The Pirates are 54-41 on the season, 13 games over .500 and just a game and a half out of the division lead but even with the great year they are having they aren't even the best team in their own organization. The team's AAA affiliate located in Indianapolis has put in a record of 65-40 and is a convincing nine and a half games up in their division, clinching the organizations title for best record so far this season. Record isn't necessarily what you look at when you are looking at the minor leagues, you look more at the individuals on those teams who could eventually make an impact at the major league level, so I thought it would be a good idea to go through some of those individuals and give you a good idea of what to expect just a year or two down the line.Jeff Clement- One of the most surprising performances in the whole Pirates minor league system so far this year came from the former Mariners first round pick Jeff Clement. Clement has spent nearly all of his time at the first base position this year, and putting up some really impressive numbers too. Clement has put up .293/.352/.517 slash and has added thirteen home-runs to that mix as well. I wrote a post back in June about weather or not the Pirates should promote Clement you can read that by clicking here. I still think that Clement could be that left-handed first-baseman that the Pirates are trying to acquire, but they know their players better then I do.
Starling Marte- If you have been paying attention to the Pirates trade talk of late most people are either demanding for a trade or for this guy to come up. Marte had a crazy good spring training for the Pirates but was as expected sent to AAA to start his season. Marte has not been as good as hoped for so far with a .284/.347/.497 slash, 12 home-runs and 21 stolen bases so far this year. One of Marte's higher numbers this year has been his strikeouts, posting a 90 in that category. Even with some of the disappointments around Marte I would not be surprised to see him called up at some point, even with Neil Huntington being clear that they will not rush his development like they had done with others in the past.
Brandon Boggs- Boggs has been the Indians everyday left-fielder and has had a very solid season. Boggs .263/.362/.422, is the one time draftee of the Rangers and has spent time in the majors both in Texas and Milwaukee. Boggs is twenty-nine years old so his best year's aren't exactly ahead of him, but he could be called up for a game or two if the Pirates have a real need.
Anderson Hernandez- Hernandez has spent most of his time at second base, which is a tough spot to be in since the Pirates seem to be pretty set at that position in the majors but he has had a solid season none the less. Hernandez has virtually no power one going yard one time this season, but he does have a .274 avg and only 39 strikeouts so there's that.
Tony Sanchez- As you probably know Sanchez is the Catcher that the Pirates drafted fourth overall all the way back in 2009. Sanchez started his season in AA Altoona and was moved up to Indianapolis about a month and a half ago and has hit .233 with five home-runs. Sanchez has turned it on as of late hitting all five of his home-runs in the past week or two. The upside to Sanchez is that he plays excellent defense which can alone get you to the major leagues if you are good enough, so I like to think of Sanchez as bust proof. The Pirates look at Sanchez as a guy they want to be their starting catcher for a long time, so if I had to guess he will spend the rest and all of this next year in AAA before being placed on the opening day roster in 2014.
Chase d'Arnaud- Just a year ago it looked like the Pirates had some big plans for d'Arnaud when they called him up to play some SS for a competing team, but now he is looked at as not even a everyday starter in AAA. d'Arnaud has hit for just a .227/.316/.367 line this year and just 3 home-runs and 68 strikeouts in just 65 games. I really don't know where d'Arnaud is headed but it doesn't look good, I think Jordy Mercer will be the teams future SS instead of Barmes.
As you probably noticed there are not any pitchers on this list and that is because I wanted to strictly focus on hitters in this post, if you are interested in the pitchers in AAA check back in the next day or two because I am planing on writing a similar post focused strictly on the pitchers. The Pirates future looks bright, they have been building a strong minor league system for years now and it is starting to show on the major league level. Obviously not all of these guys mentioned above are going to have successful major league careers nor would anyone expect them to, but there is a good chance that a few of them could be playing a important role on the big club as soon as this year.
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