TOP OF THE SYSTEM
A look at how the current top 20 prospects did today. Note that this list doesn’t include players currently in the majors (Casey Sadler #16). If a player is in the majors, he will be removed, everyone below him will be shifted up a spot, and a new player will be added to the bottom of the list. If a player is out for the season (Jameson Taillon #1, Clay Holmes #12), he will be removed and everyone below him will move up a spot. Removing these guys doesn’t mean they have lost prospect status. It is just an attempt to get 20 active prospects on the list. Rankings are from the mid-season top 20 update, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.
1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
2. Austin Meadows, CF, West Virginia – Disabled List (5/30 Update)
3. Reese McGuire, C, West Virginia – 1-for-5
4. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
5. Alen Hanson, SS, Altoona – 0-for-3
6. Josh Bell, RF, Bradenton – 1-for-4, BB
7. Harold Ramirez, OF, West Virginia – 1-for-5
8. Cole Tucker, SS, GCL Pirates – DNP
9. Luis Heredia, RHP, West Virginia Power – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
10. Mitch Keller, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP
11. Adrian Sampson, RHP, Altoona – DNP
12. JaCoby Jones, SS, West Virginia – DNP
13. Casey Sadler, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
14. Andrew Lambo, OF, Indianapolis – Disabled List (5/30 Update)
15. Joely Rodriguez, LHP, Altoona – 6.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
16. Michael De La Cruz, OF, GCL Pirates – 1-for-4
17. Trey Supak, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP
18. Buddy Borden, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
19. Stetson Allie, 1B, Altoona – Disabled List (6/20 Update)
20. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Unsigned
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DAILY SUMMARY
Top Hitter: Nevin Ashley, C – 3-for-4, 2 2B, 3B, BB
Home Runs: Willy Garcia (9), Jaff Decker (4), Raul Fortunato (3), Drew Maggi (2), Chase Simpson (2)
AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
Result: Indianapolis 10, Norfolk 4
Starting Pitcher: Adam Wilk, LHP – 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Nevin Ashley, C – 3-for-4, 2 2B, 3B, BB
Other Notable Performers:
Chris McGuiness, 1B – 4-for-5
Jaff Decker, LF – 3-for-5, HR
Game Notes: Adam Wilk had his fourth straight outing allowing three runs or less. Saturday was the third consecutive where he worked seven innings. In that stretch, Wilk has 18 strikeouts, against just seven walks.
Andy Oliver faced his first adversity in over a month. Oliver walked three hitters and allowed a single, but still rebounded to leave the bases loaded, while allowing just one run. In 26 pitches, Oliver only managed nine strikes.
Jaff Decker added three hits, one of which was a home run with three RBI. Coming into the game, Decker was 4-for-17 in six games since a calf injury.
Chris McGuiness also added four singles, while Nevin Ashley added three hits – a pair of doubles and a triple, his first since June 30, 2013. – Ryan Palencer
AA: ALTOONA CURVE
Result: Portland 5, Altoona 1
Starting Pitcher: Joely Rodriguez, LHP – 6.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Willy Garcia, RF – 1-for-3, HR
Other Notable Performers:
Elias Diaz, C – 2-for-3
Game Notes: Willy Garcia had a big day on both sides of the game. He hit his ninth home run of the season, and also had two outfield assists, throwing out runners at first and second base. Joely Rodriguez struggled for the second start in a row against Portland. In his last outing against them, on June 10th, he gave up five runs on ten hits in six innings.
Result: Portland 3, Altoona 2
Starting Pitcher: Matt Benedict, RHP – 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Drew Maggi, SS – 1-for-3, HR
Other Notable Performers:
Junior Sosa, LF – 2-for-3
Matt Curry, DH – 1-for-3, 2B
Justin Howard, 1B – 1-for-3, 2B
Game Notes: Drew Maggi hit his second homer of the year. Maggi has an .805 OPS this month in 49 at-bats, after having an .835 OPS in 64 at-bats during the month of May. Matt Benedict made his first start for Altoona this year, filling in due to the fact that Altoona has played four games in the last two days.
A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Result: Bradenton 7, Jupiter 0
Starting Pitcher: Chad Kuhl, RHP – 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Raul Fortunato, LF – 2-for-4, 2B, HR
Other Notable Performers:
Max Moroff, 2B – 4-for-5
Eric Wood, 3B – 3-for-4, BB
Josh Bell, RF – 1-for-4, BB
Game Notes: Bradenton shut out Jupiter for the third straight night. Chad Kuhl threw seven shutout innings, walking none and striking out seven. Kuhl has a 2.92 ERA in 24.2 innings this month, with a 26:5 K/BB ratio. Josh Bell extended his hitting streak to nine games. Eric Wood snapped an 0-for-14 streak in his last four games by picking up three hits tonight. Raul Fortunato hit his third homer of the year, and now has a six game hitting streak.
A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER
Result: Lakewood 6, West Virginia 5
Starting Pitcher: Luis Heredia, RHP – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Chris Diaz, SS – 1-for-3, BB
Other Notable Performers:
Harold Ramirez, CF – 1-for-5
Reese McGuire, C – 1-for-5
Live Report: West Virginia took an early 5-0 lead against Lakewood on Saturday night and ended up losing 6-5 in ten innings. The Power scored all of their runs in the second inning, getting some help by poor Lakewood defense. Every player in the Power lineup had one hit, with seven singles and doubles by Adam Landecker and Elvis Escobar. Harold Ramirez, Wyatt Mathisen, Chris Diaz, Justin Maffei and Landecker each had one RBI. Diaz had the only walk.
Luis Heredia got his sixth start of the season and gave up three runs over five innings, allowing five hits, three walks and a hit batter. Heredia was topping out at 93 MPH, which he hit twice. He was sitting 88-91, mixing in a low 80’s change-up and an occasional 75-77 MPH slurve, which he didn’t have much success with. Heredia had a quick first inning, throwing four pitches. It was efficient, but it also means three swings and three balls were put into play, which was a common theme for the game.
In the second inning, Heredia was getting hit around hard. Whenever he was in the zone, Lakewood got the bat on the ball and made good contact often. When Heredia was missing, he was missing low, bouncing a good 8-10 pitches in the dirt, giving Reese McGuire quite a workout behind the plate. When his pitch count got high in the second inning, Heredia started missing up and that’s where he was the rest of the game. If it wasn’t for a few BlueClaws hitters chasing balls up in the zone, it’s highly unlikely Heredia would have got through five innings.
Overall, it was a very poor outing and looked worse in person than it did on paper. Heredia looked good in the bullpen, but once the game got started, he had no rhythm to his game. His fastball command was very poor. When he overthrew the ball, he left it up in the zone. His only success came on his change-up, which he used often, otherwise the Lakewood hitters were sitting on his fastball and they weren’t fooled by his slurve.
This was the first chance I got to see Yhonathan Barrios and while he was the hardest thrower, his fastball was inconsistent and all over the place. Barrios took the loss, giving up back-to-back hits in the tenth inning. His fastball was 90-96, mostly 90-92 MPH. On the final hit, Harold Ramirez was playing shallow, charged in on a ball hit up the middle and then tried to throw out the runner who was on second base. Ramirez made a throw that went well over McGuire’s head, hitting high up the net behind home plate. A good throw would have likely beat the runner by a good 20 feet, because the runner was just rounding third base when Ramirez started his throw from about 150 feet from home plate. Ramirez also missed a catch on a long fly ball in the eighth inning that led to two runs scoring, which tied the game. – John Dreker
A-: JAMESTOWN JAMMERS
Result: State College 6, Jamestown 2
Starting Pitcher: Alex McRae, RHP – 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Chase Simpson, DH – 1-for-2, HR, BB
Other Notable Performers:
Carl Anderson, CF – 2-for-4, 3B, SB
Game Notes: Alex McRae made his second start of the year. He has combined for 6.1 shutout innings, with three hits, no walks, and five strikeouts. Chase Simpson hit his second homer of the year. He’s off to a good start, going 7-for-24 with a double and two homers. Car Anderson is also doing well, with a .325 average and an .807 OPS in his first 40 at-bats. He added his second triple tonight, and stole his first base.
RK: BRISTOL PIRATES
Result: Princeton 3, Bristol 2
Starting Pitcher: Jon Sandfort, RHP – 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Nathan Tomaszewski, 1B – 1-for-3, 2 BB
Other Notable Performers:
Ulises Montilla, 2B – 1-for-5
Pablo Reyes, SS – 1-for-3, BB, SB
Game Notes: Jon Sandfort made his season debut with Bristol, and had a great outing. He gave up one run on six hits in five innings, with no walks and five strikeouts. Sandfort looked good last year in the GCL, even though his stats didn’t suggest the same. He had a 4.95 ERA in 36.1 innings, with a 35:14 K/BB ratio. He throws in the 89-92 MPH range with good movement on his fastball. He has a nice curveball and showed a good feel for a changeup last year. Sandfort has breakout potential, especially if he adds some velocity with his projectable frame.
Check out the Bristol Pirates season preview.
RK: GCL PIRATES
Result: Yankees 6, Pirates 4
Starting Pitcher: Nick Hutchings, RHP – 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Bealyn Chourio, 2B – 2-for-4, 3B
Other Notable Performers:
Tito Polo, RF – 2-for-5, SB
Carlos Munoz, 1B – 2-for-5
Michael De La Cruz, CF – 1-for-4
Game Notes: Bealyn Chourio picked up two hits, including his first triple of the season. Tito Polo and Carlos Munoz both had multiple hits, and Polo stole his first base of the year. Australian pitcher Nick Hutchings made his pro debut, giving up three runs on five hits in 3.1 innings. Jose Batista threw two shutout innings, giving up a hit and striking out two. Batista was the scheduled starter on Wednesday, so it’s unclear whether this changes the plans of having him in the rotation early in the season.
Check out the GCL Pirates season preview.
RK: DSL PIRATES
Result: Rangers 10, Pirates 3
Starting Pitcher: Richard Mitchell, RHP – 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Felix Vinicio, DH – 1-for-3, HR, BB
Other Notable Performers:
Mikell Granberry, C – 2-for-4
Game Notes: The Pirates lost their fifth straight game on Saturday, dropping a 10-3 decision to the best team in the DSL. The Rangers1 improved to 16-3, while the Pirates are now 6-13 on the year. Richard Mitchell made his fourth start and had trouble, as did the two relievers that followed him. Mitchell looked good in his first and third starts, but his second and fourth outings have been bad. He gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks in 4.2 innings, while failing to record a single strikeout. In 18.1 innings this year, Mitchell has only five strikeouts.
The offense had just five hits, with catcher Mikell Granberry collecting two of them. Felix Vinicio hit his first homer as a pro, a solo shot in the ninth inning. Edison Lantigua hit his fourth double of the season. Jeremias Portorreal had his six game hitting streak snapped. Adrian Valerio went 0-for-4, finishing off a 1-for-18 week. He had nine hits last week. Raul Siri drove in his 14th run of the season, the second highest total on the team behind Yunelky Adames. – John Dreker
You can check out the DSL Pirates week two recap here.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
This is off topic but Phil Irwin is pitching a lot better in the Rangers system. Still a high WHIP but great K numbers. I think this is probably almost all because of him getting his mechanics back together after surgery because he had incredible control before. I know he is 27 and just depth for the Pirates but I am pretty sure he will be a great find for the Rangers. He has a 4:1 K:BB ratio in the minors and when he gets closer to that he will be in an MLB bullpen.
His control has been really bad since leaving, 14 walks in 21.1 innings. That isn’t the Irwin of old who had 24 walks in 130 innings in 2012 an 22 walks in 140 innings the year before.
I know that Heredia is young but I have a bad feeling he may be a bust.
I am definitely down on Heredia and he has done nothing to change my feelings about him.
I have to admit I’m with you. Doesn’t seem to be many positive reports. May be a time to change scenery and see what we might get in return. Could be beneficial to everybody, mostly Luis. Nobody likes to see talent wasted.
Yeesh. That’s an ugly report on the Power. Heredia had a good stat line last time; hopefully the consistency will come.
Maggi is putting up some decent numbers this year at age 25. If he can do a credible job at short, I wonder if he has a future as a utility infielder?
Usually when a player gets moved all around and isn’t playing everyday, it isn’t a good sign, but Maggi keeps putting up nice numbers this year while playing six different positions and moving all around the lineup and not playing everyday. His 30/29 BB/K ratio is very impressive. You obviously have someone that can hit well, steal some bases, play a lot of positions, doesn’t mind coming off the bench. A player like that is a valuable 25th man on a team. He has to show he can do it at AAA first, but I’m not sure he is going to get that chance with the Pirates, who seemed to write him off pretty quick despite handing him a big bonus. I saw him play seven games for WV in 2011 and thought he looked like a solid player, gave him favorable reviews. Nothing spectacular, but did a lot of things right.