A couple days ago I was going to write my “Get Pedro Alvarez to Pittsburgh ASAP” post, but now that all of the usual talking-head/columnist/pointy-haired ‘blogger’ suspects are demanding it, I feel like there’s no longer any need for me to pile on.
But that doesn’t mean that Alvarez doesn’t have 11 hits in his last six games or that he hasn’t drawn four walks in the same span. And I know that only two of those hits were for extra bases and that maybe it is a little worrisome that his power isn’t exactly where it should be with him in Triple-A right now (he’s 14-for-37 with three extra base hits six walks and 11 strikeouts total), but I don’t see how being in Indianapolis is helping him at this point. Four of his six walks have come in the last three games, which have come after he had three-straight multiple hit games and two homers in those three games. To me, that says he’s getting pitched to like a Major League hitter in Triple-A, and at that point it’s hard for me to find value in him being there.
The bigger issue, of course, is that Chase d’Arnaud just isn’t a Major League hitter right now, especially at third base. Clint Hurdle refuses to bat him anywhere but second, and so when Mike McKenry somehow gets on and Alex Presey sandwiches a hit around the pitcher and you start to think maybe the Pirates have something good brewing, then d’Arnaud is up with his .215/.240/.280 line to weakly roll the ball to the first baseman and the inning’s over. There’s plenty to be said for Alvarez staying in Triple-A until he hits whatever benchmarks the front office wants to see, but there’s even more to be said for not playing a guy with a .520 OPS at a corner position while you’re in the middle of a playoff race when you have better internal options.
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