All of the buzz of the off season for the Pirates has been about the acquisition of A.J. Burnett for the Yankees. Burnett gives the Pirates a hard-throwing, top of the rotation starter that they have long been looking for. By acquiring Burnett, the Pirates will reunite him with newly signed catcher Rod Barajas. While Barajas has gone on record of saying how much he enjoyed catching Burnett in Toronto and how much he will help the younger staff, there may be one player who is even more excited about the buzz around Burnett: Pedro Alvarez.
While Alvarez may not have been who you have expected me to say, Alvarez has to enjoy having the spotlight off of him during the first week of camp and the weeks leading up to it. No matter how much Alvarez hides from the spotlight, it will soon find him again. Burnett was a big deal, but the main story off this training camp is Alvarez. Alvarez was called up just before the All-Star break his rookie season of 2010 and during the second half of the year, she showed the potential that he had. El Toro hit 16 home runs, 64 RBI, 22 extra base hits and hit .256 in just 95 games that year. What was especially impressive, was Alvarez’s final month in which he hit .306, with an on-base percentage (OBP) of .355 and a slugging percentage (SLG) of .577. Alvarez also hit six of his home runs over the final month.
Going into spring training last year, Alvarez was projected to continue to develop as a player and show why he was the first overall pick in the 2008 draft. What happened instead, is Alvarez reported to camp overweight as he chose to skip off season conditioning so that he could focus on his wedding. Alvarez, Manager Clint Hurdle was relying on to provide the power, took a step back hitting just .191 with four home runs and just 19 RBI in 74 games after dealing with injuries and an extended AAA stint. To put his season in perspective, Cliff Lee hit for a higher average than Alvarez (.200). The fans started wondering if this was a sophomore slump or if Alvarez would turn out to be a bust like former first-round picks (Bryan Bullington, John Van Benschoten, Daniel Moskos). The difference between the others and Alvarez, is that he was the consensus number one pick by every team in the league. The Pirates shelled out the money it would take to sign him unlike in past years where they passed up Matt Wieters, B.J. Upton, Clayton Kershaw and Tim Lincecum because of the hefty price tag.
Looking to turn things around this season, Alvarez declined the Pirates request for him to play winter ball, instead opting to take part in a conditioning program in California. Alvarez came into camp slimmer and during a hitting session against Evan Meek, Alvarez took two breaking pitches from the former All-Star over the fence. For Alvarez, who has struggled hitting a breaking pitch his first couple of years, this is a good sign.
“It’s practice,” said Hurdle. “But his swing does look tremendous.”
With Alvarez slumping last year, the Pirates were still able hold a seven day lead in the division into July. For a team that finished 14th in the National League in homeruns, can you imagine how far the team could have went with a power threat like Alvarez? As motivation this year, the Pirates traded for former Brewers third baseman Casey McGehee, who is hoping for a rebound season of his own. McGehee, who can play third base and has been working out at first the opening week of camp, gives Alvarez all the more reason to work hard to secure his starting spot.
With a year of marriage under his belt, the Pirates are hoping Alvarez will focus on another relationship this season, this one with the game of baseball.
Photo Credits: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
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