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.
PIRATES1
Result: Pirates 9, Rockies 4
Starting Pitcher: Miguel Ferreras, RHP (5.48) – 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Pablo Reyes, SS (352.) – 3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Other Notable Performers:
Julio de la Cruz, DH (218.) – 2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI
Jonathan Minier, RHP (13.50) – 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 HR
Ramses Pena, 1B (.333) – 1-for-4, BB, RBI, 3B
Game Notes: The Pirates improved to 16-12 on the year, with their fourth straight win. Miguel Ferreras started and allowed just one run over 4.2 innings. Andres Mendoza followed him and picked up the win, allowing one run over 1.2 innings. Reliever Jonathan Minier made his professional debut today, allowing one run over 2/3 of an inning. Luis Benitez stole two bases, giving him 15 on the year. Pablo Reyes had three hits and drove in two runs, giving him 18 RBI’s on the year. Top prospect Julio de la Cruz drove in two runs. He now has 17 hits and 17 RBI’s on the year.
PIRATES2
Result: Pirates 5, Orioles2 0
Starting Pitcher: Eduardo Vera, RHP (3.22) – 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Edgar Figueroa, CF (.287) – 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 3B
Other Notable Performers:
Michael de la Cruz, CF (.309) – DNP
Jhoan Herrera, 3B (.247) – 1-for-4, RBI, BB
Carlos Munoz, 1B (.420) – 2-for-4, RBI
Richard Mitchell, RHP (2-1, 3.00) – 3.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Yoel Gonzalez, C (.138) – 0-for-4
Game Notes: The Pirates improved to 15-12 on the season with a 5-0 win against the Orioles2 team. It was their third win in a row. Eduardo Vera threw five shutout innings to start the game, while Richard Mitchell picked up the win with three shutout innings of his own. The Pirates scored four times in the seventh inning, once in the ninth. Edgar Figueroa hit his third triple of the season and drove in his 17th run. Jhoan Herrera matched him, also driving in his 17th run of the year. Carlos Munoz had two hits, raising his league leading average to .420, while he also leads the league with his 1.109 OPS
Player Of The Day
Switching it up a little today to get people caught up on all the new International players in the system. The Pirates have signed two high priced 16-year-old players in the last two days. First, was the announcement of outfielder Edinson Lantigua to a $275,000 bonus. He is a line drive hitter, with strong defense in center field and a chance to get much better.
Later in the night, shortstop Adrian Valerio signed the biggest deal so far, agreeing to a $400,000 bonus. He is another strong defensive player at a key position, who projects to be able to stay there. Valerio is a switch-hitter, with an easy swing and good bat speed. He has some projection in his game, as he still needs to fill out.
On Thursday, seven more players were announced, five were pitchers. They are shortstop Luis Perez, second baseman Raul Siri, lefty pitcher Christian Mota and right-handers Ramon Garcia, Junior Lopez, Julian Villamar and Yunior Montero. Due to their age, all of these players were eligible to sign prior to July 2nd. That doesn’t mean they aren’t prospects. There have been plenty of players signed after their initial signing period was up, that are/were considered prospects. With the new International spending cap, it’s possible some players may wait around an extra year because the right money wasn’t available due to budget constraints from interested teams.