In the last two days, we have looked at the best and worst from the first half for both West Virginia and Bradenton. Naturally, we go to Altoona today and the same rules apply. These might not be the best and worst players, just the ones who either exceeded or fell short of expectations in the first half. This team has a lot of players doing what you expect, so the end of the worst list is a stretch just for symmetry.
BEST
1. Austin Meadows – Expectations were high for Meadows and he somehow exceeded them despite a slow start in his return from a broken orbital bone. If he had a better throwing arm, you would say he does everything above average on the field. The fact that he is now in Triple-A less than two months after his 21st birthday, tells you just how well he did in his brief time with Altoona.
2. Edwin Espinal – Espinal is a case of a young player who keeps getting promoted despite underwhelming results. We have said for years that he is a possible sleeper prospect as a hitter, but the Pirates keep pushing him up a level. Right now it looks like he is finally breaking out after a slow start at the plate in April. He is currently batting .323 this season, which is ten points higher than the league leader. Espinal is about 14 plate appearances short of qualifying for the league leaders, but he is finally in the lineup more consistently, so that won’t be true for long. He’s a big, strong 22-year-old, with a line drive approach, who makes consistent contact. That should lead to more power as well, without sacrificing the average.
3. Frank Duncan – If you expected Altoona’s long reliever, who got a late start due to a Spring Training oblique injury, to have a 3.00 ERA in seven starts for Indianapolis, raise your hand. Your last name is probably Duncan if you thought that could happen. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had a 3.00 ERA as a starter for Altoona, because I talked to him multiple times during last year to get a story about the changes he made mid-season. Those changes led to struggles at first, followed by a nice run late in the year. I would not have believed he could have a 3.00 ERA for Indianapolis at this point. He also has a nice strikeout rate, as well as a 1.05 WHIP and a 2.07 GO/AO ratio.
4. Dovydas Neverauskas – When we got pitch speeds in Spring Training this year, I saw a nine-pitch outing from Neverauskas that had nothing but 95-96 MPH. We also knew he was moving up to Altoona in his last year before minor league free agency, so it seemed like things could get interesting with him. More recently, he has been hitting 97-98 consistently, even touching 99 MPH. He’s also throwing an off-speed pitch with late break at 91-92 MPH. Not only is he throwing harder, but the command has been better. He has thrown it into another gear and that has him with Indianapolis now, making a case for a 40-man roster spot before he reaches minor league free agency.
5. Clay Holmes – Most people would look at the stats and say Holmes should be on the worst list, but that would ignore the progress he made while missing so much time with Tommy John surgery. Holmes hits 96 MPH each game now, when he used to touch 95 MPH. His changeup is much better than pre-injury, and the curve looks like a plus pitch at times. He also gets a ton of ground balls and breaks a lot of bats. At some point, all of those improvements should equal better results and more consistency.
WORST
1.David Whitehead – I’ll admit the expectations weren’t high, though there were some good things said about him at the time the Pirates acquired him. Those things made it seem like he could eventually make the majors as a 5th starter if all went well, or more likely as a middle reliever. Except for some low hit games (five starts with 1-2 hits), he has been awful. Whitehead has issued 47 walks in 46 innings. He also has a .299 BAA and he’s hit nine batters, so there have been a lot of runners on when he’s out there.
2. Barrett Barnes – There is sort of some good with Barnes in that he has been healthy except for a concussion at the end of Spring Training that only cost him a couple games. He just hasn’t performed well and isn’t really showing off any tools that made him a high draft pick. Unless he totally turns things around, you’re talking about someone who will be left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft again and no doubt make it through, with a return trip to Altoona next year. Expectations were definitely higher.
3. Tyler Eppler – Eppler has decent numbers this year and he’s been a workhorse, but there is definitely more to him than what we have seen. He’s the opposite of Holmes, as Eppler’s number look much better than how he has pitched. The thing is, he is 6’6″, with a 92-94 MPH fastball that he throws on a downhill plane and usually has strong command of the pitch. That’s a nice base pitch to work off of, while his slurve can get some decent results and his changeup looks very good at times. Yet he gives up a lot of hard hit balls. Like with the next two players, I expect the second half of his season to go better.
4. Jose Osuna – With Osuna putting up terrific winter league numbers in a league filled with players who are much older and have AAA/MLB experience, I didn’t expect him to be putting up the same numbers he had last year in Altoona. He reaches minor league free agency at the end of the season, so you would like to see him breakout in the second half to make the decision to keep him easier.
5. Harold Ramirez – Ramirez is hitting as well as you could expect from him, but his spot on here is based on his defense looking very poor in center field and his base running looking like it needs a lot of work. He seems to have lost a step, going 3-for-8 in steals and showing average range at best in the outfield. He also gets bad jumps, especially on plays he has to go back on. He has a nice arm, but he can airmail throws from time to time. He basically just needs a lot of playing time for everything else to catch up to his bat.
News and Notes
** The South Atlantic League played their All-Star game on Tuesday night. Mitch Keller got the win, getting two strikeouts and a ground out on 11 pitches in his only inning. Tito Polo split the game between center and left field, going 0-for-4. Ke’Bryan Hayes started at third base and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Danny Arribas went 2-for-3 and played the entire game at first base.
**A couple draft updates of note about 28th round pick Michael Danielak and 34th round pick Craig Dedelow. Danielak agreed to sign last week, then changed his mind so he can return to Dartmouth for his senior year. Dedelow agreed to a deal and was on the roster set for Bristol, but before he signed his deal yesterday, he decided to return to Indiana for his senior year. Danielak wasn’t as last minute, but he too was on the roster scheduled for Bristol. That exact same thing happened with 17th round pick Austin Sodders last year, though he had more college eligibility than either Danielak or Dedelow has left. Sodders was drafted in the seventh round this year by the Tigers, so his decision to return paid off. While you don’t like losing either draft pick, both of them were set for small roles in the Appalachian League, and that’s far from an ideal start for a college player in pro ball. So it’s hard to blame either for not wanting to be a backup outfielder (Dedelow) or a bullpen arm in Rookie ball while they still have college eligibility.
** Just a note on the Playoff Push section just below. Since the first half is over for West Virginia, and Bradenton won their first half division title, that section will disappear for about a month or so starting tomorrow, as no other seasons are close to finishing. Around August 1st we will bring it back and have playoff updates for all eight affiliates (technically seven since Bradenton already won) and the Pirates.
PLAYOFF PUSH
Bradenton won the first half title in their division and will host the playoffs in September.
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 15-4 to the Giants on Tuesday night. They will now send Francisco Liriano to the mound for his 14th start. In his last outing, he allowed four runs on six walks and five hits over 5.2 innings against the Cubs. In his last home start, Liriano gave up one run over six innings versus the Cardinals. The Giants will counter with Jeff Samardzija, who has a 3.14 ERA in 94.2 innings this year, with 75 strikeouts and a 1.11 WHIP. He threw a complete game against the Rays in his last start, surrendering one run.
In the minors, Tyler Glasnow gets the start for Indianapolis. He threw six no-hit innings in his last start. Over his last four outings, he has allowed one run on five hits and 17 walks in 21 innings. Glasnow ranks second in the league in ERA, first in strikeouts and second in walks.
Clay Holmes is coming off a start in which he threw six shutout innings, striking out nine batters. That’s a season high for him. In his career it’s second only to a ten strikeout game back in 2013.
Bradenton has a morning start time. Morgantown hasn’t announced a starter. West Virginia is currently on their All-Star break. They return to action on Thursday.
MLB: Pittsburgh (34-37) vs Giants (45-27) 7:05 PM
Probable starter: Francisco Liriano (5.03 ERA, 46:74 BB/SO, 73.1 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (39-32) @ Gwinnett (32-40) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Tyler Glasnow (1. 75 ERA, 42:92 BB/SO, 77.0 IP)
AA: Altoona (38-31) @ Binghamton (28-40) 6:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Clay Holmes (5.16 ERA, 27:46 BB/SO, 68.0 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (38-29) vs Jupiter (30-37) 10:30 AM (season preview)
Probable starter: Colten Brewer (4.13 ERA, 25:58 BB/SO, 61.0 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (35-34) @ Asheville (34-35) 7:05 PM 6/23 (season preview)
Probable starter: TBD
Short-Season A: Morgantown (5-0) @ Staten Island (5-0) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: (NR)
DSL: Pirates (5-10) vs Cubs1 (7-8) 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
Since Austin Meadows is in a slump, the only highlight Indianapolis put up is this infield single by Alen Hanson (odd choice since he tripled in the same game). This video shows you what speed can do for a team.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
6/21: Pirates recall Wilfredo Boscan. Curtis Partch optioned to Indianapolis.
6/21: Pirates sign Braeden Ogle.
6/20: Trace Tam Sing and Erik Lunde added to Bradenton roster. Pablo Reyes placed on temporary inactive list.
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.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Three former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus one high-scoring game of note from 90 years ago. The players born on this date include 1999 outfielder Brant Brown, pitcher Dave Tomlin (1983 and 1985) and pitcher Gus Thompson of the 1903 National League champs. The Pirates played in the first modern-day World Series that year and Thompson got a chance to pitch the final two innings during a game five blowout. The team was short-handed due to injuries, leaving Thompson as one of the few healthy available pitchers. The two teams agreed to only use players on the roster before September 1st and Thompson made his debut on August 31st. He had a 3.56 ERA in 43 innings with the Pirates.
On this date in 1925, the Pirates defeated the St Louis Cardinals in St Louis by a 24-6 score. It fell three runs short of the team high for runs set back in 1894. The Pirates had two big innings, leaving the score lopsided in their favor. They started off with eight runs in the first, then put a ten spot on the board in the eighth inning. The Pirates hit six homers in the game and George Grantham drove in six runs. You can view the boxscore here.
