The Pittsburgh Pirates have promoted top hitting prospect Gregory Polanco to Indianapolis, Cory Giger reports.
#AltoonaCurve OF Gregory Polanco, one of the #Pirates prized prospects, has been promoted to AAA Indy.
— Cory Giger (@CoryGiger) September 1, 2013
This move comes just in time for the Indianapolis playoff run. Polanco had a .263/.354/.407 line with six homers in 243 at-bats with Altoona. The numbers weren’t the best, but he heated up at the end. In his final 83 at-bats at the level, Polanco hit for a .277/.351/.482 line with three of his homers. He showed great plate patience throughout his time in Altoona, with a 36:36 K/BB ratio, giving him a 14.8% strikeout rate and a 12.6% walk rate.
Polanco will most likely start the 2014 season with Indianapolis. He will probably need at least three months to polish his game, as there are still some things he’s rusty on (base running, routes, and obviously his hitting isn’t where it needs to be yet, despite the great approach). If he takes off at the new level, he could be up sooner, but I don’t see him arriving in Pittsburgh until mid-June at the earliest.
UPDATE 9:24 p.m.: The Pirates confirm that Gregory Polanco is indeed on his way to Triple-A Indianapolis.