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 – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, 0 HR
2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List
3. Austin Meadows, CF, Bradenton – 2-for-5, HR
4. Josh Bell, 1B, Altoona – 4-for-9, 2 2B
5. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – 2-for-3, BB
6. Reese McGuire, C, Bradenton – DNP
7. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List
8. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – DNP
9. Harold Ramirez, OF, Bradenton – 1-for-4, BB, SB
10. Cole Tucker, SS, West Virginia – DNP
11. Kevin Newman, SS, Morgantown – 0-for-3, BB
12. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, GCL – DNP
13. Mitch Keller, RHP, Bristol – DNP
14. Clay Holmes, RHP, Bradenton – 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
15. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
16. Adrian Sampson, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
17. Max Moroff, 2B, Altoona – 2-for-4, 2B, 2 BB
18. Barrett Barnes, OF, Bradenton – 2-for-5, 2B
19. JaCoby Jones, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-4
20. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
21. Trey Supak, RHP, Bristol – DNP
22. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bristol – DNP
23. Adam Frazier, SS, Altoona – 4-for-8, BB
24. Willy Garcia, OF, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, 3B
25. Steven Brault, LHP, Altoona – DNP
26. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Morgantown – 2-for-4
27. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
28. Adrian Valerio, SS, GCL – 0-for-1
29. Connor Joe, 1B, West Virginia – DNP
30. Jacob Taylor, RHP, GCL – DNP
DAILY SUMMARY
Top Pitcher: Billy Roth, RHP – 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Dan Gamache, 3B – 6-for-8, 2B
Home Runs: Stetson Allie (14), Austin Meadows (4), Mikell Granberry (4)
AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
Result: Indianapolis 3, Scranton/WB 2
Starting Pitcher: Chris Volstad, RHP – 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Alen Hanson, 2B – 2-for-3, BB
Other Notable Performers:
Tony Sanchez, C – 1-for-3, 2B, BB
Willy Garcia, RF – 1-for-4, 3B
Game Notes: After another ice cold June, Tony Sanchez has seen a nice bounce back in July. Coming into the contest, Sanchez had six hits in nine at bats in the second half of the season. This was a hot trend that continued on Tuesday night, as Sanchez added an RBI double in three at bats.
After a tough stretch at the beginning of the season, Chris Volstad has been consistent since. This trend also continued on Tuesday night, as he spread out seven hits and two walks over seven innings to only allow two runs. While command was an issue early in the contest for Volstad, he was effectively wild, as he struck out five hitters in the game.
Since allowing three runs on four hits in 1.1 innings on July 12th, Josh Wall had his third straight scoreless outing on Tuesday. In fact, seven of Wall’s last eight appearances have been scoreless. Blake Wood struck out a pair in his inning of work.
After a rare hitless contest Monday night, Alen Hanson also added a pair of hits on Tuesday and scored the tying run in the eighth after singling and reaching second on an error. Gift Ngoepe added a double of his own in the game.
Willy Garcia tripled to lead off the bottom of the ninth and Steve Lombardozzi singled him in to walk off. – Ryan Palencer
AA: ALTOONA CURVE
Result: Altoona 18, Erie 7
Starting Pitcher: Tyler Glasnow, RHP – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Stetson Allie, RF – 2-for-4, HR
Other Notable Performers:
Jose Osuna, LF – 4-for-4, BB
Dan Gamache, 3B – 4-for-5, 2B
Adam Frazier, SS – 2-for-5
Max Moroff, 2B – 2-for-3, 2B, 2 BB
Josh Bell, 1B – 2-for-5, 2B
Mel Rojas, CF – 2-for-5
Sebastian Valle, C – 3-for-5, 2B
Eric Wood, DH – 3-for-5, 2B
Game Notes: As Game One of the Curve’s doubleheader against Erie wore on, I realized that all of the notes and stats I was writing down about the hitters would run on for page after page. The Altoona Curve tied a franchise record with 18 runs and broke a franchise record with 24 hits, all in six innings.
Every position player had a multi-hit game for the Curve, with Jose Osuna and Dan Gamache each collecting four hits in the game. Stetson Allie capped off a six run, eight hit fifth inning with a grand slam home run, giving him five RBIs on the day. Max Moroff walked twice and collected two more hits, giving him a league leading 117 hits and raising his batting average to .325.
The first five players in the Curve batting order (Frazier, Moroff, Bell, Osuna, Gamache) all finished the game with a season-long batting average over .300, with Adam Frazier leading the way at .351. Jose Osuna scored a Curve franchise record five runs in the game.
Lost in all of the hitting was another strong pitching performance from Tyler Glasnow, although he was not nearly as sharp as he has been of late. He walked four batters, which is more than he has in all of his last four starts combined. Not coincidentally, all three of the runs scored against him were base runners that were walked. He had a 61% strike rate on the game, which is down from the 70% he has averaged in the four games he has pitched since returning to Altoona from injury.
Although he was not as sharp, his fastball velocity sat between 94-97 MPH and reached 98 a few times. He didn’t seem to have his top velocity on his fastball overall, but the curveball looked extremely good. He used the curveball early and late in the count, and he made batters look foolish with two strikes using the pitch. Batters were mostly way out in front of the curve; however, there were occasions where batters tried to wait on it and still couldn’t time it correctly.
Glasnow had extremely long waits between innings, which may have contributed to his inconsistencies when facing the first batter of the inning. He also looked out of sorts with his battery mate Sebastian Valle in the first inning of the game with multiple meetings on the mound and looking crossed up a few times. He said after the game that he felt uncomfortable in his windup all night, leading to the multiple leadoff walks. – Sean McCool
Result: Altoona 8, Erie 7
Starting Pitcher: Matt Benedict, RHP – 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Edward Salcedo, PH-3B – 2-for-3, 2B, 3B
Other Notable Performers:
Adam Frazier, SS – 2-for-3
Josh Bell, 1B – 2-for-4, 2B
Dan Gamache, 3B-2B – 2-for-3
Game Notes: After 18 runs and 24 hits for the Curve in game one of the doubleheader, it took them until the 7th inning to discover the bats again in game two. And discover the bats they did, coming back from a 7-1 deficit in the 7th inning to win by a score of 8-7. The second win, coupled with the amazing display of hitting in the first game, may be the wildest doubleheader of professional baseball I’ve ever seen.
Before the 7th, Edward Salcedo was responsible for the lone Curve run, entering the game as a pinch hitter for Max Moroff and hitting an RBI double to the wall, scoring Adam Frazier. (He was thrown out after over-sliding third base.)
In the top of the 7th, Brett McKinney came in to relieve Tom Harlan, only to last 0.2 IP with four hits, two walks, and five earned runs given up. McKinney’s ERA on the year went up to 10.93 after his night. He went four outings in a row without giving up a run earlier this month; however, an eight run outing on June 12th and this five run affair tonight have inflated his ERA.
In the bottom of the 7th, Eric Wood singled, Adam Frazier singled, and Salcedo tripled to right field to score both and draw the score to 7-3. Josh Bell singled to center field to score Salcedo, making the score 7-4. After Bell, Jose Osuna and Dan Gamache both singled followed by a Stetson Allie walk. Finally, Andy Vasquez doubled to left field where the left fielder mishandled the ball, scoring both Gamache and Allie for the comeback win.
Edward Salcedo was the Curve’s most impressive hitter tonight, with a double, triple, and deep fly to center for a fly out. Josh Bell drove the ball to the deep right-center gap in the first inning for his 16th double of the season and second double of the day.
Matt Benedict started the game and only went 3.1 innings, allowing three hits (all singles), one strikeout, and no walks. Benedict threw 37 strikes on 52 pitches for a 71% strike rate. Overall, he looked very solid in his short appearance. Tom Harlan relieved Benedict in the fourth, and he allowed a two-run home run in the sixth inning after walking the leadoff hitter.
Max Moroff was removed from the game in the third inning, and the removal was labeled as a manager’s decision by Tom Prince. No other information was made available on the decision. – Sean McCool
A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Result: Palm Beach 7, Bradenton 4
Starting Pitcher: Clay Holmes, RHP – 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Austin Meadows, CF – 2-for-5, HR
Other Notable Performers:
Barrett Barnes, DH – 2-for-5, 2B
Jin-De Jhang, C – 2-for-3, BB
Harold Ramirez, RF – 1-for-4, BB, SB
Game Notes: Clay Holmes looked great in his first two starts with Bradenton, combining for one run in ten innings. That wasn’t the case tonight, as he gave up three runs on three walks and three hits in 3.1 innings. Holmes has dealt with control problems in the past, but really made some good strides with cutting down the walks in the second half of the 2013 season in West Virginia. After missing all of 2014 with Tommy John, the hope was that he would carry the improved control over when he returned from the injury. He had just two walks in the first two games with Bradenton, and just one walk in his 14.1 innings in the GCL, so the hope is that this is just an outlier.
Austin Meadows hit his fourth homer. He has been crushing the ball since the All-Star break, putting up a .344/.378/.453 line in 128 at-bats. The All-Star break cutoff is significant, since the Pirates gave him some time off at that time, giving him a ten day break before the second half of the FSL season. Barrett Barnes continues showing some nice power, hitting his 16th double of the year, and posting a .162 ISO. Harold Ramirez made his return from the Pan-Am tournament, picking up a hit and stealing his 12th base of the year.
A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER
West Virginia was off today.
A: WEST VIRGINIA BLACK BEARS
Result: West Virginia 5, Brooklyn 3
Starting Pitcher: Bret Helton, RHP – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Logan Hill, RF – 2-for-3, 2B, BB, 3 SB
Other Notable Performers:
Kevin Kramer, 2B – 2-for-4
Maximo Rivera, DH – 2-for-3, BB, SB
Nick Hibbing, RHP – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Game Notes: Bret Helton got off to a rocky start in his pro career, giving up eight earned runs in 7.1 innings over his first three starts. In his last three outings he has combined to give up four earned runs in 15 innings, which is a much better pace. He also has a 13:4 K/BB ratio in that span, compared to a 5:6 ratio in his first three starts. Those are some positive trends for the 9th round pick. Logan Hill has been impressive, hitting for a .350/.444/.530 line in 100 at-bats. That comes with the usual disclaimer that he’s a college hitter in a college league, so he should be used to the quality of pitching here. Kevin Kramer added two hits, and is now 9-for-32 in his last eight games, with hits in seven of those games.
RK: BRISTOL PIRATES
Result: Bristol 6, Burlington 3
Starting Pitcher: Billy Roth, RHP – 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Carlos Munoz, DH – 3-for-6
Other Notable Performers:
Nick Buckner, RF – 2-for-5
Game Notes: Billy Roth has been a personal sleeper pick this year, mostly because every time I saw him in Spring Training and extended Spring Training, he was throwing 93-96 MPH with ease, and holding that velocity into the later innings. He just missed our top 30 due to some historical command issues, including 33 walks in 45 innings last year in the Appy league. Roth did walk four batters in three innings on July 8th, but for the most part his control has been much improved this year, with just eight walks in 24 innings. He’s also striking out a lot of guys, with 21 strikeouts on the season. There is the disclaimer that he’s repeating the level, but Roth is still young (just turned 20 last month) and his velocity makes him a very interesting pitcher to watch, especially if the recent trend with his control continues.
RK: GCL PIRATES
Result: Braves 9, Pirates 6
Starting Pitcher: Luis Escobar, RHP – 0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Jhoan Herrera, 1B – 2-for-3, 3B, BB
Other Notable Performers:
Michael De La Cruz, CF – 2-for-4
Sam Kennelly, 3B – 2-for-3, BB
Jose Batista, LHP – 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Game Notes: Luis Escobar had a horrible start today, although the bright side was that he was throwing mid-90s, hitting 94-95 MPH. Escobar is 19 years old, and has put up some impressive starts this year. His last four outings saw him combine for two earned runs in 18.2 innings, with a 17:4 K/BB ratio. However, today was his second start of the year where he failed to make it out of the first inning. The stuff is there, but he needs to improve his consistency.
Ke’Bryan Hayes has been out since last Friday when he left early in game two of a double header. He has been out with a hand bruise, and is feeling better now. He expected to be back in the lineup today, but that didn’t happen. He should return soon. Today was a big day for rehab appearances, with Justin Sellers playing at shortstop and Jonathan Schwind playing in right field.
RK: DSL PIRATES
Result: Pirates 8, Rangers 1
Starting Pitcher: Yerry De Los Santos, RHP – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Mikell Granberry, 1B – 3-for-5, 2B, HR
Other Notable Performers:
Raul Hernandez, C – 3-for-4, 3B
Melvin Jimenez, 2B – 3-for-5, 2 2B
Rudy Guzman, CF – 3-for-4, 2 2B, 3B
Game Notes: The DSL Pirates had three-hit games from four different players in an 8-1 win on Tuesday. Mikell Granberry hit his fourth homer of the season and drove in three runs. Rudy Guzman scored two runs and had two doubles and a triple. Melvin Jimenez had two doubles and drove in two runs from the lead-off spot. Catcher Raul Hernandez scored once, drove in a run and collected his first career triple. The rest of the lineup went 1-for-23, with All-Star outfielder Felix Vinicio adding the only other hit, his eighth double of the season. The seven run margin of victory is the third biggest this season for the DSL Pirates, who now have an 18-26 record, with 28 games left in their season.
On the pitching side, starter Yerry De Los Santos threw four shutout innings and put up an 8:0 GO/AO ratio. It’s his first scoreless outing in nine career starts. Reliever Julian Villamar showed the great potential he has on the mound, striking out six over three innings. When Villamar is on, he is a dominating pitcher, but he is rarely on for long. In 26.1 innings this season, he has 25 walks and 35 strikeouts.He throws 94-95 MPH with good downward movement, and complements that fastball with a sharp breaking curve, that sits mid-80’s. – John Dreker
