The 2008 Pirates probably won't win the National League Central Division. Probably won't be the wild card. Probably won't reach .500. Probably will have a 16th consecutive losing season.

Doesn't matter in the big picture. Make that, the huge picture.

Ultimately, the measurement of a successful '08 for the Pirates has relatively little to do with the major-league team's win-loss record. The success of this season could rest on what happens far from Pittsburgh.

Specifically, in Hickory, N.C., and Lynchburg, Va.

If by summer's end the Pirates can point to legitimate prospects who played this year for their two full-season Class A teams, they'll be on the road back to respectability.

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Baseball 2008

• Thursday: Five reasons to believe in these Pirates ... or not
• Friday: Russell strives to place his stamp as manager
• Saturday: McCutchen at head of thin minor-league class
• Sunday: Pirates plan for future, but what if they win now?
• Monday: The 2008 forecasts of Pirates' coaches, players

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Click here for a printable version of the Pirates' 2008 season schedule.

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"We're in Major League Baseball and the most important game every night is the game in Pittsburgh," new player development director Kyle Stark said. "It's that way for every organization. But for us to win in '08 [at the big-league level] and then have another 15-year run [of losing], that's not what any of us are looking to do.

"I think the focus is on putting something together so the run can be like the one the Pirates had in the early 1990s. So if we have something in the bottom levels of the organization, that would be a good year."

The organization, relative to legitimately good, younger players, is a bit like a set of bookends.

The Pirates have solid young players who either are in the big leagues or with Class AAA Indianapolis. Another bunch of promising young players probably will begin this season with either low Class A Hickory or advanced Class A Lynchburg.

Between those bookends, there aren't too many must reads.

The key for the Pirates, then, is to begin replenishing the shelf in the middle.

"As I've talked with different affiliates and as I've talked with our staff here, I think each of [the Pirates' minor-league teams] is going to have some guys on the field that you can dream about and say, 'Hey, this guy could be a big-leaguer.' Everybody wants to win -- anybody that's in this business wants to win -- but ultimately our job is to win in Pittsburgh."

Stark paused and glanced out his window at Pirate City, the team's minor-league complex.

"I think that comes down to looking out on that field and seeing some guys who one day could do that," he said. "If that's the case -- if we feel like we have a handful of guys at each level -- then we've had a good season."

It's generally felt by the media -- and other people -- that the minor-league system has been weakened recently and needs to be heavily restocked.

"The perception by the public is that if it's not the worst [minor-league system in baseball], it's one of the two or three worst," Stark said. "As we've gone through this offseason and gotten reports, I think there's more here. I think we're not near as bad as the public perceives, but, yes, we've definitely got some work to do.

"I think the reality is that you have a couple of organizations that have a lot of depth in their system. Most of the organizations aren't necessarily that way -- they have a couple of blue-chippers and then you're just trying to fill.

"I think we have a situation where we obviously have those guys at the top who are close."

Those would be center fielder Andrew McCutchen, right fielder Steve Pearce, third baseman Neil Walker and shortstop Brian Bixler.

"Outside of that, I think there's a good mix of interesting guys that, 'Hey, if they take another step, they could be legitimate major-league prospects."'

Case in point? Brian Friday.

Friday, 22, was the Pirates' third pick in June's draft. A shortstop out of Rice University, Friday batted .295 with 10 doubles, 2 home runs and 13 RBIs in 156 at-bats for State College in the New York-Penn League.

Friday, who played in several games for the Pirates in spring training, could begin this season with Lynchburg, skipping Hickory, and be on the fast track through the system.

"We're going to be fairly aggressive with him," Stark said. "Both physically and mentally we feel good about him reaching his potential. He's a college guy who has played at a high level. He's mentally advanced in both his approach on the field and how he carries himself off the field."

Friday, however, could be an exception to the Pirates' rule of advancing players through their system.

"As we look at the players in our minor-league system, we want to do the right things to develop them and we're not looking at pushing anybody before they're ready," general manager Neal Huntington said. "The players will show us on the field when they're ready to go, and as a result we need to put them on the right track -- not the fast track."

The Pirates' new administration spent a ton of time during the offseason analyzing exactly what they have in the system. Who can play in the major leagues? Who might be able to play in the big leagues? Who needs to do what to fit into either category?

"We identified certain things that a player should be able to do at each level," Stark said. "When he shows that he's able to do that, then he'll have a chance to advance.

"It's not a checklist of things. It's not that you have to meet all the criteria. It's just some guidelines that we're going to use that when we look at a player, we can say, 'Yeah, he's ready to handle that next step.'

"There are some guys who can handle more than others. It's not going to be a situation where, 'Hey, he's dominated this level. He's ready to go to the next one.'"

So fans shouldn't just look at a certain minor-leaguer's statistics at, say, Hickory, and assume he's ready to move to Lynchburg.

"I think it's a situation where you say he should be able to do X, Y and Z," Stark said. "Even though he's having results [statistically], you have to look and say, 'Is how he's doing it going to translate at the next level?"'

"A pitcher is the easiest example," Stark said "For whatever reason, the numbers don't show what he's been able to accomplish -- his command of the fastball, his ability to throw secondary pitches for strikes -- and we say, 'Hey, this guy's ready to move."'

"Ultimately, our job is to help these guys reach their potential," Stark said. "I think I can safely say every player in our system has not reached his potential. In that regard, I do think there's more here and that we can be better in some areas."