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 – DNP
2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List
3. Austin Meadows, CF, Bradenton – 2-for-4
4. Josh Bell, 1B, Altoona – DNP
5. Reese McGuire, C, Bradenton – 0-for-3
6. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List
7. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – 1-for-5, RBI
8. Cole Tucker, SS, West Virginia – 2-for-6
9. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – 0-for-1
10. Mitch Keller, RHP, Bristol – DNP
11. Harold Ramirez, OF, Bradenton – Pan-Am Tournament
12. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
13. JaCoby Jones, SS, Bradenton – 0-for-4
14. Adrian Sampson, RHP, Indianapolis – 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
15. Trey Supak, RHP, Bristol – DNP
16. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bristol – DNP
17. Barrett Barnes, OF, Bradenton – 2-for-4
18. Clay Holmes, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
19. Cody Dickson, LHP, Bradenton – DNP
20. Willy Garcia, OF, Indianapolis – 1-for-4
21. John Holdzkom, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List
22. Jordan Luplow, 3B, West Virginia – 2-for-3, 2 2B, BB
23. Connor Joe, 1B, West Virginia – 2-for-4, 2 RBI
24. Wyatt Mathisen, 3B, Bradenton – 1-for-3
25. Casey Sadler, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List
26. Steven Brault, LHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Tito Polo, OF, West Virginia – Pan-Am Tournament
28. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
29. Luis Heredia, RHP, Bradenton – 5.0 IP, 8 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
30. Taylor Gushue, C, West Virginia – 1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, 2 R
DAILY SUMMARY
Top Pitcher: Adrian Sampson, RHP – 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Logan Hill, RF – 2-for-6, HR, 4 RBI
Home Runs: John Bowker (3), Logan Hill (2), Elvis Escobar (2)
AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
Result: Indianapolis 4, Louisville 0
Starting Pitcher: Adrian Sampson, RHP – 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: John Bowker, 1B – 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
Other Notable Performers:
Tony Sanchez, C – 1-for-4
Willy Garcia, CF – 1-for-4
Game Notes: Adrian Sampson has been in a rough stretch recently, giving up 15 earned runs on 24 hits in 17.1 innings over his previous three starts. Two starts before that, he allowed eight earned runs on 12 hits in his worst career outing. With a 4.15 ERA, he was losing his grip on the top spot in case the Pirates needed a full-time starter to step in to the rotation. Sampson may have turned things around on Thursday, although he will need to continue in the right direction before he’s really considered back on track. He threw seven shutout innings and had a 10:4 GO/AO ratio in the game, which still leaves him under 1.00 in that department for the season.
John Bowker provided most of the offense, hitting a two-run homer in the fifth inning after scoring a run earlier in the game. Corey Hart played the entire game at first base and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. He is 4-for-22, with two homers and nine strikeouts in six games.
AA: ALTOONA CURVE
Altoona was rained out on Thursday. They will make the game up as part of a doubleheader on July 21st.
A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Result: Palm Beach 10, Bradenton 1
Starting Pitcher: Luis Heredia, RHP – 5.0 IP, 8 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
Top Hitter: Austin Meadows, CF – 2-for-4
Other Notable Performers:
Barrett Barnes, LF – 2-for-4
Erich Weiss, 2B – 1-for-3
Game Notes: Luis Heredia gave up three runs in the first inning, then things got worse from there. When the dust settled, he had allowed a career-high nine earned runs. Heredia now has a 5.89 ERA in 11 starts this season and he has picked up just 22 strikeouts in 47.1 innings. Isaac Sanchez followed Heredia and threw three shutout innings.
As bad as the starting pitcher was in this game, the starting lineup wasn’t any better. They had a total of six hits(all singles) in the game and only three chances with runners in scoring position. Austin Meadows and Barrett Barnes both had two hits. Meadows also picked up an outfield assist. He is hitting .375 in his last ten games.
A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER
Result: West Virginia 11, Greensboro 2
Starting Pitcher: Yeudy Garcia, RHP – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Trace Tam Sing, 2B – 1-for-5, 3B, 4 RBI
Other Notable Performers:
Michael Suchy, RF – 1-for-4, 3B, 3 RBI
Elvis Escobar, CF – 1-for-4, 3 R, HR, RBI, BB
Jordan Luplow, DH – 2-for-3, 2 2B, 2 R, BB
Game Notes: West Virginia held a 2-1 lead going into the seventh inning, then broke it open, scoring in each of the last three frames, nine runs total. Starter Yeudy Garcia allowed one run over five innings, lowering his ERA to 2.31 through 70 innings. He’s been very consistent, posting a 2.32 ERA in his last ten games. Jared Lakind joined the Power today to replace injured Jake Burnette and he threw a scoreless inning in his debut.
Cole Tucker, Connor Joe and Jordan Luplow each had two hits, while Trace Tam Sing drove in four runs and Michael Suchy had three RBIs, giving him 41 on the season. Tam Sing has driven in 17 runs this year in just 21 games. Elvis Escobar hit his second homer of the season. He scored three runs in the game. Luplow had two doubles, giving him 20 this year.
A: WEST VIRGINIA BLACK BEARS
Result: Morgantown 12, Lowell 3
Starting Pitcher: JT Brubaker, RHP – 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Logan Hill, RF – 2-for-6, HR, 4 RBI
Other Notable Performers:
Kevin Newman, SS – 0-for-5, R, RBI, BB
Alexis Bastardo, LF – 4-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB
Danny Arribas, C – 3-for-5, RBI, 2 R
Mitchell Tolman, 3B – 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
Game Notes: Morgantown got strong starting pitching from JT Brubaker and the bats had a field day in their 12-3 win over Lowell. Brubaker allowed one unearned run over five innings, giving up just one hit. Coming into the game, he had allowed ten earned runs over 11.2 innings in his first three starts. He also had a .353 BAA coming into the day, but somewhat surprisingly, he issued his first walk of the season in this game.
The big hit of the game was a grand slam by Logan Hill in the second inning. Toolsy outfielder Alexis Bastardo had a big day at the plate, collecting four hits and walking once. He hasn’t seen much playing time despite his potential, with most of the time going to draft picks from this year. One of those drafted players seeing full-time action in the outfield is third round pick Casey Hughston, who had a single in this game, but he still has an .075 batting average. First round pick Kevin Newman went 0-for-5 in this game, dropping his average below the .200 mark. On the other side of the spectrum, Danny Arribas had three hits and he now has a .339 average.
RK: BRISTOL PIRATES
Result: Bristol 7, Burlington 4
Starting Pitcher: Neil Kozikowski, RHP – 4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Carlos Munoz, 1B – 2-for-2, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Other Notable Performers:
Sandy Santos, DH – 1-for-3, BB, 3 R
Julio de la Cruz, 3B – 2-for-3, 2 RBI
Game Recap: With four straight rainouts for Bristol last week, Neil Kozikowski ended up pitching in relief instead of making his regular start. Thursday was his first start since June 28th and he had a terrific outing, throwing four shutout innings. Kozikowski allowed 15 hits and five earned runs over nine innings in his first two starts, plus the short relief outing. Carlos Munoz reached base in all four plate appearances, picking up two hits, including his seventh double. Julio de la Cruz had two hits and drove in two runs. Sandy Santos scored three runs and stole his fourth base of the young season.
RK: GCL PIRATES
Result: Blue Jays 4, Pirates 3
Starting Pitcher: Luis Escobar, RHP – 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Michael De La Cruz, CF – 2-for-5, RBI
Other Notable Performers:
Sam Kennelly, 1B – 1-for-3, RBI
Adrian Valerio, SS – 1-for-4, 2B, BB
Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B – 1-for-3, R
Game Notes: After playing 20 innings total yesterday, the Pirates had to call on two position players to pitch on Thursday and it ended up costing them the game. This was the third straight solid outing for Luis Escobar, the 19-year-old flamethrower from Colombia. His last two games were the same, one hit over five shutout innings, so this one wasn’t as good, but still looks decent on paper for a pitcher working with a limited pitch count of 75 pitches or five innings, whichever comes first. The bad side to his one run over 4.2 innings performance, is that he hit three batters, plus he only recorded three outs on ground balls. So it was an overall solid outing, but obviously not his best.
Ke’Bryan Hayes continued his on-base streak, which covers all ten games he has played. He had a single and a walk, giving him a .395/.500/.526 slash line over 38 at-bats. Michael de la Cruz had two hits, continuing to look good after a tough season last year. He already has more hits than last year and his .299/.356/.403 slash line is a strong improvement. Adrian Valerio has an .823 OPS through 16 games.
RK: DSL PIRATES
Box Score(not uploaded yet)
Result: Pirates 4, Marlins 2
Starting Pitcher: Argenis Romano, RHP – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Mikell Granberry, 1B – 1-for-3, 2B, BB, SB
Other Notable Performers:
Jeremias Portorreal, RF – 0-for-3, RBI, BB
Eddy Vizcaino, LF – 0-for-1, RBI, 2 BB
Yondry Contreras, CF – 1-for-3, R
Game Recap: The Pirates got great pitching from Argenis Romano in his first career start, as he threw five shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk. Romano had a 5.87 ERA coming into the game, seeing all his time previous in long relief. He has looked good in some outings, but also got hit hard in others. He is a 20-year-old righty, who signed shortly before the season started, after the Pirates liked what they saw during an extended tryout.
The Pirates had just four hits, but made the most of their chances, capitalizing on six walks. Mikell Granberry hit a double, walked and stole a base. Jeremias Portorreal drew his 14th walk in the last 12 games. Shortstop Melvin Jimenez scored two runs from the lead-off spot.
