The Alex Presley Card Drawing Dead

That's probably the worst title of a post I've had this season, but my backspace key is broken.

Alexander Crawford Presley has had a rough year. After bursting onto the scene (it wasn't as much a burst as a quiet eruption, but still) in 2011 with a .298/.339/.465 line in 52 games, he earned himself a starting job to start the 2012 season. He didn't do much with the job, hitting .220/.246/.305 in 34 games before being demoted to AAA. Presley turned it around quickly down there and killed the ball, which prompted his recall in early June. He's been up here ever since (he missed a bit over a week with concussion-like symptoms) and hasn't done much to show that he's any better than he showed in his first run at it. For his season right now he sits at a .234/.275/.387 line. He struck out in 20.2% of his at-bats and drew walks just 5.2% of the time.

Today Presley was sent back to AAA in favor of Jeff Locke, who will come up to provide some relief in the bullpen and possibly a spot start if the opportunity presents itself. You can only burn one option a year, so Presley could very well come back up again this year (and with the lack of outfield depth in the minors now that Starling Marte is up, it would be a surprise if he doesn't get back up here), but it would seem that the days of having any real relevancy are gone for Alex.

Does this surprise me? Nope. To me he was always a AAAA hitter who was drafted low and never highly touted for a reason. He gave us some good hope last year hitting for the high average and even hitting some balls out of the ballpark, but you would have been a little bit naive to think it was the real deal. You see it all the time, guys without much of a reputation have success in their first go around in the big leagues but then pitchers figure them out and they never really do much again.

That's how it was with Presley. He's 27 years old now, so he's not past the age where he could make adjustments and improve and turn into a decent big league bench guy, but I certainly wouldn't count on seeing him in a Pirate uniform very much after this season ends.

If you're a new Pirate fan, or a newly re-devoted Pirate fan, let this serve as a lesson for you. Three months of success in the major leagues doesn't mean jack squat about the next three months, and it certainly doesn't tell you much about what a guy can do in a full Major League season.

Next time a Chris Duffy lookin fella comes up and hits .300 for a couple months, just hold your horses. Buy a freakin' stable for them horses.