Alex Presley

Alexander Crawford Presley

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 186 lb.
• School University of Mississippi
• High School Neville High School
• Debut September 8, 2010
• Final Game October 1, 2017
• Born July 25, 1985 in Monroe, LA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Alex Presley made his major league debut in 2010.

Presley hit .311/.340/.520 as a freshman at the University of Mississippi in 2004 and .299/.340/.423 as a sophomore. He bounced back as a junior, producing at a .343/.427/.552 rate and stealing 20 bases in 24 tries. He tied the University of Mississippi record with 14 career triples. The Pittsburgh Pirates took him in the 8th round of the 2006 amateur draft; the scout was Darren Mazeroski.

Alex debuted as a pro with the Williamsport Crosscutters, batting .260/.313/.404 with 8 triples, leading the New York-Penn League in that department. In 2007, he hit .293/.348/.436 with 8 triples, 11 homers, 79 runs, 108 strikeouts and 18 steals in 28 tries for the Hickory Crawdads.

Moving up to the Lynchburg Hillcats in 2008, the Louisiana native hit .258/.325/.380 in 82 games. He then batted .257/.305/.379 with 11 triples for the 2009 Lynchburg Hillcats, leading the Carolina League in three-baggers as Lynchburg won the pennant.

Presley got the first pro hit off 2009 amateur draft #1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg, a double on April 11, 2010. Alex remained hot throughout his time with the Altoona Curve, batting .350/.399/.533 with 42 runs and 7 triples in 67 games. He was leading the Eastern League in average when he was promoted to the Indianapolis Indians. His first game with Indianapolis, he hit for the cycle. He hit .294/.349/.460 with another six triples and 44 runs in 69 games for Indianapolis. Overall, his 166 hits led Pirates farmhands.

After his unimpressive 2008-2009, Presley's excellent 2010 earned him a September call-up to the big leagues. In his MLB debut, he replaced Andrew McCutchen in the 7th inning with a 9-1 deficit to Atlanta. He struck out against Scott Proctor in his first at-bat then singled off Cristhian Martinez to set up a run his next trip up. He was 6 for 23 with a double, walk, 8 strikeouts and one steal in two tries for the 2010 Pirates.

Alex opened 2011 back in Indianapolis and was playing even better than in 2010 - .336/.389/.500 with 52 runs, 8 home runs, 18 steals in 22 attempts and 7 outfield assists in 75 games. He was third in the International League in average (after Jeremy Hermida and Jose Constanza), 5th in runs (between Desmond Jennings and Brandon Guyer) and tied for third in steals (with Constanza). When José Tabata was injured in late June, Presley got the call back to The Show.

In his first game for the 2011 Pirates, Presley hit leadoff and manned left, Tabata's usual roles; he promptly went 2 for 5 with a homer (off Jo-Jo Reyes and 3 RBI to lead Pittsburgh to a 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

He was a career .253 hitter prior to his final campaign, 2017. That year, he batted .314 in 245 at-bats—yet never played in the majors again.

Related Sites

• Alex Presley on mlb.com
• BR Minors page