Needed Promotions

The Pirates will soon start promoting players in the system, I thought it was time to take a look at exactly who ought to be getting a promotion.

First, we have seen Neil Walker and Steven Pierce come up to the majors. Both deserved it, and arguably both have made the Pirates better. Tabata should be up. He is waiting for a trade to take place perhaps to open some room up for him. Brad Lincoln should come up soon and will replace either Morton (who I wish, but probably won’t happen), Burres, or Karstens. Just a matter of time for him. Alvarez will also come up, but probably it will not be until July as his numbers still need a little work at Triple A. I suppose Jeff Clement will end up in Triple A when Pearce gets back off the DL.

Second, we have seen a few lower class promotions already. Michael Crotta went up to AAA and Bryan Morris went up to AA. Both well deserved. Morris may actually be in line for another one before the year is out.

Third, a few others need to make the jump soon. Let us take a look at some of these guys who often get overlooked because they are not at the top of the Minor League System.

Brock Holt – Holt, who did well in Short Season A last year is doing even better in High A. He is hitting .342 and has an OBP over .400. He is not showing a great deal of power, and has 25 strikeouts in 38 games. He has shown that High A pitching is something he can handle. It is time to see what he can do against AA.

Nathan Adcock – This pitcher aquired in a trade last year is in complete control of High A hitters. He has a 2.50 ERA, a 5-2 record, and 54 strike outs compared to only 9 walks. What else does this guy have to prove? He should be in Altoona real soon.

Daniel Moskos – I know this sounds weird, but I think Moskos needs to be up. Moskos has shown he can dominate at AA out of the pen. He has 11 saves and is 1-0. His ERA is 1.25 and his WHIP is .92. He has a strike out per inning and only 8 walks so far. Moskos can do the job from the pen, but it is time to see if he can do it well against better hitters.

Rudy Owens – He may need a few more starts at AA, but before the year is out Owens needs to move up. He is 4-2 at AA, and has a WHIP of .95. A 5 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio is good. He might need to give up a few less hits, but Owens looks great.

Alex Presley – this young man who was drafted in 06 is doing great at AA. He is not a top prospect, but he is earning a right to try out the AAA crowd. He has a .372 average and an OPS of .970. I am interested to see if Presley can play his way into a nice prospect.

Kyle McPherson – He has a 3-4 record which is good considering how bad the West Virginia Power are right now. But his 48 strikeouts (1 per inning) and only 9 walks looks good enough to try the next level. He has a WHIP of 1.05.

Zachary Foster – I admit I am higher on this kid than most others. He should probably stay a little longer, but when draft picks start showing up some might want to be at West Virginia, and promoting Foster is a good decision. Foster is 3-1, but this is out of the pen. He could use more strike outs. He has 14 in 21 innings of work and 14 games. Foster has a WHIP of .95 and 3 saves which shows that Foster is a guy who could be a nice bullpen piece. He could use a taste of High A baseball before the season is done.

Now I left Jeff Locke off of the list, who is pitching brillantly, but just not quite as good as Adcock. I am also leaving Sanchez off the list. I think he needs a longer look at one level. I want to see if he fades at all over the heated summer behind the plate. I favor moving him along fairly slowly. But, if he keeps it up through the hot months, he would have earned a AA shot.