27-year old righty reliever T.J. Beam is really pitching well in AAA ball so far this season. Beam has pitched in 25 games (0 starts) in AAA ball this season and he is 2-1 with 4 saves, a 1.89 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He has also whiffed 39 batters in only 38 innings in AAA. The Pirates might give Beam a look pretty soon if he keeps pitching like he is right now.

After the 2007 season the Pirates thought that they had a building block for the foundation of the pitching staff, but he has been awful this season. He has started 12 games this season and he is 4-5 with a 6.83 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. His big problem has been his control as he has walked 43 batters in only 59.1 innings this year. If that continues he might find himself back in AAA ball soon. That is a shame because Gorzelanny was so good last season. He was 14-10 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP in 2007.

The Pirates have demoted catcher Ronny Paulino to the minor league and they have activated Ryan Doumit from the D.L. Paulino has been in the dog house since spring training because he has been very lazy on defense. Paulino hasn’t hit well either as he has played in 35 games for the Pirates this season and he is 24 for 110 (.218 avg, .605 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 18 RBIs. Ryan Doumit will be the starting catcher again for the Pirates. He has played in 29 games this season for the Pirates and he is 36 for 103 (.350 avg, .955 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 5 homers and 15 RBIs. The Pirates elected to keep 35-year old righty swinging Raul Chavez as the backup catcher over Paulino. Chavez has played in 11 games for the Pirates this season and he is 8 for 33 (.242 avg, .568 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 5 RBIs.

The Pirates have signed 28-year old righty reliever Franklyn German to a minor league contract. Look for German to be called up soon by the Pirates because he has an electric right arm. But, control problems have kept him from keeping a job in the majors. He pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this season and he was 1-3 with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP before they designated him for assignment. He walked 13 batters in only 21.2 innings this season for the Rangers. German has now pitched in 155 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 9-7 with 7 saves, a 4.25 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. German has walked an astounding 119 batters in 158.2 career major league innings. He is worth taking a gamble on.