28-year old lefty swinging Garrett Jones had a breakout year last season. He is looking like he will be the starter at 1B for the Pirates when the season begins. Jones played in 82 games for the Pirates last season and he was 92 for 314 (.293 avg, .939 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 21 homers, 44 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Those are pretty darn impressive numbers for half a season. The Pirates hope that his 2009 season was not a mirage but more of a preview of things to come. Jones played in 30 games at 1B for the Pirates last season and he only made 1 error.

26-year old lefty swinging Jeff Clement came over from the Mariners in the Jack Wilson trade last summer. It was kind of curious though as to why the Pirates didn’t bring him up when rosters expanded on September 1st. Clement played in 119 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 129 for 470 (.274 avg, .850 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 21 homers and 90 RBIs. Clement is a converted catcher so he still has a ways to go before he is a solid defensive 1B.

26-year old righty swinging Steve Pearce is running out of chances with the Pirates. He played in 60 games for the Pirates last season and he was 34 for 165 (.206 avg, .666 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 4 homers and 16 RBIs. Pearce made 2 errors in 42 games at 1B for the Pirates last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: C-