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, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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3. Josh Bell, 1B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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4. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pirates – In the Majors
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, Altoona – [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 – [insert_php]
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15.Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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16. Chad Kuhl, RHP, Pirates – In the Majors
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, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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26. Adrian Valerio, SS – Bristol – [insert_php]
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27. Adam Frazier, INF/OF, Pirates – In the Majors
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, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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INDIANAPOLIS — Tyler Glasnow has allowed four hits in the last 19 innings that he has pitched.
That sounds dominant. But then you look at the command of the organization’s top prospect in three of the last four outings. That’s the one thing that is keeping him from being promoted.
Glasnow threw just 52 of his 96 pitches for a strike against Gwinnett on Monday. He made it through six innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs, striking out five and walking four.
The problem: Glasnow will definitely get hit more against a major league lineup, compared to what he’s going against in Triple-A. The more concerning part: the amount of walks he’s allowing – 20 in his last 23.2 innings – isn’t going to work with the Pirates.
“The walks you can tell are starting to get to him a little bit,” Indianapolis pitching coach Stan Kyles said. “He’s working hard trying to eliminate him, but when they do come up it’s something he takes hard and takes pride in trying to get better with his control.”
Glasnow said he felt his fastball command wasn’t good against Gwinnett. He evaluated his curveball command as pretty good, while command of his changeup was good early.
“I battled and gave my a team a chance to win,” Glasnow said. “But the control issues were there and I just have to bear down next time.”
Glasnow felt he was more aggressive in his previous start, when he threw seven hitless innings against Gwinnett.
“I was not as aggressive and not going out trying to have that closer mentality.” Glasnow said. “I think today was more — I don’t know — I would just say last time I was more aggressive and not worried about strikes and balls, just really getting after it.”
Kyles wasn’t surprised with Glasnow’s self-evaluation and agreed
“It’s always been the case with young pitchers with big talent — the fastball command is the thing that you need to work on the most,” Kyles said. “He just needs to have the understanding that it’s going to take some time and stop beating himself up too much.”
Glasnow opened the game by striking out Ozzie Albies on a curveball and retiring Jordan Pacheco via groundout. Matt Tuiasosopo singled and Reid Brignac followed with a double that hit the base of the wall in rightfield. Those were the first hits Glasnow had allowed in 13 innings. Rio Ruiz grounded out in the next at-bat to end the inning.
Control became a problem for Glasnow in the second inning. He allowed a leadoff walk to Anthony Recker, but erased that mistake with a 6-4-3 double play. Bell made a nice catch against his body on the throw to first, which was off the bag.
Glasnow followed that with a walk to Matt Lipka, the eighth hitter in the lineup, after being ahead in 1-2 in the count. Glasnow struck out Gwinnett pitcher Manny Banuelos, but the walk to Lipka allowed the Braves to flip their lineup for the following inning.
In the long run, allowing Gwinnett to flip the lineup didn’t matter. Glasnow struck out the side in the third inning. He struck out Ozzie Albies on three pitches, and came back from a 3-0 count against Jordan Pacheco to strike him out with a 95 MPH fastball.
While flipping the lineup didn’t hurt him against Gwinnett, doing so in the major leagues will catch up to him in a hurry.
Glasnow struck out the side in the third inning, and at one point, struck out four consecutive Gwinnett hitters.
After getting the first hitter in the fourth inning to pop out, Glasnow walked two consecutive batters. But he worked around that by getting a popout and groundout.
Glasnow got a much needed quick inning in the fifth, retiring the side on six pitches. He got a popout on two pitches, a groundout on one pitch. Matt Tuiasosopo did hit a deep flyout to centerfielder Adam Meadows.
Matt Tuiasosopo hit a 94 MPH fastball from Glasnow to the left-centerfield gap for a double to open the sixth inning. Reid Brignac later had a deep shot to right-centerfield that Austin Meadows chased down, but the ball hits off his glove as he was on the warning track.
Rio Ruiz hit an RBI groundout. Glasnow threw a wild pitch. That led to Brignac trying to score, but catcher Jacob Stallings tracked down the errant pitch and Glasnow tagged him out at home. The play looked nearly identical to the one in the Pirates’ game on Sunday night when Chad Kuhl tagged out a runner trying to score on a wild pitch.
Glasnow then got Recker to popout to Moroff at second to end the inning, which in turn, ended his outing.
“His stuff is good,” Kyles said. “I don’t care if he’s pitching here or in the big leagues, it’s still good stuff. With the walks, the only thing that is going to come with that is time. He’s a young kid, 22 years old.”
A pair of Indianapolis players — Austin Meadows and Max Moroff — came close to hitting for the cycle.
Meadows had a single, double, and triple in his first three at-bats of the game. He grounded out in the sixth inning and was later replaced in centerfield by Danny Ortiz.
Moroff had a single, double, and homerun, the later being his second in as many days. He’s reached base safely in 24 consecutive games. – Brian Peloza
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Altoona lost 3-2 on Monday, but this game was all about the strong pitching they got from Clay Holmes, especially after a shaky second inning. Holmes allowed a run on two singles and a walk in that second inning, after issuing a walk in the first frame. After retiring the last two batters in the second to limit the damage, he worked four straight clean innings, picking up six strikeouts. Holmes has allowed two runs over 17 innings in his last three starts combined. He also posted an 8:3 GO/AO ratio, but he’s been so good at getting ground balls that his season GO/AO ratio actually went down in this start, leaving him with a 2.80 mark for the year.
The offense had six singles in the game. Erich Weiss was the only player with two hits, while Reese McGuire and Jose Osuna each had a hit and a walk, as well as an RBI. Kevin Newman went 1-for-4 with a run scored. He is hitting .306 with Altoona and has hits in his last six games. Barrett Barnes had a single and he’s now reached base in 11 of his last 12 games.
Miguel Rosario took the loss with two runs over 1.2 innings. He threw 6.1 shutout innings in his first three games after being promoted from Bradenton.
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BRADENTON, Fla. – The Marauders won in a roller coaster game that saw 21 runs scored between the two teams, the lead change hands twice in the final three innings, and a combined 16 runs scored in those frames. In the end, Bradenton finished ahead 11-10.
Buddy Borden got the start tonight, marking his return to the organization after being dealt for Sean Rodriguez prior to the 2015 season. Borden pitched well when you consider he’s been away from the game for a few weeks, and hasn’t been a starter at all this year. He went 3.2 innings, giving up an unearned run on a walk and two hits, with three strikeouts.
“I thought it was good for his first time in two and a half weeks pitching. The first time starting for the season,” Bradenton Manager Michael Ryan said. “He’s come out of the bullpen with the Rays in Double-A. I thought he looked good. He’s always going to compete, that’s the way he is. He takes it very personal when he’s on the mound. He’s a very intense guy on his start day, and that’s exactly what I saw.”
Borden had some serious control issues in Double-A this year, but told me after the game tonight that he got back to the basics, pitching off his fastball, which was sitting 90-93 MPH. Ryan noted that he started getting a feel for his off-speed stuff later in the outing. The plan was for Borden to go 65 pitches, regardless of innings. He reached that in 3.2 innings, not seeing the most efficient outing, and running into problems in the fourth, after three no-hit frames.
The Pirates will keep Borden as a starter going forward, replacing Jose Regalado in the rotation and building him up from this point.
Borden was followed by Sam Street, who pitched 2.1 shutout innings with one hit allowed and three strikeouts. The combined effort had the Marauders leading 4-1 after six innings. However, the bullpen fell apart in the seventh, with Tate Scioneaux giving up five runs and the lead.
The Marauders offense battled back in the bottom of the seventh. Michael Suchy came up with a runner on base and two outs, and did a good job to battle in the count, fouling off several pitches and drawing the count even to 2-2 after laying off a close breaking pitch. He then connected for a homer to left field, his third of the season.
“He’s timing up the fastball,” Ryan said of Suchy’s night, which also saw two other hits, including a double that decided the game. “Had some pitches elevated that he was getting a piece of. [The pitcher] tried to sneak one in, and he timed it up with the four straight heaters he fouled off. Laid off the breaking ball, tried to come in on him, and unbelievable swing. Same thing with the double on the line. It was loud. It was good.”
With the score tied 6-6, the Marauders continued to battle in the eighth inning, breaking out to score five runs, and go up 11-6. Cole Tucker picked up his fourth hit of the game to lead off the inning, and scored on a single by Taylor Gushue to put the Marauders up by one. Jordan Luplow hit a bases loaded double to bring in two more runs, then Suchy lined one down the third base line for a two RBI double that decided the game.
Tucker had a very impressive night, going 4-for-5 at the plate. His stats hadn’t shown it prior to tonight, but he has looked good in Bradenton so far, with a good approach and a lot of tools working.
“He’s a complete player,” Ryan said. “He’s got a good approach at the plate, especially left-handed. He looks really good.”
One area where Tucker struggled tonight was on the field, with a key error in the ninth inning. Fort Myers had the bases loaded with one out and the catcher at the plate. A hard grounder was hit to Tucker, and he charged it, trying to rush a throw to the plate to get the lead runner with a two run lead. Ryan felt that he could have planned it better, going for the double play with a slow runner at the plate.
“Just trying to work on him maybe getting some pre-planning before he makes a decision, like knowing who is at the plate, knowing what kind of runner they are, where you’re going to go with the baseball before it is hit to you. Little things like that, that you sort of have to own up on at this level. He’s right where he needs to be.”
Henry Hirsch was responsible for the damage in the ninth, giving up four runs and bringing the score to within one in his second inning of work. He only got one out in the ninth before the Marauders called on Luis Heredia to close things out and cap off the win. – Tim Williams
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CHARLESTON, WV – There, obviously, are no sure things when it comes to baseball, but the West Virginia Power had to be optimistic coming into tonight’s matchup with the Lexington Legends. Coming into the game, West Virginia was 10-1 against the Legends, and they had Mitch Keller, the staff ace, on the mound.
Things went according to the script when Keller retired six of the first seven batters he faced, and the Power jumped to a two-run lead on a Mitchell Tolman home run and an RBI single by Daniel Arribas.
That’s when the wheels fell off.
Mitch Keller walked two batters in the game, a first for the league leader in WHIP. He allowed three runs on four hits and in a scary moment, took a grounder off the left leg that ended his appearance after just two and two-thirds innings. Luckily, manager Brian Esposito confirmed that Keller does not have any injury as a result of the play.
“He was done,” said Esposito. “That was his last batter. It was just icing on the cake to take one off the leg.”
Tanner Anderson, usually one of the more reliable arms in the Power bullpen, had a similarly dismal outing. By midway through the fourth inning, the Power trailed 10-2. The offensive onslaught continued. Each of the four Power pitchers allowed at least one run, and the Power lost 13-6. – Abigail Miskowiec
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Morgantown continued their slide on Monday, losing for the fifth straight time after winning their first six games of the season. Starter Stephan Meyer gave up four runs over 3.1 innings, allowing four hits and four walks. He was followed by Neil Kozikowski, who only allowed one hit in his 2.2 innings, but it was a two-run homer. Next up was Billy Roth and he overcame some early control issues to throw three shutout innings, with no hits and one walk, striking out four batters.
On the offensive side, they put together just five singles and five walks. They had chances with runners in scoring position, but came up empty with an 0-for-8 in those situations. Will Craig didn’t play and third round pick Stephen Alemais has been nursing an injury the last few games, so it was a lineup filled with late round picks. Hunter Owen had three of the five hits. He also had a walk, reaching base in all four plate appearances. Kevin Krause had a single and two walks, scoring the lone run for Morgantown.
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Bristol moved to 4-1 on the season with another nice offensive outburst in their 8-3 win. They have seen a lot of strong hitting early on, especially from the top prospect on the team. Adrian Valerio went 2-for-4, with his third double and he drove in three runs. He is hitting .450 through five games with a 1.185 OPS. Garrett Brown had a double, a walk, two runs scored and he drove in a pair of runs. Jhoan Herrera had a double, a walk, and scored two runs. Michael de la Cruz had a single, two walks and a run scored.
The Pirates got three shutout innings from 20th round draft pick Adam Oller in his pro debut. He gave up one hit, didn’t walk anyone, and struck out four batters. Matt Eckelman was taken one round after Oller in this year’s draft so naturally Eckelman followed him in this game for his pro debut too. He threw two shutout innings and picked up the win. John Pomeroy allowed two runs in the ninth inning. It was the second appearance for the 13th round pick, who signed for a $100,000 bonus.
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The GCL Pirates lost a late 7-4 lead to the Braves, picking up their first defeat of the season in an 8-7 game. The Braves were winning 4-1 through five innings, putting up a four spot against 18-year-old lefty starter Domingo Robles in the second inning. The Pirates came back with a run in the sixth, then five in the seventh, but reliever Alex Martinez gave two back in the eighth and Oddy Nunez allowed the walk-off single with one out in the ninth to end the game.
Edison Lantigua had a nice game, going 3-for-5 with a double, triple and two RBIs. He also had three hits in the season opener. Henrry Rosario completed the rare hat trick for outfielders. Right before Austin Meadows left Altoona, he had a game with a home run, a stolen base and an outfield assist. That had not happened in years (pre-2013) for any Pirates player in the minors, but it only took about two weeks for Rosario to match his feat. Not trying to take anything away from Rosario, but he is a 23-year-old in the GCL, so it doesn’t quite rank up there with the 21-year-old Meadows doing it in Double-A, but it’s still a very rare occurrence.
Yondry Contreras contributed a double and a walk. Raul Hernandez had a single, walk, RBI and stolen base. Johan De Jesus hit a triple.
Check out the season preview here with information on the top ten prospects, as well as a few other players of interest on the team.
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The DSL Pirates lost 4-3 to the Indians to drop to 7-13 on the season. Sergio Cubilete started and allowed three runs over four inning, though they were all unearned due to a two-out error from Rodolfo Castro. Larry Alcime helped control that inning by throwing a runner out at home plate from right field to end the frame. Reliever Oliver Garcia allowed one run over four innings to take the loss.
Top prospect Kevin Sanchez was hit by three pitches in this game. Only one led to a run. Two top signings who have been struggling each had a single and an RBI. Larry Alcime and Sherten Apostel each drove in their fourth run of the season. Alcime is hitting .068 now, while Apostel has a .179 average. Catcher Gabriel Brito, who returned last week from a Spring Training injury, went 1-for-4 with a double. He caught seven innings in this game, his longest start since returning.
The Pirates loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth with one out. Their late rally was thwarted by two ground outs.
