OnlyBucs

654845545342551516270 wrote: It might be nothing, but Cruz is not in the Indy lineup tonight. If Chavis is going to miss any time due to his elbow, then someone has to replace him. I wonder if Cruz will join the team for Sundays game.
In his last 18 games he's hitting .270 with 5 HRs. It's time to bring him up.
I agree it is time to see what he can do against major league pitching.

Cam Alldred cleared waivers and was outrighted to Indy.

Cruz has hit his seventh homer today. It appears he is no longer slumping so why not bring him up ? The date for super two has long passed. I hope they are not keeping him at Indy because he is not excited about playing outfield. Castro has done very little since his recall, so send him out and bring up Cruz to play shortstop in Newman’s absence.

747879222B222A27203F25120 wrote: Cruz has hit his seventh homer today. It appears he is no longer slumping so why not bring him up ? The date for super two has long passed. I hope they are not keeping him at Indy because he is not excited about playing outfield. Castro has done very little since his recall, so send him out and bring up Cruz to play shortstop in Newman’s absence.
At this point there is no logical reason for not bringing up Cruz to play SS when the team has no legit SS on the roster. But they are the Pirates and they are not known for rational moves.

4B666B7A7D6C7B3B38090 wrote: Cruz has hit his seventh homer today. It appears he is no longer slumping so why not bring him up ? The date for super two has long passed. I hope they are not keeping him at Indy because he is not excited about playing outfield. Castro has done very little since his recall, so send him out and bring up Cruz to play shortstop in Newman’s absence.
At this point there is no logical reason for not bringing up Cruz to play SS when the team has no legit SS on the roster. But they are the Pirates and they are not known for rational moves.

The endless line of busts in MLB has taught fans nothing, apparently. There are plenty of logical reasons not to bring up Oneil Cruz, unless you are narrowing your scope to the short-term view of an injury riddled roster of a team destined to lose 90-100 games.

The reasons not to bring him up right now are all development-centered, and most of them are not visible to the fans eye. Besides Contreras, we don't have a track record of top prospects Cherington has brought up to know whether the developmental side of his regime can produce star major leaguers. Contreras, so far, looks legit.

Let's see whether Cruz can hit AAA pitching for a sustained period of time before clamoring that the team is doing itself and him a disservice by leaving him in the minors too long.

Ignoring The Bust Factor is one thing.

Add to it, think- No one has more to gain than Cherington by improving the club faster than later.  No one has more to lose by making poor personnel decisions; bringing a guy up too early or too late.

A couple under the radar prospects at Altoona are Tyler Samaniego and Andrés Alverez. Samaniego,  a pitcher, was drafted last year in the 15th round, and has been very impressive so far. Alverez has been hitting very well at Altoona, and could be a player to continue to follow this season at Altoona.

2824257E777E767B7C63794E0 wrote: A couple under the radar prospects at Altoona are Tyler Samaniego and Andrés Alverez. Samaniego,  a pitcher, was drafted last year in the 15th round, and has been very impressive so far. Alverez has been hitting very well at Altoona, and could be a player to continue to follow this season at Altoona.
Hopefully he is better than the last Alverez we had. AND, I don't mean Alvy!! A few of you might remember him from Previous boards. He and Green Weenie were best friends

Travis Swaggerty had double and a home run tonight for Indy. He has had two hits in six of his last seven games and is now hitting .280.

Max Kranick has undergone Tommy John Surgery