Alvarez bumps batting average up to .365; Lincoln, Owens & Ohlendorf tidbits

Alvarez pushes batting average to .365 Third baseman Pedro Alvarez bumped his batting average up to .365 this afternoon for Triple-A Indianapolis. Alvarez went 2-for-3 with a triple and run scored in the Indians 3-0 win over Rochester. Alvarez is batting .472 with 3 home runs and 8 RBI’s in his last 10 games. A positive for Alvarez has been patience at the plate and he has 4 walks to 3 strikeouts in his last four games, a span of 13 at-bats. GM Neal Huntington gave mixed signals on Alvarez today. Huntington called Alvarez’s .350 batting average at the time, “misleading”, while also indicating he is making progress but that there’s some things that need to be worked out. One

Farm Report: Alvarez struggles; Pearce homers; Morris on fire

Alvarez struggles, Pearce homers for AAA Indy It was a rough night for Pedro Alvarez who went 0-for-4 at the plate with three strikeouts and a walk in the Indians 7-4 win over Columbus. Alvarez is 1-for-10 with 1 run scored and no extra base hits in his last three games. He is batting .222 in the minors this season….. Steve Pearce went 1-for-5, hitting a solo home run in the 5th inning. It was his first rehab game with Triple-A Indy…. Matt Hague (.324) who is batting .324 on the season, was 2-for-4 with an RBI, double and run scored…. Rudy Owens (7-6, 5.16) whose had an up and down season, received his 7th win of the season, allowing

7/6/11 Farm Report: Allie, Alvarez, Owens Notes

Pirates Farm Report for 7/6/11 Triple-A Indy: Owens takes loss in 5-1 defeat Starter Rudy Owens (6-6, 5.27 ERA) was tagged for 8 hits and 3 runs in the Indianapolis Indians 5-1 loss to Toledo on Wednesday. Owens lasted 4 1/3 innings, striking out 8 and walking 2. Owens threw 57 strikes on 89 pitches. Owens has not collected a victory since June 10th, a span of 5 starts. Alvarez goes 0-for-3 at the plate 3B Pedro Alvarez went 0-for-3 at the plate with 1 strikeout and a walk. He is batting .300 for Triple-A Indy….. 1B Matt Hague (.323 – 8 HR – 46 RBI) was 0-for-4 with 1 strikeout…. CF Gorky’s Hernandez (.297 – 1 HR – 18

Pirates Tidbits; Draft Buzz; Decision down to Cole or Hultzen

Latest Pirates Buzz Sorry for the lack of updates over the past handful of days but with things slow on the Pens free agency front, such, I decided to take a vacation and a few days off from the site — D ———————————————- *The Draft is just 5 days away and the Pirates remain split on who to select with the No. 1 overall pick. However, don’t buy into the talk coming from some media circles that the Pirates are still considering 3 or 4 prospects. As Neal Huntington and his staff head to Florida for the teams final pre-draft organizational meetings, the decision is coming down to pitchers Gerrit Cole, UCLA, and Danny Hultzen, Virginia. Over the past couple

Huntington doesn’t rule out Alvarez making his MLB debut this week

Top prospect Pedro Alvarez could be appearing in his final game with the Indianapolis Indians this afternoon. Alvarez, the Pirates 1st round pick in 2008 (2nd overall) is highly expected to be called this week as the Pirates begin a six game homestand starting Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox. Appearing on his weekly radio, GM Neal Huntington would neither confirm nor deny that Alvarez will make his MLB debut Tuesday night. Alvarez hit his 13th home run of the season Saturday night and is batting .409 in the month of June with two home runs, 7 RBI’s, five doubles and two triples. Alvarez is batting .290 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI’s on the season. After a

Huntington not shying away from Scott Boras clients

The Latest Pirates Buzz Photo: David Hague – Inside Pittsburgh Sports Despite the Pedro Alvarez saga from the summer of 2008, Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neal Huntington and super agent Scott Boras have a good relationship dating back to Huntington’s days in Cleveland. Boras for the most part blames Pirates CEO Frank Coonelly for the Alvarez situation not Huntington. This off-season Huntington is not shying away from Boras clients. In October it was reported by TIOPS baseball insider John Perrotto that the Pirates had an interest in Boras client Hank Blalock and later reported by Perrotto that pitcher Ron Villone, another Boras client, was of interest to Pittsburgh. The Pirates interest in Boras clients is now up to four as the

MLB Draft: Doubts about Doumit’s long-term health has Sanchez rising the Pirates draft charts

Latest Draft Buzz: Crow remains Pirates top target on eve of Draft On the eve of the MLB draft, speculation continues that top hitting prospect Dustin Ackley is seeking more than Pedro Alvarez ($6.35 million) and his asking demands may lead to the Seattle Mariners passing on Ackley. Ackley is a nice prospect but he is not Pedro Alvarez, which is why it is very unlikely that any team will go above $6.35 million to sign him. This is typical posturing from Scott Boras but Boras does not tell teams directly before the draft what his asking price for a particular prospect is. If Seattle decides to pass on Ackley because of his demands, it’s believed they will draft pitcher

Pirates not concerned over Pedro Alvarez’s slow start

The Pirates are on their way to their 17th straight losing season and the organizations prized prospect Pedro Alvarez is off to a disappointing start with the Pirates Class A Affiliate, the Lynchburg Hillcats. Alvarez, 22, was phenomenal in spring training drawing comparisons from Willie Stargell to Albert Pujols and opened his professional career with a memorable first game going 3-for-4, with a double, home run and 4 RBI’s. Since then, Alvarez has endured some struggles. Through 33 games he is batting .208, and has a team leading 37 strike outs and 11 errors at third base.

Alvarez optioned to Class A Lynchburg

Third baseman Pedro Alvarez, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ first-round draft pick last season and the organizations top prospect, was optioned to Class A Lynchburg on Monday as eight players were sent to the minor-league camp. Alvarez who is viewed as a franchise type of the player that the Pirates can finally build around, hit a monster three-run homer in Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Alvarez has drawn comparisons from Willie Stargell¬†to Manny Ramirez from former players and baseball experts who were in Bradenton watching the Pirates this spring. The Estimated Arrival for Alvarez is believed to be