September call-ups

By John Franco

Ahhhhh, the joys of September in Pittsburgh. Who wouldn’t want to be called up to a 4th place team when the weather is 59 degrees and rainy? The good news for this year’s crop of September call-ups: there are major league jobs to be had with the Pirates next season, and a good showing in September could definitely earn you one of those spots. Here is a brief look at this year’s call-ups, what they could bring, and what they could be auditioning for.

Evan Meek: Meek wasn’t actually called up from Triple-A, but he was activated from the 60-day DL. He worked 8 innings with 1 walk and 8 Ks during his minor league rehab. The Pirates would like Meek to be their 8th inning reliever next year, and his finish will determine how they build the rest of their bullpen.

Jeff Locke: I’ve already lobbied for Locke to get a chance to start earlier in the year, and I’m hoping he’ll get a couple of starts this year. Paul Maholm and Kevin Correia are both out for the year, and Locke should have some innings to use (144 in 2010, and 153 so far this season). He should be the highest priority pitcher  for the Pirates to evaluate, but I haven’t seen any comments yet on how he’ll be used. I’d like to think he has a shot at being in the rotation next year.

Pedro Alvarez: Alvarez is back, having struggled mightily at Indianapolis after the Pirates sent him down in August. He still has the inside track to start at third base next year, and the Pirates desperately need his power bat in the middle of the order. He was back in the lineup Tuesday following his recall, and the Pirates will give him enough time to see if he can figure things out.

Daniel Moskos: 17.1 innings, 7 walks and 7 strikeouts – that was Moskos’ line in his first appearance with the Pirates this season, and it’s not good. He threw about 65% fastballs, 30% sliders and mixed in a few change-ups. His fastball was 90-92 with decent movement, so his fastball is theoretically good enough to be a major league reliever. He might need to add more tilt to his slider to become more effective against lefties. The Pirates would surely like to see some return on their first round pick, so they’ll be rooting for Moskos to make a splash in September. (Fun fact: Locke and Moskos were roommates at Indianapolis this year.)

Aaron Thompson: I’ve written about Thompson before - he made a great impression in an emergency start against the Brewers. I don’t know if he has the stuff to be a lefty specialist, and I’m not sure if he’ll get any more chances to start, but he’s young (24), left-handed, and has a pedigree (former first round pick) so if he can avoid falling on his face, he’ll surely get an invite to someone’s spring training next year.

Jared Hughes: Hughes was a 4th round pick in 2006, and was converted to the bullpen this season at Indianapolis. The conversion was a success (42 IP, 35 hits, 45 strikeouts), and it’s always good to have a 6-foot-7 reliever ready to come out of the bullpen. This scouting report sounds really encouraging (mid 90s, extreme ground ball pitcher) so I’d love to see if Hughes can play a role in next year’s bullpen.

Brian Burres: Burres is a career minor leaguer who posted a record of 3-5, 4.66 this year at Indianapolis. He also made a good first impression (5.1 IP, 5 K, 1 BB, 1 run) in his start against the Cubs. He could get a couple more starts this season, but he’s not as young and interesting as Thompson, so he probably shouldn’t expect more than another invite to spring training next year. He might get invited to camp with a more interesting team, though.

Pedro Ciriaco: He might just be hoping to get into a game or two, having spent a significant amount of time on the 25-man roster and accumulated just 13 at-bats this year. The Pirates have more interesting options for their utility infielder roles next year, and clearly haven’t been concerned about giving Ciriaco time in the minors to develop. If he’s lucky, he’ll get to do the same thing next year, but he might be pushed by younger players pushing for the same role.

The Pirates don’t have a lot to play for this year – after Tuesday’s loss, they’d need to go 16-4 the rest of the way to finish .500 – but if they can use the next 3 weeks to find a couple of pieces for next year’s team, that would make it a productive month.