Rob Biertempfel says this morning that the Pirates will call Alex Presley up for tomorrow’s game against the Blue Jays and send Twenty Four Man Roster Ciriaco down to Triple-A. Since Presley’s call-up was reported last week, it’s not hugely surprising. What is good news is that it’s Ciriaco being sent down and not Jose Tabata being put on the disabled list. Everyone that saw him taken off on a stretcher yesterday had to be pretty scared for his immediate future, but he was apparently limping in the clubhouse after yesterday’s game. That implies that he was putting weight on his injured quad, which is a good thing. The club may simply be waiting for today’s evaluation of the injury before making a move (they could bring John Bowker back, though they’d have to clear a roster spot for him), or they might wait until Saturday’s double-header, when Brad Lincoln has to be called up.
I’m still not entirely sure what to make of Presley. I wasn’t sold on him at all last year because of the lackluster start to his career, but he’s now got almost a full season at Triple-A (144 games) in which he’s hitting .316/.370/.480 with 29 doubles, 11 triples, and 14 homers. He’s quick (18 steals in 22 attempts this year, which is an improvement over last year), and should be able to man a corner outfield spot without much trouble, though his arm might be a question in right field. His Triple-A numbers are awfully similar to Xavier Paul’s (.320/.380/.502), though the PCL is a bit more hitter-friendly than the IL is.
Any player with a meteoric rise and a batting-average heavy line makes me nervous. I don’t really see any reason to think that Presley will be a whole lot better than Paul has (.267/.297/.371 and not appreciably different splits as a starter or sub, though many people blame pinch-hitting often for some of his woes), but he’s earned a shot at this point. Since guys like Paul and Jones aren’t running away with the starting spot in right field and Overbay clearly needs his time limited at first base, I’d love to see Presley get about a month’s worth of at-bats to do a real evaluation of what he’s capable of in the big leagues and I think the Pirates can give him that, even if Tabata doesn’t end up on the DL.
Today’s other good news is that Pedro Alvarez is finally playing in some rehab games with GCL Bradenton. A healthy and hitting Pedro Alvarez would be about the best thing the Pirates could add to their lineup right now, so let’s all hope he’s getting back on track.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
