Last night, the Indianapolis Indians defeated the Toledo Mud Hens 9-8 thanks to a Matt Hague grand slam in the 2nd inning. A lot of the Pirates players have been making minor league rehab starts at this time including Jose Tabata. Jose was a top ranked prospect for the Pirates heading into the 2010 season and he didn't disappoint fans by batting nearly .300 all season long. He also swiped 19 bags in only 102 games. This year he started out on fire before having injury after injury. Tabata started in left field last night and went 1 for 1 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Chase D'arnaud has also begun his minor league rehab assignment by playing in Bradenton (single A). Chase struggled a bit while at the major league level hitting only.225 in 25 games. As I said in a post earlier last week, Chase is my favorite of the positional prospects the Pirates have. He's a smart base runner and can make some dynamic plays on defense. Chase is the future SS for the Pirates.
Thinking about getting Chase back in the lineup along with Jose Tabata and Alex Presley got me thinking about the team's recent 10 game losing streak. When the Pirates were winning series after series in June and July they were running the bases hard constantly trying to move up an extra 90 feet. The team's strikeout total per 9 was a lot lower too. The Pirates won games because they were fast. It was fun and exciting and I am hoping to see Chase, Tabata, Presley, and Cutch all on the basepaths together by the end of the season. I can't take much more of these strikeout, lead footed players anymore.
By the way Chase went 0 for 3 tonight, but did steal second when he reached 1st on a fielder's choice. He got the ball in play each at bat. Oh and that Robbie Grossman guy scored another run when he hit his 9th HR of the year.
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