Lincoln to Indy

Brad Lincoln had another poor outing Sunday afternoon, and he was optioned back to Triple-A Indianapolis after the game as a result. Lincoln, who gave up 6 runs in 6.1 innings (8 hits, 2 walks, 3 K’s), has struggled since his long-awaited callup. His fastball is relatively flat and far from overpowering, and his changeup still needs work. Brad’s curveball is his strength, but he’ll need to be pinpoint with his location to be effective in the NL with just those three pitches. As good as Lincoln was in the minor leagues this year, this shouldn’t be a huge shock. We knew his stuff was not dominant, and we also knew that he took time to adjust after every promotion. He has the chance to become a good major league pitcher–not the great one the Pirates drafted him to be (remember his devastating injury shortly after). I’m actually a bit surprised he was sent down today, but the Bucs seemed to be very reluctant to call him up even when he was clearly cr...