The Pittsburgh Pirates have another ace for their future.

On the same day they announced the previously reported signing of pitcher Zack Littell, the Washington Nationals announced they designated left-hander Richard Lovelady for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Every year, we see another crop of highly-rated pitching prospects attempt to break into the big leagues. Most of them don't make the initial roster out of spring training, but that doesn't prevent them from having an impact on fantasy baseball teams when they finally do crack the rotation.