The Pirates teams of today aren’t nearly as good as past teams, but they have good young talent at most positions. They had high expectations for the 2006 season. They didn’t live up to the hype, but there were some bright spots. Jason Bay hit 35 home runs and 109 RBI. His defense in left field was also good.

Jack Wilson’s defense was among the best in the league at shortstop again this season. Most people forget he’s only 28 years old. He also had a decent season offensively finishing with a .273 batting average. He is one of the club veterans and leaders. He has been a member of the Pirates since 2000 when they acquired him from the Cardinals.

Ian Snell was the Pirates’ best starting pitcher in 2006, and the only starter with a winning record. He finished the year with a 14-11 record and a 4.74 earned run average. He led the Pirates in wins and strikeouts. He finished with 169 strikeouts. He has a chance to be a great pitcher in a couple of years.

Freddy Sanchez was great for the Pirates in 2006. He won the National League Batting Title, given to the player with the highest batting average. He finished the season at .343. His defense was also great, he played mostly 3rd base.

Jose Castillo was a disappointment at second base this year. He only hit .253 with 14 home runs and 65 RBI. He made some nice plays defensively, but that didn't make up for his .975 fielding percentage.

Coming off an outstanding rookie season, Zach Duke had a frustrating 2006 season. He finished at 10-15 with a 4.47 earned run average. He got off to a really bad start, but got better towards the end of the year. He will look to get back on track this off-season.

Jose Bautista had an okay 2006 season. He started out hot, but really simmered down as the season went on. He finished with a .235 batting average with 16 home runs and 51 RBI. He made some nice plays in center field.

Ryan Doumit was hurt for most of the 2006 season with reoccurring hamstring problems. He only got to play 61 games. When he came off the Disabled List he shared time at catcher with Ronnie Paulino. He finished with a .208 average with 6 home runs and 17 RBI. He also played some first base.

Chris Duffy had an interesting season. He started the year by batting a terrible .193. Then the Pirates sent him down to their minor league team AAA Indianapolis. Then they brought him back up to the Major League team, and he batted .282, bringing his average on the season up to .255. He also stole 26 bases on limited playing time.