The Extra Point: Andrew Pinckney Promoted to Triple-A

A former Alabama star outfielder is only one step away from Major League Baseball.

Alabama outfielder Andrew Pinckney (21) fields the ball in the right field corner then guns the Nicholls batter who tried to stretch a single into a double at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Friday June 2, 2023, in the first round of the NCAA Regional Baseball Tournament. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Washington Nationals have promoted former Alabama right fielder Andrew Pinckney to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, meaning he is one step away from playing in Major League Baseball.

A 2023 fourth-round draft pick, Pinckney had been playing for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators. The 23-year-old has a .259 batting average with seven home runs and 44 runs batted in this season to go with 22 stolen bases. At the professional level thus far, he's hit .275 and has a .743 OPS.

Pinckney's promotion comes the very same week as fellow former Crimson Tide right fielder Tyler Gentry became the 70th player in program history to make it to the majors. Gentry was called up by the Kansas City Royals. Pinckney was both an excellent hitter and fielder while in college, ultimately finishing his amateur career as one of the best players on an Alabama team that came within two wins of the program's first bid to the College World Series since the turn of the century.

The Nationals picked Pinckney with the 112th overall selection in 2023's MLB Draft. He signed for an under-slot $500,000, predictably opting to go pro instead of return to college, where he'd been part of two NCAA Tournament teams. The entirety of his 2024 campaign to date has been spent in Harrisburg. Pinckney took home a slew of accolades during his final season at Alabama, including earning a spot on the Tuscaloosa Regional All-Tournament team during the first time the program hosted a regional since 2006.