Notes: Luis Heredia, Gregory Polanco, Pedro Alvarez

A few notes:

-P- Luis Heredia is headed to the disabled list at West Virginia after experiencing shoulder discomfort. Shoulder injuries can be serious business, so let's hope Heredia can get back on track soon. Let's also hope that the Pirates still have healthy pitching prospects a few months from now -- the way things are going, maybe they won't.

-P- Gregory Polanco has been named the International League Player of the Week after going 14-for-28 with two triple and a homer. Polanco is now hitting .465/.511/.744 in 11 games this season. That won't, and shouldn't, affect his timeline for promotion, but he sure is making it tempting.

-P- Last night, I wrote about the possibility of the Pirates signing Pedro Alvarez to an extension. The takeaway: It shouldn't happen, and it probably won't happen. Scott Boras, while not completely averse to pre-free agency extensions, doesn't like them, and the Freddie Freeman contract sets a precedent that will make Alvarez very, very expensive. Also, Alvarez remains a poor bet to age well, so there's no good reason right now to lock him up into his thirties. The Pirates already control him through 2016.