Pirates keeping talented prospects — dream on

Three years ago, I had this amazing dream.

You see, in this dream, I was the broadcaster… Three years ago, I had this amazing dream.

You see, in this dream, I was the broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates. And during the whole season I never got tired of this one saying.

“It’s deep, and gone. Chris Shelton homers again for the young, upstart Buccos. What a show he is putting on here at PNC Park this season, folks. The Pirates finally have that power bat they’ve been lacking.”

It’s funny nowadays, though. I’m hearing those same words ringing through ballparks, but they aren’t coming from a Pirates broadcaster.

No, the Detroit broadcasters and fans are the lucky ones now.

In 2001, the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Chris Shelton in the 33rd round of the major league draft out of the University of Utah where he hit .374 with 19 home runs and 66 RBIs in 219 at bats during his final season.

After being drafted, Shelton continued to rake.

In the New York-Penn League, he hit .305 with two homers and 33 RBIs. A bump up to the South Atlantic League in 2002 led to a .340 average with 17 dingers and 65 RBIs. That raised a few eyebrows.

Then came 2003 — the year my dream started. During his stay in the Carolina League that year, Shelton batted .359, belted 21 bombs and drove in 69 runs. His numbers earned him a promotion to Altoona in the Eastern League.

He registered only 122 at bats that season in Altoona before the year ended. His numbers slightly tailed off to .279, zero homers and 14 RBIs. Keep in mind, too, that besides the jump to the majors, a jump to the AA minor league level is considered the toughest.

His accolades continued. The Pirates named him their minor league player of the year. And with production at first base down in Pittsburgh, he looked to be on the fast track.

That is, until General Manager Dave Littlefield let him go for nothing.

Because of the number of years he already spent in the minor leagues, the Pirates faced a decision to protect Shelton on the 40-man roster or risk losing him to the major league Rule V Draft.

With only 37 spots being used on the 40-man, Littlefield still left him unprotected. The result? Well, he was selected with the first pack of the Rule V Draft by the Detroit Tigers.

So, just like that, he was no longer a Pirate, but a Tiger.

He stuck around with the major league club in 2004, because of the circumstances of a Rule V draft pick. A pick must be on the roster with the team for a full year, or risk losing him back to his original process – it’s a complicated rule at times.

Last year, he showed flashes of what he could do in his first stint with Detroit. In 388 at bats he hit .299 with 18 homers and 59 RBIs. Fast forward to the present and now Shelton is the most talked about baseball player of 2006.

Just 10 games into the new season and Shelton’s posted nine home runs in 55 at bats. He’s hitting .455 and has already driven in 17. He leads the American League in all three categories.

Recently, Littlefield was asked about the decision on not protecting Shelton.

“Listen, first and foremost, we were wrong,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “If we could redo it, we certainly would. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. And I’m completely accountable.

“What we saw from Shelton was a good hitter who had some defensive challenges. And, as we made the move to bring him up to Class AA, we really were questioning the kind of power that he was going to show at upper levels.”

As for that judgment of Shelton, Littlefield again continued to understand that he and his staff were way off.

“Obviously, in retrospect, that was wrong,” he said in the Post-Gazette. “From what I hear, he’s improved his defense. And obviously the power has been very impressive.”

Thanks for being truthful, Mr. Littlefield, but you could say those same things about most of the first base prospects in our system, and I don’t see them going anywhere.

And it would be nice to still have that $8 million that we’re spending on Sean Casey to improve the team elsewhere. We all know if we had Shelton, Casey wouldn’t be needed.

By the way, I’m having new dreams now. And I won’t be surprised if they come true, too.

“Shelton blasts his 12th home run off the scoreboard in left field. I’ve never seen a ball hit that far in PNC Park. That homer puts him in the lead of this year’s Home Run Derby at the home of his former team.”

Alan Smodic is a senior staff writer for The Pitt News. E-mail him at ams85@pitt.edu.