Brock Holt and Kyle McPherson are both going to get their chances in Indianapolis.
The duo was called up to Triple-A Indianapolis from Altoona on Monday, and Curve manager P.J. Forbes said he was happy for both players.
Holt - who also spent all of last season in Altoona - was the team's best hitter this year. The .322 batting average Holt compiled before his promotion was second best in the Eastern League, and the shortstop also drove in 43 runs and scored 52 times in 102 games for the Curve this season.
Though he put up terrific numbers at the plate in Double-A, due to a logjam of infielders ahead of him, Holt had to wait until now to get a chance at the next level.
"He's been killing it. I thought his time should've came a little earlier, but it was because of what guys are doing are in front of him," Curve first baseman Matt Curry. "And he can't control that stuff. Now that he's got an opening, I'm glad to see him go up."
Forbes has spent the last three seasons with Holt (one in Bradenton, two in Altoona) and actually passed along the information of his promotion on Sunday night.
"We have spent significant time together, probably more than he had liked," Forbes said. "But it was nice, I felt the appreciation when he hugged me [Sunday] night and I told him congratulations. I fully expect him to go up there and do well."
McPherson, who was the Pirates' 2011 minor league pitcher of the year, was sidelined for the first two months of the season with inflammation in his right shoulder. Without the injury, McPherson would've likely started the year in Indianapolis, but instead he joined the Curve's rotation in mid-June.
In nine starts with the Curve this year, the right hander was 3-5 with a 4.07 ERA with 46 strikeouts and just five walks in 48 innings.
"I think it's important for him to get [to Indianapolis] at some point this year," Forbes said. "If things had fallen right and he'd been healthy, he probably would have started the year there. Glad to see him move, I hope he goes up there and continues to pitch well."
