Pirates' GM Neal Huntington fired his biggest and last prospect bullet yesterday when it was announced that the team would be promoting top prospect Pedro Alvarez, reports Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The move was a long time coming, as speculation and suggestion had building throughout the week, as had encouragement from Pirates' players.
Alvarez is as excited for the move as most Pirates' fans, but as Gene Collier points out, Alvarez's arrival won't fix the Pirates other issues. Regardless, the 23-year-old third baseman instantly becomes the team's biggest power threat and interjects more youth into a lineup that now features three rookies playing regularly (along with Neil Walker and Jose Tabata).