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 the 2016 prospect guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.
1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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2. Austin Meadows, CF, Altoona – Disabled List
3. Josh Bell, 1B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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4. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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5. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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6. Harold Ramirez, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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7. Reese McGuire, C, Altoona -[insert_php]
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8. Elias Diaz, C, Pirates – Disabled List.
9. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List
10. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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11. Kevin Newman, SS, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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12. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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13. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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14. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Bradenton – Extended Spring Training
15.Cole Tucker, SS, West Virginia – Disabled List
16. Chad Kuhl, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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17. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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18. Mitch Keller, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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19. Clay Holmes, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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20. Willy Garcia, OF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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21. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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22. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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23. Barrett Barnes, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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25. Gage Hinsz, RHP, – Extended Spring Training
26. Adrian Valerio, SS, – Extended Spring Training
27. Adam Frazier, INF/OF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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28. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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29. Jordan Luplow, OF/3B, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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30. JT Brubaker, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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Indianapolis went back-and-forth with Columbus on Sunday, finally losing 8-7 in 11 innings. Steven Brault started the game and had the same issues as his first game, running up his pitch count and getting pulled before he could go five full innings. Brault went 4.2 frames on Sunday and allowed just two runs, but he was at 82 pitches (51 for strikes) when he left with two runners on base. Jhondaniel Medina came on and stranded those runners, limiting the damage for Brault. In his first start, Brault left after four innings and gave up just two runs. He wasn’t doing bad on Sunday, he just couldn’t put batters away. Brault allowed five hits and a walk, while striking out two batters. The one big hit was a first inning homer.
The top of the Indianapolis order came up big in this game. Alen Hanson, Gift Ngoepe, Josh Bell and Jason Rogers combined for four RBIs and five runs scored on ten hits and two walks. Hanson tripled to start off the bottom of the 11th. After an Ngoepe strikeout, Josh Bell ripped a line drive down the third base line right into the glove of the third baseman, who was just steps away from the bag for the final out, doubling off Hanson, who had no chance to get back. Hanson had three hits, a walk and two stolen bases.
Max Moroff hit his first homer of the season in the seventh inning. It was a two-run shot with two outs and gave the Indians a 6-5 lead that quickly disappeared. The bottom of the order came up empty in this game, going 0-for-15, with three of them being replaced for pinch-hitters in the tenth inning. With two outs in the tenth, pinch-hitter Adam Frazier hit a routine grounder that went though the shortstop’s legs and Frazier ended up at second base due to nice hustle out of the box. Dan Gamache pinch-hit and brought him home with a single to tie the score.
Trey Haley has looked good at times with Indianapolis, sitting 96-97 with his fastball, but he was not on in this game, allowing runs in the tenth and 11th for the loss. All five pitchers for Indianapolis allowed at least one run.
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Altoona won 5-3 on Sunday, thanks to four runs in the top of the ninth inning. Erich Weiss had the big hit, a bases loaded triple with two outs. David Whitehead made his second start and put up good results with one-hit ball over five shutout innings. Three relievers followed, with Brett McKinney picking up the win and Montana DuRapau getting the save.
As mentioned, Whitehead had good results, but from a scouting standpoint, this was an ugly outing. He issued four walks and had four strikeouts. Of his 79 pitches, just 40 went for strikes. He also hit a batter and threw two wild pitches. Whitehead was all over the place in this game and there were some very hard hit outs. He was having a lot of trouble throwing his off-speed pitches and Reese McGuire got a workout behind the plate. After watching the outing, it definitely didn’t feel like he pitched one-hit ball over five shutout innings.
Altoona had nine hits and four walks in this game. Both Stetson Allie and Reese McGuire had two hits. Allie raised his average to .303 through 34 at-bats. Jose Osuna hit his third double of the year and Eric Wood added his first homer, a solo shot in the seventh. Barrett Barnes went 1-for-4, collecting his second hit of the season.
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BRADENTON – The Marauders benefited from some strong pitching today, getting a combined shutout from Alex McRae and Edgar Santana to win 1-0. McRae got the start, going five innings, and working through a few jams in the process. He worked up a high pitch count in the fourth inning, and the Marauders had a reliever warming up with runners at first and second. However, he got out of the jam by inducing a groundout to Kevin Newman to end the frame.
McRae was sitting 90-91 MPH with his sinker today. I’ve seen him higher than that in the past, ticking up to the 92-93 MPH range, although today’s range isn’t out of the norm. He’s usually a ground ball pitcher, working heavily off his sinker, but had more fly outs than ground outs today, and looked to be elevating the ball a bit at times.
Santana came on in the sixth inning and took over for the rest of the game, giving an over-worked Bradenton bullpen a break. It helped that Santana was so efficient, needing just 40 pitches to get through his four innings. He has averaged about ten pitches per inning so far this season through 11 shutout innings. He works low in the zone with a 94-96 MPH fastball, getting a lot of ground ball outs in the process, with a 7:2 GO/AO ratio today.
I talked with an NL scout after the game who really liked him, and wondered why he wasn’t starting. Despite the long appearance and early success, there are no current plans to stretch Santana out or use him in a piggyback role.
One thing that helped the pitching staff today was strong play from Kevin Newman and Kevin Kramer up the middle. Newman did have an error where he set up well, but tried to throw the ball before he fielded it. The combo did turn a double play in the seventh inning, erasing a base runner that Santana put on.
Kramer also made a great play in the eighth inning, helping to erase a lead-off double. He ranged far to his right on a hard grounder, and made a diving stop and a perfect turn and throw to first. The runner from second aggressively rounded third, figuring Kramer wouldn’t get the ball. Chase Simpson made a quick throw over to third, and Connor Joe was covering the bag, making the tag for the second out, rather than having the tying run at third with one out.
“Kramer played unbelievable,” Bradenton manager Michael Ryan said after the game. “He’s been playing a really good second base. He takes control in the infield. He lets everyone know where they need to be. He’s very prepared. He was prepared to make that play. He’s a good player.”
Kramer and Newman also produced on offense, combining to go 5-for-6 with a walk and a double. The lone run today came from Jeff Roy, who scored when Kramer broke up a double play ball hit by Connor Joe. The opposing shortstop was slow to feed to the second baseman, making it a close play. Kramer slid right into the bag, clipping the guy at second, and preventing the throw to first for the final out, which allowed Roy to score. It’s likely that Joe would have been safe, due to the slow feed, but Kramer’s slide removed any doubt. – Tim Williams
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CHARLESTON-On a hot Sunday afternoon, the series finale between the Lexington Legends and the West Virginia Power heated up quickly. Both teams plated a run in the first inning, which ended with a controversial out call that brought protestations from manager Brian Esposito. To start the second, starter JT Brubaker looked uncharacteristically frazzled, hitting the first batter before settling in to retire the side.
Brubaker looked far from dominant in his third start, sprinkling a career-high eight hits over five innings. He struggled to control his breaking ball at times, and his fastball had considerably less mustard on it than it has in previous starts. “I got away from the game plan,” said Brubaker after the game. “I didn’t let my off-speed play off my fastball.” Still, he managed to hold the league’s top-scoring offense to three runs and earn his first win on the season.
The tale of the tape here is not so much the Power’s offense as the Legends’ lack of defense. Over the four-game series, the Legends committed thirteen errors. To the Power’s credit, they took full advantage of those miscues. Twice today Power runners advanced to third when the Legends catcher flung the ball into centerfield; both of those runners scored.
Reliever Seth McGarry entered the game with a 4-3 lead in the sixth and quickly worked a perfect 1-2-3 inning. The Power extended their lead in the bottom of the frame, when Ryan Nagle hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a looper to shallow right by Alfredo Reyes. McGarry returned in the seventh, during which he gave up one run.
Julio Eusebio took the mound in the eighth with the Power up 5-4. After getting a groundout to short to start the inning, he issued back-to-back walks. A chat with pitching coach Matt Ford got things back on track, and the inning ended quickly with a double play. Eusebio threw a much less eventful ninth as he retired the side in order to earn his second save of the season. –Abigail Miskowiec
