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DSL Prospect Watch: Pirates Sweep Rangers, Munoz Takes Over League Batting Race

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For a season preview of the Pittsburgh Pirates two Dominican Summer League teams, check out our article here. Throughout the year, we will provide the recaps of both teams, as well as highlight one player each day. Pittsburgh_Pirates10

PIRATES1 

Box Score

Result: Pirates 12, Rangers 4

Starting Pitcher: Jandy Vasquez, RHP (7.90) – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Deybi Garcia, C (.259) – 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Julio de la Cruz, 3B (.184) – DNP

Marcus Beltrez, LHP (1-1, 0.79) – 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

Tito Polo, LF (.349) – 2-for-4, 3 RBI

Yomifer Polanco, DH (.276) – 1-for-2, 2 BB

Yunelky Adames, 1B (.226) – 1-for-2,  2 BB

Game Notes: Starter Jandy Vasquez had a tough outing against the Rangers, but the bullpen and offense were stellar, as the Pirates1 won 12-4 on Friday. Marcus Beltrez and Brayan Almonte combined for five shutout innings following Vasquez. The Pirates had 13 hits and seven walks to sweep the Rangers in the two game series, a team that came into the series with a 14-2 record. Yunelky Adames stole his seventh base and Tito Polo swiped his eighth. Polo now has 11 RBI’s on the year. Deybi Garcia scored four runs. Neither team made an error in this game, a rare occurrence in the DSL.

 

PIRATES2   

Box Score

Result:  Brewers 8, Pirates 7

Starting Pitcher: Eduardo Vera, RHP (3.14) – 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter:  Steven De La Mota, LF (.306) – 2-for-5

Other Notable Performers:

Michael de la Cruz, DH (.281) – 0-for-2, 3 BB, 3 SB, RBI

Jhoan Herrera, 3B (.270) – 0-for-5

Yoel Gonzalez, C (.114) – DNP

Carlos Munoz, 1B (.418) – 1-for-4, RBI

Luis Brun, RHP (6.75) – 1.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

Game Notes: Starter Eduardo Vera had a strong outing, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the 5-0 lead he left them with, as the Pirates lost to a lowly Brewers team that has now won just four games. Luis Brun allowed five runs in his 1.1 innings and both Horelbin Ramos and Jesus Paredes allowed their first earned runs of the season. Paredes took the loss, allowing the winning run in the bottom of the ninth without recording an out. The Pirates went 8-for-8 in stolen bases, with Gustavo Barrios and Michael de la Cruz stealing three apiece. De la Cruz reached base three times, giving him 16 hits and 16 walks in his first 16 career games. Carlos Munoz saw his average drop 13 points due to a 1-for-4 game, but he took over the league lead in batting average. His 1.125 OPS is also the highest in the league.

Player Of The Day

When Dan Urbina first signed with the Pirates, I immediately thought the name sounded familiar and it did for good season, his dad is the pitching coach in the Dominican Summer League for the Pirates. Despite the family relation, he wasn’t just signed as a favor to his father. The 19-year-old righty has good size at 6’3″, but the numbers didn’t lie when he signed, at 158 pounds, he still had plenty of room to fill out.

As one of the youngest players on the team in 2011, he spent the season in the Venezuelan League and struggled, going 1-1, 7.17 in three starts and six relief appearances. He shifted over to the DSL in 2012 and saw much more action, getting 12 starts and one relief outing. Urbina went 2-2, 4.42 in 53 innings. He lowered his BAA from .309 in 2011 down to .266 last year. This season, he has started off strong through four starts, though he seems to be relying heavily on the pitch to contact theory. In 19.2 innings, he is 3-0, 2.75, with a .197 BAA. He has also been getting more groundballs than in the past, although he has picked up just six strikeouts. He is still young enough to be considered a possible prospect, especially if he fills out more and is able to keep up the early pace he has set.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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