Bucs prepare to call up two more Top 10 prospects

PITTSBURGH -- Endy Rodríguez and Liover Peguero, come on down.

The Pirates will promote Rodríguez and Peguero to the Majors from Triple-A Indianapolis, per a source, the latest in a flurry of callups that have occurred in recent weeks.

The club has not yet confirmed the moves.

In addition, right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester, the organization’s No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline, will be activated off the team’s taxi squad on Monday and make his Major League debut.

Since June, right-hander Osvaldo Bido (June 14), right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski (June 16); catcher and outfielder Henry Davis (June 19); infielder Nick Gonzales (June 23); and third baseman Jared Triolo (June 28) have made their Major League debuts for Pittsburgh. Priester and Rodríguez will constitute the ninth and 10th debuts the Pirates have had this year.

Last season, Davis, Gonzales, Mlodzinski, Peguero, Priester, Rodríguez and Triolo played for Double-A Altoona. Come Monday, they’ll share a Major League clubhouse for the first time.

The decision to promote Rodríguez (the Pirates' No. 3 prospect), Peguero (No. 7) and Priester coincides with the team having been swept by the Giants this weekend. Pittsburgh is 2-10 in July and 21-43 since the beginning of May. So far this month, the Pirates have scored 46 runs in 12 games and have a team .213 batting average.

“I’ve said it plenty of times, but it’s just the lack of consistency throughout the lineup," said Andrew McCutchen on Sunday. "We’re just inconsistent with everything, with the approach, timely hitting, things like that. That’s the only difference."

Added Bryan Reynolds, "We just haven’t been playing good baseball recently. We’ve played good baseball this year, so we’ve shown that we can. We have to get back to that."

Rodríguez is the organization’s reigning Minor League Player of the Year and represented the Pirates, along with J.P. Massey, at the Futures Game in Seattle last week.

The 23-year-old landed on the injured list in April with a right forearm strain and endured some struggles at the plate upon returning, but has found his rhythm at the plate over the past month and a half. Since June, Rodríguez is slashing .305/.384/.435 while handling a catcher’s workload.

It will be worth watching how much time Rodríguez spends behind the plate upon making his debut.

General manager Ben Cherington has, on multiple occasions, lauded the defensive capabilities of catchers Austin Hedges and Jason Delay. When the Pirates called up Davis, the team elected to keep Hedges and Delay and transition Davis to right field.

Cherington has also often said that the organization views Davis and Rodríguez as Major League catchers. The duo began the season at different levels -- Davis in Altoona, Rodríguez in Indianapolis -- so both had an opportunity to catch every day.

Should the Pirates decide to keep Hedges and Delay, Rodríguez possesses defensive versatility. During his time in the Minors, he has spent time at first base, second base and left field. This season, Rodríguez’s only secondary position has been first base.

Peguero made his Major League debut last season, collecting his first hit and walk during a spot start against the Giants on June 18. The 22-year-old shortstop began the season at Double-A, the same level he played at least season, but he earned a promotion to Triple-A after posting a .786 OPS and 114 wRC+ with 11 home runs and 19 steals. Peguero went 7-for-27 in seven games with Indianapolis, with two home runs and two steals.