The Pittsburgh Pirates will be calling up shortstop Alika Williams, after Tucupita Marcano went down with a right knee injury last night. The Pirates acquired Williams in early June for Robert Stephenson.
Since the addition, Williams has been hitting very well. Known more for his defense up the middle, the 24-year-old has a .305/.484/.531 line in 148 plate appearances with Indianapolis. He was batting .237/.314/.417 in 175 plate appearances in Double-A with the Rays. Those numbers were more in line with his results elsewhere in the minors.
It’s possible the Pirates identified something that needed to be fixed at the plate for Williams, and then fixed it.