Let's Talk About Neal - Part 2

We all know that perhaps the main goal of the NHR (Neal Huntington Regime) was to build a "strong farm system" that would allow for "sustained success" on the major league level.  One of the things that would accomplish would be to give GM Neal the ability to deal for strength and be able to make trades with all the surplus talent that the NHR would be developing.

Last off season, one of the more significant trades made in MLB was the one between the Oakland A's and the Washington Nationals that sent pitcher Gio Gonzalez to the Nats in exchange for four of the Nats' top minor league prospects.  None of those four prospects was a number one draft pick of the Nats, and one of them was a 10th round choice.  As we all know, the Nats had the best record in the National League this year, and Gonzalez is a strong candidate for the Cy Young Award.  The A's are also in the playoffs, and while I don't know if any of those four guys they received from the Nats played a hand in their 2012 success, we can assume that the A's are satisfied with their end of the deal.

From what we read all summer, especially at the trade deadline, the only prospects that the other teams wanted from the Pirates were either Starling Marte, Jameson Taillon, or Gerritt Cole.  In other words, no team is willing to take on Pirates prospects that were drafted lower than the first round.  Again in other words, Billy Beane would probably not even taken Neal's phone call for a package of Pirates prospects drafted in the same rounds as what the Nats offered.  What does this say about the scouting and development of the NHR over the last five years, as compared to that of the Nationals, a team that was every bit as bad as the Pirates were five years ago?

Full disclosure:  This is not an original observation.  Many of you may have read this in some of Dejan Kovacevic's writings in recent weeks, so I admit to stealing form him.  Also, I will give Neal full props for sending some minor league prospects (Owens, Cain, and Grossman) away in obtaining Travis Snider and Wandy Rodriguez.  However, I do believe that after five years, the minor league system has not produced much of anything after the first round - and  Taillon and Cole have still not made it to Pittsburgh yet.

After five years, the Pirates should be seeing more from the NHR's scouting and development  efforts than Pedro Alvarez (and everyone knew to draft him when the Pirates did), Jordy Mercer, and Brock Holt.