Even though there was an off day yesterday, it’s been a few crazy days on the Pirates front. Here are a few updates to get you caught up in case you missed anything.
- This afternoon the Pirates recalled Alex Presley from Triple-A Indy and optioned Gorkys Hernandez to Indianapolis.
After being demoted to Triple-A on May 16, Presley hit for a .277/.385/.631 line over 65 at-bats. The outfielder connected for five home runs over 18 games, four of them came over his last 10. He’s in tonight’s lineup against the Reds batting leadoff.
- The Pirates made a flip in the rotation for tonight and Wednesday’s game in Cincy. A.J. Burnett will pitch tonight and Brad Lincoln will make his spot start on Wednesday. Burnett has not allowed an earned run in his last two previous starts (12.1 innings).
- Also on Wednesday, Jeff Karstens will make his final rehab start for Triple-A Indy. He is expected to throw up to 100 pitches.
- Right-hander Chris Leroux will throw a rehab outing with High-A Bradenton on Wednesday, then make his final rehab appearance on Saturday with Triple-A Indy. After that the Pirates will have to make a decision with Leroux and if they want to reinstate him from the DL (right pectoral muscle).
- Catching Prospect Tony Sanchez was promoted from Double-A Altoona to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday night. Sanchez hit just .259 in the month of April, but rebounded in May with a .289 average and a .795 OPS. Over his last ten games before getting promoted, Sanchez went 12-for-33 (.364) with six doubles.
Sanchez arrived in Indy yesterday, but was not in the lineup. Here is a video interview with Sanchez talking about his promotion.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAqpnbWnzhQ&version=3&hl=en_US]
- For all the draft selections, be sure to check the main site. Yesterday the club selected right-hander Mark Appel in the first round (8th overall). In the sandwich round, the Pirates selected outfielder Barrett Barnes.
Here is a recap of day one in the draft, which includes quotes from General Manager Neal Huntington. Rounds 2-15 are today. They are being updated on the site as they are selected.
- Pirates Lineup: Alex Presley 7 Neil Walker 4 Andrew McCutchen 8 Garrett Jones 9 Matt Hague 3 Casey McGehee 5 Rod Barajas 2 Clint Barmes 6 A.J. Burnett 1
- Reds lineup: Zack Cozart 6 Drew Stubbs 8 Joey Votto 3 Brandon Phillips 4 Jay Bruce 9 Chris Heisey 7 Todd Frazier 5 Devin Mesoraco 2 Homer Bailey 1
Pedro Alvarez is out of the lineup today against the Reds Homer Bailey. The third baseman was benched during the club’s last game on Sunday in Milwaukee to “clear the deck” and take a step back from the game. Alvarez was hitting just .140 since moving up to the cleanup spot.
Also Jose Tabata is out of the lineup tonight. He’s been dealing with a leg injury for the past week and isn’t quite 100 percent.
- The Pirates will face the Reds starting tonight for a three game set. The Bucs are currently in second place in the NL Central, just three games behind Cincy. The club needs to take advantage of the series and climb their way up to the top. They went 5-1 at Great American Ball Park last season. They posted a 2.90 ERA and hit .274 over those six games, averaging 5.3 runs per game.
- Andrew McCutchen is one home run shy of becoming just the third player in the Majors with at least 10 homers
and 10 stolen bases this season. Ryan Braun (14 HR/11 SB) and Hanley Ramirez (11 HR/10 SB) are the other two.
