Spikes' roster hinges on draft

By Guy Cipriano

The Pittsburgh Pirates end their extended spring training program today in Brandenton, Fla.

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Major League Baseball begins its three-day, 50-round draft tonight.

At some point between today and the June 19 opener against the Williamsport Crosscutters, the framework of the State College Spikes should change.

As always, the draft will play a major role information of the Spikes, a popular landing spot for players selected during the first 25 rounds from four-year colleges. Pirates director of player development Kyle Stark, who oversees six affiliates, said the organization has taken a “proactive” approach toward assembling the Spikes’ Opening Day roster.

But few events can be as unpredictable as baseball’s draft.

A year ago, the Pirates selected shortstops Jordy Mercer and Chase D’Arnaud in the third and fourth rounds. Both players joined the Spikes on the same day, with Mercer, who played at Oklahoma State, quickly receiving a promotion to a full-season team. D’Arnaud, who played at Pepperdine, spent the entire summer in State College.

“There are holes to fill as an organization and we need depth throughout the system,” Stark said. “Some aspect of it is being proactive. Some aspect of it is seeing what the draft gives us. We have a philosophy of getting the best player.”

Multiple factors, including experience, skill levels, position needs and signing dates, determine player assignments. Rookie Bradenton and full-season West Virginia, affiliates one step below and above State College, are other possible starting destinations for 2009 selections.

The draft ends Thursday, eight days before the start of the New York-Penn League season. Teams have until Aug. 15 to sign draft picks, making it unlikely for an organization to procure all of its high selections by June 19. The Pirates signed five players last year — first-rounder Pedro Alvarez, fourth-rounder Robbie Grossman, fifth-rounder Justin Wilson and mid-round high school selections Wesley Freeman and Quinton Miller — shortly before last August’s deadline. The Pirates signed Mercer and D’Arnaud less than two weeks after the draft, but the duo didn’t arrive in State College until the night before the opener at Jamestown.

The Pirates assigned 50 players to this year’s extended spring training program. Stark said the number should help the Pirates fill teams at State College and Bradenton as they wait for picks to sign.

“It’s definitely challenging,” he said. “In reality, most clubs have more players in extended than they will need. You have to look at it like you’re going to outfit two teams and make decisions based on that. You need coverage and you need bodies until players sign. We will make sure we have spots filled and go from there.”

Players are expected to arrive in State College on June 15. The Pirates begin a three-day minicamp at Medlar Field on June 16.

Extended spring training, which involves young players who don’t make a full-season team, is considered a tedious, grueling process in the Florida heat. Drills are performed in the morning, games are played in the afternoons.

Spikes manager Gary Robinson and Stark said they were both “pleased” with progress made during the program. Robinson even noticed changes in moods when players tried to make final impressions.

The differences between State College and Bradenton are stark. NY-PL games are played under lights before thousands of fans. Gulf Coast League games are played in the afternoon before sparse crowds.

“This is a very nervous time for these young men because they are not stupid,” Robinson said Sunday night. “The bubble guys know they are bubble guys and there’s quite a bit of anxiety there. We have seen it and we have talked it through. They kind of have to relax and let things go.”

Conversations between the scouting and player departments increase as the draft approaches. Stark serves as a liaison between the departments, although he holds a minimal role in the draft process.

“Players are looking around like, ‘Who’s staying here and who’s going,’” Robinson said. “I can’t really tell them. Nobody can tell them. It’s a wait and see. I do know that from an instructional standpoint based on discussions with our staff people who have been here for three or four years this has been the best extended spring training we have had.”

The Pirates held draft meetings in Bradenton last week and the front office will spend the next three days in Pittsburgh. The first three rounds begin at 6 p.m. tonight. Rounds 4-30 are Wednesday and the draft ends Thursday with the final 20 rounds.

The Pirates are selecting fourth overall in each round. They also have an extra second- round pick for failing to sign 48th overall selection Tanner Scheppers last year.

“I’m going to follow it fairly closely,” Robinson said. “I’m more concerned about what positions we pick rather than knowing where guys line up on the draft board and what their tools are. We don’t sit in on meetings. Every player is lined up on the board, but I haven’t seen the board. I don’t want to see it.”