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Prospect Watch: Alen Hanson Continues His Strong Month of May

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TOP OF THE SYSTEM

A look at how the current top 30 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, 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 30 active prospects on the list. Rankings are from early season update, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Altoona – Disabled List

2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

3. Austin Meadows, CF, Bradenton – DNP

4. Josh Bell, 1B, Altoona – 2-for-5

5. Reese McGuire, C, Bradenton – 1-for-4

6. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

7. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 2B, BB, SB

8. Cole Tucker, SS, West Virginia – 2-for-4

9. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – 1-for-1, RBI

10. Mitch Keller, RHP, Extended Spring Training

11. Harold Ramirez, OF, Extended Spring Training

12. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Extended Spring Training

13. JaCoby Jones, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-5, HR, RBI

14. Adrian Sampson, RHP, Indianapolis –  DNP

15. Trey Supak, RHP, Extended Spring Training

16. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Extended Spring Training

17. Barrett Barnes, OF, Bradenton – 1-for-4, 3B, BB

18. Clay Holmes, RHP, Bradenton – Disabled List

19. Cody Dickson, LHP, Bradenton – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

20. Willy Garcia, OF, Altoona – 2-for-5

21. John Holdzkom, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

22. Jordan Luplow, 3B, West Virginia – 1-for-3, RBI

23. Connor Joe, 1B, West Virginia – DNP

24. Wyatt Mathisen, 3B, Bradenton – DNP

25. Casey Sadler, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP

26. Steven Brault, LHP, Bradenton – DNP

27. Tito Polo, OF, West Virginia – 0-for-3

28. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Extended Spring Training

29Luis Heredia, RHP, Bradenton – DNP

30. Taylor Gushue, C, West Virginia – 1-for-4

 

DAILY SUMMARY

Top Pitcher: Austin Coley, RHP – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR

Top Hitter: Alen Hanson, 2B – 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 2B, BB, SB

Home Runs: JaCoby Jones (5), Alen Hanson (2)

 

AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS    

Box Score

Result: Indianapolis 6, Syracuse 4

Starting Pitcher: Chris Volstad, RHP – 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Alen Hanson, 2B – 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 2B, BB, SB

Other Notable Performers:

Jaff Decker, LF – 2-for-5

Gorkys Hernandez, CF – 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R

Game Notes: Alen Hanson has been on fire lately and it continued on Friday night. He had a double, his second homer, scored two runs, walked and stole his 14th base of the season. Hanson drove in three runs to help Indianapolis to a 6-4 win. He raised his average to .301 on the season and the top four batters in the lineup all ended the night .300 or better, with Gustavo Nunez(.300), Steve Lombardozzi(.340) and Deibinson Romero(.302), though the latter three players went a combined 2-for-14 on the night. Romero hit his 12th double of the season. Gorkys Hernandez collected two hits, including his tenth double. Jaff Decker returned to the lineup after missing more than a much with a hand injury. He had two hits and played the entire game in left field.

Chris Volstad got his first start since May 8th and allowed two runs over six innings, giving Indianapolis a solid start. He actually pitched well in his last start, but lost a spot when both Clayton Richard and Charlie Morton joined the team.

AA: ALTOONA CURVE

Box Score

Result: New Hampshire 6, Altoona 3

Starting Pitcher: Chad Kuhl, RHP – 6.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR

Top Hitter: Stetson Allie, RF – 1-for-5, 2 RBI, 2B

Other Notable Performers:

Josh Bell, 1B – 2-for-5

Max Moroff, 2B – 1-for-4, BB

Gift Ngoepe, SS – 2-for-3, RBI, BB

Game Notes: Chad Kuhl was having a decent outing through six innings, but things fell apart for him in the seventh. He allowed three runs over the first six frames and needed just 75 pitches, so he was able to come out for the seventh. He gave up three runs on three hits, a walk and an error in that last inning. His ERA is now up to 3.09 after finishing April with a 1.64 ERA.

Willy Garcia missed a week after being hit in the face with a bat, returning as the DH on Friday night. He picked off right where he left off, which is odd because he wasn’t playing anywhere near what we are used to seeing from him. Garcia has been a power hitter in the past, who strikes out way too much. He has zero homers this season in 128 plate appearances and has struck out three times in his last 58 plate appearances. He has never had a streak like this, although it has been almost all singles and he still doesn’t draw walks. Basically he has transformed from a .280 hitter with power and a high BABIP, to a .280 hitter with zero power and a low BABIP.

Stetson Allie drove in two runs with his seventh double of the season. Josh Bell had two hits. Max Moroff had a single and a walk, but he also struck out three times. After striking out 11 times in April, he is up to 18 already in May. Despite the extra strikeouts, he has a .868 OPS this month, 15 points higher than April.

A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS   

Box Score

Result: Lakeland 4, Bradenton 3

Starting Pitcher: Cody Dickson, LHP – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: JaCoby Jones, SS – 1-for-5, HR, RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Barrett Barnes, LF – 1-for-4, 3B, BB

Edwin Espinal, 1B – 2-for-3, 2B

Jin-De Jhang, DH – 1-for-3, HBP

Game Notes: Cody Dickson was trying to build off his best outing of the year and it started off well, but he couldn’t finish up strong. He didn’t allow a hit until there was one out in the fourth inning. That was following seven shutout innings on Sunday. Dickson ended up allowing a run in the fourth, then another two before he could get out of the sixth inning. He now has a 3.71 ERA through 43.2 innings this season.

Everyone in the Bradenton lineup had at least one hit, but the Marauders didn’t get many timely hits, as they managed to score just three runs. JaCoby Jones hit his fifth homer of the year, but ended up 1-for-5 after an 0-for-5 last night. Edwin Espinal had two hits, which followed a three-hit day on Thursday. He was 3-for-26 in his previous seven games. Jose Osuna had two hits and he’s now batting .342 over his last nine games.

A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER

Box Score

Result: West Virginia 4, Delmarva 1

Starting Pitcher: Austin Coley, RHP – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR

Top Hitter: Pablo Reyes, 2B – 3-for-4, 3B, RBI, SB

Other Notable Performers:

Cole Tucker, SS – 2-for-4

Jordan Luplow, DH – 1-for-3, RBI

Game Notes: Austin Coley bounced back from his worst start of the season, allowing just one run on a solo homer Friday night. He lowered his season ERA to 2.89 and his 1:7 BB/SO ratio in the game, gives him an impressive four walks and 44 strikeouts in 43.2 innings. Jake Burnette followed Coley with two shutout innings and Junior Lopez continued his outstanding work as the closer, lowering his season ERA to 0.57 in 15.2 innings.

Pablo Reyes had the big night on offense, collecting three hits, including his second triple of the season. He drove in his 17th run and stole his ninth base. Cole Tucker had two hits, giving him a .366 average in his last ten games. The only downside to the recent streak is that he has one extra-base hit(a double) and two walks in his last 15 games, so his OBP and slugging have both dropped since early May. Tito Polo is hitting .212 with one walk and ten strikeouts in his last ten games.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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