ALTOONA, PA – Alex McRae, the Pirates’ tenth round draft pick in 2014 from Jacksonville University, is being promoted from Bradenton to Double-A Altoona. The 6’3″ right handed pitcher has made 12 starts for Bradenton with a 2.69 ERA and 3-4 record.McRae has 35:17 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season, and he has gone at least six innings in each of his last five starts for the Marauders.
McRae is a pitch to contact guy who relies heavily on his defense behind him to help generate outs. The splits against McRae have been mostly even this year so far, with righties and lefties both hitting around .290 against him. There is a discrepancy, though, when runners get on base, as batters are only hitting .202 with a .530 OPS against him from the stretch.
McRae will get the start for Altoona tonight at Reading.
