I know I kind have beaten this subject into the dirt, and I can almost see if you felt that I am kicking Alvarez while he is down, but this is what you get when you under perform and were the second overall pick in the country,
This is not how the 2012 season was suppose to start for the Pittsburgh Pirates. At this point, Andrew McCutchen should not be the ONLY one producing in this lineup. With Prince Fielder no longer in a Brewers’ uniform, the Pirates’ 3/4 hitters should be one of if not the most feared combos in the central, and well on its way to being so in the entire NL. There is a one problem however, that four hole hitter, the guy the Pirates invested a then team record $6 million bonus (later reconstructed to a four-year Major League Deal) to become the face of the franchise, is instead on his way to become yet another example of failure this franchise has gone though. The same franchise that is enduring the longest losing streak in the North American major sports.
Alvarez was the top college bat in the 2008 draft
In 2008 Pedro Alvarez was Vanderbilt’s slugging third baseman, and one of the top amateur prospects in the entire country. Alvarez could have very well gone first overall, if not for the Tampa Bay Rays selecting first, and a third baseman by the name of Evan Longoria was on his way to winning Rookie of The Year. So he slid to the second pick, and the Pittsburgh Pirates, no more dealing with the constraints of a ‘budget’ and free to spend as they will in the draft, picked Pedro Alvarez, a no doubtingly tough sign having Scott Boras as his advisor. The Pirates went for it anyways, and were rewarded with getting one of the top prospects in the game in their system. A guy they envisioned leading other budding stars Neil Walker and Andrew McCutchen, and once again making Pittsburgh relevant in baseball.
As soon as Alvarez signed, he shot up all of the Top Prospects lists, as a future superstar playing the hot corner, capable of hitting 30+ home runs in a season. The only red flag, which most felt can be overlooked seeing his raw plus, plus power, he had a high strikeout tendency, and the thought of him being a .280 hitter were bold. Again though, a big guy like Alvarez, with a laser cannon for an arm (accuracy and range was a worry), and the potential to hit 30/40 homers, I think just about any teams would over look a few strikeouts in exchange for 40 homers. Without a doubt, all eyes were on Pedro Alvarez to start the 2009 season, as the Pirates hoped he would be able to move quick through the system, after playing at a program like Vanderbilt, his bat was advanced enough to where they could push him.
The first half of his 2009 season had mixed result, you saw the potential coming true, with 14 home runs and 37 walks in 284 plate appearances, but also in those 284 PA, he struck out 70 times (24.6% K rate), and only hit .247. Still despite the high K rate and low average, the Pirates were aggressive with him and gave him the promotion to Double-A, and worry was with such a high K rate in High-A, he might fall flat in Double-A, most prospects first real true test. The Pirates were rewarded with their decision as Alvarez caught fire and tore up Double-A, hitting a line of .333/.419/.590 (Batting Average/On-Base%/Slugging%) with 13 Home Runs and in 26 less plate appearances, Alvarez struck out 11 less times, dropping his K rate to 22.8%, manageable with him hitting over .300. Alvarez’s final stat line would end up at .288/.378/.535 with 27 Home Runs, with 129 strikeouts to 71 walks, a great start for Alvarez to begin his pro career, if he could carry that stat line through the minors and into the majors, the Pirates would have their franchise corner stone.
2010 Pedro Alvarez began the year in Triple-A Indianapolis, and all indication was that Alvarez would make his big league debut at 
some point in the season, depending on how he handles triple-A. After a slow start Alvarez heated up and earned a promotion to The Show, making his debut June 16, 2010 against the Chicago White Sox, going 0-2 with a walk, run and of course, a strikeout. His first hit was a ground rule double against the Cleveland Indians, and after that he went into a deep slump, a slump that earned me a quick benching. After the benching he quickly shot back getting red hot and showed baseball just what he is capable, earning player of the the week in the week of September 20-26 and also earning rookie of the year that month. He finished his rookie year hitting .256 with 16 home runs in 95 games (would average 27 in a 162-game season), but more eye popping than the 16 home runs, a 30.8% K rate.
So entering the 2011 season, expectations were through the roof, the Pirates had a potentially dangerous 1/2 combination blooming in Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez. Unfortunately, 2011 was a complete and udder disaster. Alvarez hit a miserable .191, with only four home runs in 262 plate appearances and striking out a horribly amazing 119 times (45.5% K rate!). Whatever momentum Alvarez gained at the end of last season, did not even show up in a year that will certainly go down as one of the worst in baseball history.
So now after my very long history lesson, onto my point of this article, so please, stick with me,
The idea behind any prospect, is that as they gain experience they are suppose to progress, take steps forward, and become the player scouts thought they may become. Looking at Alvarez’s numbers, especially his K rate, its hard to argue that he is progressing, actually he is heading in the wrong direction. I know this season is early, and stats can be misleading, sometimes making some look better than they will finish and others start slow and their numbers are worse than they will probably end up. So 20 plate appearances is definitely too small a sample size, but even so, when you only have one hit in those 20 PA, and have 12, that’s right TWELVE strikeouts, its hard not to take notice. Though it is easy as Pirates’ fans to write him off, seeing disappointment after disappointment, sadly we are use to it, we cannot just yet give up on him, though, the once mighty prospect has fallen to the point to where he has been written off by the majority of the fan base, and if you look past the smoke screens, even management is losing faith in him, sitting him as much as possible, using the lefty vs lefty excuse.
So what, if ANYTHING at all, can be done to salvage Alvarez’s career, or his he doomed to become one of the many who had the potential and failed to live up to it (Brad Eldred, yea that hurt me too Pirates’ fans). I think the answer is pretty simple, so simple it kind of makes you wonder why such a long introduction was needed for it, just let him play. I see so many other blogs calling for Alvarez’s demotion, let him ‘work it out’ in the minors. Well, that is a respectable opinion, and I would never bash someone based on their own opinion, everyone is entitled to it, it makes sense, that is how it usually works, a young player struggles, send him back to the minors, let him work on his problems in a far less stressful environment. The only problem I have for that, which really is my whole basis on this whole article, is that, when people say that, I do not think they fully grasp what Alvarez’s true problem is. Alvarez has hit in the minors, and other than the first half of his first season, he has hit really good. He has nothing else to learn in the minors, he has mastered hitting minor leaguers, when pitchers in the minors adjusted to him, he adjusted back and hit some more. THAT, there lies his true problem, Alvarez has yet learned to adjust to pitching in the MAJOR LEAGUE. So, how is he suppose to learn how to hit MAJOR league pitching from hitting against pitchers not quite ready to pitch in the majors or are not quite good enough to stick there? That is all he is going to face in Triple-A, and probably more of the latter being in Triple-A. Pedro Alvarez needs to be plugged into the PIRATES’ lineup, and put into the middle of the lineup, not at the bottom, he needs to be put into the middle of the lineup, where we expected him to hit when the Pirates drafted him. Let’s face it, as much as we were hoping to build of off last year, this is going to be another long year for the Pirates and their fans, so let’s get as many positives out of this season as we can get. One of them that should be at top of the list should be finding out exactly what they got in Pedro Alvarez, and the only way you can figure that out is to play him, not bench him, not demote him, not sit him against every lefty possible. Play him, Alvarez should finish, barring injury, 130+ games this year, no matter the average, no matter the strikeouts. That way, you can say, ok, this is what Pedro Alvarez looks like in a full season in the Major Leagues, can we work with this? Remember too, Alvarez has yet to play a full season in the majors, so the Pirates HAVE to give him that opportunity. This year has to be the year too, because those golden arms in our system that will help the Pirates finally contend again are closer than we think, and we are going to have to have our lineup set, so then they do not have to rely solely on those young arms. No more protecting him, no more using a platoon and spinning it calling it ‘selectively picking our match ups’, Alvarez needs to learn to adjust to pitchers who have long since adjusted to him. Baseball is about repetition, that’s why some players spend four or more years in the minors, because baseball is a game of repetition, and the only way to get repetition is by playing, getting at-bats against lefties, even the tough ones. How is he suppose to learn if you sit him every time a lefty pitches against you?
Once Alvarez gets the opportunities he needs to succeed, he needs to take the bull by the horn and run with it. He needs to be more confident at the plate, he is so scared, scared to jump at the first pitch, if its a good pitch, swing at it, try and hit it a mile. If not don’t give up on the at-bat. Once their is a called strike he already seems defeated, it is not the end of the at-bat, keep at it. To be able to build the self-confidence he needs to succeed, management and Clint Hurdle need to show that they have confidence in him and play him everyday, play him against a lefty, I bet he will start to think positively enough start turning things around.
You would be crazy to look at Alvarez and not see the potential, the problem right now, and I hate using cliches, but he has more holes in his swing than Swiss cheese. If the Pirates want him to work out than they got to give him the chance to and stop putting the restraints on him, and let ‘El Toro’ run lose.
Here are some link’s of Alvarez’s clear potential
Home Run vs Phillies, Hit out of the stadium
Three Great D Plays From Alvarez
Alvarez’s Four Hit Game
Alvarez Walk Off Home Run
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a memorable rematch, which could of quite possibly lead to a trilogy. Originally set for a February 11 date, the fight was pushed back to June 23 due to an injury Andre Berto suffered in training camp to his bicep. Now, the fight has been called off all together with it being announced that Andre Berto has failed a pre-fight drug test. Golden Boy Promotions released a statement stating indeed Berto did test positive, but the fight card will continue to preserve the undercard fights, and presumably to still give Ortiz a fight, who has yet to fight since his fourth round KO loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. In as plain of words as I can use, this sucks. As a Victor Ortiz fan, and a boxing fan, I was really looking forward to this fight. I had it as the most anticipated fight of 2012 in my 1st annual boxing awards post, and the first fight won my fight of the year, and round of the year. At this point, so close to the fight, it is very unlikely that Golden Boy can get anyone name-worthy to fill Berto’s spot, so it is likely to be a lesser known contender that will square up with Ortiz, being a title bout, Golden Boy has actually quite a pool they can dig through, just the bigger names (Marcos Maidana, Devon Alexander, Erik Morales) are all unlikely to take a fight on such short notice, against such a powerful puncher like Ortiz.
Strasburg when Stephen Strasburg was in middle school, he was suppose to be the next big thing in baseball. He wasted no time showing his promise, as in his fifth career start, he threw a one-hit shutout and striking out 20 batters, tying Roger Clemens record, and launching the hype. He struck out 200+ hitters in four of his first five seasons, but then tragedy struck in the form of Tommy John surgery, and after that the wheels fell off. Wood could not stay healthy after, and in his 13+ years, he made 14 trips to the DL. Wood was able to revitalize his career after making the move from the rotation to the bullpen, pitching for the Indians and Yankees before rejoining the Cubs for a second stint. This retirement comes at a little shock to me, as I hadn’t heard anything about it, but I’m guessing no one did. My guess would just be that arm problems may have been arising again, and as oppose to dealing with another long rehab, and more pain, he decided to hang it up. It was a very classy move by the Cubs to let him present the lineup card, and I think going by him only facing one batter, it was very likely he was going through some sort of arm pain. It’s going to be something I’m going to remember, as he came into this league mowing players down, and he got to end it on the same note.
