Mailbag: Fifth starter, International market, Henry Davis

More mailbag questions! Early look at the rotation, internantaionl market and Henry Davis all discussed.

Photo Credit: Ryan Palencer

Bmcferren - who is the opening day 5th starter? Ortiz, Priester, Contreras or Falter?

With the news on Johan Oviedo, two of these probably make it, right? I’m not sold that Falter will be on the roster the entire offseason, so in order - Contreras (no options), Ortiz, Priester, Falter.

ereetz - Since Pirates let several MiLB managers go at the end of the season, who are they bringing in?  And what is the reasoning behind the house cleaning?

I haven’t heard anything about who will replace them, especially Jon Nunnally, the most notable name to move on. It seems like there was more to the Ke’Bryan Hayes story or less, depending on how you look at it. It's a little bit of a mess that I don’t know all the details, so I won’t go into it much, but there are some dots you can connect if you are on Twitter.

Leefieux - Doesn’t Bob know that we could use Ohtani as a DH and P? He’s getting two players for the price of one! 

Everyone could use a player that is a two-for-one. The only issue is that even separately, Ohtani, the hitter, and Ohtani, the pitcher, are out of most teams’ price range. Put them together, and only a few teams have a shot at him anyway.

Seriously, though, where does Henry Davis play this year? C, 1B, RF, or DH? Most importantly, will he hit?

I still say right field. He’s more athletic than he gets credit for, and the arm is elite no matter where it’s at. I could also see a scenario where he plays at each position listed at some point in his career.

Joesolo - Are the pirates going to sign any of the top international prospects when the January signing period opens,  and if so who will they be an can you provide a scouting report on them?

Pirates have been among the most aggressive in the international market in the last couple of years, and I wouldn’t expect that to change. They’ve done a great job of at least grabbing one notable player each year.

As far as getting scouting reports, that’s hard to do. Even with someone who popped onto the scene in the DSL last year, David Matoma, the data and reports are still few and far between.

I don’t put too much into some prospects until they jump to the states; I don’t think our rankings will even include players from the Dominican just yet because information is that hard to come by.