Report: Pirates promote No. 3 prospect Bell

Pirates No. 3 prospect Josh Bell will make his Major League debut on Friday after the team promoted him from Triple-A, according to a report.

Bell, a 23-year-old switch-hitting first baseman, was called up to the Majors on Friday morning, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. MLB Network's Jon Morosi also reported the move, although Pittsburgh has not yet confirmed it.

MLB.com's No. 2-ranked first baseman, Bell has hit .324 in the International League this season and was pulled from his game after three at-bats Thursday night. Rumors first emerged from one of his former trainers on Friday morning that he could be called up.

Bell, MLB.com's No. 43 overall prospect, has been having a monster season with Indianapolis -- he currently leads the league with 101 hits, 167 total bases, a .535 slugging percentage and a .942 OPS in 83 games. His .324 average ranks second and he trails only Aaron Judge in RBIs with 53. He ranks fourth with 16 homers, fifth with 41 walks and is tied for fourth with 19 doubles.

John Jaso, the Pirates' current first baseman, is hitting .273 with four homers and 23 RBIs in 74 games this year.

Bell has been particularly hot lately, going 4-for-5 with a homer on July 6. He's batting .361 with six RBIs in his last 10 games after hitting .364 with seven homers and 26 RBIs in 30 games during June. He's hitting .398 with no outs and .294 with runners at third base this summer.

The Pirates' second-round pick in the 2011 Draft has been an All-Star each of his last three seasons and appeared in each of the last two Futures Games. He was voted Class A Advanced Bradenton's MVP last year, was a Rising Star in the Arizona Fall League in 2014 and earned a pair of MiLB.com Pirates Organization All-Star honors in 2014-15.

The move comes two days after Pittsburgh called up its No. 1 prospect, Tyler Glasnow, who allowed four runs on three hits and a pair of walks while striking out five in 5 1/3 innings in his Major League debut on Thursday at St. Louis. Glasnow followed Jameson Taillon, Chad Kuhl and Steven Brault from Indianapolis to Pittsburgh this season.