There are probably very few things that could beat sweeping a rival to stretch a winning streak out to five games, keeping within a half game of the division lead in the process.
While it still might not beat a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, with the final game being televised nationally, there was still a bit of fresh air added throughout the system after the game – Henry Davis getting promoted to Triple-A.
Moving Davis up was coming at some point, and it was obvious they had some sort of timeline in place for all of this could happen.
The former first overall pick showed that the only thing that was holding him back the last two seasons was injuries, and that there wasn’t much developing he could do at the Double-A level.
Davis moving up to Indianapolis could start a ripple effect throughout the system, as his promotion actually impacts multiple players throughout several levels. Here’s a look at some things to watch in the aftermath of the recent news.
— An open spot at the catcher position is now opening in Altoona, which you would have to imagine opens the door for Abrahan Gutierrez to finally get out of Greensboro. After spending all of last year there, he remained there this season to ensure he got plenty of playing time behind the plate.
Acquired in 2021, Gutierrez has continually put up one of the lowest swinging strike rate, while also putting up one of the better line drive rate in the system.
He should get the big test to see if the hitting translate to Double-A now.
— Endy Rodriguez probably doesn’t directly get promoted due to Davis coming up, but this happening does start some sort of final countdown for him.
In the meantime we get to see how the team could deploy the two in the same lineup. We saw a bit of that last year when they were both in Altoona, but Davis was in and out of the lineup with an injury before Rodriguez getting promoted to Indianapolis.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Endy has seen time at first base and Davis in right field as their secondary position. There’s probably some fun things they can do to get both of them in the lineup, and keep the defensive prowess of Austin Hedges behind the plate for a game here and there.
Say what you want about his offense, he’s been huge with the pitching staff and they’d be crazy to abandon that while the team is competing. If they fall out of contention, that’d be a different story.
Daily Video Rundown
Same old, same old.
We're collecting extra-base hits and runs, early and often.
Miguel Andujar has been on a tear in Indianapolis recently, driving in a pair here in the first inning.
Guys, @matthew_gorski7 did the thing again… pic.twitter.com/EtarqWIHj7
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) June 4, 2023
Matt Gorski with a huge weekend, picking up multiple extra-base hits, including this home run.
A look at one of Sean Sullivan’s recent starts against the Bowie Baysox.
PIRATES PROSPECTS DAILY
By Tim Williams
We started a few new features over the weekend, including P2Live, a new way to follow game action on the site.
**Williams: Endy Rodriguez, Henry Davis, and the Pirates’ Catcher of the Future
**Pirates Notebook: Henry Davis Promoted to Indianapolis
**P2Live: Pirates Sweep the Cardinals; Minor League Affiliates Complete the Organizational Sweep
**Braxton Ashcraft Showing Velocity and Control in Return From Tommy John
SONG OF THE DAY
