In a few hours, you’ll notice today’s Prospect Watch will be up on the site, which is different from what we have been doing for years. Current subscribers have already noticed the new set-up, with box scores that have live updates. The Altoona Curve play at 12:05 this afternoon and the GCL Pirates also have a game at that time, so the Prospect Watch will be up shortly after both games begin. This allows you to follow along with them as they are going on. Part of the reason is to give people a place to discuss minor league games in progress, or just get thoughts out of their head earlier, instead of waiting for the Prospect Watch to go up around midnight like before.
In yesterday’s Prospect Watch, we had reports from Morgantown and the GCL. Whenever Indianapolis and Altoona are home, there are reports from there as well, and we have now had multiple games covered live for all eight affiliates this year. That includes the DSL team if you missed coverage from Tim Williams’ trip down there in June. The plan is to expand the coverage to include as many live reports as possible. I personally plan to see a lot of teams next year, mostly on the road in various cities across the Northeast.
What you also may have noticed yesterday was the expanded game reports. They have been more detailed since the switch to the new set-up. The reason for the expanded recaps is fairly simple. With the Prospect Watch going up earlier and the box scores automated, it leaves us free to add in notes as the games are in progress. The old system had a lot more setting up involved, but with the box scores, the top 30 prospects and top performers updating on their own, it leaves more time to focus in on the games.
When the Prospect Watch went live last night at 6 PM, the GCL report was already done and it was fairly in depth because it was the only game to recap at the time. I was following along with the start from Gage Hinsz, so once he was out of the game, I posted notes on him. Since I didn’t have to worry about any of the hitters at that time, I was able to focus in on Hinsz and give an extended recap with thoughts. That also happened with Jason Creasy, Yeudy Garcia and Tyler Eppler, with the latter two going up before the game was completed. The better system cut out the set-up time and allowed me to talk about the game while it was still in progress. The Prospect Watch was still completed around midnight due to Bristol going late, but there were a lot more words than usual, over 3,200 in all.
Tyler Glasnow starts tonight on the road and I’ll be following along on the MiLB.tv broadcast with his start, so there should be a fairly large recap of his second Triple-A outing shortly after he is removed from the game. I’ll also probably add in notes after Billy Roth has left the Bristol game, because he is a possible sleeper prospect with high upside if everything falls into place. He’s coming off his best career outing, so we will see if it was the start of him breaking out, or just a glimpse of the potential that he may never reach. Tim will have another live report from Morgantown. Expect the Prospect Watch tonight to be filled with more information than you were used to in the past and that’s all due to the new set-up.
The new Prospect Watch is the best way to follow and discuss the minor league system. However, it is only for subscribers of the site. Fortunately, the subscription is only $2.99 or less, and that pays for this new feature (which was part of a $4,000 site upgrade), and all of our live coverage throughout the year. And since it’s totally Tim writing this sales pitch paragraph of the article, I’ll note that it also helps pay for me to follow all of these games and provide these great daily reports. (Tim typed while weirdly still acting as if John was saying all of this.)
Subscribe today, and for those who have subscribed, we hope you’re enjoying this new feature.
Pirates Game Graph
Source: FanGraphs
Playoff Push
The Pirates trail by 5.5 games in the division to the Cardinals. They have a 3.5 game lead for the top wild card spot.
Indianapolis is 7-3 in their last ten games. They have a 3.5 game lead in the division.
Altoona is 4-6 in their last ten games and they are tied for second place, four games back of Bowie.
Bradenton is 6-4 in their last ten games. They trail Palm Beach by two games in the standings.
West Virginia is 7-3 in their last ten games and they have a five game lead over three different teams in the division.
Morgantown is 4-6 in their last ten games. They trail by five games in the division.
The Bristol Pirates are 6-4 in their last ten games. They are 2.5 games back in the division.
GCL Pirates are 8-2 in their last ten games. They are tied for second place, a half game back in the standings.
Today’s Schedule
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates defeated the Cubs by a 7-5 score on Wednesday night. They have off today before facing the Dodgers over the weekend, starting with a Gerrit Cole/ Clayton Kershaw match-up on Friday night.
In the minors, Tyler Glasnow will make his second start for Indianapolis. He gave up one run over 5.1 innings in his first start, but also allowed a career-high nine hits. Glasnow had one walk and seven strikeouts. On the season in 73.2 innings, he has 95 strikeouts, a .197 BAA, a 1.02 WHIP and an 0.92 GO/AO ratio. Billy Roth gets the start for Bristol today, coming off a career-best seven innings pitched. He allowed just one run and struck out four batters. In his prior outing, he couldn’t get out of the first inning. Altoona has an early afternoon start time today. You can view last night’s prospect watch here.
MLB: Pittsburgh (62-44) vs Dodgers (61-46) 7:05 PM 8/7
Probable starter: Gerrit Cole (2.29 ERA, 29:138 BB/SO, 137.1 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (65-47) @ Durham (53-58) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Tyler Glasnow (1.69 ERA, 1:7 BB/SO, 5.1 IP)
AA: Altoona (58-53) @ New Britain (53-56) 12:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Matt Benedict (6.15 ERA, 12:27 BB/SO, 67.1 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (56-52, 24-14 second half) vs Jupiter (50-60) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Felipe Gonzalez (3.14 ERA, 19:58 BB/SO, 77.1 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (64-44, 27-12 second half) @ Asheville (55-53) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Alex McRae (4.47 ERA, 21:70 BB/SO, 98.2 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (23-22) vs State College (21-23) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: Bret Helton (5.65 ERA, 12:21 BB/SO, 28.2 IP)
Rookie: Bristol (19-21) @ Kingsport (20-22) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: Billy Roth (4.83 ERA, 14:25 BB/SO, 31.2 IP)
GCL: Pirates (22-12) vs Braves (15-21) 12:00 PM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates (21-36) vs Mets2 (34-23) 10:30 AM (season preview)
Highlights
Here is a double from Alen Hanson, his 14th of the year. He is second in the International League in triples with ten.
Recent Transactions
8/6: Rob Scahill assigned to GCL on rehab.
8/5: Indians claim Deolis Guerra off waivers.
8/5: Isaac Sanchez assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab. Stephan Meyer assigned to GCL from Morgantown.
8/4: Dovydas Neverauskas promoted to Bradenton. Robert Stock sent to GCL.
8/4: Jake Burnette activated from disabled list.
8/4: Jonathan Schwind activated from Altoona disabled list. Adam Miller assigned to Altoona.
8/3: Michael Morse added to active roster. Jaff Decker optioned to Indianapolis.
8/2: Shane Kemp sent from Bristol to GCL.
8/2: Josh Smith activated from Altoona disabled list.
8/1: J.A. Happ added to active roster. Bobby LaFromboise sent to Indianapolis.
8/1: Josh Bell and Jeremy Bleich promoted to Indianapolis.
8/1: John Holdzkom placed on disabled list. Hunter Morris sent to Altoona.
7/31: Pirates trade Adrian Sampson to Mariners for J.A. Happ.
7/31: Pirates trade Jose Tabata to Dodgers for Michael Morse and cash.
7/31: A.J. Burnett placed on disabled list. Bobby LaFromboise recalled from Indianapolis.
7/31: Deolis Guerra designated for assignment.
7/31: Dan Gamache promoted to Indianapolis. Erich Weiss promoted to Altoona. Trace Tam Sing promoted to Bradenton.
7/30: Pirates trade JaCoby Jones to Detroit Tigers for Joakim Soria
7/30: Vance Worley designated for assignment.
7/30: Justin Seller traded to Chicago White Sox for a player to be named later, or cash.
7/30: Pirates sent Gorkys Hernandez outright to Indianapolis
7/30: Logan Ratledge promoted to Morgantown. Erik Forgione promoted to West Virginia
7/30: Pirates acquire Joe Blanton for cash considerations.
7/29: Pirates trade Jayson Aquino to Indians for cash considerations.
7/28: Gift Ngoepe placed on disabled list.
7/28: Pirates release Ulises Montilla.
7/28: Brent Morel refuses outright assignment to Indianapolis.
7/28: Miguel Ferreras retires. Mervin Del Rosario promoted to Bristol.
7/27: JaCoby Jones promoted to Altoona. Josh Smith placed on disabled list.
7/27: Steve Lombardozzi sent outright to Indianapolis. Andy Vasquez placed on disabled list.
7/27: Jordan Steranka activated from Bradenton disabled list. Isaac Sanchez placed on disabled list.
7/27: Junior Sosa added to Bradenton roster.
7/27: John Holdzkom activated from Indianapolis disabled list.
7/26: Jonathan Schwind assigned to Bristol on rehab.
7/25: Pirates designate Brent Morel for assignment.
7/25: Justin Sellers sent outright to Indianapolis
7/25: Adam Miller assigned to GCL on rehab
7/24: Robert Stock activated from disabled list.
7/23: Pirates traded Yhonathan Barrios to Milwaukee Brewers for Aramis Ramirez and cash.
7/23: Steve Lombardozzi designated for assignment.
7/23: Wes Freeman released. Andy Otamendi assigned to Bradenton.
7/23: Mervin Del Rosario assigned to GCL Pirates.
This Date in Pirates History
Seven former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, two of them played for World Series winners and one was related to a Hall of Famer. Starting with the most recent first.
Stan Belinda, relief pitcher from 1989 until 1993. No comment
Steve Nicosia, catcher for the 1979 World Series champs. Played with the team from 1978 until 1983, which was when he asked to be traded because he wasn’t getting playing time behind Tony Pena.
Clem Labine, pitcher for the 1960 World Series champs. Labine lasted until 1961 with the team. He had a 1.48 ERA in 30.1 late season innings for the 1960 Pirates.
Bud Hafey, outfielder for the 1935-36 Pirates. His brother Tom played two years in the majors and his cousin Chick Hafey was a Hall of Fame outfielder for the Reds and Cardinals. Bud played 97 games for the Pirates over his two seasons.
Bud Sharpe, 1910 first baseman. After winning the World Series in 1909, the Pirates moved on from first baseman Bill Abstein and had an open competition between Sharpe and John Flynn. They kept both on Opening Day, but Flynn soon took over full-time and Sharpe was traded away at the end of April.
Brownie Foreman, lefty pitcher during the 1895-96 seasons. He had a 3.22 ERA during his first season with the Pirates, which was one of the best years for offense in baseball history, so that ERA was actually much better than it looks. He didn’t last long with Pirates the following year due to poor performance.
Jim McDonald, 1884 utility fielder. Back in 1884, teams didn’t carry many extra players, sometimes only one position player and a couple pitchers. McDonald played five positions that year and hit .159 in 38 games.
