The West Virginia Power reached the halfway mark on Sunday, finishing the first half with a 35-34 record. They had one game canceled because they couldn’t make up a rain out during the first half. The Power finished 7.5 games behind first place Hagerstown. Thursday will begin the second half and the records will reset, so they have another chance to make the playoffs. Since they are at the midpoint, I figured I’d take a lot at the top five best and worst stories for the first half.
This list isn’t just based on performance. It’s based partially on expectations from players and whether they lived up to their prospect status or not. Starting with the five best stories:
BEST
1. Tito Polo – Considering that we named his the top breakout prospect (for a second time), it says a lot that Polo is first on this list. He is exceeding expectations, which were fairly high to begin with. Polo is showing off all five tools, with 12 homers, 20 stolen bases, a .919 OPS and strong defense in center field. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him get promoted before the month is through.
2. Mitch Keller – As one of the youngest pitchers in the league and a player who saw only 19.2 innings of work last year, you shouldn’t expect Keller to be first in the SAL in WHIP and sixth in both ERA and strikeouts. That’s where he’s at though, and he added a tick to his already impressive velocity. After 16 walks last year in those 19.2 innings, he has seven this season in 67 innings. He hasn’t been as sharp lately, but no one should have expected him to maintain his early season pace.
3. Gage Hinsz – After a so-so showing at Bristol last year, it looked like Hinsz was slated for Morgantown this season. Then during Spring Training, he showed improved velocity and command, as well as a curveball that looked like a plus pitch at times. That got him to the Power in time to make four starts during the first half. In his last outing (prior to Sunday’s game) he struck out a career-high nine batters.
4. Tanner Anderson – Anderson has been a dominating reliever for West Virginia and when they had to use him as a starter last Monday, he threw six shutout innings. His stuff isn’t overwhelming, but the way he attacks the strike zone and his 2.92 GO/AO ratio makes him a bit more interesting than your normal Low-A reliever. He has some of the best pitch counts you’ll see in the minors, once going five innings in under 40 pitches.
5. Cole Tucker – He didn’t do anything special during his brief stay in West Virginia, but just the fact he was there in early May was a great sign. Tucker’s original return time from labrum surgery had him coming back close to July, but he beat that by two months, and now he’s in Bradenton.
WORST
1. Casey Hughston – A third round draft pick out of college shouldn’t struggle the way Hughston has in pro ball. He also shouldn’t get sent back to Extended Spring Training during the season. Hughston is hitting .172/.245/.269 with 57 strikeouts in 145 at-bats.
2. Dario Agrazal – You could make a case for Agrazal switching with Munoz here, but I’m going with Agrazal, because his reports out of Spring Training were very strong and he has excellent command to get with a low-90s fastball and a hard/late-breaking curve. A pitcher with his stuff should be breezing through Low-A, but he’s not. In fact, he’s struggling with a 5.20 ERA and a .319 BAA.
3. Carlos Munoz – Munoz put up great stats last year with Bristol, then played winter ball in Mexico and held his own against much older competition. Unfortunately, he now has a .679 OPS, and as a painfully slow runner with average at best defense at first base, all of his value is in his bat. Munoz is a streaky hitter, but the problem is that he usually starts strong and finishes really bad. He can’t afford to have his normal second half drop-off this year.
4. Logan Hill/Ty Moore – Both outfielders got demoted due to poor hitting this year, Hill down to West Virginia and Moore is now at Morgantown. When asked, both players mentioned starting off slow and not getting consistent at-bats, which led to them pressing a bit. Hill is now seeing regular playing time and it’s only getting worse. Moore is getting his chance a level lower, batting second in the lineup and the early returns look poor on paper, but he’s been hitting the ball well according to reports.
5. Billy Roth – I almost put JT Brubaker here because he has had some very poor fastball command this season, but he also got promoted to Bradenton and left as the strikeout leader in the SAL. So I’m going with Roth, who did well enough in Extended Spring Training to get a push to West Virginia, but he had no control once he got there. He walked 20 batters in 17.1 innings. That led to him being demoted to Morgantown when their season began. Roth can hit 96 MPH, and mixes it with two nice off-speed pitches. If he doesn’t have command though, then he won’t make it far. The fact that he’s relieving as well, doesn’t help.
PLAYOFF PUSH
Bradenton is 5-5 in their last ten games. They are in first place in their division, two games ahead. The first half of the FSL season ends on June 22nd. Their magic number is one.
West Virginia has been eliminated from the first half pennant race. The second half begins on June 23rd.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates lost 10-5 on Sunday night to the Cubs. They now travel home to take on the Giants for four games. Jeff Locke gets the start against Madison Bumgarner tonight. Locke has allowed 18 runs on 20 hits over his last two starts, throwing a total of 8.2 innings. Bumgarner has a 1.91 ERA in 94 innings, with 107 strikeouts and a 1.03 WHIP. He has gone at least six innings in each of his last 11 starts.
In the minors, Chad Kuhl gets the start for Indianapolis, trying to break a recent slide. He has allowed four earned runs in each of his last three games and hasn’t gone six innings in any of his last four games. He is seventh in the International League in ERA and tenth in WHIP. Morgantown will likely be Steven Brault making his first rehab start, coming back from a hamstring injury that caused him to leave his last start for Indianapolis on May 8th. Stephen Tarpley has been named the starter for Bradenton.
Altoona has off today. West Virginia is currently on their All-Star break. They return to action on Thursday.
MLB: Pittsburgh (33-36) vs Giants (44-26) 7:05 PM
Probable starter: Jeff Locke (5.92 ERA, 28:40 BB/SO, 76.0 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (38-31) @ Gwinnett (31-39) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Chad Kuhl (2.54 ERA, 16:56 BB/SO, 71.0 IP)
AA: Altoona (37-31) @ Binghamton (28-39) 6:35 PM 6/21 (season preview)
Probable starter: Alex McRae (18.41 ERA, 6:6 BB/SO, 7.1 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (36-29) vs Jupiter (30-35) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Stephen Tarpley (4.36 ERA, 10:30 BB/SO, 33.0 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (35-34) @ Asheville (34-35) 7:05 PM 6/23 (season preview)
Probable starter: TBD
Short-Season A: Morgantown (3-0) vs Batavia (0-3) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: Stephen Brault (NR)
DSL: Pirates (4-9) vs Yankees1 (7-6) 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here are two highlights from Indianapolis, Austin Meadows’ first Triple-A triple…
Josh Bell’s tenth home run of the season.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
6/19: Steven Brault sent to Morgantown on a rehab assignment.
6/19: Pirates purchase the contract of Jacob Stallings. Jason Rogers optioned to Indianapolis.
6/19: Tomas Morales promoted to Indianapolis.
6/18: Pirates option Rob Scahill to Indianapolis. Recall Jason Rogers, Jorge Rondon and Curtis Partch.
6/18: Cory Luebke designated for assignment.
6/18: Juan Nicasio placed on restricted list.
6/17: Pirates released Garrett Russini and Guido Knudson.
6/17: Pirates sign Matt Frawley, Stephen Owen and Arden Pabst.
6/16: Pirates sign 13 draft picks.
6/16: Casey Hughston and Logan Sendelbach assigned to West Virginia. Julio Vivas and Billy Roth assigned to Morgantown.
6/15: Pirates sign Will Craig, Matt Anderson and nine other draft picks.
6/15: Pirates release Nick Buckner.
6/15: Trey Haley sent outright to Indianapolis.
6/15: Dovydas Neverauskas promoted to Indianapolis. John Kuchno placed on disabled list.
6/14: Pirates place Gerrit Cole on the disabled list. Recall Jameson Taillon.
6/14: Kevin Newman and Wyatt Mathisen activated from disabled list. Trace Tam Sing assigned to GCL Pirates.
6/14: Miguel Rosario promoted to Altoona.
6/14: Pirates release Robert Zarate.
6/13: Sam Street activated from Temporary Inactive List. JT Brubaker assigned to GCL Pirates.
6/11: Pirates acquire Erik Kratz from Angels for cash considerations. Trey Haley designated for assignment.
6/11: Clay Holmes added to Altoona roster. David Whitehead placed on disabled list.
6/11: Pirates place Francisco Cervelli on disabled list.
6/11: Pirates option Kyle Lobstein and Cole Figueroa to Indianapolis. recall Rob Scahill and Arquimedes Caminero.
6/10: Mitch Keller added to West Virginia roster. Logan Sendelbach assigned to GCL Pirates.
6/10: Alex McRae promoted to Altoona.
6/9: Pirates option Jameson Taillon to Indianapolis. Kyle Lobstein recalled from Indianapolis.
6/9: Frank Duncan promoted to Indianapolis.
6/8: Pirates recall Jameson Taillon. Curtis Partch optioned to Indianapolis.
6/8: JT Brubaker promoted to Bradenton. Julio Vivas added to West Virginia roster.
6/6: Clay Holmes assigned to Extended Spring Training. David Whitehead added to Altoona roster.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Five former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus a trade of note. Starting with the 1918 trade that sent pitcher Elmer Jacobs to the Phillies for pitcher Erskine Mayer. The deal looked good short-term for the Pirates, but they ended up putting Mayer on waivers in 1919 and he ended the season with the Chicago White Sox, who were the infamous Black Sox team that threw the World Series. Jacobs lasted in the majors eight years longer than Mayer, though he didn’t do much for the Phillies.
Players born on this date include utility fielder Rob Mackowiak (2001-05), outfielder Gary Varsho (1991-92, 1994), infielder Clem Koshorek (1952-53), pitcher Ed Warner (1912) and pitcher Bill Clemensen, who pitched for the Pirates in 1939, 1941 and 1946. He never left the Pirates for another team, instead he spent the 1940 season in the minors and 1942-45 serving in the military during WWII. You can find mini bios for all of these players in the link above.
Also including in the link above is a recap of two extra-inning wins over the Cubs on this date in 1983. Those games were the beginning of a nine-game win streak by the Pirates. You can find those boxscores here: Game One Game Two
