It's hard to believe that the Jeff Locke era with the Pirates has come to an end. It seems like only yesterday that the Pirates traded Nate McLouth to get Locke, Charlie Morton, and Gorkys Hernandez, which led to me covering Locke that summer in Lynchburg. He came into the system at a time when there were very few legit prospects in the lower levels, and because of that trade, he immediately had a spotlight on him.
I covered Locke every step of the way of his career, starting with that Lynchburg team. I watched him develop in the minors, quickly shedding the control problems he had with the Braves that year, then getting them back in the upper levels, only to add a turn to his delivery that allowed everything to click and led to him making the successful jump to the majors.