-Yurendell DeCaster (the Indians say it's pronounced sure-REN-dull, which is easy to remember because it rhymes with - well, actually nothing) was named Indianapolis' player of the month for June (look out: PDF). I've talked about DeCaster a lot recently, so I'll just repeat: the Pirates should call him up before Jose Bautista is ready and third base depth suddently becomes a 'problem.'
Nate McLouth went 1 for 2 in Wednesday's AAA all-star game, which isn't really news, since everyone hit well. Like most AAA games, this one was a weird mix of seriously exciting prospects (B.J. Upton, Conor Jackson, Edwin Encarnacion, and so on) along with minor league journeymen (Chip Ambres, Jake Gautreau, Matt Watson) and even a whole bunch of thirtysomethings (like Ernie Young and the Pirates' own Mark Corey, who pitched to one batter).
-Adam Boeve has been promoted to Altoona. For those of you who don't know, Boeve is 25. He's one of the guys Dave Littlefield has kept at very low levels so Boeve can beat up on younger pitching and make Pittsburgh's minor league system look successful.
In order to make room, Paul Meyer reports that Altoona sent Ray Sadler to Indianapolis. Sadler was hitting .301/.416 at Altoona, so he's certainly not being moved because he deserved a promotion.
I don't understand this - do the Pirates think Boeve is a prospect all of a sudden? I doubt it, and I doubt we'll know the real reason until we see the fallout on Indianapolis' roster. (Nate McLouth didn't play Thursday, so it may have to do with him.) It's possible that the Pirates are just hoping Boeve will provide a short-term fix for the Curve, who haven't been playing well recently.