WTAJ – www.wtaj.com

Clint Hurdle sees path to contention for Pirates with rebuild

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — A trio of Pittsburgh Pirates begin their rehab assignments on Tuesday when the Curve open up the second half of their season against Harrisburg. Tucupita Marcano, Dillon Peters, and Duane Underwood Jr will all be with Altoona and that rounds out a pretty talented roster.

The Pirates will be pairing those three with four players who are listed among the MLB’s Top 100 Prospects including Nick Gonzales, Henry Davis, Liover Peguero, and Quinn Priester. Former Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle, who now works in the Rockies front office says based on what he’s heard from their scouts, the Pirates are on the right track for building their next contending team.

“I’m learning about them, I’m hearing about them. I’ve talked to a number of our Rockies scouts who travel throughout the minor league systems and evaluate talent and scout young players and there’s reasons why they have a lot of talent,” said Hurdle. “There’s a draft every year. They’ve drafted a lot of players and traded and reacquired a lot of picks and younger players in return. So there’s been a plan to restock and supplement and fortify that minor league system. I think they’ve done a good job of that.”

The Pirates have begun their youth movement at the MLB level with the call ups this year of Oneil Cruz and Jack Suwinski. Suwinski currently leads all NL rookies with 12 home runs.