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PIRATES SCOUTING REPORT
this article is not "official", and was written by a dedicated Pirates' fan

This report covers all the players in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
I've been a Pirates' fan since the mid-60s and in the last several years have followed their minor league teams very closely.
(A decade of losing at the major league level creates a need to find hope somewhere.)
So here I've collected what information I can find about all the players currentlyin the system.
What's the basis for the comments?
The comments on each player obviously contain some opinions and judgments.
How much of it is mine depends a lot on the level the players have reached.
Like any fan, I have my opinions about the players who've reached the majors, or are close.
But I don't pretend to be a scout, although I do often go to minor league games when Pirates' affiliates come to the Washington, DC, area, which is where I live.
Most of the comments on the minor leaguers come from sources far more qualified, such as articles on the Baseball America web site or interviews with Pirates' officials.
Other than obvious conclusions that can be drawn from the statistics, I haven't included my own opinions except in cases where I've seen the player enough to be pretty confident about it.
Wilbur Miller.


The Pirates signed Roneberg in November.
He's one of several players brought in with ties to Dave Littlefield's former organizations, Florida and Montreal.
He alternated between 1B and RF for the Curve.
He's somewhat similar to Garrett as a hitter, except he walks a little more and has slightly less power.
He used to draw a lot of walks, but may be trying to hit for more power.
He doesn't have the speed for CF and isn't exceptional defensively in RF.
He's not good at 1B.
Like Garrett, Roneberg seems to be stalled in AA.
After acquiring Thompson and Ray Sadler, the Pirates were overloaded with OFs in the upper minors, and Nate McLouth, Vic Buttler and possibly Jorge Cortes could be moving up from Lynchburg.
Roneberg may not be back in 2004.

As Shawn Garrett was mentioned in Brett's summary, below is an excerpt from Shawn's review.
"Garrett has been a solid hitter for two years at Altoona, hitting for decent average and power, but not doing quite well enough to establish himself as a prospect"


Brett Roneberg — 2/5/79; NDFA '96 (Florida); Cairns, Australia
L/L; 6-1, 203

 Level  BA  OBP  SA  AB  2B  3B  HR  BB  K  SB  CS
 1996 R (Fla)  209  267  273  172  8  0  1  10  39  0  0
 1997 R (Fla)  265  360  346  185  11  2  0  28  35  6  5
 1998 A (Fla)  271  341  338  240  7  0  3  25  50  2  5
 1999 A (Fla)  288  384  413  511  32  4  8  79  82  3  2
 2000 A+ (Fla)  261  368  324  445  18  2  2  77  60  4  2
 2001 AA (Fla)  262  335  421  164  11  0  5  17  25  1  0
 2001 A+ (Fla)  299  388  483  331  20  4  11  50  54  5  3
 2002 AAA (Fla)  400  571  400  5  0  0  0  2  0  0  1
 2002 AA (Mon)  294  374  439  214  15  2  4  27  38  2  1
 2002 A+ (Fla)  211  297  263  57  1  1  0  7  11  1  1
 2003 AA  281  338  432  442  29  4  10  40  56  12  6