LaRoche Is Gone, But Pittsburgh Still Have Promising Stars

By Josh Dhani

On July 22, 2009, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded one of their promising stars in Adam LaRoche to the Boston Red Sox. What did Pittsburgh get out of this deal? A minor-leaguer named Argenis Diaz.

The Pirates were looking for some “young” talent, and I believe a minor-leaguer was what they were looking for. But come on, trading a star for a player of skills we don’t how good they are.

But although LaRoche is gone, the Pirates still have some promising young stars on the squad. Yes yes, I absolutely know that the Pirates record isn’t promising, not at all, but hey, although we are looking at another losing season for like the 20th time in a row, there is a bright side looking into next year.

Pittsburgh recently brought Andrew McCutchen, their 2005 MLB first round draft pick, to the majors. And on eveybody’s face when they see McCutchen, there isn’t a frown, but a smile of a clown (okay, no, that’s scary). McCutchen has proved he can hit, has the speed, and he is a good outfielder.

But besides those three things where he masters at, there are many other categories he literally just pwns. For those of you who have not heard of this word “pwn,” as always, let Nigahiga explain to all of you:

McCutchen has proved he will be a promising young star for years to come on the Pirates. Hopefully, Pittsburgh won’t ship him off, because if they do, a fanbase will be rotting. As of right now, he is the future.

We then have Andy LaRoche. LaRoche is improving. After, in what I would call a not so good year for LaRoche in 2008, 2009 is an improving year. LaRoche, so far, has been hitting .264 with four homers, and 37 RBI. Although he probably is going to miss his brother, he’s going to have to step it up a notch these next couple of years.

And right now, he kind of is. He’s improving as well and you may need to watch out for him.

Now here is Garrett Jones. I swear, this kid is a stud. He has a lot of criminal records…on pitchers. He’s truly just an amazing athlete after he had a four-game streak of homers. He hit five of them in his last four games. The streak ended on July 19, 2009.

But although the streak has ended, Jones has proved that he can be a star. He has been getting featured in a lot of waiver wires lately, and I already got him on my fantasy baseball team. Even ESPN is looking out for him now. Jones, right now, hasn’t let anyone down and when he is playing, surely there will never be a frown.

Yes, although the Pirates have lost Adam LaRoche, it doesn’t mean they are screwed, because trust me, they aren’t. With three promising young athletes on the squad, the Pirates can have a winning season before you know it. This season may have already been over, and there were many downs in the path with Nate McLouth and Adam LaRoche gone.

But it brings a new dynasty for the Pirates, with Garrett Jones, Andrew McCutchen, and Andy LaRoche still on the team, there was light in that 2009 season. There was a spark that lit up that year.

And coming in 2010, the Pirates may be a team to look out for.

So, yeah, I admit, LaRoche leaving Pittsburgh isn’t that big of a deal. We have three athletes who are going to shine. So watch out Pittsburgh, prepare to be entertained soon.