Pittsburgh Pirates MLB News - Pirates Baseball Blog

The Pittsburgh Pirates send Alex Presley to AAA

chinmusic — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:34:06 +0000

The Pirates have decided to send 26-year old lefty swinging LF Alex Presley to AAA. Presley played in 34 games for the Pirates this year and he is 26 for 118 (.220 avg, .551 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers, 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Presley showed an utter lack of discipline so far this year as he walked only 4 times while whiffing 30 times. Presley has now played in 105 games in his first three years with the Pirates and he is 96 of 356 (.270 avg, .708 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 6 homers, 27 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Lefty swinging Nate McLouth and righty swinging Yamaico Navarro are likely going to platoon in LF in place of Presley. McLouth has played in 27 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 8 for 46 (.174 avg, .472 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Navarro has played in 20 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 6 for 35 (.171 avg, .507 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Look for Presley to get back to Pittsburgh at some point in 2012.

The Pittsburgh Pirates place Daniel McCutchen on the D.L.

chinmusic — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:09:02 +0000

The Pirates have placed 29-year old righty reliever Daniel McCutchen on the 15-day disabled list due to a left oblique strain. McCutchen was injured in batting practice yesterday before he even got into a game for the Pirates. He has pitched in 11 games (1 start) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 2-2 with a 2.49 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He has pitched in 107 games (15 starts) in his first three years with the Pirates and he is 8-10 with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.

Doug Slaten is looking good in the minors for the Pittsburgh Pirates

chinmusic — Sat, 12 May 2012 13:49:08 +0000

32-year old lefty reliever Doug Slaten is looking pretty darn sharp in the minors so far this year for the Pirates. Slaten has pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 1-0 with 6 saves, a 0.51 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. He has given up only 11 hits in his first 17 2/3 innings this year while walking only 4 batters and whiffing 12. Slaten has pitched in 206 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 7-8 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. If the need arises for a lefty reliever in Pittsburgh, Slaten could get the call if he keeps pitching well.

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquire 3B Jeff Larish from the Red Sox

chinmusic — Sat, 12 May 2012 13:07:03 +0000

The Pirates have acquired 29-year old lefty swinging 3B Jeff Larish from the Red Sox for cash considerations. Larish had just got signed to a minor league deal by the Red Sox, so he has not gotten into any games this year. Larish last played in the majors back in 2010 with the Tigers & A’s. He has played in 101 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 55 for 245 (.224 avg, .688 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 8 homers, 32 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Larish will start in AAA for the Pirates, but he might be able to help them at some point in 2012.

Andrew McCutchen is off to a good start for the Pittsburgh Pirates

chinmusic — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:34:11 +0000

25-year old righty swinging CF Andrew McCutchen is off to a solid start this year for the Pirates. He has played in 26 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 29 for 96 (.302 avg, .787 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer, 8 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. His production numbers might seem a little off, but it’s hard to score runs and knock them in when no one else in the lineup is hitting. I fully expect him to score a lot of runs and knock in a lot of them, when other guys in the batting order start hitting better in front of and behind him.

Gerrit Cole is off to a good start in the minors for the Pittsburgh Pirates

chinmusic — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:30:30 +0000

21-year old righty starting pitcher Gerrit Cole came into this season as the Pirates’ #1 overall prospect according to Baseball America. He signed too late to pitch for the Pirates last year. Cole has pitched in 5 games (all starts) at Bradenton (A-ball) and he is 1-1 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Cole has only given up 17 hits and walked 7 batters in his first 23 innings in the minors while whiffing 29 batters! He looks very polished for such a young pitcher, so he could be a fast riser for the Pirates.

Pedro Alvarez is red hot for the Pittsburgh Pirates as of late

chinmusic — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:28:19 +0000

25-year old lefty swinging 3B Pedro Alvarez was off to a rough start for the Pirates this year, but he is red hot right now. In his last 10 games, Alvarez is 15 for 36 (.417 avg) with 10 runs scored, 5 homers and 11 RBIs. Overall this year, Alvarez has played in 22 games in which he is 19 for 73 (.260 avg, .898 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 7 homers and 15 RBIs. He has walked only 4 times this year while whiffing 25 times, as he is still swinging at everything. He has now played in 191 games in his first three years with the Pirates and he is 153 of 655 (.234 avg, .719 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 27 homers, 98 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Pirates need Alvarez to stay hot as they have had issues scoring runs.

The Pittsburgh Pirates lose 1B/OF Nick Evans for a while

chinmusic — Thu, 03 May 2012 22:44:57 +0000

The Pirates will be without 26-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Nick Evans for a while due to a broken left hand. Evans has played in 19 games in AAA-ball so far this year for the Pirates and he is 14 for 71 (.197 avg, .586 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. He has played in 159 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 99 for 386 (.256 avg, .712 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 8 homers and 46 RBIs. This is a bad break for Evans as he was likely going to get a shot with the Pirates at some point this year.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have to be really happy with A.J. Burnett so far this year

chinmusic — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:37:56 +0000

The Yankees pretty much gave 35-year old righty starting pitcher A.J. Burnett to the Pirates for free last winter. Burnett pitched in 33 games (32 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 11-11 with a 5.15 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. The Pirates felt that the much lower pressure environment would bring out the best in Burnett, and they have been right so far. Burnett has started 2 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Burnett has only given up 9 hits while whiffing 15 batters in his first 13 innings, so has has been impressive. The Pirates hope he keeps up the good work.

Clint Barmes has been helpless at the plate for the Pittsburgh Pirates so far this year

chinmusic — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:33:33 +0000

The Pirates signed 33-year old righty swinging shortstop Clint Barmes to a 2-year, $10.5 million dollar deal over the winter. He certainly is not repaying the Pirates for their investment so far this year. Barmes has played in 14 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 4 for 45 (.089 avg, .293 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. Barmes’ only extra base hit so far this year was his solo homer. Barmes has whiffed 12 times without walking so far this year, as he is swinging at everything. Until Barmes starts relaxing at the plate, he’s not going to start hitting.