The Pirates tried to hold off as long as they could, but they will finally promote their top position prospect, Starling Marte, to the majors for Thursday’s game, Piratesprospects.com’s Kristy Robinson reports.
Marte’s arrival has been anticipated ever since the disappointing Jose Tabata was sent down. After a brilliant spring, Marte struggled in Triple-A early on, hitting .256 with four homers in 176 at-bats through the end of May. However, he’s been much better of late, batting .313 with eight homers in 208 at-bats since the beginning of June.
The 23-year-old Marte is still something of a raw talent; his lack of strike zone judgment is a problem and his speed hasn’t made him a very good basestealer. Defensively, he often shows outstanding ability in center field, but he also takes bad routes on occasion. The Pirates will likely use him in left field most of the time for now.
The pluses are obvious: Marte makes a lot of hard contact and can turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples with his speed. He could give the Pirates offense quite a lift if he can manage to lay off quality major league breaking balls. It’s definitely time the team gives him a try.
