Pittsburgh Pirates Minors: Will Craig Named To Futures Game Roster

A Pittsburgh Pirates prospect picked up a big honor on Friday

As part of MLB All-Star season, the rosters for the futures game were announced on Friday.  A slugging Pittsburgh Pirates prospect will be part of Team USA for the game. This prospect is first baseman Will Craig.

In his first season at Triple-A, Craig has mashed this season. He entered play on Friday owning a .258/.338/.476 slash line for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. He had collected 16 home runs, 28 extras base hits, a .218 ISO, and a wRC+ of 104.

Craig’s strong season at Triple-A comes after a successful 2018 campaign. Last season, Craig slashed .248/.321/.448 with 20 home runs and a 110 wRC+ for Double-A Altoona.

Craig is a former first round pick who has seen a spike in offensive production in recent seasons. However, despite this offensive production, he is left looking for a long term postion.

Craig plays first base for Triple-A Indy, but Josh Bell has this position on lock down. He can also play third base, but Colin Moran and Ke’Bryan Hayes are road blocks there. As for the corner outfielder, positions where has dabbled this season, Bryan Reynolds, Corey Dickerson, Melky Cabrera, and Gregory Polanco say hello.

Regardless of what his future position is with the Pirates, it is a great honor for Craig to be named to the MLB Futures Game. Since the Indianapolis Indians became the Triple-A affiliate of the Pirates, Craig is the 8th player to earn a Futures Game spot. Andrew McCutchen, Austin Meadows, Elias Diaz, Gregory Polanco, Jose Bautista, Josh Bell, and Steve Pearce are the other seven. This is pretty damn good company.

The 2019 Sirius XM Futures Game will slated to be played on Sunday, July 7th. The games’ 20th anniversary edition will be held at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The game is scheduled for 7 PM.