28-year old righty reliever Chris Resop is off to a great start in 2011 for the Pirates. Resop has pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Pirates so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. He has only given up 7 hits while whiffing 13 batters in his first 13 1/3 innings for the Pirates so far this year. Resop has now pitched in 33 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Pirates and he is 1-0 with a 1.67 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Resop is moving up in the pecking order for the Pirates in the pen and if he keeps pitching like he is right now, he might become the Bucs’ top set-up man.

Submarining righty reliever Kent Tekulve was the Pirates’ closer during a lot of the good times in the 70’s. He looked like a school teacher but he saved a lot of games for the Pirates. In 1979, Tekulve pitched in 94 games (0 starts) in which he was 10-8 with 31 saves, a 2.75 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He worked 134 1/3 innings that year and he only gave up 109 hits, as closers weren’t 1-inning only pitchers like they are today. Tekulve led the majors in games pitched three times in his 12 years with the Pirates but he only made one All-Star team (1980). Tekulve pitched in 722 games (0 starts) in his 12 years with the Pirates and he was 70-61 with 158 saves, a 2.68 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Tekulve is #2 in Pirates’ history in games pitched with 722. He’s also #2 in saves (158) and he has the ninth best ERA (2.68) in Pirates’ history.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have designated 27-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF John Bowker for assignment. Bowker has played in 19 games for the Pirates this year and he is 4 for 17 (.235 avg, .610 OPS) with 2 RBIs. He played in 45 games in his two years with the Pirates and he is 20 for 86 (.233 avg, .685 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 15 RBIs. Bowker will probably clear waivers if the Pirates want to keep him and he wants to stay.

26-year old righty starting pitcher James McDonald looked like a big part of the Pirates’ future based on how he finished 2010 for them after getting picked up in the Octavio Dotel deal with the Dodgers. McDonald started 11 games for the Pirates in 2010 and he was 4-5 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. This season though, he has taken quite a few steps backwards as he is getting beat up. He has started 4 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA and a 1.98 WHIP. McDonald has given up 25 hits (5 homers) and he has walked 12 batters in only 18 2/3 innings so far this year as he has been a big mess. The Pirates aren’t going to wait much longer to pull the plug on McDonald, as far as his starting job goes, if he doesn’t straighten up soon.

The Pirates have claimed 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Xavier Paul off waivers from the Dodgers. Paul played in 7 games earlier this year for the Dodgers and he was 3 for 11 (.273 avg, .545 OPS). He has now played in 62 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 34 of 146 (.233 avg, .609 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. This is a nice low risk/decent reward pickup for the Pirates as Paul used to be a highly thought of prospect.