Defender's of the Right

Brad Lincoln is, of course, the right.. right arm, that is. Shelby Ford and Andrew McCutchen are two of the defenders Brad has behind him at Hickory this year.

To begin with, I am really high on Shelby Ford. I understand there are many skeptics.. that's to be understood. After all, Shelby's defense has been a bit rough at 2B at Hickory. But few fans realize he is a converted 3B. He is going to have some ups and down as he reinvents himself and develops.

From the few games I have seen, he has soft hands, a quick turn, and a cannon arm. He just forgets to square up to a grounder sometimes like many 3B do.

While there are other 2B in the Pirates farm system that others will point to, Shelby is one of those players that I simply have a 'gut' feeling about. I like the kid. He won't win a batting championship, he won't hit 30 home runs, he won't steal 30 bases.. but he does have decent speed, he will stroke some into the gaps, he does have a plus arm, and he does the little things consistently.

Shelby Ford will be a decent 2B for the Pirates down the road, imo. The only question I have is whether he will be able to hit for average. If he can maintain a .280 BA across the farm system, I think he has a very good shot at being Pittsburgh's next 2B by 2009.

Andrew McCutchen is simply gold waiting to be polished everyday. While Cutch is listed as a 5-tool player, some scouts have told me there are questions about his arm. I'm here to tell you that I saw Cutch throw a bullet from medium to deep centerfield in Bradenton to the plate to gun down an advancing runner when he played in the GCL. Not once.. not twice.. but several times. McCutchen has a plus arm, make no mistake about it.

However when he was in the GCL, Cutch had a rough time running routes that I saw. Not Bay 'lazy' type routes but more the McLouth 'break the wrong way' type of routes. He typically makes up for the wrong break with his speed just as Duffy does and this is expected as he learns the effects of balls in play off wooden bats.

I have clocked both Duffy and Cutch running home to 2B and I believe Cutch is, not only faster, but lots faster. Duffy will beat Cutch to 1B because he is a left hand batter but if you put the two side by side and have them run a 100 yard dash, Cutch will cruise past Duffy at about the 70 yard mark. Cutch is a tad slow the first few steps but then is lightening quick.

Brad Lincoln is going to be a very solid #2/#3 starter. By #2/#3 I mean, #2/#3 on any club -- he is that good. I see Duke and Maholm as back end rotation guys and I see Gorzy as a #3/#4 type. Almost everyone puts Duke's ability ahead of Maholm but I don't - I see Maholm as being the better of the two overall.. over time.

McCutchen and Lincoln are the current defender's of the right in Hickory. There are a lot of decent players at Hickory but I like the future of these two. I realize Shelby has tailed off at Hickory some offensively lately, and that is a concern. But not much.. not in my eyes.. not yet.

They are my long-term picks to click, if you will.

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EDIT -- Well I tried to hurry and post this before Cutch was promoted but I guess I waited too long as he was sent to Altoona today. If you have been reading my blog you know I expected this a week ago as we started hearing some 'talk' he would be promoted.

The nice part about this promotion is that the org didn't derail him by sending him to Lynchburg - Cutch now ends up in AA where he thought he would start the year at so that will help his mental game.

The bad part about this promotion is that it is a clear signal Littlefield wants Cutch in Pittsburgh next year as has been our guess all along here at Bucco Blog.

Even though McCutchen is advancing two leagues, a call up this late in the season will be the equivalent to jumping a league plus a little more overall.. not two leagues, so he'll do ok after he settles in. But the Curve are in the playoff hunt so he very well could see some additional at bats than just the 20 or so games they have left.

Duffy and McLouth better start watching their backs because if Cutch dominates AA in a hurry, you might see a September call up and that would freak Duffy out enough to send him home forever, be my guess.