The GCL rotation this week is providing a little excitement for the future. Nick Kingham is now scheduled to pitch his final game in the GCL on Saturday, going five innings for the second time. He got a little break since his last start on Monday last week, but now the current plan is to go this Saturday and then next stop is Bradenton.
With Kingham going on Saturday, that makes for a very interesting week in the GCL. On Monday, Miguel Hernandez started. He is someone you should know, mostly from us talking about him. He’s a 6’5″, righty, who has thrown shutout ball in five of his seven starts. He has some control issues here and there, but he also has a fastball that sits 91-94, and when he is on his game he is very difficult to hit.
On Tuesday, second round pick Travis MacGregor got the start. He was followed by Jacob Taylor making his return from Tommy John surgery. He was the fourth round pick last year. Taylor was considered a little raw, but he was sitting 93-94 with his fastball in junior college and could hit 97 on occasion. Unfortunately, he lasted just one game before being shutdown last year and didn’t pitch until yesterday.
While Taylor didn’t have good results in his limited outing, he was sitting 94-95 with his fastball and even hit 96 MPH. Basically, in his first game back, he was throwing harder on average than before he got hurt. That’s very impressive because the velocity usually isn’t 100% when a player first comes back, so we could see even more in the near future from Taylor. The Pirates saw increased velocity from Eduardo Vera (2-3 MPH) in his first game back from Tommy John surgery last month. He had a minor setback, but he’s back to throwing bullpens.
So that’s three strong pitchers so far this week, and the next three days we will see Braeden Ogle today, Max Kranick tomorrow, and then Kingham. There is also word that over-slot signing Austin Shields pitched live batting practice on Tuesday and that’s usually the step right before getting into games. Even without him, you have Ogle and Kranick, who were both highly rated high school arms signed by the Pirates in this draft.
From Monday until Saturday (the GCL is off every Sunday) you have an intriguing arm starting every single day. That doesn’t count Shields, or Domingo Robles and Brian Sousa, two strong prospects from the Dominican League, who both pitched in relief on Wednesday. Both of them are 18 years old, with upside and projectable frames. It’s quite an impressive group of young arms, and one top prospect about to move up a few levels.
** It was learned yesterday that Steve Nagy passed away last week. He was a left-handed pitcher for the 1947 Pirates. At age 97, he was also the oldest living former Pirates player. Nagy was a 27-year-old rookie when he made his debut for the Pirates on April 20, 1947. You can see the boxscore for the game here. He pitched 1.2 innings in relief and allowed one run. He made his only start in the next to last game of the season, going eight innings in an 3-1 loss to the Cardinals. Nagy appeared in a total of six games for the Pirates and had a 5.79 ERA. He would make his next (and only other) big league appearance with the 1950 Washington Senators. On April 28th that season, he pitched a complete game victory over the Yankees and broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with an inside-the-park home run.
Nagy went to Seton Hall University, then began his pro career in 1942, going 11-6, 2.16 in 121 minor league innings. From 1943 until 1945, he served in the military during WWII. He won 121 minor league games and played pro ball until 1958. With his passing, Wally Westlake becomes the oldest living former Pirates player. He is 95 years old (born 11/8/1920) and he was also a rookie on that 1947 team. Westlake played for the Pirates from 1947 until 1951.
PLAYOFF PUSH
Indianapolis is in second place in their division, trailing by four games. They trail by 11.5 games for the lone wild card spot.
Altoona leads their division by a 1/2 game. 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 sixth place in their division, trailing first by five games.
Morgantown is in fourth place in their division, trailing first place by 11 games. They are seven games back for the lone wild card spot.
Bristol is in fourth place, trailing by six games. The top two teams in each division go to the playoffs.
The GCL Pirates lead their division by two games. This is the only league where you have to win your division to make the playoffs.
The DSL Pirates trail their division by 17.5 games. They trail in the wild card by 16 games.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates lost 8-4 to the Braves on Wednesday night. Ryan Vogelsong gets the start today, his first game back since his eye injury on May 23rd. He pitched four rehab games, two with Indianapolis and two with Altoona. Between those games, he had a 2.86 ERA in 22 innings, with an 0.91 WHIP and only eight strikeouts. He threw seven innings last time out, which was eight days ago. The Braves will counter with Tyrell Jenkins, who has a 4.91 ERA in 29.1 innings, with 15 strikeouts and a 1.77 WHIP. He threw six shutout innings in his last start, allowing four hits and four runs against the Phillies.
In the minors, Indianapolis starter Steven Brault returns from the Pirates, where he threw six innings in a loss to the Brewers on Friday. In his last two starts for Indianapolis prior to that game, he threw 12 shutout innings, allowing three hits and six walks, with 16 strikeouts. Tyler Eppler goes for Altoona. He has thrown six innings or more in 15 of his 20 starts. He ranks seventh in innings pitched in the Eastern League, though he could be as high as second after tonight’s game.
MLB: Pittsburgh (53-52) @ Braves (38-69) 7:10 PM
Probable starter: Ryan Vogelsong (3.74 ERA, 10:16 BB/SO, 21.2 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (57-55) @ Columbus (61-51) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Steven Brault (2.15 ERA, 22:66 BB/SO, 50.1 IP)
AA: Altoona (60-49) vs Richmond (45-63) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Tyler Eppler (3.95 ERA, 25:80 BB/SO, 120.2 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (56-51) vs Ft Myers (54-54) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Buddy Borden (8.06 ERA, 13:15 BB/SO, 25.2 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (53-55) @ Delmarva (58-50) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Bret Helton (4.50 ERA, 41:70 BB/SO, 104.0 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (20-25) vs Mahoning Valley (20-24) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: Stephan Meyer (6.20 ERA, 13:24 BB/SO, 40.2 IP)
Rookie: Bristol (16-23) @ Greeneville (22-18) 7:00 PM (season preview)
GCL: Pirates (16-19) vs Blue Jays (28-6) 12:00 PM (season preview)
DSL: Pirates (19-32) vs Rangers1 (36-14) 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is the first pro home run from Kevin Mahala, the 18th round pick in this year’s draft.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
8/3: Chris Harvey promoted to Indianapolis. Trey Haley sent to Altoona.
8/3: Elvis Escobar promoted to Altoona. Justin Maffei assigned to Bradenton.
8/3: Erik Lunde assigned to Bradenton. Jose Regalado activated from disabled list.
8/2: Wilfredo Boscan placed on disabled list.
8/2: Tomas Morales assigned to Altoona. Chris Diaz activated from temporary inactive list.
8/1: Pirates trade Francisco Liriano, Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez for Drew Hutchison.
8/1: Pirates acquire Ivan Nova from New York Yankees for players to be named later.
8/1: Pirates trade Jon Niese to New York Mets for Antonio Bastardo and cash.
8/1: Blake Cederlind placed on disabled list. Evan Piechota assigned to Bristol.
8/1: Edgar Santana promoted to Indianapolis.
7/31: Pirates recall Max Moroff. Steven Brault optioned to Indianapolis.
7/31: Erik Lunde assigned to GCL Pirates.
7/30: Pirates trade Mark Melancon to Washington Nationals for Taylor Hearn and Felipe Rivero.
7/29: Pirates recall Steven Brault. A.J. Schugel optioned to Indianapolis.
7/29: Austin Meadows assigned to Morgantown on rehab
7/29: Jin-De Jhang sent to Altoona. Tomas Morales assigned to Bradenton.
7/28: Frank Duncan activated from disabled list.
7/26: Eric Fryer reinstated from paternity list. Elias Diaz optioned to Indianapolis.
7/25: Ke’Bryan Hayes placed on the disabled list.
7/24: Tyler Glasnow placed on disabled list. A.J. Schugel recalled.
7/23: Tyler Glasnow recalled. A.J. Schugel optioned to Indianapolis.
7/23: Eric Fryer placed on paternity list. Elias Diaz recalled.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Eight former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus an unfortunate transaction of note. On this date in 1917, the Pirates put first baseman George Kelly on waivers, losing him to the Giants. He did not do well for the Pittsburgh, but the Pirates weren’t good back then, so they would have been better off holding onto Kelly. By 1920, he led the league in RBIs and averaged over 100 per season from 1920-25. He also lead the league again in 1924. During that streak, the Giants played in four straight World Series. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973.
Former players born on this date include:
Steve Bieser, 1998 outfielder.
Ruben Rodriguez, caught two games in both the 1986 and 1988 season, his only Major League experience. Pirates signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 1981.
Bill Schuster, shortstop for the 1937 Pirates. Made his debut as pinch-runner during a late season call-up, then played both games of a doubleheader at shortstop during his brief time with Pirates. Those were his only three games with the team.
Homer Blankenship, 1928 pitcher. Had a 5.82 ERA in 21.2 innings for Pirates. Pitched with his older brother Ted on the 1922 White Sox.
Cliff Lee, catching during the 1919-20 seasons. Pirates put him on waivers prior to the 1921 season and he ended up hitting .322 with 17 homers for the Phillies that year.
Paddy O’Connor, catcher for the 1909 champs. He played for the team from 1908-10, backing up George Gibson.
Lew Moren, pitcher for the 1903-04 teams. Late season call-up for 1903 World Series team, did not pitch in series.
Jake Beckley, Hall of Fame first base, played for team in 1888-89, then again from 1891 until 1896. For the Pirates, he was a .300 hitter in 950 games, driving in 664 runs and scoring 701 times. He is fourth all-time in triples. You can read a full bio for Beckley here.
