The Pirates made four cuts on Saturday morning: Kyle McPherson was optioned to Bradenton (High-A), Bryan Morris was optioned to Indianapolis (Triple-A) and Rudy Owens and Justin Wilson were reassigned to minor league camp.

McPherson appeared in one game this spring where he allowed one hit and no runs through two innings. McPherson was drafted by the Pirates in the 14^th round of the 2007 draft. The 23-year-old right-hander went 9-9 in 28 games (21 starts) with a 3.48 ERA combined with West Virginia Power and Bradenton Marauders last season.

Morris allowed two runs on four hits with one strike out through three innings (two games) this spring. Morris was drafted in the 1^st round (26^th overall) of the 2006 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers (He was one of the players acquired in the Jason Bay trade). He went 6-4 in 19 games (16 starts) with a 4.25 ERA with the Altoona Curve in 2010. Morris struck out 124 batters in 133.2 innings combined with Double-A and High-A last season.

Owens allowed three runs on six hits this spring through four innings (two games) and walked two. Owens was drafted in the 26^th round by the Pirates in the 2006 draft. The 23-year-old lefty went 12-6 with a 2.46 ERA with Double-A Altoona last year. He struck out 132 batters in 150 innings, walking just 23.

Wilson allowed three runs on one hit with four walks and three strikeouts this spring in 1.2 innings. Wilson was drafted in the 5^th round by the Pirates in 2008. He went 11-8 with a 3.09 ERA in 26 starts with 71 walks and 134 strikeouts.

54 players remain at big league camp.

“[With the] small snapshots that I was able to view, I was impressed with all of them,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “It just reinforces everything I heard, everything I felt, everything I had seen about our player development system. These guys are grounded. These guys are focused. These guys are committed. They are professionals. They used their eyes so well, their ears so well here.”