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.
We’re working on a solution for the PHP stat codes not working in the app.
1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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2. Austin Meadows, CF, Altoona – [insert_php]
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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 – Disabled List
12. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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13. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List
14. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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15.Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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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, Altoona – [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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24. Trevor Williams, RHP, Indianapolis -[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 — Chad Kuhl showed a different side of himself during his outing against Rochester on Tuesday.
But not necessarily for the better. His final line looks OK on paper, but this wasn’t one of Kuhl’s better outings.
“That wasn’t the Chad Kuhl that we know and love,” Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor said. “I think he let some things happen affect him emotionally. As a result, he was not the same guy that we’ve seen.”
Kuhl allowed seven hits and two earned runs in 5.1 innings. He struck out seven and walked nobody, throwing a season-high 101 pitches, 66 for a strike. But he showed some frustration at different moments of the game.
“That took him out of what he does, which is keep the ball out of the middle of the plate,” Treanor said. “He did not do that tonight. It was a carry-over effect.”
Treanor said it’s the first time this season he’s seen that type of reaction out of Kuhl.
“It’s good that we see it and it will be addressed,” Treanor said.
Rochester’s lineup had six lefthanded hitters, and Kuhl entered with an emphasis of throwing his changeup. But he simply said the outing, “wasn’t his best.”
“I really feel like I just had a little bit of my two seam and my slider working tonight,” Kuhl said. “Not so much the changeup. I wish I would have had the changeup with six lefties in the lineup, but couldn’t get a feel for it. … But it was nice to get used to throwing those changeups, see those lefties, and get more comfortable with it.”
Kuhl allowed a bloop single to Rochester leadoff hitter James Beresford to begin the game. The single was more good fortune, finding a soft spot in left field, than a hard hit.
There wasn’t much doubt about the legitimacy of the next batter’s hit. Max Kepler, the Twins’ second-ranked prospect, drilled an RBI double over centerfielder Danny Ortiz’s head.
Two batters and four pitches into the game, Kuhl had a runner at second with no outs, and a 1-0 deficit. But he settled down from that point, striking out the next three batters to get out of the jam.
Kuhl worked out of some difficult situations. In the second inning, he struck out the first two batters. But Wilfredo Tovas hit an infield single that deflected off the glove of an outstretched Kuhl.
Hanson dropped ball at second that appeared would have thrown out Tovar attempting to steal. Tovar then stole third, but Kuhl induced a groundout to end the inning.
The only other run allowed by Kuhl came in the fourth inning when Eddie Rosario hit a no-doubt homer to right field on a pitch up.
One night after being shutout, the Indians found some offensive success against Rochester starting pitcher Jose Berrios, the top-ranked prospect in the Twins’ organization.
And the biggest highlights came from three players that have been struggling recently — Jacob Stallings, Jason Rogers, and Alen Hanson.
But it was Stallings that had the biggest impact, hitting two home runs and collecting seven RBI, which is a team record for games in 20-year-old Victory Field. Stallings entered Tuesday hitting just .156 over the last ten games and had just ten RBI so far this season.
Stallings’ success may be attributed to a lengthy extra hitting session after Monday night’s game. The extra work reportedly lasted multiple hours and Stallings credited hitting coach Butch Wynegar for staying with him to work late.
“Swing path is a big one, trying to stay as short as possible,” said Stallings, who went 4-for-4 and raised his average to .221 and his OPS to .609. “I felt like I did a pretty good job of that tonight. Just getting comfortable because I’ve been struggling lately. … “I just put some good swings on some hittable pitches.”
In the third inning Stallings had a no-doubt home run to left field that landed midway up the outfield lawn. He added another home run to left field in the eighth inning, and a three-run double in the fourth inning.
Rogers hit a line drive home run to left field in the second inning. He also had a single and walked to reach base in each of his first three plate appearances. Rogers entered the game hitting just .175 over his last ten games.
Alen Hanson hit a triple off the wall in right field in the fifth inning. He then scored on a sacrifice fly to shallow left field. Rochester leftfielder Adam Walker had to slide to make the catch and after getting up, his throw bounced twice on the way home, allowing Hanson to easily score with his speed. Hanson entered the game batting .059 in his last ten games. He also added a single earlier in the game.
Curtis Partch pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing one hit and striking out two. – Brian Peloza
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Altoona lost 11-4 to Akron on Tuesday. The offense actually put together a decent game, though they came up empty (0-for-5) with runners in scoring position. The Curve had 12 hits, including five extra-base hits. Harold Ramirez, Austin Meadows, Jose Osuna, Stetson Allie and Barrett Barnes all had two hits apiece.
David Whitehead started and gave up the first six runs over 3.1 innings. He was followed by 2.2 scoreless innings from Edgar Santana. The seventh got ugly, with Jhondaniel Medina allowing five earned runs. The last three runs came after he left with two outs, as Montana DuRapau served up a bases loaded double before getting the final out. Altoona then went to their secret weapon to finish out the game. Outfielder Jon Schwind pitched for the seventh time in his career and for the seventh time he threw shutout ball. In 7.1 innings, he has allowed just four hits for a .160 BAA.
As for that big day on offense, Austin Meadows now has his average up to .283, just 11 days after he was last under the Mendoza Line. He now has a nine game hitting streak, and despite a horrible start to the month, he closed out May with an .851 OPS in 26 games.
Barrett Barnes also showed some nice improvements over a slow April. He had a triple, single and a walk in this game, finishing May with a .765 OPS. Harold Ramirez hit .361 in 101 at-bats in May. Reese McGuire collected his fourth double of the season. He finished May with a .417 OBP in 19 games, which is his highest OBP since he put up a .424 mark in his first month of the GCL in 2013 after signing with the Pirates.
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Bradenton lost 3-1 to Palm Beach on Tuesday, despite some solid pitching by Alex McRae, as he continues a strong season. McRae went six innings in this game, allowing two runs on six hits and no walks. In fact, there wasn’t a single walk in the entire game for either side. He had five strikeouts, a 7:5 GO/AO ratio, and he threw 61 of his 86 pitches for strikes. McRae has a 2.51 ERA through 61 innings this season, with a 1.16 WHIP and a 1.26 GO/AO ratio. He posted a 2.25 ERA in May and had an amazing turn around in his BB/SO numbers. In April, he had an 11:9 BB/SO ratio. That improved to 3:21 in May.
The Marauders had six hits in this game, getting two each from Jerrick Suiter and Elvis Escobar. Suiter finished May with a .316 average after hitting .192 in April. He drove in the only run, scoring Kevin Kramer on a first inning ground out. Kramer’s first inning double (fifth of the season) was the only extra-base hit for Bradenton. Chase Simpson had the only other hit, a single that advanced Kramer to third base after his double, allowing him to score on the Suiter grounder. Cole Tucker went 0-for-4 in his second game since being promoted.
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In his previous three starts, Mitch Keller allowed a total of eight earned runs. That’s not horrible, but it’s nothing compared to the three runs he allowed in his first six starts combined. He looked like the earlier Keller in this game, allowing one run on three hits and one walk in six innings. That run scored on a two-out pop up that fell between Logan Ratledge (an infielder playing outfield) and Alfredo Reyes, and it was a play that should have been made by one of them. He had six strikeouts in the game, giving him the South Atlantic League lead in that category and a 5:64 BB/SO ratio in 57 innings this season. Keller put up a 6:3 GO/AO ratio in this contest. He lowered his ERA to 1.89 and his league-leading 0.75 WHIP coming into the game, dropped a point.
West Virginia won this game 6-1, with solid performances from the top five batters in the lineup. Tito Polo has looked like a breakout player this year and he continued that in this game. He collected his second triple, singled, scored a run and stole his 17th base. Mitchell Tolman had two hits (including his eighth double), two runs, a walk and an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Danny Arribas went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Carlos Munoz had two singles, an RBI and scored a run. Ryan Nagle went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.
