Jordan Luplow Picking Up Where He Left Off In Triple-A

The Pittsburgh Pirates recently demoted outfield prospect Jordan Luplow to Triple-A.  The move was due to Gregory Polanco returning from the disabled list. How has Luplow performed since returning to the minors?

When the Pittsburgh Pirates promoted Jordan Luplow, the expectation was that Gregory Polanco was going to miss a significant amount of time.  This was the second time this season that the Bucs actually called up a true outfielder when an injury occurred.  So, instead of using stop gaps like John Jaso and Adam Frazier, the Bucs deemed it necessary to bring in an experienced outfielder.  Not only that, but they also called up their hottest minor league hitter on the year. Although he was the hottest hitter in the minors, many questioned if he was ready for a big league promotion. After all, he played in just 21 games at the Triple-A level.

Minor League Numbers

Entering his promotion, Jordan Luplow was hitting .324/.407/.568 with five homeruns.  A pretty good start at Triple-A for the former third round pick.  Even before his time in Indianapolis, he posted solid numbers at Double-A hitting .287/.368/.535 with 16 homeruns.  The expectations for him were mixed when he was called up.  Some thought he would not have success due to not playing much at Triple-A while others felt he was the hot hand and could make an impact right away.

Brief Major League Debut

Things did not go as planned for Luplow when he finally put on the Pittsburgh Pirates jersey.  In his first game in the big leagues he went 0-3 with two strikeouts.  He also bobbled a ball near the right field wall which led to a double turning into a triple.  Unfortunately, Luplow only appeared in three more games and he did not collect a hit.  He did walk once, and he only struck out one time in those three games.  He made solid contact multiple times, but he could not get a break of hitting the ball where they were not.

Often times when players are called up to the big leagues and they struggle, and they are demoted back to the minors, they find themselves scuffling upon their return.  For instance, Josh Bell appeared in four games after the all-star break last season, when he was promoted he was hitting over .300 in Triple-A.  Over the next month, Bell saw his average dip nearly 20 points before he was recalled permanently by the big league club.

Return to Triple-A

Luplow has not seen the regression occur, which is great news.  Since his demotion, he has played in just four games.  Luplow has accrued 13 at-bats and posted 5 hits, boosting his Triple-A average to .333.  Now it is a small sample size, but it seems like he has not missed a beat.  This is good, because not only is he still hitting well, but also because it shows he is mentally okay with his return to the minors.

Next: Six Low-A Prospects Performing

Many players put pressure on themselves to perform so they can get back to the bigs.  Others are unhappy that they were demoted and show it in their play.  Luplow seems to be motivated.  He only played in four games at the big league level, he ran into some tough luck with hitting the ball hard at players.  Hopefully, he will get another chance this Septemeber to collect his first big league hit.  In the mean time, he needs to keep hitting well at Triple-A.