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 – 0-for-3, BB
3. Reese McGuire, C, West Virginia – 2-for-4, 2B
4. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
5. Alen Hanson, SS, Altoona – 1-for-2, 2 BB
6. Josh Bell, RF, Altoona – 0-for-2
7. Harold Ramirez, OF, West Virginia – Disabled List (7/7 Update)
8. Cole Tucker, SS, GCL Pirates – 1-for-4, BB
9. Luis Heredia, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
10. Mitch Keller, RHP, GCL Pirates -1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
11. Adrian Sampson, RHP, Altoona – DNP
12. JaCoby Jones, SS, West Virginia – 1-for-3
13. Casey Sadler, RHP, Indianapolis – 6.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
14. Andrew Lambo, OF, Indianapolis – 1-for-5
15. Joely Rodriguez, LHP, Altoona – DNP
16. Michael De La Cruz, OF, GCL Pirates – 1-for-3
17. Trey Supak, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP
18. Buddy Borden, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
19. Stetson Allie, 1B, Altoona – 1-for-4, 2B
20. Gage Hinsz, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP
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DAILY SUMMARY
Top Hitter: Walker Gourley, RF – 3-for-4, 2B, SB
Home Runs: Willy Garcia (13), Edwin Espinal (5)
AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
Result: Rochester 5, Indianapolis 3
Starting Pitcher: Casey Sadler, RHP – 6.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Mel Rojas, CF – 2-for-3, 2 BB
Other Notable Performers:
Jose Tabata, LF – 2-for-3, BB
John Holdzkom, RHP – 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Game Notes: Casey Sadler has struggled in his last three outings, with a 5.00 ERA in 18 innings, along with a 9:6 K/BB ratio and two homers. Mel Rojas extended his hitting streak to five games, and picked up two walks, for his second straight two walk game. Rojas has a .713 OPS in the month of July, but an .801 OPS so far with Indianapolis, after a strong month of June. John Holdzkom has a 3.72 ERA in 9.2 innings over six appearances, with most of the damage coming in one outing. He’s got an 11:5 K/BB ratio.
AA: ALTOONA CURVE
Result: Altoona 3, Bowie 1
Starting Pitcher: Tom Harlan, RHP – 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Willy Garcia, LF-RF – 1-for-4, HR
Other Notable Performers:
Elias Diaz, C – 2-for-4, 2B
Stetson Allie, 1B – 1-for-4, 2B
Alen Hanson, SS – 1-for-2, 2 BB
Game Notes: Willy Garcia hit his 13th homer of the season. Stetson Allie hit his 14th double, and Elias Diaz hit his 15th double. Tom Harlan made his fourth start for Altoona, and has a 2.53 ERA in 21.1 innings, along with an 8:5 K/BB ratio. He’s getting the overall numbers, but those numbers aren’t expected to remain if he doesn’t start adding strikeouts. Drew Maggi stole two bases, giving him 28 on the year. Josh Bell left the game in the sixth inning for an unexplained reason.
A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Result: Bradenton 6, Lakeland 2
Starting Pitcher: Chad Kuhl, RHP – .0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Walker Gourley, RF – 3-for-4, 2B, SB
Other Notable Performers:
Max Moroff, 2B – 2-for-4, BB, SB
Jacob Stallings, C – 2-for-4, 2 2B
Ryan Hafner, RHP – 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Game Notes: Chad Kuhl has a 3.36 ERA in 115.1 innings this year, along with an 80:26 K/BB ratio. He’s been on fire this month, with a 1.73 ERA in 26 innings, with a 14:9 K/BB ratio. Kuhl gets a lot of ground outs, and doesn’t give up a lot of hits, with a 1.64 GO/AO ratio and a .245 BAA. Ryan Hafner looked like a breakout candidate heading into the year, with a good two-seam/slider combo. So far he has lacked control, with 26 walks in 58.1 innings, and hasn’t gotten many strikeouts, with just 39. This was after striking out 102 in 87 innings last year in West Virginia.
A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER
Result: West Virginia 6, Hickory 1
Starting Pitcher: Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP – 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Edwin Espinal, 1B – 1-for-2, HR, 2 BB
Other Notable Performers:
JaCoby Jones, SS – 1-for-3
Reese McGuire, C – 2-for-4, 2B
Game Notes: Austin Meadows went without a hit for just the second time in 11 games for West Virginia. He drew a walk, and has reached base safely for nine straight games. Edwin Espinal hit his 5th homer of the year. Dovydas Neverauskas has some good stuff, but lacks consistency and control. Tonight he gave up one run in seven innings, which was the second time this month he went seven innings in a start. However, he walked four batters in the process.
A-: JAMESTOWN JAMMERS
Result: Batavia 7, Jamestown 2
Starting Pitcher: Montana DuRapau, RHP – 5.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Taylor Gushue, C – 2-for-4, 2B
Other Notable Performers:
Kevin Ross, 3B – 2-for-4
Erik Lunde, 2B – 2-for-4
Game Notes: Montana DuRapau had his first bad outing of his pro career. Prior to this, eight of his nine outings saw zero or one earned runs allowed. He’s got a 2.81 ERA in 32 innings, with a 24:4 K/BB ratio. Taylor Gushue hit his sixth double of the year. Kevin Ross has a .352/.370/.437 line in 71 at-bats so far in the month of July. He played third base today, which was the fourth time he played the position this year. Ross was drafted as a shortstop, and played third base most of the 2012 season, before moving to first in 2013.
RK: BRISTOL PIRATES
Result: Greeneville 9, Bristol 4
Starting Pitcher: Billy Roth, RHP – 2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Enyel Vallejo, RF – 4-for-4, 2B
Other Notable Performers:
Jerrick Suiter, DH – 1-for-4, 2B
Game Notes: Billy Roth has dealt with control problems this year, walking 19 in 26 innings. He’s got a 5.88 ERA in that span. He’s only had three outings out of seven where he’s given up more than one earned run. Enyel Vallejo hit his sixth double of the year. He’s got a .963 OPS in the month of July, and an .858 OPS in 85 at-bats this season. Jerrick Suiter picked up his third double, and now has an .811 OPS.
RK: GCL PIRATES
Result: Blue Jays 3, Pirates 1
Starting Pitcher: Mitch Keller, RHP – 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Tito Polo, RF – 2-for-4, BB
Other Notable Performers:
Cole Tucker, SS – 1-for-4, BB, SB
Hayden Hurst, DH – 1-for-4
Neil Kozikowski, RHP – 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Game Notes: Mitch Keller made his fourth appearance, but only lasted one inning, likely due to a single inning pitch count. He has given up 3 runs on 11 hits in 9 innings, with 2 walks and 9 strikeouts. Neil Kozikowski pitched three innings in relief, giving up just one walk, and striking out four. This was easily his best outing of the year, following one shutout inning earlier in the week in relief. Cole Tucker picked up a walk and a hit, and now has a .371 OBP on the season. Hayden Hurst was drafted as a pitcher in 2012, but played his first game as a position player today. He went 1-for-4 in his debut as the DH.
RK: DSL PIRATES
Result: Pirates 7, Blue Jays 3
Starting Pitcher: Yeudy Garcia, RHP – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Johan De Jesus, SS – 2-for-4, HR
Other Notable Performers:
Raul Siri, 2B – 3-for-3, 2 2B, BB
Victor Fernandez, CF – 2-for-6
Felix Vinicio, DH – 3-for-5
Game Notes: Johan De Jesus hit his first homer of the year. Raul Siri added two doubles, giving him 18 on the year. He now has a .991 OPS on the season.
You can check out the DSL Pirates week seven 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.
Why the hell is Morel on the Pirates roster, let alone ever and I do mean ever starting a game? The pirates may have great pitching depth but Martinez and Morel highlight how abysmal the Pirates position player depth is. Morel is terrible and has no business being on the ML roster. I would rather have Rojas in the OF and Harrison at 3B. Rojas is an OF depth player, but certainly has more upside than Morel.
While I understand having a game pitch count, I am flat out against a single inning pitch count. All these pitchers have thrown well over 100 pitches in a game getting to this point, so they shouldn’t be coddled to this extent. When you pull a pitcher due to a single inning pitch count, you do not get to see how they respond to adversity, or bounce back the next inning.
Just my humble opinion.
There goes your job opportunities in Prospect Development. Most professional baseball people will totally disagree with you.
Perhaps I am just in the wrong country 🙂
“As for the Japanese, there is a reduced rate of Tommy John surgery there, but it is more cultural. American baseball might be better off looking at their training methods and obsessive throwing, as well as their rejection of pitch counts, than their rotation.”
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1996028-what-mlb-must-do-to-change-philosophies-stop-wave-of-pitching-injuries
I guess you are. Because Doctors like James Andrew’s attribute the TJ epidemic to young people pitchers whose bodies have developed much more quickly than their ligaments.The ligaments then tear because they can not stand up to a workload of throwing 95 mph + competeing year round. There were 26 high school pitchers in this years draft class who have touched 95 and up, and I doubt if the total of amateur and professional pitchers in Japan who throw that hard is 26.
The point is, does it really matter if you throw 35 pitches in one inning or 35 in 2 innings? Its the same amount of pitches. I stand by my thoughts that a one inning pitch count is not the way to go. What Andrews was addressing was the long term effect of high pitch counts overall, not a single inning I do believe.
Article needs to be edited, as it shows Kuhl pitching .0 innings.
I was at the Altoona game. If Bell was hurt, there was no sign of it. He stayed in the dugout the rest of the game and I never saw the trainer around him.