MVN: Most Valuable Network

A quick review of the Pirates system would have one very thankful that Che' acquired both Diaz and Jaramillo since he took over, since there isn't much going on below those players, the best of whom are perhaps Steve Lerud and Andrew Walker.

Steve Lerud

Lerud was originally the Pirates' third round pick in '03 draft, but didn't make his pro debut until 2004 because of a broken foot. His selection was likely due to his All-Everything status as a catcher in high school (set Nevada state records for home runs (60) and RBIs (195) in a career, including a .466 AVG, 64 RBIs, and a new single-season state record 21 home runs as a senior).

Lerud's usefulness seems to end at his being a lefty-hitting catcher, as it is rather obvious from Lerud's numbers that he has yet to grab a solid hold on the next ladder rung and truly succeed at the major league level. In his debut in the GCL at age 19, he posted a rather unimpressive .246/.701 line, but recieved a bump to the New York-Penn League for the last eight games anyways.

He restarted the '05 season in rookie ball, and posted a respectable .267/.801 line, but again finished the season doing absolutely nothing at A- or A ball in 35 games.

Lerud has been a non-roster invitee to spring training each of the last three seasons, and might well just be roster filler at this point. He is now 24 years old and would start next season repeating AA ball at Altoona - which seems only fair since he has repeated every other level. He has not cracked a .700 OPS on his first crack at any level, and he has yet to get his K:BB much further south than 3:1, so I wouldn't expect Lerud to appear on a major league roster anytime...well, ever.

Andrew Walker

Walker was the Pirates' fifth-round selection in the '07 draft, after playing his college ball at Texas Christian. His three worst numbers in college combined for a .304/.891 line, including a respectable 32 HR's in roughly 600 AB's.

His first season as a Pirate, in the New York-Penn League, he posted a respectable .317/.831 line, though the power he showed in college was decidedly absent. Last year Walker was out the second half of the season with injury, but even when he did play, his numbers were way down across the board. Perhaps, had he had a full season at Hickory, he may have turned that around, perhaps not, and those numbers are skewed just a tad by trying to play injured right before being shut down, but his 50 K's to only 9 BB's is certainly troublesome.

Walker is still fairly young - he'll turn 23 next month - so he might get righted and at least be a useful backup, but the strong offensive numbers he posted in college might be a thing of the past.