http://mlbbonusbaby.com/2010/02/04/2010-draft-preview-pittsburgh-pirates/ Andy Seiler's MLB Draft Blog ... The Pittsburgh front office has a number of former scouts at high level positions, and I don’t think scouting will be a problem for the club going forward. Greg Smith has a great deal of experience, and his record is solid. He engineered a very interesting philosophy to drafting when he executed his 2009 draft strategy of picking a large number of quality players, opting for Tony Sanchez over some more heralded players available at the fourth overall slot. I’m not quite sure if this is a trend or not yet, but it’s interesting nonetheless. It seems that Smith does favor looking at players from California and Texas, while Florida has entered the equation multiple times, too. These trends are more unique to his time in Pittsburgh, and it reflects the fact that while a scouting director may have a philosophy in general, whenever one changes teams the scouts are different, and they’ll make different selections geographically based on the strengths of the scouting staff. These trends reflect the newer Pittsburgh staff, and the only things I really gleam from Smith’s Detroit years are his preferences for ceiling and floor. In general, the one thing Smith has begun to trend towards is drafting college players in the early rounds of the draft. He was more balanced early on, but the recent trends show a clear preference for college athletes. College infielders and pitchers in particular come off as Smith’s targets. Beyond the early rounds, Smith combines multiple prep arms and bats with the hope that one or more will turn into something. This is a proven philosophy of the Atlanta Braves in the 1990s, so I won’t bash it. It’s solid, and there will be a normal return for it if they handle their prospects correctly. Looking at draft budgeting, the Pirates have spent liberally in recent years. They’ve spent $8+ million in the two drafts that have been run by Smith, which is at the top of the rankings. Such spending will turn into a solid Major League club eventually if they have the patience to see it through. With the same team in place for 2010, I expect another year of $8+ million budgeting. They own picks 2, 52, 84, 117, and every 30 picks after this, assuming that Rod Barajas signs a Major League deal with another team before the draft. Since they have no extra picks as compensation, I expect more overslot deals in later rounds of the draft. That means more August holdouts and a later start for some of their better draft products, but this is the way it has to go for the Pirates to get quality talent. Connecting the Pirates to specific players is difficult at best at the moment, as no one knows for sure whether they’ll go with a signable player early or one they consider the best player available. Assuming that Bryce Harper is off the board for pick two, the two big-name players that will cost a good part of their budget are Anthony Ranaudo and Jameson Taillon. Taillon doesn’t fit the M.O of Greg Smith, so I think it’s fair to throw him out unless new information comes out about their preference for him. Therefore, Anthony Ranaudo is the logical candidate if they choose to go with the best player available philosophy, though Ranaudo may cost $5+ million and a Major League contract. Scott Boras tends to do that. The other option is picking another signable college player, one that is not represented by Scott Boras. The main alternative in that philosophy is Christian Colon from Cal State Fullerton. He would fit well as a fast-moving infielder with above-average potential, and he should be signable for slot, perhaps below slot for the number two pick. Alternatives include Deck McGuire, LeVon Washington, Chris Sale, and Drew Pomeranz. For their second round pick, I’d look at Addison Reed, Jake Thompson, and Daniel Tillman. Later picks could include Burch Smith, Rob Segedin, Tommy Kahnle, and Dan Grovatt. *Bonus information came from BA. What do you guys think? What will the Pirates do? --

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