23-year old lefty swinging rookie 3B Pedro Alvarez is off to a very slow start to his major league career with the bat in his hands. He has played in 11 games for the Pirates this season and he is 4 of 35 (.114 avg, .351 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 doubles and 5 RBIs. Alvarez has been very easy prey for major league pitchers so far as he has whiffed 17 times this season already with only 3 walks. The Pirates need to see improvement out of Alvarez soon or they should send him back to the minors because struggling like he is right now could do some real damage to his confidence.

The Pirates have designated 26-year old lefty starting pitcher Dana Eveland for assignment. Eveland has pitched in 3 games (1 start) for the Pirates this year and he is 0-1 with a 8.38 ERA and a 2.07 WHIP. He has now pitched in 12 games (10 starts) this season with the Bucs and Jays in which he is 3-5 with a 6.79 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. One of these days teams will realize that sometimes a pitcher just stinks (like Eveland) and it doesn’t matter which arm he throws with.

22-year old righty swinging catcher Tony Sanchez suffered a broken jaw when he was hit in the face with a pitch. He’s having surgery today and he could miss the remainder of the season. Sanchez was the Pirates’ #3 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Sanchez has played in 59 games in A-ball this year and he is 65 of 207 (.314 avg, .870 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 4 homers and 35 RBIs. He has now played in 107 games in his two years in the minors and he is 120 of 385 (.312 avg, .906 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 11 homers and 83 RBIs. Hopefully this injury doesn’t scar Sanchez as the Pirates have plans for him in the near future.

The Pirates have placed 27-year old lefty starting pitcher Zach Duke on the 15-day disabled list with a strained muscle in his left elbow. Duke has pitched in 14 games (all starts) for the Pirates so far this season and he is 3-8 with a 5.49 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP. He has given up 111 hits (12 homers) in only 80 1/3 innings so far this season for the Pirates. As bad as Duke has pitched this season the alternatives for the Pirates might even be worse.

The Pirates have shut down 32-year old righty reliever Tyler Yates and 30-year old lefty reliever Neal Cotts for the rest of 2010. Yates is having complications in his surgically repaired right elbow. He has pitched in 87 games (0 starts) in two years with the Pirates and he is 6-5 with 1 save, a 5.06 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Neal Cotts is done because of recent hip surgery. Cotts has pitched in 284 games (5 starts) in his major league career and he is 10-12 with 1 save, a 4.63 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. I don’t think either of these pitchers would have helped the Pirates in 2010 anyway.