Steele able to identify with staff

Mike Steele knows how quickly a career can end. The new Hillcats pitching coach recited this fact from memory: The average pro baseball career is over at age 26.

And that’s the starting point for what he’s trying to convey to his players.

“I make sure these guys know that my coaching doesn’t just lie with the way they play the game,” he said.

The 29-year-old Steele, hired two weeks ago to replace Bob Milacki, who resigned for personal reasons, brings a fresh perspective as one of the youngest coaches in Pittsburgh’s minor league system.

“I guess it could be detrimental if these guys didn’t trust me, but it definitely teeters on the other side, where not long ago, I was where these guys are at,” Steele said. “I can say, ‘Hey, I’ve been there, I know what you guys are feeling.’”

Steele was a 29th-round selection by the Tigers in 2000 out of Central Michigan. He was an all-star reliever before undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the 2002 season. He came back and returned to form, with 16 saves at the all-star break for Seattle’s High-A affiliate.

But one morning, he woke up and couldn’t raise his right arm. A calcium deposit had ripped through his labrum, requiring another surgery. He came back again but decided to pursue a coaching path when an opportunity presented itself at Michigan State in 2005.

He coached with the Spartans until 2007. In the last year, he worked with Bo Jackson and John Cangelosi to start an indoor baseball practice facility in Chicago. Steele met Pittsburgh’s new minor league pitching coordinator Troy Buckley, Long Beach State’s former pitching coach, on recruiting trips, and the two talked when a pitching coach job became available.

Steele wanted to be a coach and the Pirates needed one. It was a good fit, as was their coaching philosophies.

“There’s a bigger picture. That’s something that’s big with them,” Steele said. “That’s what I really like about the Pirates.

“We’re not giving up on any kids. We’re going to work for every single kid in the organization and we’re going to build this thing with them.”

All-star addendum

I made three changes from last week’s picks before submitting my all-star ballot on Thursday.

I added two Myrtle Beach pitchers — starter Ryne Reynoso (5-2, 3.16 ERA, 52 K to 16 BB) and closer Bryan Dumesnil (2-0, 0.68 ERA, 7 saves, 35 K to 12 BB) — and dropped Winston-Salem’s Aaron Poreda and Wilmington’s Tyler Chambliss based on recent performances. (It also doesn’t hurt to have a few extra players from a team tearing up the league.)

The other addition was Lynchburg outfielder Jamie Romak for Salem’s Jordan Parraz. Some will balk at adding another player from the Hillcats, who have the league’s worst record (I counter with the fact that they are second in the league in average and runs scored).

Others will dispute the addition of someone who has played for just over a month. I’d counter with this argument: What a month it’s been.

Romak is already tied for third in the league in home runs (10), two shy of league leader Matt Wieters in 55 fewer at bats. His OPS is second only to Wieters (.979 to .969) and he’s hit twice as many home runs in the last 10 games (6) than Parraz has all year (3).

It’s one thing to base it all on power numbers, but Romak is hitting .290 with 23 RBIs through 32 games. Considering the shallow choices of outfielders in the league, I think that warrants an all-star nod.

Not coming soon

Think Pedro Alvarez, the third baseman from Vanderbilt the Pirates took with the No. 2 overall pick in Thursday’s MLB draft, will be a Hillcat this year? Think again.

Alvarez, who is represented by agent Scott Boras, is reportedly seeking a signing bonus in excess of $7 million, meaning the Pirates could have a prolonged negotiation. Those talks will involve Pittsburgh team president Frank Coonelly, who used to be MLB’s key enforcer of the “slotting” system that recommends signing bonuses depending on where a player was drafted.

Boras’ prize last year, Wieters, agreed to a $6 million bonus in the final hours before the Aug. 15 deadline to sign. By that time, it was too late for Wieters to join an affiliated club. He began his pro career in the Arizona Fall League and started this season with the High-A Frederick Keys.

If Alvarez signs well before the deadline, a more likely starting destination is short-season State College, where most college draftees begin. Lynchburg has a better chance of seeing Alvarez at the beginning of next season.