Alex Presley Providing A Spark For The Pittsburgh Pirates

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