Gregory Polanco Has Been Called Up Admist High Expectations

The long lasting #FreePolanco campaign is finally over. That is right Pirates fans, you can stop your tireless social media rants to get Gregory Polanco to the major league level.

The 22 year-old Dominican Republic prospect is joining the Pittsburgh Pirates 25-man roster and he is going to hit for the cycle in his debut. He is going to answer all of the Pirates problems and make Yasiel Puig’s start to his career insufficient. That is right, Polanco is going to break all of the rookie records this season and lead the team to a World Series.

Not so fast, Pirates fans. While I am not a psychic, I can say with confidence that none of the above will happen. Polanco has had an impressive minor league career and will no doubt capture the attention of Pirates fans; however this unrealistic pressure that is being put upon him could ultimately lead to a major disappointment amongst fans.

Pirates fans have already anointed Polanco as the savior of the franchise and have treated him as if he is a veteran superstar. In reality, no one knows how Polanco will fare in the majors. Too many times has a potential star amounted to nothing more than a bench player.

I caution Pirates fans to settle the expectations on Polanco down. There is no reason to expect him to contribute at the same level as a rookie as Andrew McCutchen does now. Let him take his time to find his way in the majors and get acclimated to big league pitching. It is not an easy transition for anyone to make. If you build expectations too high, to levels that are unachievable, then you will inevitably be let down when he fails to achieve that level of play.

That being said, Polanco could be the type of player to come up and excel and make an immediate impact on the Pirates. It is just unfair to expect that from him right away. Give Polanco time and allow him time to reach his potential, if he succeeds in that regard, he may be the starting right fielder for years to come.