i cannot believe that this thread is not still going! y'all went to sleep?
hell no, Zan, that is not the criterion. player development is an individual thing, and the player's readiness is judged by how he is progressing against the level of competition he is. imo, top prospects should be brought along carefully and not rushed. baseball is humbling enough as it is without putting someone with great promise into a situation he is not ready to handle.
that said, i do not have a clue how Pence will do. i hope he hits .600 and is MVP of the WS. how well he does is not the point to me. this promotion is not a sound baseball move after only 20 games at AAA, and it smacks of pandering to radio talk show callers and hosts. those types not believe that Pence will turn this team around, and those expectations have the potential to be create crushing pressure. i believe, as Alkie said first, that this is a desperation move that borders on panic. i do not believe that the baseball people made it. i hope it works out.
Pence barely hit .100 during the first homestand with 2 HRs, but he picked it up with three hits in the last game and on the road to return hitting .320. during this homestand, he has kept his average at that mark, and he hit 1 HR. he did not show great power at RR, but he hits the ball very hard and runs well. he was somewhat of an adventure in CF, but of course he will be better than Burke. he is fun to watch because of his skill and because he appears to have fun playing.
good for Hunter Pence, and i know he is thrilled. bringing him up in April after only 20 games in AAA, though, just shows how desperate someone in Astros' management is. i do not think the desperate one is named Smith, Purpura or Garner.
