The Curve pitching staff should have a legitimate ace this year in right-hander Tim Alderson, and despite a solid showing in 2009, lefty Daniel Moskos may be back for another season in Double-A.
The Pirates acquired Alderson from the Giants last year in a trade for Freddy Sanchez, and he finished up with the Curve after spending half a season with Connecticut in the Eastern League. The 21-year-old has a herky-jerky delivery that the Pirates may decide to tweak at some point, but they might want to leave him alone given his success so far.
Alderson, the No. 22 pick in the 2007 draft, is 23-7 with a 3.29 ERA in 54 career games (53 starts). He was 6-1 with a 3.47 ERA at Connecticut a year ago, only to struggle a bit with the Curve as he was 3-1, 4.66.
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Tim Alderson joined the Curve late last season after coming to the Pirates in a trade with the Giants for Freddy?Sanchez.
One major drawback for Alderson, who's 6-foot-6, is that he's been unable to develop a blazing fastball given his size. Some scouts have said the leg hitch in his delivery prevents him from throwing harder, but it's always dangerous tinkering too much with a pitcher's mechanics because it could do more harm than good.
"When I'm doing it, it feels smooth to me," Alderson said of his delivery following a start with the Curve last year.
Moskos, the No. 4 pick in the 2007 draft, made 25 starts for Altoona last season. His 11-10 record and 3.74 ERA were decent, but the Pirates have to be concerned about his control.
Fact Box
2010 Curve roster preview
A tentative look at some of the players expected to be on the Curve's opening-day roster, given that several jobs are still up for grabs in spring training. Pirates farm director Kyle Stark listed Moskos, Crotta, Hughes and Hankins, in particular, as potential question marks for Altoona's roster.
Position players
Position Name 2009 Team Avg. G AB R H HR RBI
C Kris Watts Lynchburg .291 103 340 54 99 7 49
1B Matt Hague Lynchburg .293 122 454 52 133 8 50
2B Jim Negrych Altoona .272 93 323 51 88 3 30
SS Chase d'Arnaud Lynchburg .295 54 210 45 62 4 26
SS Jordy Mercer Lynchburg .255 131 513 64 131 10 83
3B Josh Harrison Lynchburg .270 34 141 15 38 1 13
OF Gorkys Hernandez Altoona .262 86 344 45 90 3 31
OF Miles Durham Altoona .275 65 240 31 66 5 34
Pitchers
Pitcher Name 2009 Team W-L ERA G GS IP BB SO
RHP Tim Alderson Altoona/Conn. 9-2 3.88 20 20 111.1 27 64
LHP Daniel Moskos Altoona 11-10 3.74 27 25 149.0 58 77
LHP Tony Watson Altoona 0-3 8.22 5 5 15.1 11 14
RHP Mike Dubee Altoona 3-0 2.92 26 0 34.0 10 28
RHP Ramon Aguero Altoona 0-2 2.84 8 0 12.2 6 13
RHP Ronald Uviedo Lynchburg 5-5 3.36 23 18 101.2 28 79
RHP Derek Hankins Altoona 3-4 4.42 19 9 71.1 26 66
RHP Mike Crotta Altoona 7-8 4.76 27 27 143.2 33 97
RHP Jared Hughes Altoona 1-6 3.88 17 7 46.1 16 36
Potential midseason call-ups
Pitcher Name 2009 Team W-L ERA G GS IP BB SO
LHP Rudy Owens West Virginia 10-1 1.70 19 19 100.2 15 91
LHP Justin Wilson Lynchburg 6-8 4.50 26 26 116.0 55 94
LHP Jeff Locke Lynchburg 4-4 4.08 17 17 81.2 18 56
RHP Aaron Pribanic West Virginia 4-2 2.15 7 6 37.2 5 18
RHP Brian Leach West Virginia 7-4 2.96 32 12 109.1 39 88
Moskos walked 58 with only 77 strikeouts in 149 innings, and opposing teams frequently hit him hard as he was around the plate too much.
Pirates farm director Kyle Stark listed Moskos as a question mark to return to the Curve, meaning the pitcher has a chance to earn a promotion to Triple-A with a strong showing this spring. The Bucs maintained all last year that they like Moskos as a starting pitcher, though it wouldn't be a surprise if they move him to the bullpen this season.
Several familiar names are set to return to the Curve this season, including outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, infielder Jim Negrych and pitchers Mike Crotta, Jared Hughes and Derek Hankins. Tony Watson, last year's opening-day starter, also will be back after an arm injury limited him to only five games in 2009.
One intriguing prospect to keep an eye on will be reliever Ramon Aguero, who looked impressive with a lively 95 mph fastball during a late-season call-up last year.
Aguero initially came to the Pirates under false pretenses as he went by the name Samuel Vasquez and claimed he was 19 years old. It turned out he not only had a different name, he actually was 23.
Aguero is now 25, and the organization needs to find out about him in a hurry to determine if he can be a key component of the future.
Cory?Giger is at 949-7031 and cgsports12@aol.com.
