.
But be quite sure that there will be a place for McCutchen when he is ready, whether that is center field or right. More and more in the industry seem to hold him in higher regard, and the ceiling appears to be very high. I expect him to start this season with Altoona, which means Indianapolis cannot be far away, which means ...
Until tomorrow ...
First Published December 17, 2006 12:00 am
