Pirates moving Stetson Allie to right field

Stetson Allie will play right field full-time this season, Tim Williams reports. Allie had played first base almost exclusively in the last two seasons.

As Tim points out, right field will give Allie a chance more opportunities to use his arm -- I don't know if you've heard, but Allie can throw hard. Beyond that, though, right field will just make it tougher for Allie to get to the big leagues, particularly if he's going to play that position all the time, since the Pirates are fairly set in the outfield for the foreseeable future. Perhaps injuries will create opportunities for him, though, and perhaps the Pirates will start having him play first again on occasion once he gets his feet under him in the outfield.

Allie honestly isn't much of a prospect anyway -- he has terrific power, but he strikes out frequently enough and has enough trouble making contact that it's doubtful that power will be usable. (Pedro Alvarez, for example, batted .333 at Altoona and .278 overall in his minor-league career; Allie batted .246 at Altoona last year and has a .256 career average.) A good start at Altoona could make Allie trade bait, though. Or perhaps he could take a step forward and work his way onto the Pirates' roster as a lefty-killing bench bat. That will be easier if he can also play first, however.