Pitching Prospects are Key to Bradenton Marauder's Playoff Hopes

RHP Nathan Adcock

BRADENTON – The Marauder pitching staff has been a revolving door of success this year. Bryan Morris began the season with the team and was utterly dominant, going 3-0 with an unheard of 0.60 ERA. Of course, Morris was moved up to Double A Altoona, followed by Diego Moreno who was also 3-0, and more recently, set-up man Ramon Aguero.

The moves initially shook up the team, and they went on a two-week slide that saw them lose what seemed a shoe-in first half title. Since then, the rest of the staff has stepped up. Noah Krol has continued to be an extremely reliable finisher, while Nathan Adcock and Jeff Locke have seemed to emerge as candidates to follow the road to Altoona.

It should be noted that Morris has struggled since making the leap. He's gone only 4-3 in Double A with a 3.66 ERA, demonstrating the difference in High A and Double A competition levels. Morris was once considered among the top pitching prospects in baseball and was the main prize for Pittsburgh in the three-way trade that sent Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers.

A first-round pick for L.A. in 2006, he had a phenomenal rookie league season, but missed '07 with Tommy John surgery. He pitched well in Low A, but then struggled in High A in '09, going 4-9 with a 5.57 ERA. The organization was thrilled to see him emerge this season and the plan was to get him to Triple A Indianapolis by August, but that looks less likely to happen as this point, with several pitchers on the Altoona staff sporting better records.

At 23, Morris will still have a year or two to show he can progress, but the Pirates will definitely be disappointed if he doesn't meet early season expectations. The Major League team's squad is among the worst in baseball and is without a single starter who sports a winning record. That bodes well for promising pitchers in their system, as opportunities are endless, but it also creates a sense of urgency for the organization to move them along quickly. A pitcher who moves up too early can lose a lot of confidence if he gets shelled and some never really recover.

The Marauder staff is loaded with potential stars, but the one who seems perhaps the most solid prospect is Adcock. At 6'5, he's got the physical stature and has seemed to emerge into a pitcher with real presence on the mound. A fifth-round pick out of high school, Adcock struggled at the lower levels and failed to put a winning season together in his first four years. The turnaround this season is promising and I'd be curious to see him against Eastern League batters.

Locke's stats are nearly identical to Nate's, but batters tend to hit the ball hard when facing him. He's been doing a great job of getting them to hit it to the right place, but I get the feeling that at this point, he wouldn't fare as well as Adcock against higher caliber hitters. Krol is the wild card. A 17th round pick by Detroit out of Witchita State in 2007, he's four years older than the other prospects. Krol just turned 26, which is very old to be pitching High A, but he's consistently saved games at every level he's played and has earned a look from the Buccos.

Brian Leach has added some arm strength to the starting rotation and looked good on the mound, showing great control and the ability to work a solid six to seven innings. GCL star Tyler Cox has looked good in middle relief and Aaron Pribanic shows flashes of tremendous potential, as does the injured Hunter Strickland. As the Marauders come down the stretch, they'll need a consistent staff to compensate for their injury-ridden offense, so there is still time for heroes to emerge and the talent is there for that to happen.