Edit: I’ve added a new poll to the left sidebar asking you to grade the two trades Huntington made today.
Ah, screw it. Let’s give this its thread. Dejan Kovacevic is reporting that the Pirates told Freddy Sanchez to stay at AT&T Park tonight instead of flying to his home in Phoenix, where he was originally going to go on the Pirates’ off-day in the event of a trade tomorrow. Rob Biertempfel has put it much more succinctly, saying, “Sanchez traded.” Updates below as they come.
UPDATE (6:51): DK quickly updates with a name; Tim Alderson. Alderson’s a very good pitching prospect, 20 years old and pitching well in Double-A.
UPDATE (6:54): More on Alderson; John Sickels ranked him as the third best prospect in the Giants’ system before the season started and as a 20-year-old with Double-A Connecticut, he’s 5-1 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP in 13 starts. His strikeouts are a bit low (5.7/9 innings), but he’s really young to be pitching in Double-A. He was the 22nd pick in the 2007 draft and there’s a good scouting report on him here.
Alderson works anywhere from 88 mph to 93 mph depending on whether he’s throwing his two-seamer or four-seamer, but he’s able to get two kinds of movement on it. He can make it sink or cut depending on the situation, and it plays up a tad due to his motion. His money pitch is a hard, low-80s curve that’s a tight downer and can get swings-and-misses. Still, there are things he needs to improve on this season.
He’s probably immediately our best pitching prospect (I don’t know how the prospect guys will grade out Rudy Owens after this year and I don’t know enough about that sort of thing myself to try and guess) and a great pickup for the Pirates.
UPDATE (7:10): To give a second side of the coin, most reports are that his fastball will keep him from being a truly elite starter and he probably profiles best as a mid-rotation guy if he doesn’t add a changeup. Kevin Goldstein at BP talks about his limitations here and here.
That being said, he’s pitching very well at the age of 20 in Double-A, which is a very good sign, and he’s a great return for a player like Freddy Sanchez. I really, really like this trade.
