Three days worth of action from the six leagues currently playing winter ball, plus a seventh league starts up on Thursday. I mentioned on Monday morning how there hasn’t been much positive to talk about for the Pittsburgh Pirates in winter ball, and that continued with Alen Hanson in his first four games. Players who join the league while it’s in progress sometimes take a week or so to catch up to everyone else, so we will see how he starts doing once he has played a few more games.
Saturday
In the Dominican, Alen Hanson played his second game of the winter and it went a lot like his first game on Friday. He played second base and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout for the second straight night. He had just two chances in the field, an assist and a putout in the fourth inning.
Pablo Reyes played second base and went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Prior to this game, he made three straight starts at third base.
Kelvin Marte continued a strong start to his winter, going six shutout innings. He allowed three hits, with no walks, four strikeouts and a 7:3 GO/AO ratio. He has a 1.21 ERA in 22.1 innings. Marte is currently a free agent.
In Venezuela, Jose Osuna went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
Jhondaniel Medina came into the game with one out and two runners on in the eighth inning and recorded the final two outs, but not before both runs scored. He hit a batter, gave up a single and picked up a strikeout. Medina has a 1.93 ERA over eight appearances. He is currently a free agent.
Sunday
In the Dominican, Pablo Reyes went 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, extending his season-long hit streak to seven games. He started at third base, then moved to second base in the seventh inning. He is 11-for-23 with a 1.042 OPS.
Alen Hanson went 1-for-4 with a stolen base, picking up his first hit of the winter in his third game.
In Mexico, Luis Heredia came on to pitch the seventh inning and gave up two singles, before recording an out on a sacrifice bunt. He was removed from the game and former Pirate Jesus Barraza (2009-11 VSL Pirates) recorded the final two outs of the inning to strand both inherited runners. Heredia has a 7.90 ERA in 13.2 innings, with a 1.98 WHIP and 12 strikeouts.
In Venezuela, Elvis Escobar continued his recent slump with an 0-for-3 night. He is hitting .268/.283/.392 through his first 30 games.
John Kuchno started the game for Cardenales de Lara and threw five shutout innings, allowing two base runners on a single and a hit batter. He had four strikeouts and an 8:2 GO/AO ratio. Kuchno needed just 66 pitches, with 41 going for strikes.
Jose Osuna walked as a pinch-hitter, then left for a pinch-runner, in the ninth inning of his team’s 7-6 loss.
In Puerto Rico, Danny Ortiz went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .380 through 12 games.
Monday
In the Dominican, Alen Hanson had a tough night, going 0-for-3 with two errors at second base. He is 1-for-15 to start his winter.
In Venezuela, Jose Osuna went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. He split the game between right field and first base, picking up an outfield assist before the position switch. Osuna is hitting .243/.336/.324 through 31 games.
In Colombia, Henrry Rosario is hitting .240/.240/.296 through 27 plate appearances.
In Nicaragua, Anderson Feliz is hitting .371/.458/.532 through his first 13 games.
In Australia, the regular season begins this weekend. Right now, the only two players from the Pirates in the league are the two players from Australia. Nick Hutchings will pitch for Adelaide, while Sam Kennelly will play for Perth for the fifth straight season. Hutchings hasn’t played the last couple off-seasons in Australia because he hurt his shoulder at the end of 2014, then the Pirates wanted him to give his arm a rest after rehabbing for most of the 2015 season.
