Michael Collins to AAA…For How Long, Who Knows?

Lake Elsinore catcher Michael Collins was skipped over Double-A and promoted straight to Portland for yesterday’s doubleheader with Nashville (I just realized how weird it is that Nashville is in the Pacific Coast League, but I digress).

It’s an odd move.

It makes more sense when you realize that Collins is a soon-to-be-26-year-old who spent most of last year in Double-A (and was slugging .623 in High-A this year), but it then makes less sense when you realize that Luis Martinez is ripping the ball in Double-A. Why would San Diego skip over Martinez for the promotion and go all the way down to Collins?

Sometimes teams will promote players from the low minors to AAA just to fill in for a couple of games. It’s better than messing with a guy deemed more important to the organization.

Still, Collins’ track record and age make it possible that that’s not the case here. For what it’s worth, he went 1-for-4 in the doubleheader. We’ll see if he sticks.