Gift Ngoepe was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday, a move that was a long time coming for the South African shortstop. Gift began his time in Altoona in 2013, and he has jumped around between shortstop and second base despite being known as the best defensive infielder in the Pirates minor league system. He took a strong hold of the shortstop job this year in Altoona and never looked back, even when it looked as though he could lose playing time earlier in the season.
Before the season started, Gift made the decision the switch to becoming a full-time right-handed batter when he has been a switch hitter up until this point in his career.