No way the fountain of youth is made up of Pittsburgh tap water. I think that Pittsburgh is the oldest city outside of Florida.

Great series. How does Polanco compare to Starling Marte?

I like the play on words there. I thought they were a lock last year when they were 16 games above .500 on August 5th. I won't be happy until they win 82 games. I don't care if it is Sept 10th or Sept 30th.

Just by looking at 3rd order wins and the results of Baltimore and Oakland, it seems that teams with excellent bullpens win more than the numbers predict and teams with bad bullpens win less (Cubs). Just a thought. After 20 losing seasons, I don't care how the Pirates do it, I just want to see 82 wins.

Enjoy the scout and FOT opinions as well.

Interesting that Gerrit Cole was in the running for both top fastball and slider. Funny thing is that he never seems to dominate even going back to college. I hope that the Pirate's developmental staff can get the results out of him but I don't have a lot of faith.

My league is 4x4 NL only. Most auction values out there are for 5x5 leagues. With the PFM tool, I can customize the settings to my league and get more accurate values. Agree with Mike's theory that 4x4 lends better to the Stars & Scrubs method of roster building. I watched a guy be consistently good in my league for 6 straight years because of Stars & Scrubs. I adopted the strategy last year and tied for 1st.

Doug, great article. Have you had a chance to look at any of the Pirates? I always wonder if their development staff has the ability to turn Cole and Taillon into big leaguers. Then I read where guys like Kyle McPherson and Phillip Irwin have really improved since being drafted.

Great article. I'm an accountant and part of my job is to prepare budgets. I love doing it because if I'm right I look good. If I am wrong, then I make a comment that I can't predict the future or I would have hit the lottery years ago. I never tell my boss that my model was incorrect.

As a long suffering Pirates fan, I have seen option 1 way too many times. No way can they trade McCuthen until they reach 82 wins. The biggest issue is that ownership won't commit to spending on the major league roster until more fans show up at the park. That would be like General Motors saying that their vehicles are below average but if you buy one now they will improve the quality in the future.

I would think that Revenues for MBLAM mean gross revenue before expenses. Usually, when talking profits (revenue minus expenses) the terms net profit or net income are used.

Great article.

At first I agreed with the first two commentors about the panelists not having any baseball experience. Upon further reviw, it actually makes sense. If a panelist were a baseball fan, they could be biased (good or bad). This way, each side presents their argument and the best one usually wins.

How does this class compare to last year?

Salaries of any job/profession are based on supply and demand. The supply of individuals that can hit a baseball is limited, so those that are successful get paid an awful lot of money. It bothers me when people get upset about athlets getting paid X while(insert low paying job) gets paid much less. If you are not paid a lot for doing your job it is because someone else can replace you easily. Also, why do actors get a pass when top stars make $20M per movie?

Jason, How does Gohara compare to Heredia (Pit)?

Maury is the rebate talked about something new?

Interesting article. Teams pay millions in signing bonuses each year but then nickel and dime players once they are part of the organization. With the new rules limiting bonuses and TV deals exploding, the industry should have a lot of extra lying around. There are just too many jokes regarding the Pirates implementing this plan that my brain is on overload.

Nick, Love the concept keep the articles coming. Interesting that Justin Williams is over a full year younger than Ball.

I meant to type 2011 in my 2nd sentence. PNC opening was the only nice thing about 2001.

Great article Ben, I'm now coming back in from the ledge. 2001 was nice, but in my head I did not think they could make the jump from 57 to 82. This year will hurt much worse if they don't make it. After 19 losing seasons, they need to reach 82 so that the negativity surrounding the franchise is finally removed.

Regarding Taillon, I read where he didn't have the feel for the curve early in the season, found it then lost the feel for the change. Coaches modified the grip on the change and now both pitches are working. I also agree that he might have been limited in pitch selection.

KG, Regarding Allie, do you think his struggles as a hitter in the GCL will force him to focus on pitching next year?

What no Xander Bogaerts? You must really be biased against him, or the Sox, or the American League East. Just more sarcasm for those that did not pick up on it.

Yo, sgrcuts my 1st comment was sarcastic. If you failed to catch it, my second comment should have been the giveaway.

KG, just start listing Bogaerts' line every game.

Well it is obvious that Kevin has a bias against Bogaerts since he also left him out of the Top 50 list. Now that Machado is in Baltimore I can't think of a better position prospect in the minors today.

As a long time Pirate fan, I would have been very happy with 82 wins at the start of the season. Now I will be a little disappointed if they finish a couple of games out of a post season berth. Bottom line, after 19 long years, it is fun to be a Pirate fan again.

I think that more teams should align salaries with projected WAR. (Front load contracts instead of back loading). This way you aren't paying a 38 year old $20M for replacement level production. I know that there are time value of money considerations, but why not pay a guy less over time to match the decrease in production?

With the events like last night, MAYBE this is finally the year the Pirates have a winning record. (knocking on wood as I type) This has been a fun start to the year for this long suffering fan.

Kevin, What is Appel's future ceiling in a rotation, 2? The Pirates haven't been shy spending money in the draft. Any way that Boras and Pirates work together to circumvent draft rules and get Appel the most money allowed?

KG, it doesn't look like the Pirates would be reaching all that much with Marrero at 8. If Correa, Buxton, and Almora are gone, is he a good pick or should they go more upside?

I root for the Pirates because they are my hometown team. I love baseball and can't imagine caring about another team. When I'm asked why I still care, I respond that if I had known the losing was going to last this long I would have quit when the streak reached 10 seasons. After 20 seasons I have to stay until they have a winning season via luck or skilled management. Each season I root that 10 guys have career years and they reach 82 wins so that the streak is broken.

Burnett getting hit in the face with the ball is par for this franchise. He will probably rush back and tear an elbow ligament next.

The only good thing to come out of this is that the best players should be picked in order. No more Rick Porcello's falling to the 27th pick because of bonus demands. The other downside not mentioned in the article is that players might be over or under paid depending the year they are drafted. This year the 1-1 pick gets $7.2M. Maybe the player taken 1-1 would have "only" received $6M under the previous rules based on his talent. The player taken 1-1 in 2013 might be worth more than $7.2M. Strasburg and Harper broke 10 year old records because they deserved it based on talent, not because of inflation increasing their recommended slot.

I used to dislike Boras as well, but over the years I have come to realize he is only doing his job and he is great at it. He saw a need in the market place and filled it. If my sons were good enough to be drafted (they won't be), I would call the Boras Corp. first.

I read communal cheese and the first sentence of the paragraph and knew it had to be Jason Parks. Keep up the good work.

Kevin, Can you give us more details on the Robbie Grossman scouting reports?

When was the last time that the Pirates were possible buyers at the trade deadline and willing to take on salary? After 18 long years, this season has been so much fun.

I have been following the Pirates for years. The lack of a true number 1 in the draft is typical of the black cloud surrounding the franchise. Whoever they take out of the top 4 will end up being the incorrect pick because that's the way things work in Pittsburgh. Kevin, how does Hultzen compare to Bryan Bullington?

I live in Pittsburgh and I can't get the games when they are preempted by the hockey playoffs or on the road and not broadcast locally. There has to be a way for MLB.tv to allow local games when the rights holder chooses not to broadcast them.