Brad

Lincoln

The injury was described as “not anything too serious” by Pirates director of player development Brian Graham. Still, it won’t have to be too severe for the Pirates to consider shutting down the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft. “It’s kind of a wait-and-see type [deal] right now,” Graham said.

The Pirates didn’t say where Lincoln would start his pro career, but it’s entirely possible that he’ll end the season in Double-A.

Reportedly considered by Kansas City with the top pick, Lincoln has been dominant in his junior year at Houston. He’s a smallish right-hander with No. 1 starter stuff and is also an accomplished hitter.

Yikes. Lincoln had been pitching well since joining the rotation, as he hadn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any of his starts prior to today. He wasn’t very good his last time out, though, and his track record suggests a regression was coming, so an outing like this isn’t totally unexpected. He’ll try to bounce back against the Reds in his next start.

According to Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Lincoln had his calf “wrapped” in the Pirates’ clubhouse and has been diagnosed with leg tightness. It’s not yet clear whether the injury is serious.

Bedard will be pushed back to Wednesday. Brad Lincoln will pitch in Bedard’s place. This doesn’t come as a major surprise given Bedard’s injury history and the fact that he left last week’s outing against the Cardinals with back spasms. Lincoln can probably be ignored in fantasy leagues.

Bedard threw a 1-1 pitch to Adam LaRoche and then started twisting and trying to stretch his midsection out. We’ll update his status when more is known, but it’s hard to be optimistic about him given his previous injury issues. Brad Lincoln replaced Bedard on the mound and would be an option to take his spot in the rotation if needed.

Lincoln will take the place of the injured Jeff Karstens (shoulder) on the active roster. He’ll likely pitch out of the bullpen initially and could be an option to start next Tuesday against the Rockies. He shouldn’t be on your fantasy radar, though.

Travis Snider homered off him. Lincoln is likely to open the season as the Pirates’ fifth starter while Charlie Morton completes his rehab following hip surgery, but the team could look to Jo-Jo Reyes or head back to the waiver wire if he has a bad spring.

Lincoln struck out three and was taken deep on a solo shot by Hanley Ramirez. It’s a nice effort from the right-hander, but he’s headed back to the bullpen with Erik Bedard (back) slated to rejoin the rotation Wednesday. He sports a 1.33 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over 20 1/3 innings.