One of the reasons the Pittsburgh Pirates finished the first half with a 47-43 record and just one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals is because they got some tremendous contributions from some unlikely sources.

One of those unlikely sources has been OF Alex Presley.

After ripping the cover off the ball in Triple-A (.336/.389/.500 with eight HRs and 18 SBs in 375 PAs), the Pirates called up Presley in late June and all he has done is continue his ridiculously hot hitting. In 60 PAs with the Pirates, Presley is hitting .365/.424/.577 with one HR and two SBs.

He’s hitting so well that he has made people forget about Jose Tabata in left. But as hot as Presley is now, I think it’s fair to say we can expect a similarly torrid regression.

Right now, Presley’s BABIP is a sweet .419. There is no way that is sustainable. It’s just not possible.

Presley is also drawing more walks than usual. In six minor league seasons, Presley’s BB percentage was 7.5. In 13 games with the Pirates in 2011, his BB percentage is 10 percent. His BB percentage should decrease slightly as the season moves on.

Regardless of what happens to Presley in the second half, his performance in the final 13 games of the first half certainly helped the Pirates succeed. Even if he does regress, the Pirates might have found themselves a solid fourth outfielder for the future.

Here are some other things you should know about Alex Presley:

Age: 25

Bats: Left

Throws: Left

College: University of Mississippi

Drafted: Eighth round of the 2006 June draft

Minor League Stats:

Year Lev G PA R H 2B 3B HR SB BB BA OBP SLG
2006 A- 61 244 26 58 7 8 3 3 17 .260 .313 .404
2007 A 121 553 79 145 22 8 11 18 45 .293 .348 .436
2008 A+ 82 325 39 74 15 1 6 13 29 .258 .325 .380
2009 A+ 115 456 51 107 17 11 4 9 30 .257 .305 .379
2010 AAA-AA 136 565 86 166 28 13 12 13 41 .320 .373 .494
2010 AA 67 269 42 86 13 7 6 5 19 .350 .399 .533
2010 AAA 69 296 44 80 15 6 6 8 22 .294 .349 .460
2011 AAA 75 321 52 98 14 5 8 18 25 .336 .389 .500
6 Seasons   590 2464 333 648 103 46 44 74 187 .290 .345 .437
AAA (2 seasons) AAA 144 617 96 178 29 11 14 26 47 .316 .370 .480
A+ (2 seasons) A+ 197 781 90 181 32 12 10 22 59 .257 .313 .379
A (1 season) A 121 553 79 145 22 8 11 18 45 .293 .348 .436
AA (1 season) AA 67 269 42 86 13 7 6 5 19 .350 .399 .533
A- (1 season) A- 61 244 26 58 7 8 3 3 17 .260 .313 .404
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/12/2011.

 

Keith Law Ranking and Analysis

Ranking: N/A

Analysis: N/A