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. 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 (6/28 Update)
3. Reese McGuire, C, West Virginia – DNP
4. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
5. Alen Hanson, SS, Altoona – 0-for-5
6. Josh Bell, RF, Bradenton – 0-for-4
7. Harold Ramirez, OF, West Virginia – 1-for-5
8. Cole Tucker, SS, GCL Pirates – DNP
9. Luis Heredia, RHP, West Virginia Power – DNP
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 – DNP
16. Michael De La Cruz, OF, GCL Pirates – DNP
17. Trey Supak, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP
18. Buddy Borden, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
19. Stetson Allie, 1B, Altoona – 1-for-3, 2B, BB
20. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Unsigned
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DAILY SUMMARY
Top Hitter: Jordan Luplow, LF – 1-for-3, HR
Home Runs: Jordan Luplow (2)
AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
Result: Louisville 1, Indianapolis 0
Starting Pitcher: Nick Kingham, RHP – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Robert Andino, SS – 2-for-4, 2B
Other Notable Performers:
Matt Hague, 3B – 1-for-2, 2 BB
Game Notes: Nick Kingham continued to dominate in the International League. He has given up just one earned run in 26.2 innings of work over four starts, with a 20:5 K/BB ratio. At this rate, Kingham could be an option for the majors if a rotation spot comes open later in the season. Matt Hague extended his hitting streak to seven games. He’s got an .814 OPS in the month of June, which matches his .814 OPS on the season. He also has a .966 OPS against left-handers.
AA: ALTOONA CURVE
Result: Binghamton 7, Altoona 4
Starting Pitcher: Pat Ludwig, RHP – 3.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Kelson Brown, 2B – 2-for-3, 2B
Other Notable Performers:
Stetson Allie, 1B – 1-for-3, 2B, BB
Live Report: Altoona fell to Binghamton to end their 4 game series, 7-4.
Starter Pat Ludwig got roughed up in a bad way. The right hander only lasted three innings, giving up seven hits and six earned runs. He did punch out two, allowing two walks, and generated five groundball outs, but Binghamton just continually seemed to find holes. He threw 34 of his 59 pitches for strikes. Yao-Hsun Yang followed Ludwig and picked up some slack, lasting four innings, allowing four hits, two walks, and one earned run. Yang registered four strikeouts during his outing. John Holdzkom threw a clean 8th, striking out two and touching 96 MPH.
Stetson Allie, Kelson Brown, Ralph Henriquez, and Matt Curry drove in the Curve runs tonight. Allie finished the night 1-3 with a double, a walk, and two strikeouts. Curry went 1-4 with a double and a strikeout. Kelson Brown, a defensive replacement for Andy Vasquez in the 4th, was the only Curve player with multiple hits, going 2-3 with a double. Keon Broxton swiped his 11th of the year in the 2nd inning. Alen Hanson suffered his 2nd hitless night in a row, going 0-5, but he did score a run. – John Kokales
A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Result: St Lucie 1, Bradenton 0
Starting Pitcher: Jason Creasy, RHP – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Raul Fortunato, PR-LF – 2-for-2, 2B
Other Notable Performers:
Josh Bell, RF – 0-for-4
Game Notes: Josh Bell went 0-for-4 tonight, snapping a 14 game hitting streak. Bell has a .332/.380/.512 line in 289 at-bats this year in Bradenton, and a monstrous 1.106 OPS during the month of June. Jason Creasy had his second strong start in a row, with one run in six innings. Last time out, Creasy gave up one run in seven innings of work. He’s got a 2.52 ERA in 35.2 innings during the month of June, with a 26:2 K/BB ratio.
A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER
Result: Lakewood 10, West Virginia 5
Starting Pitcher: Justin Topa, RHP – 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Jeff Roy, CF – 2-for-5, 3B
Other Notable Performers:
Erich Weiss, 2B – 2-for-5
Harold Ramirez, RF – 1-for-5
Zack Von Rosenberg, RHP – 3.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
Game Notes: Harold Ramirez had a single tonight, extending his hitting streak to 21 games. Zack Von Rosenberg was originally listed as the starter, but Justin Topa took over. Von Rosenberg pitched three innings in relief, and didn’t do well. Meanwhile, Topa rebounded well from his last two outings, where he combined to give up 11 earned runs in 5.2 innings, including seven earned runs without an out in his last appearance. JaCoby Jones was hit with a pitch in yesterday’s game, and was out today.
A-: JAMESTOWN JAMMERS
Result: Mahoning Valley 8, Jamestown 3
Starting Pitcher: Marek Minarik, RHP – 5.0 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Jordan Luplow, LF – 1-for-3, HR
Other Notable Performers:
Deybi Garcia, C – 1-for-3
Game Notes: The Jamestown offense had a huge night last night, but only managed two hits tonight. Jordan Luplow had one of those hits, picking up his second homer of the year. Luplow is 11-for-32 on the season, with a double, a triple, and two homers. The third round pick has a 1.030 OPS so far in his young career.
RK: BRISTOL PIRATES
Bristol was postponed due to rain.
RK: GCL PIRATES
The GCL Pirates were off today.
RK: DSL PIRATES
The DSL Pirates were off today.
You can check out the DSL Pirates week four 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.
It’s great that Kingham is doing well at Indianapolis.
That said, with Altoona visiting Bowie, I looked at the organizational probable starting pitcher page to see who I might see pitch this week against the local AA team. Kingham is still showing up as an Altoona player. Any chance that can be updated to show that he’s moved up and no longer at Altoona and that the current Altoona rotation will show? If Altoona’s last 5 games are an indicator, the rotation is Ludwig, Dodson, Sampson, Rodriguez, and Montero.
With Liriano due back at some point, assuming guys like Locke and Worley continue to pitch well in the starting rotation, and with guys like Cumpton and Kingham knocking at the door for permanent rotation spots, could the Pirates move a starter to help fix first base? If they were willing to move say Morton, could they get a guy like Carp?
From June 25th:
“Red Sox infielder Mike Carp is expected to begin a rehab assignment this weekend, according to the Boston Herald.
Carp was able to take batting practice Tuesday, and hasn’t experienced any setbacks. It’s unclear how many rehab games he’ll need before he returns. Carp was hitting .214 over 70 at-bats prior to the injury.”
Yep…sounds like he’s just the man to fix 1b!!!
How long do you think it will be before we see some promotions, between Bell, Kingham, Glasnow, or Sampson?