And Even More Callups

Quite a few significant callups happened this week. There are too many to mention, so I’ll get on the hitters today and the pitchers in my next blog.

Steven Pearce has come up and already been sent back down. If he is available in your league, stop reading this and go claim him (then come back and finish the article). Pearce’s major problem is that he’s being blocked by Adam LaRoche, Xavier Nady and Jason Bay. All three are on the trade block, so a deal for one should open a slot for Pearce. Pittsburgh only gave him three AB’s this time around, but he went 1-for-3 with a double and posted a .294 batting average in 68 AB’s last year. This kid is for real and the best of this bunch.

Reid Brignac has been a top prospect since his breakthrough 2006 in single-A. But the Tampa Bay rookie has struggled since. The only reason he is with the Rays right now is due to Jason Bartlett‘s injury. Since Bartlett has had a hard time hitting his way out of a paper bag this season, Brignac has an opportunity to stick if he can figure out Major League pitching. So far it hasn’t been good (0-for-8 with 4 K’s), so look for the 22-year old shortstop to head back to triple-A when Bartlett gets healthy. Brignac has a good future, but he’s looking more like a good ML player than a superstar-to-be.

Joe Koshansky has been on the radar of many fantasy experts for several years. With Todd Helton on the disabled list, Koshansky finally gets a chance to show what he’s got. He’s 2-for-12 on the season, but both hits have been home runs. This kid is not an all or nothing guy like his stats lead one to believe, so be patient. He’ll need Helton out of the way to be the regular and a trade of either is more likely than for Koshansky to sit in triple-A until Helton retires. This one is worth a keeper, especially if he sticks in Colorado as the everyday guy.