ESPN.com's Keith Law revealed his second mock draft on Monday night and he rates UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole as the top prospect. The Pirates hold the first overall pick in next week's MLB First-Year Player Draft. "The Pirates are still seriously on Danny Hultzen and Bubba Starling, and I wouldn't rule Anthony Rendon out entirely, but my gut tells me right now they'll find Cole's raw stuff -- he hit 101 for me on Friday night and touched 100 many times, including in the eighth inning -- too good to pass up," Law writes.

The Pirates gave out false information in regard to shortstop Pedro Ciriaco, according to a report. Ciriaco was recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis to the Pirates before the Saturday night game against the Tigers. He was scratched from the Indianapolis lineup shortly before the game Friday and reporters who inquired were told by a baseball official that, "Ciriaco had been slacking in drills and that a ball was hit toward him to catch his attention." The ball, as the story went, struck Ciriaco and he tweaked something in his leg. Ciriaco backed up the story, and the injury was discussed at length by Indianapolis' two broadcasters during the game." Ciriaco, however, was en route to Pittsburgh Saturday morning, and he did not make the trip with Indianapolis to Scranton because of his impending recall. The report from MLB.com went on to say, "And that injury from Friday night, well there never was one. The truth -- which was that Ciriaco was held out in case he was needed in Pittsburgh -- slipped out on Saturday morning, much to the surprise of all sorts of folks who had believed the injury story." Pirates general manager Neal Huntington issued a statement saying: "We are looking into the situation in Indianapolis in great detail. If accurately represented, this behavior is not something we condone. We believe it to be an It not always able to provide full detail, we will not tolerate blatant dishonesty."

Pirates general manager Neal Huntington, who will make the first overall pick in next month's First-Year Player Draft, doesn't believe this year's selection is clear-cut. "There is not a clear-cut No. 1 this year," Huntington said. "That's why we continue to work. That's why we continue to follow a handful of players and do our due diligence. You like to have a unanimous pick at No. 1 like you did a couple years ago with [Stephen] Strasburg. We don't have it this year."

The Pirates have released left-handed pitcher Scott Olsen. Olsen was signed by Pittsburgh this past winter. "We believed we were not going to have a good opportunity for Scott and made this move to allow him to find a better situation," general manager Neal Huntington said. Olsen, 27, signed a one-year contract in the offseason worth $550,000 with a club option for 2012. He sustained a hamstring injury early in spring training this season in Bradenton and never fully recovered.

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen was benched on Thursday night against the Dodgers after failing to run out a play the previous night. "I think there are certain things," manager Clint Hurdle said, "that are non-negotiable." With the Pirates trailing, 2-0, McCutchen struck out swinging to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning, but the ball kicked away from Dodgers catcher Rod Barajas. As McCutchen slammed his bat in frustration — the pitch bounced in front of home plate to cap his 0-for-4 night — Barajas tossed to first base for the easy out. "I let my emotions get the best of me," McCutchen said. "I was frustrated at the time and not focused on the game and the ball in the dirt and (there are) two strikes and I needed to run to first base."

The Pirates have surged recently thanks to strong pitching, something manager Clint Hurdle believes is contagious. Paul Maholm, Charlie Morton and James McDonald strung together three quality starts in Pittsburgh's series win over Houston recently. "They are so into watching the other guy pitch. All of them," Hurdle said. "You hear people talk about hitting being contagious all the time. I think that happens with your starting pitchers. Nobody wants to drop the baton." The rotation's ERA over the past seven games is 2.79 and the Pirates are 14-9 this year when a starter goes at least six innings.

The Pirates may have to begin finding at-bats for Ryan Doumit, who was aggressively shopped this past winter. Pittsburgh's longest-tenured player has been playing only once every three days. Doumit drilled a grand slam against the Padres on Wednesday. He can play right field and first base, in addition to catching, but manager Clint Hurdle offered a four word answer when asked if he was considering other ways to get Doumit into the lineup: "No, not right now." Doumit is hitting .259 with a pair of home runs and a .333 OBP this season.

The Pirates and center fielder Andrew McCutchen are discussing a long-term contract extension. However, there is no indication that an agreement is imminent. Both the team and McCutchen declined to discuss details. "I'm willing to be here for my whole career," McCutchen said Sunday. "I really love it in Pittsburgh. I love playing there. I love the city. I love how things are starting to turn around for us. That's one of the things I feel that they know, and they have the same feeling I do. We're very open to working something out, but we just want to make sure it's something we want. That's basically what we're looking at right now."