"The Pirates refer to them as waves.

One wave of young talent already has arrived on the shore of PNC Park, carrying everyday starters Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata.

The next one remains offshore, but it's coming in hot, featuring the young talent of Starling Marte, Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Josh Bell and several others.

At some point, if all unfolds as planned, those waves will meet and create a promising lineup capable of ending the 19 consecutive sub-.500 seasons, the end game of the front office's emphasis on player development.

Now, the Pirates are ready for the next step.

"We're not really looking for that as a perfect storm of everything colliding and coming together," Pirates president Frank Coonelly said. "We're looking to compete in 2012."

The Pirates have added players via free agency and trades this offseason, though none likely will provide a big enough lift to push a young team over the hump. Coonelly said the ability to sign more expensive free agents down the road depends on the composition of the roster and the holes the team needs to fill, but it can be done."