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. Nick Kingham, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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7.Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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8. Chad Kuhl, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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9. Will Craig, 3B, Morgantown – [insert_php]
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10. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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11. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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12. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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13. Clay Holmes, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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14. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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15. Gage Hinsz, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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16. Trevor Williams, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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17. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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18. Tito Polo, OF, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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19. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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20. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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21. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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22. Max Moroff, 2B, Pirates -[insert_php]
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23. Taylor Hearn, LHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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24. Adrian Valerio, SS – Bristol – [insert_php]
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25. Braeden Ogle, LHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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26. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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27. Travis MacGregor, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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28. Max Kranick, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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29. Frank Duncan, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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30. Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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Drew Hutchison made his debut with Indianapolis on Wednesday night and he gave up a two-run homer to the third batter he faced. He still ended up going seven innings in the 5-4 victory. Hutchison started with a long fly ball to left field for the first out. The next batter doubled off the right field wall, then that was followed by the home run. Over the last 6.2 innings, he gave up just two more hits, both singles.
In the fifth inning, Hutchison had some trouble finding the strike zone, which wasn’t the case the rest of the game. He walked the bases loaded, then gave up a single and a sacrifice fly for two more runs on his stat line. He retired the side in order in the third, fourth, sixth and seventh innings, while also working around a single in the second inning. It was a strange outing because he breezed through most of the game after a slow start, then had that loss of control in the fifth, before getting it back and finishing strong.
Hutchison threw 99 pitches, with 60 going for strikes. He posted a 5:4 GO/AO ratio and he struck out five batters. He was leaving pitches up early, but he also got a lot of chases just up out of the zone. He did an excellent job of hitting the outside on the plate with his fastball. He seemed uncomfortable on the mound, but more like it was a uniform related issue. I’ll have to see if he is the same way next game (if that’s just how he is generally), or it may have been because it was a hot, muggy night. Not sure, since I have nothing else to go on, just noticed A LOT of adjusting with the uniform top.
Indianapolis won this game in 11 innings, as Alen Hanson doubled and then scored on a Jason Rogers single for the winning run. The rest of the damage was done early in the game by Jose Osuna, who homered his first two times up, driving in four runs. His six homers with Indianapolis matches his total with Altoona in 38 fewer games. Gift Ngoepe had three hits, Hanson and Josh Bell had two apiece. Everyone in the Indianapolis lineup had at least one hit. Dovydas Neverauskas threw two shutout innings for the win.
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ALTOONA, PA – Brandon Waddell dominated in his first two innings of work tonight, throwing strikes and working all around the zone. He was commanding his fastball extremely well, and he was able to work his changeup and slider into the mix to keep Richmond batters at bay. After the first two innings, Waddell struggled more with his command and left more fastballs up in the zone; however, the players behind him put forth a strong defensive effort to limit Richmond to only one run in Waddell’s seven innings of work.
He induced 11 ground balls to eight fly balls tonight. He had a 1-2-3 first inning and worked around a couple seeing-eye grounders in the second before striking out the side in the inning. The third and and fifth innings were different for Waddell, as Richmond loaded the bases in both innings. In the third, Waddell got a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning, after Chris Diaz made a nice scoop on a hard hit ball to his left. In the fifth, Waddell loaded the bases with no outs, and Eric Wood was able to start a 5-4-3 double play to help clean up the bases before Waddell got a pop out for the third out. Richmond scored their lone run in the fifth inning.
Waddell got the final out in both the sixth and seventh innings via strikeout, finishing strong at the end of his outing. Overall, he threw 60 strikes on 97 pitches.
“The stuff was as crisp as it’s been in a long time,” Justin Meccage said. “He minimized damage well to be able to get out of jams.”
Meccage noted that his slider was impress late in the start. He also noted that Waddell used his changeup behind in the count to get the ground ball with the bases loaded in the fifth inning.
“I’ve been feeling really good for a stretch of about six starts or so,” Waddell said after the game. “I’ve just been trying to throw strikes and attack guys.”
Waddell only walked three batters in his seven innings of work compared to five in both of his last starts (both six innings).
Miguel Rosario faced the minimum over his two innings of relief, looking extremely difficult to pick up from a deceptive arm slot. Working into extra innings, John Kuchno worked three more innings of relief and allowed a walk and triple in the 11th inning; however, he worked around the one out triple to retire the next two batters of the inning. He induced three straight ground outs in the 12th inning, and he picked up the win.
Elvis Escobar singled twice for the Curve, including in his first at-bat at the Double-A level. He tried to extend a single into a double in the 10th inning, but he was thrown at at second base from the right fielder. Jin-De Jhang also had two hits, with one of those being a bunt single (seriously), and a walk.
Edwin Espinal hit a walk-off home run to left field in the bottom of the 12th inning with the score tied 1-1 to give the Curve the win over Richmond. With the win, Altoona maintains their lead in the Eastern League Western Standings. – Sean McCool
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Bradenton won 9-5 on Wednesday night, putting up multiple runs in three different innings. Stephen Tarpley started and has some issues early, though the game was delayed due to rain in the second inning. He seemed to do a lot better once they resumed play. In six innings, he allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk. He had six strikeouts and a 6:2 GO/AO ratio. After the rain delay, he pitched four innings and allowed one run on two singles and a sacrifice fly.
The offense put up 14 hits, with Cole Tucker and Chase Simpson each collecting three hits. Tito Polo, Taylor Gushue and Michael Suchy each had two hits. Suchy drove in three runs, while both Polo and Tucker knocked in a pair of runs. Tucker has now collected three hits in three consecutive games. He had no hits on July 29th, but the three games before that were all two-hit games, giving him 15 hits in his last seven games. Connor Joe had a single, walk and scored three runs. Surprisingly, the 3-5 hitters in the lineup, consisting of Kevin Kramer, Jerrick Suiter and Jordan Luplow, combined to go 0-for-13 on the night.
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West Virginia went down 3-0 in the second and that’s all that Hagerstown would need in their 7-1 win. The Power sent Logan Sendelbach to the mound and he had a rough start to his night, giving up a run in the first and two more in the second on a home run. He managed to end his day with three scoreless frames. Sendelbach allowed eight hits, one walk, and he struck out six, while posting a 5:1 GO/AO ratio. He threw 57 of his 90 pitches for strikes. He now has a 3.58 ERA in 21 starts.
The offense had nine hits on the night. The problem is that they didn’t do anything with runners on, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, resulting in them leaving seven runners stranded. They also failed to draw any walks. Logan Hill, Jordan George and Alfredo Reyes each picked up a pair of hits. Reyes stole his 24th base of the season. Hill hit his 12th double for the Power. He put up a .991 OPS in July and has started this month by going 5-for-12 in three games.
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MORGANTOWN, WV – Luis Escobar was originally scheduled to start tonight, with Matt Anderson pitching in relief. The Black Bears switched the order, with a storm looking like it could hit around the second or third inning, and not wanting to cut Escobar’s outing short. Anderson started and pitched two innings, followed by five innings from Escobar, who had to pitch through light rain that just so happened to begin right as he took the mound.
Escobar had a good outing, giving up two runs on two hits and one walk, with five strikeouts. Most of his damage came in the fifth inning, when he lost command of his fastball.
“His mechanics broke down a bit in that inning,” Morgantown manager Wyatt Toregas said. “The other innings, he was good. He was doing everything we’ve been working on. In that inning, he walks the leadoff guy, and then he gets jacked up, it looks like, and leaves the pitch up. We need to be able to just pump strikes to that first guy. If he earns it with a hit, he earns it.”
Escobar was throwing his changeup a lot tonight, which has been a trend for him lately. It was doing well, especially when the fastball command was on.
“I think early on he had a little command issue,” catcher Kevin Krause said. “With the fastball though, once he was able to locate that, the changeup played off real well. I think he did a good job.”
Escobar was sitting 89-93 MPH, with an 81-84 MPH slider, and an 83-84 MPH changeup. I’ll have more on Escobar and his development later this week.
Krause got the Black Bears on the board with a solo homer in the second inning, his third of the season. He’s returning from Tommy John surgery this year, which put him out all of last season. In 2014, in the NYPL, he hit seven homers in 134 at-bats, with a .284 ISO. This year he has three homers in 90 at-bats, with a .144 ISO. The power potential is there, but still needs to return after the surgery.
“I think with the repetition, it’s going to come back to me for sure,” Krause said. “The confidence, just going after each and every day, putting my work in, in the cages, doing my tracking. I think it will come.”
As for his defense, the Pirates have him working back behind the plate, and he’s showing no ill effects with his throwing.
“It feels great,” Krause said of catching after the injury. “Each time I’m back there, I have another opportunity to gain experience and get more comfortable back there. It’s definitely feeling better each day. … I think [the arm strength is] back. Just working in rehab, doing my treatment, and each and every day doing my throwing program.”
Matt Anderson ran into trouble in the second inning, although there’s a disclaimer to his pitching. He’s dealing with a blister on his throwing hand, which put him out for 12 days last month, and has kept him out of the rotation since as he’s been getting built back up. He can pitch now, but can’t throw his slider at the moment, as that was causing the blister. So instead of being a four pitch guy, he’s now learning to rely only on one breaking pitch.
“The blister I think is finally past us,” Toregas said. “But it’s kind of a rough situation, because he’s not in the rotation anymore. I’d be curious to see what happens if you put him in the rotation, but we can’t risk the finger getting worse. He brings the curveball, he brings a good fastball, good velocity. We’ve taken the slider away from him, because it’s causing the blister. The changeup is good. But he’s got the funky motion, which we like. He’s just a competitor. I like him. I think he’s got a bright future.”
Anderson was sitting 88-92 MPH tonight, mixing in his curve and changeup, with good downward movement on his fastball, and missing low when he did miss. Matt Frawley came on and pitched the final two innings, sitting 92-93 MPH and showing good movement on his fastball, and nice break on his curveball. Austin Meadows was scheduled to play a full game, but was pulled in the fifth inning due to the increased rain, the turf field, and not wanting to take any chances with his hamstring recovery. – Tim Williams
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Bristol has off on Wednesday.
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The important thing is that he is healthy enough to pitch. That’s by far the best thing you can say about Jacob Taylor’s outing on Wednesday. The fourth round draft pick from 2015, made his second appearance as a pro. After throwing two innings in his first game back on June 30, 2015, he needed Tommy John surgery. This was his first game back and working on a very limited pitch count, he faced three batters and allowed a walk, a single and then a home run. They were hoping to get one inning out of him, but he missed by three outs.
As for the 21-year-old, hard-throwing righty, the best thing is that he is back on the mound in a real game for the first time in 13 months. He threw about 20 pitches, with the first batter seeing ten pitches alone. Taylor was sitting 94-95, and touched 96 once.
The GCL Pirates lost 10-6 to the best team in the GCL, the 28-6 Blue Jays. Domingo Robles got in four innings on his usual day to start, and he allowed two runs over four innings. In his previous two starts combined, he gave up one run over ten innings. Brian Sousa finished the game with three shutout innings.
The offense did a good job of getting on base, but they didn’t come up with enough big hits when it counted. They had 11 hits, including five for extra bases. The Pirates also drew four walks, putting 15 men on base total. They went 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit, while Melvin Jimenez and Edison Lantigua each had two hits. Raul Hernandez hit his third homer, while Lantigua connected on his sixth triple. That has him tied for the second most in the league. Lantigua also drove in a pair of runs and drew a walk.
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The DSL Pirates lost 5-2 to the first place Rangers1, pushing them a game closer to being eliminated from the playoffs with 21 games left in the season. Starter Roger Santana did all he could, giving up no earned runs over five innings to lower his ERA to 1.58 through 51.1 innings. He took the loss in this one, as two unearned runs scored after a costly Kyle Simmons error with two outs in the third inning.
The Pirates scored their run in the seventh without a hit, loading the bases on an error and two walks, then scoring on another fielding error. Their run in the eighth came on one big hit, the first home run as a pro for Sherten Apostel. The Pirates had just five hits total in the game, two from Apostel, two from Rodolfo Castro, and one from Carlos Garcia. Castro connected on his 11th double. Jeremias Portorreal had his 19-game on base streak snapped. It dated back into June.
