In playoff action out of the Dominican yesterday, Starling Marte went 1-for-4, with a double, sacrifice fly and two RBI’s. He also recorded an outfield assist in the fourth inning that kept the game close, as his team trailed by two runs at the time. In the top of the next inning, Marte drove in his second run of the game to put his team up by two runs. Marte’s Escogido team won 10-7 in ten innings, in the first game of the best-of-nine championship series.
In Australian Baseball League action from today, Stefan Welch went 1-for-4, with two walks and two RBI’s. He now has a team-leading 26 RBI’s, good for the fourth highest total in the league. Adelaide ran away with a 12-6 victory, with two RBI’s coming from Quincy Latimore, who has driven in 11 runs in 11 games.
Also out of Australia in the U18 National Youth Championships, Sam Kennelly went 3-for-4, with two runs scored and a HBP. His team took their first loss of the tournament. In nine games, Kennelly has 17 hits, 12 RBI’s and a 1.287 OPS.
In another U18 NYC game, pitcher Nick Hutchings picked up the last out of his team’s 13-2 win. He struck out the only batter he faced, needing five pitches to record the out.
In playoff action out of the Colombian League, Dilson Herrera went 1-for-4, with a run scored and two RBI’s in his team’s 12-6 loss. With the score out of hand, Angelo del Castillo got some rare playing time, walking in his two plate appearances. He scored a run and picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded walk. He had just 17 AB’s all season. On the other side of the field, Harold Ramirez went 2-for-3, with a walk, while Tito Polo went 0-for-2. It was also rare playing time for Polo, who batted 24 times in the season.
The Pirates have resigned veteran minor league catcher Miguel Perez. He played Winter ball this off-season, hitting .179 in 16 games for Tigres de Aragua. Perez went 5-for-28 at the plate, with no walks and nine strikeouts in the VWL.
Pirates Sign Panamanian Pitcher
In the better late than never department, in April the Pirates signed pitcher Dario Agrazal Jr as an amateur free agent. At the time, the 17-year-old right-hander threw 88-89 MPH in a tryout for Pirates scouts, among them was Rene Gayo. Agrazal never played for the DSL Pirates this season, so until now, the only news on him was the fact he signed, which was never formally announced.
Agrazal has been recently pitching in the Panama Winter League, which wrapped up it’s season last night. He made four appearances, giving up ten earned runs in 7.1 innings. He is now 18-years-old(born 12/28/94), stands 6’3″ and weighs in at 188 pounds. He comes from a strong baseball background. His father was a top pitcher in Panama and is currently a well-respected coach. The younger Agrazal should be with one of the Pirates Dominican Summer League teams this year. He has already spent time at the Pirates Dominican facility.
