Pirates - Purchased Duke

Pittsburgh Pirates - Released P Bobby Bradley; purchased the contract of P Zach Duke.

Some time ago, Kevin McClatchy watched an episode of Sesame Street.  Through Elmo’s antics and that guy from Evening Shade and Cookie Monster’s voracious appetite, he learned about the letter B.  Excitedly calling Mickey White, McClatchy wanted to put all the knowledge he obtained to excellent use and the team drafted Kris Benson.

But this story didn’t have a happy ending.  Mickey just couldn’t break Kevin’s heart and inform him about the other 25 letters.  So the Pirates drafted Bobby Bradley, Bausher, Burnett, van Benschoten, Blair Johnson.  Luckilly, by 2003, they decided that Kevin could read big kid books.  One of those guys, Benschoten, was actually a hitter, but Kevin saw the episode of Bugs Bunny where Bugs is the pitcher and thought throwing the ball was “way cooler.”

The Pirates did still end up getting Zach Duke in the 20th round because an animated pinball machine on Sesame Street (12345…..67910….1112!!!!!) convinced Kevin that 12 was the highest number.

OK, that was kind of bizarre, but I’m really tired at the moment.  Suffice it to say, Duke is one of the few Pirate pitching prospects of recent years that has survived his trip to Pittsburgh with his arm and reputation both intact.  He’ll probably have an adjustment period due to the quickness he’s gone through the minors and his eh K rate at AAA, but he’s a good long-term pitcher.

2005 ZiPS Projection - Zach Duke
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Period        W   L   G  GS   IP    H   ER  HR  BB  SO   ERA
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Actual ‘05*   7   8  16  16  106  115   52  13  26  62  4.42

Rest ‘05      6   6  15  15   93   97   46  11  27  60  4.45
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* - Includes MLE