No real direction for the Morning Report today. The trade deadline was extremely hectic, so I just went with notes, and no Miscellaneous isn’t a new international player in the system, sorry if the title confused you.
Tonight is a special day in Indianapolis, assuming Josh Bell is in the lineup. If you missed it from earlier, Bell was promoted to Indianapolis following Friday night’s game. This game also happens to be the AAA debut of Tyler Glasnow. If you’re on Twitter and don’t already follow him, you’re going to want to follow our own Ryan Palencer @RyanPalencer for live coverage during the game and pre/post-game notes.
Austin Meadows ranks fifth in the Florida State League in OPS now and the amazing part is who the players are ahead of him. Every one of them is at least 2 1/2 years older than him, which shows you how impressive his season has been. A lot of people don’t realize how much of a pitcher’s league the FSL is, but the fact that he ranks fifth with his .764 OPS and the people ahead of him are all so much older, should tell you how good Meadows is doing. He also has 17 stolen bases, while the four ahead of him have 15 combined.
The trades of Adrian Sampson for J.A. Happ and Yhonathan Barrios for Aramis Ramirez reminds me that Tim Williams covered the roster crunch the Pirates will have at the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. Both players were candidates for the 40-man roster, with Sampson being a no-brainer and Barrios being a possibility, depending on how he finished the season. He was a fringe player, with a less likely chance to be added due to the sheer number of eligible players, but he was also the perfect candidate to be picked. Someone would give a kid that can hit 99 MPH a look, that’s almost guaranteed.
I thought the line of promotions yesterday was interesting based solely on how many players moved at once, all middle infielders. Dan Gamache going to Indianapolis led to Erich Weiss moving up to Altoona, Trace Tam Sing going to Bradenton, Erik Forgione going to West Virginia and Logan Ratledge going from Bristol to Morgantown. No offense to the others, but Weiss and Gamache are the only ones of note because they are both fringe prospects with a chance to be depth options in the majors some day. Both were also top-end for age at their level, so they not only earned a promoted, it needed to be done to see what you really have with them.
I think I had good timing on the Yeudy Garcia article yesterday, as he threw five no-hit innings last night, making his story book season even more improbable. He has a 2.00 ERA, which ranks him first in the league, and his 1.07 WHIP ranks him second. He moved into ninth place in strikeouts, though it should be noted that he is 26th in innings pitched, so there is a big difference there that makes his strikeout total look even better.
Some notes on home runs from players in the system. Stetson Allie is the only current player with double-digit homers now that JaCoby Jones is gone. Logan Hill has more homers(five) than all of his Morgantown teammates combined(four), even with Kevin Newman hitting his second pro homer last night. Connor Joe only took 13 months and three weeks after being drafted to hit his first pro homer last night. Bristol is fifth in their league in homers, the highest team spot in the system, with Bradenton ranking sixth and the others all in the bottom half of their league.
Pirates Game Graph
Source: FanGraphs
Playoff Push
The Pirates trail by 5.5 games in the division to the Cardinals. They have a four game lead for the top wild card spot.
Indianapolis is 4-6 in their last ten games. They have a two game lead in the division.
Altoona is 5-5 in their last ten games and they are in second place, four games back of Bowie.
Bradenton is 7-3 in their last ten games. They trail Palm Beach by one game in the standings.
West Virginia is 7-3 in their last ten games and they have a four game lead in the division.
Morgantown is 7-3 in their last ten games. They trail by five games in the division.
GCL Pirates are 6-4 in their last ten games. They are tied for second, a 1/2 game back in the division.
Today’s Schedule
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates defeated the Reds by a 5-4 score on Friday night. They now send Gerrit Cole to the mound. He has had trouble against Cincinnati this year, allowing 11 earned runs over 14.2 innings in three starts. His mound opponent will be Raisel Iglesias, who has a 5.53 ERA in 40.2 innings. He has never faced the Pirates.
In the minors, it’s the Tyler Glasnow show headed to Indianapolis for his AAA debut. Just to go over the Altoona numbers real quick. He had a 2.43 ERA in 63 innings, with 82 strikeouts. Glasnow had a .182 BAA and an 0.95 WHIP. Basically, he was very Tyler Glasnow-like. He averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game in his last six starts. Chad Kuhl finished July with an 0.61 ERA in 29.2 innings. The GCL Pirates will finish a suspended game today before playing their regularly scheduled contest. All of the scheduled starters from Pirates down to Bristol are top ten draft picks. You can view last night’s prospect watch here.
MLB: Pittsburgh (60-42) @ Reds (46-55) 7:10 PM
Probable starter: Gerrit Cole (2.24 ERA, 28:130 BB/SO, 132.1 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (61-46) vs Charlotte (59-49) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Tyler Glasnow (NR)
AA: Altoona (57-50) vs Akron (55-52) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Chad Kuhl (2.61 ERA, 34:81 BB/SO, 117.1 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (54-50, 22-12 second half) @ Tampa (50-55) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Cody Dickson (4.01 ERA, 39:74 BB/SO, 103.1 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (61-42, 24-10 second half) vs Lakewood (52-50) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Alex McRae (4.71 ERA, 21:68 BB/SO, 93.2 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (21-19) @ Connecticut (18-20) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: Bret Helton (4.61 ERA, 11:21 BB/SO, 27.1 IP)
Rookie: Bristol (16-19) vs Danville (17-19) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: Neil Kozikowski (5.96 ERA, 6:16 BB/SO, 22.2 IP)
GCL: Pirates (19-11) vs Yankees2 (12-19) 10:00 AM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates (21-32) vs Marlins (18-35) 10:30 AM (season preview)
Highlights
Here is a homer from Alen Hanson, hit during Thursday’s game. It was his sixth of the year.
Recent Transactions
8/1: Josh Bell and Jeremy Bleich promoted to Indianapolis.
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: John Holdzkom assigned to Morgantown on rehab.
7/23: Hunter Morris activated from Indianapolis disabled list.
7/23: Wes Freeman released. Andy Otamendi assigned to Bradenton.
7/23: Mervin Del Rosario assigned to GCL Pirates.
7/22: Pirates purchase contract of Pedro Florimon. Wilfredo Boscan optioned to Indianapolis. Jayson Aquino designated for assignment.
7/22: Barrett Barnes promoted to Altoona. Andy Vasquez promoted to Indianapolis.
7/22: Gorkys Hernandez assigned to Indianapolis on rehab.
7/21: Jonathan Schwind and Andrew Lambo assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.
7/21: Harold Ramirez activated from temporary inactive list. Robert Stock placed on disabled list.
7/20: Jordy Mercer placed on disabled list. Pirates recall Brent Morel. Corey Hart transferred to 60-day DL.
7/20: Tito Polo activated from temporary inactive list. Jeff Roy promoted to Bradenton.
7/20: Kelson Brown activated from Indianapolis disabled list.
7/19: Junior Lopez assigned to Bradenton. Oderman Rocha assigned to GCL Pirates.
7/19: Pirates place Gorkys Hernandez on DL. Wilfredo Boscan recalled.
This Date in Pirates History
Four former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus a former manager. We start with the skipper of the 2005 club at the end of the season, Pete Mackanin. He took over for Lloyd McClendon and led the Pirates to a 12-14 record during his short stay.
As for the players, we have Freddy Garcia, who played all four corner spots for the Pirates, seeing time during the 1995 season, then again from 1997 until 1999.
Milt May, catcher who had two stints for the Pirates from 1970-73 and then again during the 1983-84 seasons. The Pirates traded him for pitcher Jerry Reuss after the 1973 season. His dad Pinky May played five years in the majors for the Phillies.
Pep Rambert, pitcher for the 1939-40 team. Pitched just five Major League games, all for the Pirates. Spent 15 seasons in pro ball, taking time out in the middle to serve in the military during WWII.
Roy Sanders, 1918 Pirates. There have been two players in Major League history named Roy Sanders and both pitched in 1918, and both were 6’0″ right-handers. The one for the Pirates had a 2.60 ERA over 156 innings in 1918, his only full season in the majors. He held out for more money after the season and instead ended up playing semi-pro ball near his home, never returning to pro ball.
