The West Virginia Power have changed their roster up for Saturday’s doubleheader, dropping three players, including third round pick Casey Hughston. Here are the moves:
Casey Hughston has been sent to Extended Spring Training. He has been replaced by Logan Hill, who was demoted from Bradenton.
Ty Moore has also been sent to Extended Spring Training. He was replaced by infielder Logan Ratledge.
Reliever Eric Karch has been released. Sean Keselica takes his place in the bullpen.
Hughston is of course the big name here. He was the third round pick of the Pirates last year and he has had an awful time with strikeouts this season. In 129 at-bats, he has a .466 OPS and 51 strikeouts. He was barely any better last year with Morgantown, striking out 71 times in 219 at-bats. He has excellent speed and plays strong defense in center field, but the strikeouts will really have to decrease for him to tap into all of his raw power and reach his peak.
Hill has played well recently, but he is behind a large group of outfielders on the Bradenton roster and not receiving enough playing time, so with both Moore and Hughston leaving, that opens up some consistent playing time for him. No word yet on who will take his spot with Bradenton. It will likely be either Trace Tam Sing or Erik Lunde, as they have been with the Marauders all year as extras.
Moore got off to a slow start with a .195/.256/.260 slash line, but unlike Hughston, he hasn’t had any strikeout issues. He has 11 all year in 77 at-bats. Ratledge has switched between being the 25th and 26th man for the Power all season, seeing limited playing time.
Karch had a 5.74 ERA in 15.2 innings, with 18 strikeouts and a 1.21 WHIP. He turned 24 last October, so he was obviously a long-shot at that age in the back of a Low-A bullpen. Keselica was a 33rd round draft pick last year. The 22-year-old struggled in Morgantown’s bullpen, posting a 4.78 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP, but he also put up a strong 2.36 GO/AO ratio.
