Catcher McGuire leads prospects invited to spring training with Pirates

Catcher Reese McGuire, one of the Pirates' top minor leaguers, is among 12 players who on Monday received non-roster invitations to the club's big league spring training camp.

McGuire, a first-round pick in 2013, is rated by Baseball America as the sixth-best prospect in the Pirates' farm system. He batted .254 with 15 doubles and 34 RBI in 98 games last year with High-A Bradenton.

Other players who got invites are pitchers Steven Brault, Jim Fuller, Chad Kuhl, Kelvin Marte and Trevor Williams; infielders Juan Diaz, Adam Frazier and Dan Gamache; catchers Ed Easley and Jacob Stallings; and outfielder Antoan Richardson.

Non-roster invitees are usually long shots to make the team out of spring training. For elite talent such as McGuire, who likely will begin this season at Double-A Altoona, an invite is a chance to get acclimated with the major-league atmosphere before heading back to the minors.

The Pirates will have 17 non-roster players in camp. Pitchers and catchers will hold their first workout Feb. 19 in Bradenton, Fla. The first full-squad workout is set for Feb. 23.

Rob Biertempfel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at rbiertempfel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BiertempfelTrib.