5 Pirates Players To Watch This Spring

As the Pittsburgh Pirates assemble Saturday in Bradenton for their first full-squad workout, it's time to take a closer look at the team.

Here are five players to watch this spring, from budding superstars to promising prospects. These are the guys you'll want to keep your camera focused on and try to target for autographs:

1. CF Andrew McCutchen: The youngster is just 24 but was recently picked as MLB Network's best center fielder in the game. If his trademark dreadlocks didn't already make him stand out on the field, his raw talent would still be easy to spot. McCutchen, Pittsburgh's version of former Tampa Bay Ray Carl Crawford, may have the best shot at being the team's All-Star representative in 2011.

2. 3B Pedro Alvarez: As a rookie in 2010, Alvarez swatted 16 home runs in 95 games after getting called up to the majors in mid-June. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 MLB draft, Alvarez showed up to camp heavier than GM Neal Huntington would have liked and needs to improve defensively this spring, but his power potential should place him in the middle of the Pirates' batting order.

3. LF Jose Tabata: The former New York Yankees farmhand hit .299 and struck out just 57 times in 102 games while stealing 19 bases as a rookie last year. Tabata was acquired in the deal that sent Xavier Nady to New York and is just 22 years old.

4. 2B Neil Walker: A late bloomer, Walker, 25, bounced all over the Pirates' minor league system for six years before finally sticking with the big league club last year. A former catcher and third baseman, he learned second base on the fly last year at the major league level while batting .296 and finishing fifth in National League Rookie of the Year voting. Walker also had 54 RBIs after the All-Star break, tying him with Albert Pujols for the lead among NL players.

5. C Tony Sanchez: The Pirates' potential catcher of the future, Sanchez started 2010 with the Bradenton Marauders, batting .314 in 59 games with the M's before being sidelined with a broken jaw suffered when he was hit by a pitch. Sanchez is back at full strength after a successful stint playing in the Arizona Fall League and is in camp as a non-roster invitee.

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