Some random notes and a little minor league playoff talk for your Sunday morning.
**Max Moroff drew two walks on Saturday night, giving him 78 on the season. Mitchell Tolman is second among all Pirates with 58 walks. It’s clear that with so little time left in the season, Moroff will lead the organization in walks this year. He also led all Pirates last year with 70 base on balls. Except last year, he had 150 more plate appearances than he does right now. The leader in 2013 and 2014 was Stetson Allie, who topped out at 77, which was topped by Moroff last night. To find a higher total, you have to go back to 2011 when Robbie Grossman walked 104 times, though he had 154 more plate appearances than Moroff. They actually have the same exact walk rate right now, with Moroff having exactly 75% of Grossman’s walks and plate appearances from 2011.
**Something interesting might occur on Tuesday, depending on how well Frank Duncan does in his outing that night. He is about 5-6 innings short of qualifying for the league ERA title. If he had enough innings right now, he would be second in the league behind Tyler Glasnow. The interesting part would come along if he does put in at least seven innings and pitches well, because by Tuesday, Glasnow won’t have enough innings to qualify. That means your International League ERA leader on Tuesday night could very well be Frank Duncan, who started the year in Extended Spring Training due to an oblique injury, and then once he was healthy, he went to the bullpen in Altoona.
**DSL pitcher Edgardo Leon has been released. He was in his third year in the DSL and struggling in limited time this season. The Pirates signed Leon out of Venezuela in July of 2013. In 62 innings over his three seasons, the 6’3″, right-handed pitcher walked 57 batters and posted a 6.97 ERA. He didn’t throw hard, sitting 87-88 MPH in short relief roles, while focusing most of his time working on fastball command, which never came around.
**Pitcher Evan Piechota has been promoted to Morgantown. He was signed out of independent ball in early July when the GCL Pirates were short on pitchers. As the new high school kids got stretched out and some players returned from injury, Piechota was moved up to Bristol. He threw scoreless ball in his first eight appearances this season, then got knocked around a little in his last two games. In 16.1 innings, he has a 2.76 ERA, with one walk and 14 strikeouts. Fun fact about his debut. It’s listed as June 25th, ten days before he signed, because he pitched during the resumption of a suspended game.
**Speaking of players moving up, I have had a lot of people ask about promotions for players recently and I’ll say that anything is possible, but it’s important to remember that the schedule for all of the teams wraps up in 15 days, with some ending sooner. So anyone who gets promoted now isn’t going to get much time with their new team, especially if it’s a pitcher. I wouldn’t be surprised if some GCL or Bristol players move up to Morgantown soon (meaning prospects), just to put them on a team that has more games left in the season. For GCL players moving up, it gives them a small sample of life on the road, as opposed to no overnight stays in the DSL and GCL.
**Keep in mind when you look at the Playoff Push section that each of the top five affiliates have about 16 games left, while Bristol and the GCL both end on September 1st. We will likely see some of these teams eliminated in a few days, but everyone is safe today. Indianapolis, Bristol and Morgantown are all fading fast, while Altoona has lost three in a row and second place Akron has won seven games in a row. That has pushed them to three games back of the Curve. Altoona still makes the playoffs if they finish second, but Harrisburg is only one game behind Akron. Altoona travels to Harrisburg for three games, starting Monday, so you could say that’s a big series.
PLAYOFF PUSH
The Pirates trail the second wild card spot by two games.
Indianapolis is in second place in their division, trailing by ten games. They trail by 12 games for the lone wild card spot.
Altoona leads their division by three games. The top two teams in the division go to the playoffs, with the first place team getting the home field advantage in the first round.
Bradenton won the first half title. They have home field advantage in the playoffs.
West Virginia is in fifth place in their division, trailing first by five games.
Morgantown is tied for fourth place in their division, trailing first place by 13 games. They are 7.5 games back for the lone wild card spot.
Bristol is in fourth place, trailing by 10.5 games. The top two teams in each division go to the playoffs.
The GCL Pirates are 2.5 games back in their division. This is the only league where you have to win your division to make the playoffs.
The DSL Pirates have been eliminated from the playoffs. Their season ends August 27th.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates lost 3-1 to the Marlins on Saturday night. They now wrap up the series this afternoon with Ryan Vogelsong on the mound. He allowed four runs on nine hits and three walks over 5.2 innings against the Giants in his last start. In his two prior outings combined, he gave up one run over 12 innings. The Marlins will counter with Luis Urena, who has a 6.80 ERA in 42.1 inning, with 30 strikeouts and a 1.58 WHIP. He has made four starts and 16 relief appearances. In his last outing, he went six innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks. Urena pitched an inning of relief against the Pirates in late May and surrendered four runs.
In the minors, Trevor Williams starts for Indianapolis and Tyler Eppler gets the start for Altoona. Eppler allowed one run over three innings on Tuesday in a game that was suspended due to rain. He walked the first batter of the fourth inning, then once the game resumed on Thursday, that runner came around to score. Eppler has a 1.27 WHIP, which ties him for eighth in the Eastern League. Williams faced Louisville (today’s opponent) in his last start, giving up two runs on seven hits over five innings. His ERA would rank him fourth in the International League if he wasn’t approximately eight innings short of having enough to qualify.
Yeudy Garcia is listed as the starter for Bradenton. He is currently on the disabled list (but eligible to come off today) and told me earlier in the week that he didn’t expect to make his Sunday start. So there could be someone else making that start. The GCL and DSL Pirates are off today. Adam Oller is scheduled for Bristol.
MLB: Pittsburgh (62-58) vs Marlins (64-59) 1:35 PM
Probable starter: Ryan Vogelsong (3.20 ERA, 15:28 BB/SO, 39.1 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (64-64) @ Louisville (62-66) 2:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Trevor Williams (2.88 ERA, 31:74 BB/SO, 93.2 IP)
AA: Altoona (68-57) @ New Hampshire (61-65) 1:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Tyler Eppler (3.95 ERA, 26:57 BB/SO, 136.2 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (65-59) @ Charlotte (61-62) 12:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: TBD
Low-A: West Virginia (62-62) @ Kannapolis (54-71) 5:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Logan Sendelbach (3.65 ERA, 15:72 BB/SO, 123.1 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (27-33) @ Batavia (16-42) 4:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: James Marvel (4.96 ERA, 16:33 BB/SO, 49.0 IP)
Rookie: Bristol (22-33) @ Elizabethton (30-25) 6:00 PM (season preview)
GCL: Pirates (20-28) vs Phillies (36-14) 12:00 PM 8/22(season preview)
DSL: Pirates (26-40) vs Mets1 (41-25) 10:30 AM 8/22(season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is the ninth home run of the season from Austin Meadows
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
8/21: Evan Piechota promoted to Morgantown.
8/20: Jung Ho Kang placed on disabled list. Josh Bell recalled from Indianapolis.
8/20: Stephen Alemais promoted to West Virginia. Alfredo Reyes placed on disabled list.
8/20: Ke’Bryan Hayes assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.
8/20: Pirates release Edgardo Leon
8/18: Pirates release Josh Outman.
8/18: Juan Diaz assigned to Bristol.
8/18: Jeremias Portorreal and Gabriel Brito promoted to GCL Pirates.
8/17: Josh Smith assigned to Indianapolis.
8/15: Yeudy Garcia and Chase Simpson placed on disabled list.
8/15: Hector Garcia assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.
8/15: Nick Kingham and Justin Topa assigned to Bradenton.
8/14: Tyler Glasnow assigned to Altoona on rehab.
8/14: Jason Creasy assigned to Altoona.
8/12: Chris Stewart assigned to Altoona on rehab.
8/10: Christian Kelley promoted to Bradenton. Raul Hernandez assigned to West Virginia.
8/10: John Kuchno assigned to Altoona.
8/9: Chad Kuhl promoted to Pirates. Curtis Partch optioned to Indianapolis.
8/9: Erik Lunde retired.
8/9: Kyle Lobstein placed on disabled list. Kelvin Marte activated from disabled list.
8/9: Raul Hernandez assigned to Bradenton.
8/8: Delvin Hiciano assigned to GCL Pirates on rehab.
8/8: Josh Outman assigned to Indianapolis.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Eight former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, including the Major League single-season leader for triples.
Chief Wilson was in his second season in the majors when he played on the 1909 World Series team. He hit .272 that year and played 154 games. By 1911, he hit .300 and drove in 107 runs. The next year, he clubbed 36 triples, setting an MLB record that still stands and hasn’t even been approached since, with 26 being the highest total since then. Wilson stayed around Pittsburgh until 1913 when he was part of the inexcusable Dots Miller trade to the Cardinals. Wilson had a rifle for an arm, picking up 181 assists in his nine-year career.
Jeff Clement, first baseman in 2010 and 2012. Came over from the Mariners in the Jack Wilson/Ian Snell trade.
Jesse Chavez, relief for the 2008-09 Pirates. Came over from the Rangers in a deal for Kip Wells.
Ramon Vazquez, 2009 infielder. Signed a two-year deal, but ended up lasting just one season.
Lou Collier, shortstop for the 1997-98 Pirates. Hit .246 in 110 games during the 1998 season.
Murry Dickson, pitcher from 1949 until 1953. Pirates purchased him from the Cardinals for $125,000. Won 20 games for the 1951 Pirates. Finished 66-85, 3.83 in 137 starts and 91 relief appearances during his five seasons in Pittsburgh, playing mostly for last place teams.
Cobe Jones, shortstop for the 1928-29 Pirates. Played the last game of the 1928 season and 25 games the next year.
Jim Mosolf, outfielder for the 1929-31 Pirates. Batted .462 during September of 1929. Played 40 games during the 1930 season, just six as a starter. Mosolf played even less in 1931, with 39 games total and four starts all season.
