Reviewing the DBS Top 30 - one month in

Thought with one month in the books that I would take a look at the ol' DBS Top 30 and see how the boys are doing....

Here's the lists with my pre-season comments (at the bottom of the linked page). Listed below is the player and their BAA/OBP/SLG with OPS in parentheses. For pitchers, I'm listing their ERA/WHIP, IP, H, BB, K.

1. P. Alvarez 3B AAA -- .256/.343/.504 (847). Pedro has been heating up in May and is on track to come up in June once the gaming of his service clock is complete.

2. B. Lincoln RHP AAA -- 3.83 ERA/1.20 WHIP, 42 IP, 40 H, 11 BB, 29 K. Lincoln is not the strikout king we hoped he would be, but he could be a very solid #3 or even a borderline #2 if the changeup develops. Also on track for June to Pittsburgh.

3. J. Tabata OF AAA -- .326/.388/.432 (820). Yet another player who should be sometime in June once the arb gaming is done with him. He is also 17 for 19 in SB's and has yet to commit an error.

4. T. Sanchez C A+ -- .307/.419/.515 (934). Sanchez is showing, even with a cold start to his May, that he does not belong in A+. It's time to promote him to Altoona and continue his development. A shoulder injury slowed him down, which may be why they want him in Bradenton for defensive work.

5. T. Alderson RHP AA -- 6.14 ERA/1.67 WHIP, 29 IP, 41 H, 8 BB, 21 K's. Some eyebrows were raised when Alderson went back to AA, but it seems warranted. His velo is down in the mid 80's still and he is very hittable.

6. C. d'Arnaud SS AA -- .205/.275/.308 (583). Easily, for me, the biggest disappointment to date for Pirate prospects. He has simply not gotten on track at AA yet at any point. He and Alderson would drop quite a few spots in a re-ranking right now.

7. R. Owens LHP AA -- 3.74 ERA/1.01 WHIP, 33 IP, 28 H, 6 BB, 37 K's. He's the anti-Alderson. While he sits in the high 80's/low 90's, he has a strikeout pitch and is staying off the fat parts of the plate.

8. S. Marte OF A+ -- .283/.374/.391 (765). Marte, along with most of the Bradenton hitters, has slumped badly in May. However, I still stand by that he should be promoted soon to Altoona.

9. R. Uviedo RHP AA -- 2.81 ERA/0.88 WHIP, 16 IP, 8 H, 6 BB, 19 K's. Uviedo is a bullpen guy now, so I would drop him a few slots, but he effectively doing his job and is putting himself in line for a promotion later this year to AAA.

10. Z. Von Rosenburg RHP -- yet to pitch this year. ZVR will hopefully debut in Low A West Virginia very soon, but he may touch State College for a start or two.

11. J. Locke LHP A+ --3.15 ERA/1.15 WHIP, 34 IP, 32 H, 7 BB, 30 K's. Locke was another surprise non-promotion. However, he is certainly pitching as if he wants to go up to AA.

12. C. Cain LHP -- yet to pitch this year, but he is also batting a pre-season back injury. May be on a slower path than ZVR this year, as a result.

13. Q. Miller RHP A -- 1.50 ERA/1.00 WHIP, 6 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K's. What was described as "minor bicep tendonitis, should miss 1-2 starts" has stretched into over 1 month off. Not a good sign.

14. R. Grossman OF A+ -- .245/.351/.330 (681). Never a good sign when your OBP is higher than your slugging. Grossman has slumped badly in May, but he has still been K'ing a bunch and not hitting for power. Not much growth in his second full year.

15. G. Hernandez OF AA -- .214/.287/.231 (518). Quite simply, Gorkys is overmatched. He has nothing redeeming about this season. The Shelby Ford of 2010.

16. N. Walker 2B AAA -- .320/.385/.578 (963). What a breakout for Walker. Anytime he wants to come up to PGH and kick Iwamura/Young off this team is fine by me.

17. B. Pounders RHP -- yet to pitch this year. That's surprising considering he got a nice workload in GCL last year. Should go to Low A soon.

18. J. Cunningham 3B A -- .275/.298/.349 (647 OPS). Sort of a mixed bag for Cunningham. Good to see him back healthy and making contact, but he has a 2 BB/22 K ratio this year and is hitting for little XB power.

19. V. Black RHP -- yet to pitch this year, due to an injury. Was supposed to be debuting "soon" 2 weeks ago.

20. D. Moreno RHP A+ -- 0.44 ERA/0.39 WHIP, 20 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 30 K's. No, none of those are misprints or typos. Moreno is simply dominating A+ and needs to be moved up to Altoona 2 weeks ago.

21. N. Pereira LHP -- released before the season. Whoops.

22. B. Holt SS/2B A+ -- .351/.404/.495 (899). His May slowdown has not been as dramatic as the others. I can't see him going anywhere this year, with Harrison, d'Arnaud, and Mercer all ahead of him at AA.

23. B. Friday SS/2B AAA -- .241/.337/.322 (659). Looks like just another no-bat middle infielder for the Pirates. Maybe a utility guy.

24. Z. Dodson LHP -- yet to pitch, may be in GCL or SS when they start.

25. N. Adcock RHP A+ -- 3.34 ERA/1.24 WHIP, 32 IP, 33 H, 7 BB, 34 K's. Having a very nice solid season. Could be a back of the rotation starter.

26. B. Morris RHP A+ -- 0.66 ERA/0.96 WHIP, 40 IP, 34 H, 8 BB, 36 K's. Welcome back to prospect land, Mr. Morris. On a 26 IP scoreless streak...would be nice if he were moved up to Altoona, I think.

27. T. Boleska RHP A+ -- 5.51 ERA/1.10 WHIP, 16 IP, 16 H, 2 BB, 16 K's. Not much to really say here. Probably won't stay on the next DBS Top 30, but he is still an interesting bullpen arm.

28. H. Strickland RHP A -- 5.45 ERA/1.50 WHIP, 38 IP, 49 H, 8 BB, 12 K's. The lack of K's is bothersome, he's way too hittable also. Disappointed greatly.

29. B. Lorin RHP -- yet to pitch due to pre-season injury. Really needs to come back in July and show something.

30. J. Mercer 3B AA -- .269/.341/.407 (748). Mercer has greatly cooled as well, but he continues to draw more walks than in his previous portions of his career, which is encouraging.

All prospect lists are fluid, as this pre-season list shows. Some of these guys are playing their way off the list, especially with the 2010 draft around the corner. I'll check back in July or so with another update.