Pirates Catchers on the Move

The Pirates called up Shawn Ross as an injury replacement, and promoted Easton Carmichael, among other catching moves.

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a group of catchers on the move entering the weekend.

Rafael Flores Jr. was placed on the 7-day injured list with a concussion, retroactive July 23rd. As a result, the Pirates called up Shawn Ross to take his place.

Ross is an interesting prospect. The downside is that he can’t hit, with a career .188 average in the minors, and a 38.5% strikeout rate. The upside is that when he does make contact, it comes with some of the best raw power in the organization.

The defense stands out the most. Ross has a 38.7% caught stealing rate, which ranks third in the entire organization this year. That’s not a one-year sample. He has a career 31.9% caught stealing rate in the minors. Ross also hasn’t allowed a passed ball in 32 games this year between Indianapolis and Altoona.

The move to bring up Ross is a temporary replacement with Flores out. In related catching injury news, Endy Rodriguez started a rehab assignment with Indianapolis on Friday. Flores was replacing Rodriguez, so it’s possible that Ross is only filling in until Rodriguez returns.

Other Catching Promotions

The Pirates made two other catching moves in the minors.

The first one might be a move to replace Ross in Triple-A. Derek Berg was promoted from Altoona to Indianapolis. This is the second time Berg has been promoted to Indianapolis this season. The first lasted five games as an injury replacement, similar to the current situation.

There’s reason to think Berg might have a longer-term assignment. Easton Carmichael was promoted from Greensboro to Altoona, which is almost certainly a true promotion. Carmichael was the third round pick in last year’s draft, and was hitting .305/.350/.518 with 16 home runs for Greensboro.

I always write the disclaimer that Greensboro stats come from a hitter friendly park, but Carmichael had similar, if not better results on the road. He also wasn’t bad behind the plate, with a 28.7% caught stealing rate, and two pickoffs this season. Carmichael went 2-for-4 in his Double-A debut on Friday night.

Prospect Returns

In non-catching news, Mitch Jebb and Tony Blanco Jr. were both activated off the minor league injured lists on Friday.

Jebb was activated by Indianapolis, after being out since late-April. He’s only played seven games in Triple-A, due to the missed time, but has a .429 average with a 1.288 OPS and three home runs. One of those homers came in his return on Friday night, in a 3-for-4 game.

Blanco returned to Greensboro, after being out for about a month. The 20-year-old outfielder stands out for his power, and he wasted no time in adding his 13th homer of the season in his return on Friday night.

You can check out the home runs from Jebb and Blanco, plus highlights from Murf Gray, Seth Hernandez, and others, in the Pirates Prospects Minor League Plays of the Day:

Until the Pirates wrap up their draft signings…

-Tim Williams