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, Bristol – 0-for-4
3. Reese McGuire, C, West Virginia – 1-for-4
4. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
5. Alen Hanson, SS, Altoona – 0-for-5
6. Josh Bell, RF, Bradenton – 1-for-5
7. Harold Ramirez, OF, West Virginia – DNP
8. Cole Tucker, SS, GCL Pirates – 0-for-1, 3 BB
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 – 2-for-4, HR
13. Casey Sadler, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
14. Andrew Lambo, OF, GCL Pirates – DNP
15. Joely Rodriguez, LHP, Altoona – DNP
16. Michael De La Cruz, OF, GCL Pirates – 1-for-3, BB, SB
17. Trey Supak, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP
18. Buddy Borden, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
19. Stetson Allie, 1B, Altoona – 1-for-4
20. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Unsigned
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DAILY SUMMARY
Top Hitter: Keon Broxton, CF – 2-for-3, 2B, BB, SB
Home Runs: JaCoby Jones (10), Justin Howard (3), Jeremias Portorreal (2)
AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
Result: Louisville 7, Indianapolis 6
Starting Pitcher: Brandon Cumpton, RHP – 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
Top Hitter: Michael Martinez, 2B – 2-for-5, SB
Other Notable Performers:
Matt Hague, 3B-1B – 2-for-6, 2B
Mel Rojas, RF – 2-for-4
Game Notes: Brandon Cumpton made his first start since returning from the majors. The outing wasn’t as good as the previous starts from Cumpton, although it wasn’t a horrible start either. Cumpton has a 1.76 ERA in 46 innings in Triple-A, with a 24:11 K/BB ratio. Mel Rojas remains hot in Triple-A, with an .885 OPS in his last ten games, and an .846 OPS in 102 at-bats this year. Chris McGuiness picked up a hit in his seventh straight game. Matt Hague hit his 13th double of the season.
AA: ALTOONA CURVE
Result: Altoona 4, Harrisburg 2
Starting Pitcher: Pat Ludwig, RHP – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Keon Broxton, CF – 2-for-3, 2B, BB, SB
Other Notable Performers:
Kelson Brown, 2B – 2-for-3
Elias Diaz, C – 2-for-3
Matt Curry, LF – 2-for-4
Justin Howard, PH – 1-for-1, HR
Game Notes: Altoona defeated Harrisburg tonight, 4-2.
Pat Ludwig looked fantastic over his 6 innings of work. The right hander only surrendered one earned run on a Brian Jeroloman 5th inning homerun. He gave up five hits, struck out six, and displayed good control, walking none. He threw 45 of his 68 pitches for strikes.
Stetson Allie got the Curve offense started, driving in Elias Diaz in the 3rd on a single. Justin Howard broke a 1-1 tie in the 6th with a two run pinch hit homerun to center, his third of the year. Matt Curry completed the scoring for the Curve tonight with an RBI single in the 7th. Elias Diaz, Matt Curry, Keon Broxton, and Kelson Brown all had multiple hits tonight. Both Keon Broxton and Drew Maggi collected stolen bases tonight, Broxton taking his 13th of the year, Maggi his 20th. Alen Hanson and Willy Garcia were the only two Curve hitters not to get base hits tonight. Hanson also committed his 24th error of the year. As a whole, the team only walked once, but cut down on the strikeouts, only punching out five times. – John Kokales
A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Result: Bradenton 7, Palm Beach 4
Starting Pitcher: Jason Creasy, RHP – 7.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Adam Frazier, SS – 3-for-5, 2B
Other Notable Performers:
Jin-De Jhang, C – 2-for-4
Ashley Ponce, 3B – 3-for-4, 2 SB
Raul Fortunato, CF – 2-for-3, BB
Game Notes: Adam Frazier had a 13 game hitting streak snapped a few days ago. Since then he has picked up hits in his last three games. He has currently reached base safely in his last 17 games. Jason Creasy has a 23:0 K/BB ratio in 25.2 innings over his last four starts. He has a 3.16 ERA during that stretch. Creasy has a 3.55 ERA in 91.1 innings this year in Bradenton.
A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER
Result: Greensboro 5, West Virginia 2
Starting Pitcher: Justin Topa, RHP – 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: JaCoby Jones, SS – 2-for-4, HR
Other Notable Performers:
Danny Collins, RF – 3-for-4
Game Notes: JaCoby Jones hit his tenth home run of the season. Jones has a six game hitting streak, and home runs in three of his last seven games. He’s only hitting for a .271 average and a .783 OPS this year, but he does have a .168 ISO, showing off some good power for a middle infielder. Reese McGuire has a five game hitting streak, and hits in nine of his last ten games.
A-: JAMESTOWN JAMMERS
Result: State College 11, Jamestown 9
Starting Pitcher: Frank Duncan, RHP – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Carl Anderson, CF – 2-for-5, 2B, SB
Other Notable Performers:
Kevin Krause, DH – 2-for-4, 2B
Kevin Ross, 1B – 2-for-5
Michael Fransoso, RF – 2-for-4
Erik Forgione, SS – 2-for-4
Game Notes: Frank Duncan made his fourth start with the Pirates. He has two good outings, and two poor outings. He has three strikeouts and four walks in 16.2 innings of work. Kevin Krause is off to a strong start, hitting for a .279 average and a 1.036 OPS in his first 11 games. Carl Anderson is doing a good job of hitting for average. He isn’t drawing many walks, and his power is low, leading to a .787 OPS, despite his .333 average.
RK: BRISTOL PIRATES
Result: Pulaski 6, Bristol 3
Starting Pitcher: Hector Garcia, LHP – 3.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Trae Arbet, SS – 2-for-4, 2B, BB
Other Notable Performers:
Austin Meadows, CF – 0-for-4
Game Notes: Austin Meadows made his first rehab start for Bristol, after being transferred to the level yesterday. Meadows played a complete game, which is usually one of the final steps before making a return to the level where he will be playing. That level is West Virginia, and he should be there by the middle of next week, and possibly earlier. Trae Arbet had his second straight multi-hit game. He has five doubles in his last ten games.
RK: GCL PIRATES
Result: Pirates 6, Braves 2
Starting Pitcher: Dario Agrazal, RHP – 5.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Bealyn Chourio, 2B – 2-for-2, 2 2B
Other Notable Performers:
Yoel Gonzalez, C – 2-for-2, 2B, BB
Michael De La Cruz, CF – 1-for-3, BB, SB
Game Notes: Michael De La Cruz has had some time off lately, in part due to his struggles, and in part because of the rehab for Austin Meadows and Barrett Barnes. MDLC has hits in each of his last three starts, showing that he might be turning things around after getting one hit in his first five games of the season. Dario Agrazal has a 2.84 ERA in 12.2 innings in his three starts this year, with a 4:0 K/BB ratio. Cole Tucker went 0-for-1, but drew three walks.
RK: DSL PIRATES
Result: Pirates 13, Astros Orange 7
Starting Pitcher: Francis Rodriguez, RHP – 4.0 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Jeremias Portorreal, RF – 1-for-5, HR, BB
Other Notable Performers:
Edison Lantigua, LF – 2-for-5, BB
Raul Siri, 2B – 2-for-5, 2B, BB
Game Notes: The Pirates have now won four games in a row and six of their last seven after a 13-7 victory on Friday. Prior to this recent streak, the team had lost nine in a row. Everyone in the lineup contributed to the win, with nine of the ten position players that played, scoring at least one run and six of them drove in runs. The Pirates had 12 hits and drew eight walks. They had six hits with runners in scoring position and they were helped by five errors by the Astros. Top prospect Jeremias Portorreal hit his second homer of the season and his first since Opening Day. Shortstop Adrian Valerio was the only Pirates player that didn’t have a hit, but he scored one run and drove in another. Catcher Mikell Granberry had a hit, drew three walks and scored two runs. Six Pirates pitchers combined to record 13 strikeouts. – John Dreker
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.
All I want for July is a street to walk on, give me Huston Street and start printing playoff tickets. All we would have to do is win the first 6 innings of any game and it would be game over.
I saw the Sabathia is out for the season. So is Nova and, likely, Pineda. Any chance we could take the Yanks to the cleaners for a starting pitcher? Could pick up a couple of: Jagielo, Clarkin, Katoh, and Severino.
Or the Sox for Devers or Merrero.
Or if you wanna be buyers…
…the Twins for Phil Hughes.
Is Raul Siri related to ‘the Iphone voice’?
🙂 🙂
Some food for thought?
Matt Hague, at Indy has played twice as many games at 3b than 1b
http://minorleaguecentral.com/player?pid=518755
It certainly bodes well for the future of our beloved franchise that a guy like jacoby jones is only arguably the 12th best prospect in our system, and a guy like rojas doesn’t even crack the top 20! all that time since ’92 was like being lost in a vast, barren wasteland of a desert…and now we get to feast upon the succulent fruits fed to us by ample nymphs of this wondrous oasis upon which we have finally stumbled. huzzah!
I remember when Brad Corley was in our Top 10!
Ouch !
what does Jacoby Jones need to do to move up a level before the season ends?
To sorta piggyback on emjay, I will get excited about J Jones when he does this at AA and AAA. Hard to get excited about what a college player does at Lo A.
I hope he does well, but……
b: I like the 10 HR’s, but dislike the almost 4/1 K/W ratio which is very high for a college player at Lo A. He is in his age 22 season and is 2 baseball levels below our best SS Prospect, Alen Hanson, playing at AA, and hitting well in his age 21 season. We have a host of strong 1B/3B prospects at Lo A and Hi A, so those moves would not be viable. He can be promoted to Hi A where we have Adam Frazier at SS, but Frazier is hitting well. Therefore, with Hanson ahead of him and Cole Tucker now looking like a steal in the draft, and Adrian Valerio behind him, Shortstop is starting to look like a dead end path for guys like Jones and Frazier, and they have already moved Max Moroff from SS to 2B at Hi A. IMO, unless they move him back to the OF, it is difficult to see a promotion to the next level any time soon.