Marte not on verge of promotion: Despite poor offensive numbers from the Pirates, the team is not expecting to promote prospect Starling Marte from Triple-A Indianapolis to help jump start the offense. “We’re not jumping into anything or making any rash judgements,” director of minor league operations Larry Broadway told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “There are things he’s working on down there that are specific to what he needs to do before he comes up here. The game jumps when you move up to this level. If you don’t have a solid foundation for plate discipline, it can get exposed quickly.” Baseball Prospectus analyst Kevin Goldstein agrees with Broadway. “Marte would be awful right now at the big league level,” analyst Kevin Goldstein said. “Big league pitchers would exploit him to no end.” (Updated 05/16/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/25/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Marte's biggest weakness right now is chasing pitches outside the strike zone. He's still nearly striking out once per game (27 Ks in 33 games). And it's not like Marte, who recently returned from a minor hand injury, is lighting the world on fire. He's batting just .261 with a .437 slugging percentage in 33 games. Marte did have a great spring, but he needs more Triple-A at-bats before his MLB debut. Marte is more of a long-term Fantasy keeper. He could be up later this summer, but Marte is only worth stashing in very deep seasonal formats. (Updated 05/16/2012).
01/25/2012 10:56 2012 Fantasy outlooks: Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates made great strides (for them) in 2011, so what does the 2012 campaign have in store for their fans and Fantasy owners? Our al Melchior puts Pittsburgh under the Fantasy microscope.
Marte's shortcoming is obvious -- after five minor-league seasons, his plate discipline hasn't improved one iota -- but as well as he's hitting, you can't really hold it against him. He won the Eastern League batting title with a .332 mark last year, hitting over .300 for the third consecutive season. Though you'd think his free-swinging approach would catch up to him at some point, he just keeps getting better and better every step up the minor-league ladder. The biggest development for him last year was the long-awaited power, which he showcased with double-digit homers for the first time in his career. His speed was never in question, so as long as that fifth tool continues to develop as he adds bulk to his wiry frame, he could provide the Pirates with a second version of Andrew McCutchen, only without the high walk rate, obviously. At age 23, Marte is nearing a major-league call-up, but the Pirates' outfield depth could delay him until September. Marte has the upside for long-term keeper leagues but probably isn't the best pick in seasonal formats. (Updated 1/12/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
