Development

In Kovacevic's development report, we learn that Brian Graham more or less deserves an A for his work. Good job, Brian. You the man. The Pirates more or less do the kinds of things I expected and hoped they would be doing.

If you like your stats, here are the numbers:

Of the 17 players the Pirates drafted in the first five rounds in 2000-03, those that might reasonably have been expected to progress under Graham, eight reached the majors or are on a firm track to do so. That 47 percent success rate is better than the historical norm of 41 percent, as researched by Baseball America.

More impressive, perhaps, seven of the 37 players taken in the 20th round or later have made it or still could. That is 19 percent, double the historical norm.

One moral of this story, coming as it does after the drafting story, is the Pirates might do well to raise the bar in the lower rounds. Zach Duke and Nate McLouth are two of the guys padding those good numbers from the 20th round and later.