Since the injury of Jose Tabata, Alex Presley has impressed the Pirates organization and curious fantasy owners from day one, which means now would be a good time to jump on the bandwagon even for the interim.
Since his call up, Presley—the current leadoff hitter for Pittsburgh—has hit .343 with four steals and nine RBI in 16 games.
In 23 at bats last year this kid swiped 8 bags and batted .261, and in the Minors, the kid finished with a .290/ .345/ .437 batting line alongside 44 homeruns, 279 RBI and 76 stolen bases in 6 seasons.
Not too shabby.
The Pirates emphasis from day one of the 2011 season was to focus on better base running to provide run opportunity for their bigger bats, and help keep opposing pitching a little off balanced.
So far, the results have been so-so with the Pirates ranking 14th in stolen bases—they finished all of 2010 ranked 19th.
The leading speedster on the team is obviously Andrew McCutchen, but with the addition of Presley, the Pirates offer another viable attack that fantasy owners can take full advantage of.
No matter what format you’re in, Presley is a player worth making a case for especially if you’re in need of a combo package of OBP and speed.
For you Dynasty and Keeper owners, grab Presley now before his stock really catches speed.
Alex Presley is running with an—albeit stagnant—9% ownership average in Yahoo! leagues, while in most ESPN leagues he has jumped to 16.9% which is a 3.4 percent hike from last week.
Wanna know more about the youth take over in the bigs? The come check out why Mark Trumbo is the best AL rookie.
