Now that we’re into 2012, I thought it was a good time to look back at the Pirates international signings from 2011. In terms of quantity this class isn’t as large as the previous seasons and it lacks that clear cut top prospect along the lines of a Heredia but it isn’t without quality. What the Pirates seemed to do this year was go for more balance and spread the money around.
The first big signing came when the Pirates announced that they had signed Cuban defector Cesar Lopez. This had been rumored back in 2010 but it took until early 2011 for the signing to be made official. Lopez only managed to log 22 innings this past season after spending the beginning of the year in extended spring training but he has good size and is