A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors and loses his prospect eligibility, 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 mid-season update, 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, Pirates -[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. Kevin Newman, SS, Altoona – [insert_php]
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5. Mitch Keller, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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6. Reese McGuire, C, Altoona -[insert_php]
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7. Nick Kingham, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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8.Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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9. Chad Kuhl, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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10. Will Craig, 3B, Morgantown – [insert_php]
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11. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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12. Harold Ramirez, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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13. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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14. Elias Diaz, C, Pirates – [insert_php]
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15. Clay Holmes, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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16. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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17. Gage Hinsz, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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18. Trevor Williams, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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19. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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20. Tito Polo, OF, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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21. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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22. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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23. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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24. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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25. Adrian Valerio, SS – Bristol – [insert_php]
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26. Braeden Ogle, LHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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27. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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28. Travis MacGregor, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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29. Max Kranick, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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30. Frank Duncan, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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INDIANAPOLIS — Chad Kuhl walked off the field in the first inning and everything seemed normal.
But then Justin Masterson got up to warm up in the bullpen. And when Masterson entered the game in relief after Kuhl pitched just that one inning, it was clear something was not right.
Kuhl left the game with “right triceps discomfort,” according to Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor. Kuhl was not made available for interviews following the game and the team does not have an open clubhouse.
Treanor said he did not know what the next step for Kuhl is, as far as if he would be medically evaluated in Indianapolis or with the Pirates.
The injury came just a few hours after top prospect Tyler Glasnow left the Pirates game with right shoulder discomfort. Treanor also refused to evaluate Steven Brault or Trevor Williams as potential “next-in-line” candidates if Glasnow and Kuhl are out for an extended amount of time.
No mound visits were made in the first inning to check on Kuhl’s physical health, but he was apparently checked out by trainers once he made it into the dugout.
Charlotte second baseman Carlos Sanchez’s bunt single was an awkward looking play, but there’s no indication that necessarily caused Kuhl’s discomfort. Kuhl fielded the bunt and made a quick throw to first, but did so off-balanced and the throw was well away from first baseman Josh Bell.
“We asked and he didn’t feel anything on that play,” Treanor said. “He didn’t really feel anything on a pitch. It was just when he got into the dugout. I’m not going to let him go back out there.”
Kuhl was making his first start with Indianapolis since June 20 after making four starts with the Pirates.
As for the game itself, Kuhl worked around a first and third jam in his lone inning on the mound. Sanchez reached second base on Kuhl’s throwing error. Jason Coats singled to centerfield on a 93 MPH fastball that should have scored Sanchez, but he was held at third. The throw from centerfielder Pedro Florimon, who was playing his third game at the position this season, was way off target and would have allowed Sanchez to easily score.
That turned out to be a bad mistake, as the next hitter — catcher Kevan Smith — hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Kuhl struck out Charlotte leadoff hitter Adam Engel on a 1-2 slider.
As for parts of the game not involving Kuhl’s arm: Jose Osuna continued to do what he does against Charlotte: hit home runs. His three-run home run to right field in the eighth inning put the Indians ahead 5-2. That’s his third home run in three games — hitting one to left-centerfield, centerfield, and rightfield.
Josh Bell reached on an error and Jason Rogers singled to set up Osuna’s home run on Saturday. Willy Garcia had an RBI double in the seventh inning, while the Indians scored a run on a Charlotte throwing error.
Masterson pitched four innings, allowing one run on five hits. Curtis Parth pitched one inning, but walked three consecutive batters to load the bases. But he got out of the inning when shortstop Gift Ngoepe made an impressive diving catch of a line drive on the right side of second base. – Brian Peloza
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Altoona won 10-5, scoring runs in five consecutive innings for the victory over Akron. Brandon Waddell started this game and if you looked at just part of his pitching line, it looked like a really solid start. He allowed one run over six innings, with five strikeouts and a 9:2 GO/AO ratio. That’s the good part. The bad part was the constant trouble he was in all game due to erratic control, with six hits, five walks and one hit batter. Waddell didn’t have a single inning without a base runner and Akron put on at least two runners in four of his innings. He lowered his Double-A ERA to 4.20 in 75 innings, but he now has a 1.59 WHIP.
The offense put up 15 hits, with five of them going for extra bases. Kevin Newman had four hits, scored twice and drove in two runs. He now has a .350 average in 30 games for Altoona. Harold Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a double and a triple. He now has a .318 average this season. Barrett Barnes extended his on base streak to 17 games with two hits. Erich Weiss and Eric Wood each had two hits. Stetson Allie hit a double, walked twice and scored twice.
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Bradenton had their doubleheader rained out on Saturday. They will try to play a doubleheader tomorrow.
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West Virginia lost 10-0 on Saturday to Rome, as starter Bret Helton gave up eight runs and the Power bats couldn’t get anything going. Helton lasted just 2.2 innings, throwing 78 pitches before being removed. Eight runs is the most Helton has surrendered in a game during his brief career, while 2.2 innings is his second shortest start this season. Reliever Yunior Montero put forth a nice effort with one run over 4.1 innings, striking out six batters. It was already too late though, especially since West Virginia didn’t pick up their first hit until there were two outs in the seventh inning.
Logan Hill tripled in this game after picking up two triples yesterday. He also tripled earlier this week after not picking up any triples in his first 65 games of the season. West Virginia got back-to-back singles from Ryan Nagle and Tyler Filliben to start the eighth inning, but a double play erased the scoring opportunity. Casey Hughston went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, giving him 94 strikeouts in 254 at-bats this season.
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MORGANTOWN, WV – The Black Bears pounded out 16 hits in a 12-3 win over Connecticut. The winners teed off on every pitcher they saw, scoring against five different hurlers. Hunter Owen and Sandy Santos each went 4-for-5, and Chris Harvey added two doubles and two walks in five plate appearances. Owen was especially impressive, hitting the ball on the nose all five times up; the one out was a liner to short.
Owen gave the Bears a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in the first with a two-run HR, his fifth HR on the year. He also had a double and finished the game with five RBIs. That gives him 22 in just 25 games. Third round draft pick Stephen Alemais also had a good day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a line out and a hit batsman. Alemais had only one tough play in the field and wasn’t able to make it, letting a hard one-hopper tick off his glove for a single. Even on routine plays, though, he shows great athleticism and balance, throwing on the run with ease.
Starter Luis Escobar has been shaky much of the season so far. He got good results tonight without showing strong command. He threw only 39 of 70 pitches for strikes and had a lot of two- and three-ball counts in his five innings. Still, he managed to make pitches when he needed to and walked only one. Escobar had little trouble until the fifth, after a lengthy rest generated by a time-consuming, five-run inning for the Bears in the bottom of the fourth.
Escobar walked the lead-off hitter and later cost himself a chance to end the inning when he threw wildly to second on a double-play grounder back to the mound. That later led to two runs, one of them unearned. He escaped further damage, though, ending the inning with his second strikeout Cole Bauml, the opposing #3 hitter who came in hitting .323. Escobar frequently mixed a curve and change in with his fastball, throwing both effectively to left-handed hitters. In fact, he threw the change often to lefties, something pitchers at this level don’t always have the confidence to do. Escobar finished with four hits allowed and four strikeouts.
Scooter Hightower and Luis Paula finished with two innings each. Hightower benefited from a line-drive double play after allowing a lead-off single in his first inning, but got three of his last four outs on strikeouts. He had some success with fastballs upstairs. Paula allowed a run in the ninth. – Wilbur Miller
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Bristol won 4-1 on Saturday behind a strong start from fifth round pick Blake Cederlind. Making his sixth pro start, Cederlind went five innings for the first time and he didn’t allow a run. He gave up four hits (all singles) and issued one walk, while striking out four batters. He was followed by David Whitehead, who allowed one run on three hits and three walks in three innings. Nick Hutchings got the save, though not before making it interesting. He loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth before striking out the final two batters.
The offense seemed to do a lot better than the boxscore would indicate with only four runs. The Pirates had 17 base runners in this game and they also came up with five hits with runners in scoring position, yet they managed just four runs. Three of those 17 runners were erased on two caught stealing and a pick-off, while another was removed on a double play. They also had just one extra-base hit, a double by Huascar Fuentes.
Jhoan Herrera led the way with three hits and a run scored. Fuentes, Brent Gibbs, Michael de la Cruz and Julio de la Cruz each had two hits in the game. Alexis Bastardo had a single, two walks, a run scored and an RBI. Bristol had at least one base runner in every inning except the fifth.
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The GCL Pirates used a six run sixth to beat the Yankees West by a 6-2 score on Saturday. Fourth round pick Braeden Ogle made his second pro start and fired two shutout innings, allowing a single and striking out three batters. He hit the lead-off batter of the game, then worked around that by getting two strikeouts and a ground out. In the second, he got a grounder to shortstop and a fly ball to right field for two quick outs. After a line drive single to center field, he ended the inning with his third strikeout. Ogle also threw two shutout innings in his debut last Saturday.
Ogle was working mostly fastballs, which is what we saw from second round pick Travis MacGregor as he was building up his innings. Not until his fourth start did MacGregor really start mixing his pitches, which is what we will see from Ogle as he continues to get stretched out.
“I think that the reason I’m throwing mostly fastballs is because I just got back into game pitching,” Ogle said. “So as I move forward I should be able to start mixing it up more.”
The fastball was successful in this game, especially for his strikeouts. He credits his control with the swing and misses today.
“All of my strikeouts were on fastballs. I was locating well. Got a guy with an elevated fastball and the others were in the bottom of the zone,” Ogle said.
He was scheduled to go three innings, but there were a couple of long at-bats that ran up his pitch count and ended his day early.
This game was scoreless through seven innings. In the eighth, the Yankees West got an unearned run off Chris McDonald in the top of the inning. In the bottom of the inning, the Pirates broke out for six runs.
Paul Brands started it off with a single, followed by Mikell Granberry, who reached on a bunt single while attempting to sacrifice Brands to second base. Andrew Walker walked to load the bases. Victor Ngoepe then reached on an error, getting the Pirates on the board and moving everyone up one base. A walk to Yondry Contreras scored Granberry and gave the Pirates the lead. A single by Felix Vinicio brought home one run, then Edison Lantigua brought home a pair with a single. The final run scored on a sacrifice fly by Johan De Jesus.
The Yankees West picked up one more run in the ninth, which was also unearned. That gave the win to Chris McDonald. The Pirates got shutout innings from Mister Luciano, Julian Villamar, Claudio Scotti, as well as Justin Topa and Jose Regalado, who are both on rehab.
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The DSL Pirates had a rare big game on offense, as well as some strong pitching, in their 7-1 win over Rangers1. The Pirates put together 15 hits, with their 2-4 hitters each collecting three hits apiece. Cristopher Perez continued his solid sophomore season with three singles, two runs scored and an RBI. He is hitting .308 this year in 30 games and now has more hits than he did last year in 52 more at-bats. Ramy Perez also had three singles and drove in a run.
The best sign was Sherten Apostel collecting two singles and a double for his first career three-hit game. The high-priced signing from Curacao had a .170 average coming into the day and he only had two games in which he picked up a pair of hits. Apostel scored twice and had an RBI.
Starter Yeudry Manzanillo hasn’t pitched well in his rookie season, posting a 7.08 ERA through nine starts. The 17-year-old righty was the highest bonus ($150K) pitcher for the Pirates during the 2015-16 July 2nd signing class. He allowed just one run over five inning in this game, with a 7:3 GO/AO ratio. He did have some issues with eight base runners and a wild pitch, but he did a good job of limiting the damage to just one run against a very strong team.
