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]
include_once (‘./p2-stats/stats_functions.php’);
display_top30(607192,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
2. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(640457,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
3. Josh Bell, 1B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(605137,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
4. Kevin Newman, SS, Altoona – [insert_php]
display_top30(621028,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
5. Mitch Keller, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
display_top30(656605,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
6. Nick Kingham, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
display_top30(592468,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
7.Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
display_top30(657061,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
8. Chad Kuhl, RHP, Pirates – [insert_php]
display_top30(641771,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
9. Will Craig, 3B, Morgantown – [insert_php]
display_top30(643269,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
10. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(643230,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
11. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
display_top30(663647,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
12. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(553869,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
13. Clay Holmes, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
display_top30(605280,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
14. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
display_top30(650817,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
15. Gage Hinsz, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
display_top30(656543,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
16. Trevor Williams, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(592866,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
17. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(593700,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
18. Tito Polo, OF, Bradenton – [insert_php]
display_top30(622738,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
19. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
display_top30(605501,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
20. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
display_top30(663399,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
21. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
display_top30(621169,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
22. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
display_top30(621559,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
23. Taylor Hearn, LHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
display_top30(621368,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
24. Adrian Valerio, SS – Bristol – [insert_php]
display_top30(650832,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
25. Braeden Ogle, LHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
display_top30(669180,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
26. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
display_top30(596012,’B’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
27. Travis MacGregor, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
display_top30(669740,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
28. Max Kranick, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
display_top30(668820,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
29. Frank Duncan, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(641538,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
30. Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(596720,’P’,’20160811′);
[/insert_php]
[insert_php]
display_topperf(‘20160811’);
[/insert_php]
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20160811′,’ind’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
Indianapolis got all the runs they would need on Thursday afternoon on one swing of the bat from Jose Osuna in the fourth inning. Kelvin Marte started for just the second time all year and gave them five strong innings in the 3-2 victory. Marte was on the disabled list recently for a left ankle sprain and last pitched 11 days ago. He was able to give the Indians 66 pitches and he allowed one run on seven hits and no walks, striking out two batters. A.J. Schugel threw two scoreless innings, then Curtis Partch tossed a scoreless eighth. Jorge Rondon made things interesting in the ninth, allowing a run on two hits, but he finished out the frame and picked up his 11th save.
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth, Osuna came up after Josh Bell and Max Moroff reached on singles. Osuna hit his seventh home run since joining Indianapolis, and that’s all the runs they would get. Moroff, Osuna and Alen Hanson each had two hits. Hanson stole his 32nd base, which is tied for the International League lead. Only Tito Polo (34) has more among Pirates. Austin Meadows had a single, a walk and stole his third base for Indianapolis. The steal is a good sign with him recently coming off the disabled list with a hamstring injury.
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20160811′,’alt’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
ALTOONA, PA – It’s not a line that you see often for a professional baseball team – let alone a winning baseball team in the upper minor leagues – but the Altoona Curve played some #weirdbaseball on Thursday night in Curve, PA.
I never expected to see a 7-spot in the error column – especially for a winning team. #Curve pic.twitter.com/LF5if8JQrB
— Sean McCool (@NotSoMcCool) August 12, 2016
I thought it would be better to lay out quickly the events of the evening. Altogether, the game went something like this:
- The Curve committed four errors and allowed three runs in the first inning.
- They committed two more errors in the second inning, tying a franchise record for errors in a game (May 29, 2000).
- Ten Curve batters came to bat in the third inning to score six runs on five hits and completely wiped out the early deficit (including two close umpiring decisions on the base paths, both of which benefitted the Curve).
- Curve second baseman Chris Diaz failed to come up with a ground ball and committed the Curve’s seventh error on the night, which is a new franchise record.
- Alex McRae pitched into the seventh inning and left the game in line for the win.
- With a lightning storm surrounding PNG Field, all of the lights shut out, and the game entered a power outage delay.
- All of the lights turn back on, and it immediately begins to downpour. The tarp comes out, and the game enters a rain delay. In total, there was a 1 hour and 5 minutes lighting/rain delay.
- Following the delay, Miguel Rosario and Montana DuRapau wrapped things up quickly to give the Curve the surprising win with an obscure box score.
McRae made his 12th start of the season for the Curve. In his last time out against Harrisburg, he went eight innings and allowed just one run. McRae’s ERA in Double-A is still extremely high based off of three absolutely terrible starts (his first two at the level then a 1.1 IP, 6 ER outing in early July), but he has turned in quite a few good outings for the Curve. In his last five starts, he has only allowed one earned run and went at least six innings in three of them.
Somehow, someway, McRae worked into the seventh inning, going 6.2 IP, while his defense committed seven errors behind him. McRae had to be very good to keep his team in the game, and he only allowing two earned runs and four overall in his outing. He struck out seven batters, including the last two he faced in the seventh, and only walked two on 104 total pitches.
He used his slider as a strikeout pitch tonight, and the seven strikeouts ended up being a career high for him. He said after the game that he was able to mix his two-seamer and slider well to help keep the opposition off-balanced.
The story of tonight had to be the Curve’s defensive efforts, as five players spread the love around to commit seven errors total. Five of the errors were of the throwing type early in the game, while two others were committed by Chris Diaz at second base (fielding, missed catch). Two errors were committed on the same play, when McRae’s pickoff attempt went under first baseman Anderson Feliz’s glove, then a bobble near the fence by Diaz allowed the runner to move to third base.
“We’re usually a pretty good defensive team,” Manager Joey Cora said after the game. “We’ve been good all year, but for some reason tonight, we weren’t very good. You have to give it to McRae because he kept fighting and fighting. He fought through all of that and pitched great. He deserved the W, but obviously we didn’t help him at all.”
When asked about winning the game while committing that many errors, Cora said it “is unbelievable, no doubt”.
“McRae kept pitching, and he kept pitching,” Cora said. “He hung in there and gave us a chance to comeback.”
Offensively, Altoona won this game because of their six run third inning. Anderson Feliz, Eric Wood, Stetson Allie, and Alex McRae all got base hits, and Elvis Escobar put the bow on the inning with a run scoring triple. McRae’s two-out, two-RBI single up the middle helped the Curve take the lead and never give it back.
Eight Curve batters had one hit. Jon Schwind was the only position player who failed to record a hit; however, he was credited with an RBI fielder’s choice in the third inning. Jin-De Jhang and Chris Diaz both doubled to round out the extra base hits for Altoona.
Seven errors and all, the Curve beat Harrisburg by a score of 8-4. It was definitely the strangest line I’ve ever seen, but it helped Altoona take a 2.5 game lead in their division over Harrisburg. For reference, the top two teams in the division make the players with the division winner getting home field advantage. –Sean McCool
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20160811′,’bra’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
Starter Austin Coley got knocked out of the game in the second inning and Bradenton still ended up with a 10-7 win on Thursday night. Coley had pitched poorly in his last three starts coming into tonight, but that got worse in this game. He allowed five runs on four hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Over these last four starts, he has allowed 21 earned runs in 16 innings. Coley’s ERA went from 3.57 to 4.68 during that stretch.
Sam Street and Tanner Anderson saved the day for the Marauders, combining for 6.2 scoreless innings. That allowed the offense to get back in the game and take the lead for good in the sixth inning.
Jerrick Suiter led the offense, driving in three runs. He had three hits, a walk and two runs scored. Suiter collected his 14th double, while Chase Simpson hit his 16th double and drove in a pair of runs. Simpson, Jordan Luplow and Michael Suchy each had a pair of hits. Suchy and Luplow each scored a run, drew a walk and picked up an RBI, while Luplow stole his sixth base of the season. Cole Tucker didn’t have any hits, but he still scored twice. Tito Polo had a single, a walk, a run scored and an RBI.
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20160811′,’wva’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
CHARLESTON, WV – It took three consecutive starts for the Delmarva Shorebirds to figure out Gage Hinsz. Coming into tonight, Hinsz had allowed two runs in 10.1 innings against the Shorebirds on July 31 and August 5. Tonight, though, he did himself in with poor command and a rough third inning, and Delmarva capitalized on a few timely hits to snap West Virginia’s six-game win streak.
The Power put Hinsz on top quickly, scoring two unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning. Logan Hill came across first after the Delmarva third baseman bobbled a routine fly by Carlos Munoz. Munoz then scored on Jordan George’s RBI single.
Hinsz relied mostly on his fastball, which did show some zip. He hit 95 MPH eight times over the course of the game, while mostly sitting 92-94, but that velocity came with location issues. He missed both outside and low, leading to his second-lowest percentage of strikes this season. (Only 56 percent of his pitches caught the zone.)
Hinsz’s control issues were compounded by the fact that Delmarva squared up quite a few of the fastballs that elevated into the strike zone. Hinsz’s three runs came in the third inning when, following a strikeout, the Shorebirds hit a single, a double, and a home run. Hinsz then worked two fly balls to end the inning.
One major factor in that big inning might have been the fact that the Shorebirds have faced Hinsz so much.
“I got really repetitive in what I was doing,” Hinsz said. “Kind of got tunnel vision.”
After the third, though, Hinsz settled back down and wound up striking out six on the night.
“I got locked back in and doing what I’m supposed to,” said Hinsz.
The Power offense dried up almost entirely following their opening salvo. In the second, they stranded newcomer Raul Hernandez after some heads up running landed him on second after a soft liner to center. They did the same to Mitchell Tolman who reached second on a wild pitch in the third. From that point on, they were held hitless.
Hernandez, however, did provide a bright spot in the Power lineup. In his first game behind the plate since being promoted to the level, he caught a runner stealing and picked off one at first. He displayed confidence by rocketing pickoff attempts to both first and third, keeping the Shorebirds honest.
Relievers Sean Keselica and Cesilio Pimentel allowed a run apiece, and the Power left a man on third to close out the ninth in the 5-2 loss. – Abigail Miskowiec
Game Analysis: Gage Hinsz didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but there was still enough to see why he’s a top prospect right now. Earlier in the season, I saw a really good outing where his fastball was on, the velocity was up, and the curveball was flashing plus potential. He showed that tonight in some cases, with the obvious disclaimer being that the fastball was off at times.
West Virginia has a weird setup where the sun sets behind home plate, shining light on the mound at the start of the game, and putting a shadow behind home plate. There is also a gap between the press box and the radio booth, which lets the sun come through straight to the mound until around the middle of the third inning. This was clearly distracting Hinsz in the second frame. There was one pitch where he couldn’t even see the return throw, and let it sail over his head. He said after the game that he couldn’t even see Hernandez behind the plate that inning, but that the sun cleared up in the third.
That didn’t fully lead to his problems that inning, since he was legitimately relying on his fastball too much, especially against a lefty-heavy lineup. All of his damage tonight came against lefties, which is strange, because he’s done well against lefties this year, with a much improved changeup that he has a lot of confidence throwing. He wasn’t throwing the changeup as often, which ended up costing him with the fastball command off in the third inning.
When the fastball command was on, you could see the potential with Hinsz. He was getting ahead in the count, attacking inside, and setting up the curveball as an out pitch, flashing plus at times, highlighted by back-to-back swinging strikeouts on the curve to end the fourth inning — one against a lefty and one against a right-hander. He also used the curve early in a few counts for strikes, showing a different pitch so that hitters couldn’t totally sit on the fastball.
The overall stats weren’t good, and the stuff wasn’t consistent throughout the start. But there were enough good signs to show why Hinsz is one of the best young pitching prospects in the lower levels of the Pirates’ system. He was showing good, consistent velocity throughout the start, hitting 95 with his first pitch in the first inning, and with one of his final pitches in the fifth inning. He was repeating his delivery well (I was taking photos from the side during the first two innings, and a lot of the shots from pitch to pitch looked identical throughout the delivery), which has led to better command this year versus the last two years.
He showed a lot more confidence in the changeup, throwing it ten times, but probably needing to use it more against a lefty stacked lineup, especially in the third. The pitch had some good, late fade away from lefties, working the outer third of the plate. His curveball was flashing plus when I saw it in extended Spring Training, and I saw that again tonight, with some horizontal movement that ran in on right-handers and ran away from lefties, along with a two-plane break and a good bite on the left-handed side of the plate.
Hinsz is showing the potential for three very good pitches, with the obvious command issues that come with each at this age. That’s a massive increase from where he was when I saw him in Bristol around this time last year, and that start last year was actually an improvement over what I saw from him earlier in 2015 and in 2014. He keeps progressing in the right direction, and still has a lot of room to move. I have him a tier below Mitch Keller, and that didn’t change tonight. He’s not quite an elite prospect like Keller, but he’s not far off, and could easily get to being a top 100 prospect in the next year on his current path. – Tim Williams
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20160811′,’wev’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
Morgantown tried to play yesterday and that game lasted just a half inning before rain caused it to be suspended. Stephen Alemais homered in the top of the first, so they started back up in the bottom of the first with a 1-0 score. James Marvel was scheduled to go yesterday and while he didn’t throw a pitch, he went through his pre-game routine yesterday, so he was unavailable tonight.
Danny Beddes got the start and went six innings, allowing two runs on one hit and one walk. The lone hit was a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Beddes had five strikeouts and a 6:4 GO/AO ratio. He now has a 2.30 ERA in 54.2 innings, with a .194 BAA and an 0.99 WHIP.
On offense, Will Craig lost his 17-game hit streak, but he still drew three walks in the game. Sandy Santos and Ty Moore each collected three hits. Santos recorded his fourth triple, while Moore hit his first home run and stole his fifth base. Besides the home run, Alemais also had a single, a walk, and another RBI.
GAME TWO: Matt Anderson started this seven inning contest and dominated for his three innings. From then on, things fell apart for the Black Bears. Three relievers combined to allow seven runs over the final three innings Morgantown lost 7-4 and all of their runs came in the sixth inning, which brought them within one run at the time. Anderson had four strikeouts in this game, giving him 31 in 19.2 innings.
The sixth started with three straight singles from Kevin Mahala, Ty Moore and Kevin Krause to load the bases with one out. Albert Baur brought home the first run with the fourth consecutive single. That was followed by a Sandy Santos double that cleared the bases, but Santos was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. Santos and Krause had two hits in the game.
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20160811′,’bri’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
Bristol came into Thursday with a .645 team OPS, which was 46 points behind the second worst team in the Appalachian League. In this game, they didn’t even come close to a .645 OPS for the day. The Pirates got their first base runner on a bunt single in the fourth inning by Victor Fernandez. In the sixth, Michael de la Cruz drew a walk and stole his ninth base. In the seventh, Huascar Fuentes was hit by a pitch. That was it for their offense.
Mike Wallace started the game and went five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and no walks. He had five strikeouts and an 8:1 GO/AO ratio. Robbie Coursel threw two scoreless innings and John Pomeroy also added a scoreless inning in the 3-0 loss. Bristol dropped to 19-28 on the season, seven games back in the standings.
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20160812′,’pir’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
The GCL Pirates knew they had a big road game today, facing a Braves team they trailed by two games in the standings. They sent out two of their over-slot signings from this year’s draft and they both came up big in the 3-1 victory.
Second round pick Travis MacGregor started the game and threw three shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk. He was originally slated to go on Monday this week, but two rain outs forced him back to Thursday and the extra days limited his work. He need just 39 pitches to get through his day and he worked his pitches effectively for quick outs.
“I felt good on the mound today,” MacGregor said. “I was able to get inside on the hitters with my fastball, and was able to keep the hitters off-balance with my changeup.”
Max Kranick followed MacGregor and threw five shutout innings. The 11th round pick gave up three singles and no walks, with three strikeouts. He faced just one over the minimum, getting a double play, and help from his catcher Mikell Granberry on a caught stealing.
Kranick also said he was effective by throwing inside, which resulted in a lot of weak contact and a 7:3 GO/AO ratio. That idea of focusing in on the inside pitches came from Granberry, who was catching for the first time in nearly a month. He should see more time behind the plate now with catcher Raul Hernandez in West Virginia, and backup catcher Paul Brands nursing an injury.
Granberry said that he called for a lot of inside pitches in this game because the Braves looked too comfortable at the plate in yesterday’s game. So you had the two young high school pitchers putting their trust in their catcher and the game planned work, with both pitchers realizing how effective they were with their pitches by keeping the hitters uncomfortable.
Kranick noted afterwards that his curve was working well, while Granberry mentioned that Kranick’s changeup also looked strong on this day, and both pitchers looked confident on the mound.
In the ninth inning, Ronny Agustin finished out the game and ended up striking out four batters, due to one reaching on a wild pitch.
The Pirates scored all three of their runs in the seventh inning. Johan De Jesus hit his ninth double, which was followed by a home run from Sam Kennelly. Luis Benitez then walked, stole second, and scored on a throwing error for the third run. De Jesus doubled twice in this game.
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20160811′,’dpi’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
The DSL Pirates lost 10-4 on Thursday, as they moved to within one game of being eliminated from the playoffs with 14 games left in the season. Yeudry Manzanillo started and allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and no walks in five innings. He had just one strikeout and one of the worst GO/AO ratios (3:8) that I have seen all season. As ineffective as he was, the bullpen trotted out three pitchers who combined for six runs over the last three innings.
On offense, the Pirates had five hits and five walks, while striking out 13 times. Rodolfo Castro hit his 12th double, walked and drove in two runs. Cristopher Perez had a single, walk and an RBI. Samuel Inoa had a single, a walk and a run scored. Kyle Simmons had two walks, a stolen base and a run scored. The two hottest hitters on the team, Jeremias Portorreal and Francisco Mepris, both had the day off. Sherten Apostel struck out in all four at-bats.
