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Winter League Recap: Gregory Polanco Doubles Twice In Win

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If you have been reading the site the last few days, you have read a lot about Gregory Polanco. The Pittsburgh Pirates top hitting prospect was featured on the site on Friday, then went out and homered in the season opener. The next day, he hit his second homer, then on Sunday, he had a down day and only hit an RBI double. On Monday, Polanco was listed as the top prospect from Bradenton this season, then he went out and hit two doubles, giving him five extra base hits in his first four games.

Polanco has extra base hits in all four games he has played in Winter Ball
Polanco has extra base hits in all four games he has played in Winter Ball

Polanco’s Leones del Escogido team won 12-4 on Monday, as Polanco was the only Pirates player to see action in Winter League ball. He went 2-for-5 with two doubles, a walk and two runs scored. He is batting .375 in 16 AB’s and five of his six hits have been for extra bases. Polanco has scored five runs, drawn two walks and he has three outfield assists.

The Venezuelan and Mexican Leagues were both off on Monday. Two games were scheduled for the Dominican League, but the Licey/Gigantes game was postponed.

Why Aren’t Some Guys Playing Yet?

The Dominican League has a rule put in place by MLB called the “Extreme Fatigue” rule. What it basically does, is limit the amount of playing time certain players get in Winter ball. If a player got in too much playing time during the regular season, either in the minors or majors, they aren’t able to take part in Winter ball until December 1st. It is why some players will show up on rosters at the beginning of the season, but they won’t show up in the league until well after Opening Day. The rule also has provisions for injured players and ones that needed surgery during the season.

The list of temporarily banned players in the Dominican includes four Pittsburgh Pirates players. Pedro Alvarez, Starling Marte, Alen Hanson and Stolmy Pimentel are all on that list. Pimentel is the only one currently on a roster, while Hanson is playing in the Arizona Fall League. Alvarez has never played Winter Ball and it sounds like Marte will eventually join the Escogido team, where he could see playing time next to Polanco.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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