A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time (Tyler Glasnow, Trevor Williams, Alen Hanson), or loses his prospect eligibility, he will be removed from this list. 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 more active prospects on the list. Rankings are from the 2017 Prospect Guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages. We are working on fixing the stats.
1. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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2. Mitch Keller, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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3. Kevin Newman, SS, Altoona – [insert_php]
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4. Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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6. Will Craig, 3B, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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8. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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9. Nick Kingham, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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10. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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11. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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12. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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13. Max Kranick, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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14. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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15. Edgar Santana, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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16. Luis Escobar, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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17. Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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18. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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19. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Altoona -[insert_php]
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20. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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21. Stephen Alemais, SS, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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22. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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23. Travis MacGregor, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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24. Barrett Barnes, LF, Extended Spring Training -[insert_php]
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25. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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26. Eric Wood, 3B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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27. J.T. Brubaker, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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28. Chris Bostick, INF/OF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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29. Connor Joe, 3B, Altoona – [insert_php]
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30. Jose Osuna, 1B, Pirates – [insert_php]
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INDIANAPOLIS — Pitching hasn’t been a problem, but the same can’t be said for hitting.
Indianapolis had few offensive highlights in its 1-0 loss to Scranton Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. The Indians lost to the RailRiders by the same score on Friday and have not scored in 21 innings.
A lineup that has potential simply isn’t producing. The Indians had just three hits against Scranton on Saturday — singles by Christopher Bostick, Austin Meadows and Jacob Stallings.
Bostick has a seven-game hitting streak and is hitting .281, while Jason Rogers saw his hit streak end at eight games, but he’s still hitting .298. Other than that, however, there aren’t many positive trends offensively. The other seven players in the lineup on Saturday are all hitting .236 or lower.
Indianapolis has been shutout four times in 16 games this season and previously had a 23-inning scoreless streak. The Indians struck out 10 times — including two each by Ngoepe, Joey Terdoslavich, Danny Ortiz and Anderson Feliz.
“We’re just not executing,” Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett said. “We’re swinging at bad pitches, taking good ones. And when we do hit it, we’re making too many easy outs. It’s a struggle. I know we’ll come out of it. While you’re going through a struggle like this it’s hard. It’s hard for me because I want it so hard for them. But it’s hard for them because I’ve been there when nothing is going right as a player and it doesn’t feel good. You carry a mental burden with that.”
The lineup has potential even with the promotion of Jose Osuna. Meadows is one of the top prospects in baseball, but is hitting just .196. Danny Ortiz had 17 home runs and numerous clutch hits last season, but doesn’t have a home run and is hitting .220 this year.
Ngoepe started the season well but has fallen into a slump, striking out six times over the past two games. And prospect Eric Wood is hitting just .130.
All of that adds up to a frustrating time for Barkett and his team.
“It’s hard to really put a finger on it because we’re working hard and they’re doing everything that we’re asking them to do as preparation goes,” Barkett said. “It’s a long season and there are a lot more games to play. A lot can happen a week from now. We just need to grind it out and continue to stay the course and trust in the talent of our players.”
The offensive struggles wasted a good outing by Indianapolis starter Josh Lindblom, who allowed one run on five hits over six innings of work. He struck out one and walked three, throwing 66 of his 99 pitches for strikes.
Indianapolis starting pitchers have allowed four earned runs over the last four starts, with each one — Tyler Eppler, Clay Holmes, Steven Brault and Lindblom throwing six innings.
“I feel for our pitching staff because just naturally you get this feeling that you have to pitch perfectly,” Barkett said. “That’s hard when you have a lot of young pitchers, you don’t want to put pressure on them to be perfect.”
Lindblom was solid, with his only blemish being a hanging curveball that Yankees’ prospect Clint Frazier hit to left field for a home run. Other than that, he worked around his five hits and three walks.
Scranton loaded the bases in the fifth inning on two walks and a single, but Lindblom struck out Ji-Man Choi to end the threat.
“In the fifth inning I kind of got ahead of myself a little bit, but for the most part I was able to battle and execute pitches when I needed to,” Lindblom said. “Kind of the name of the game really. Runners on, you’re pitching in traffic, the goal doesn’t change and you have to execute.”
So, while the run support hasn’t been there the past few games, Lindblom doesn’t take it upon himself to worry about that part of the team.
“I think the last two years in Korea helped me prepare for situations like this,” Lindblom said. “You can’t control the way guys are hitting. You can’t control defense. The only thing I can control is going out, competing and executing pitches. That’s all I focus on. The game for me is always 0-0, no matter the situation.”
Doyvdas Neverauskas retired the side in order in the ninth inning, striking out two batters and inducing a weak groundout back to himself. Cito Culver struck out swinging at a 97 MPH fastball, while Eddy Rodriguez struck out looking at a 97 MPH fastball on the corner.
Max Moroff and Elias Diaz each had the night off.
Indianapolis (4-12) is off to its worst start since joining the International League in 1998.- Brian Peloza
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Altoona lost to Akron by a 3-2 score in 11 innings, dropping them to 9-6 on the season. The Curve left 11 men on base, as Connor Joe accounted for both of their runs with a bases loaded walk in the first inning, followed by a solo homer in the third frame. That was it for the scoring, as they had just five singles and a walk over the final 8.2 innings.
Austin Coley made his third start of the season and second in place of Brandon Waddell, who is tentatively scheduled to be back for his start next week when this spot comes up in the rotation. Coley went six innings, allowing two runs on four hits, a walk and he struck out three batters. The second run off of him scored on a balk. He threw 53 of his 77 pitches for strikes and had a 7:7 GO/AO ratio.
Jared Lakind and Montana DuRapau each threw two shutout innings, though things got dicey with DuRapau when he threw nine straight balls in the tenth inning to put a runner in scoring position. When he finally threw a strike, it appeared the ball was well inside off of the plate. After that questionable strike call, he quickly retired two batters to get out of the inning. John Kuchno took the loss in the 11th.
Altoona spread the offense around, with eight players picking up a total of nine hits. Catcher Tomas Morales had the only two-hit game. Kevin Newman went 1-for-6 with a single, while Pablo Reyes, Kevin Kramer and Edwin Espinal each went 1-for-5 with a single. Connor Joe was 1-for-4 with his homer and a walk, while Jordan Luplow had a tough game, going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
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BRADENTON, Fla. – The Marauders have some ridiculous velocity in their pitching staff. That is expected from top prospect Mitch Keller, who sits 94-98, touching 99. It’s also expected for Gage Hinsz, who sits in the mid-90s, and Taylor Hearn, who works 94-97, touching 100 in the past.
But after you get through those three, you get Dario Agrazal. The right-hander from Panama was sitting 93-95 MPH tonight, consistently hitting 94-95, even in the seventh inning. He topped out at 96, which is a big jump from the 90-93 velocity he had when he first entered the US and played in the GCL. What makes the pitch so good is that it has heavy sink, allowing Agrazal to pound the strike zone and throw the pitch often without having to mix in his secondary pitches as often.
Agrazal doesn’t have a good strikeout pitch, which is what separates him from guys like Hearn and Hinsz, who have the mid-90s velocity and flash plus breaking stuff at times. When Agrazal is getting strikeouts — as he did tonight with five in seven innings — it’s because he’s doing a good job of mixing up his pitches. It will be hard for him to remain a starter if he doesn’t develop a good out pitch.
That’s not to say he doesn’t have upside. His sinker is so good that he could eventually move into a role similar to what Trevor Williams currently has in Pittsburgh, pitching as a middle or long reliever in a major league bullpen, and relying mostly on a mid-90s sinker with a lot of movement.
Agrazal gave up three runs on seven hits in seven innings tonight, with no walks and five strikeouts. His one mistake was a two run-homer in the seventh inning, putting Jupiter up 3-2 at the time. The Marauders tied the game in the bottom half of the inning, but lost in extra innings when Logan Sendelbach gave up two runs in the 11th.
**Jake Brentz came on for two innings and brought more velocity. In his first inning of work, he struck out one and had two groundouts. The strikeout was capped off with a 100 MPH fastball. His second inning was all fastballs, and had two unfortunate singles. Mitchell Tolman broke the wrong way on the first one, with the hit going up the middle. He shifted over closer to second base on the next single, and that was hit right where he was previously standing. Brentz got out of it with a first pitch ground out to Ke’Bryan Hayes, who turned an unassisted 5-3 double play. Here was the velocity breakdown for the second inning.
LHP Jake Brentz 2nd inning velo by pitch:
Fly out: 98, 96, 97, 96, 96, 97, 97, 97
1B: 97, 97, 97, 96
1B: 97, 95, 97
5-3 DP: 96**The Marauders offense had a lot of hits tonight, with Mitchell Tolman, Will Craig, and Ke’Bryan Hayes all having multiple hits. The hardest hit ball was from Christian Kelley, who ripped a double in the 10th inning off Ryan Newell. That was impressive, as Newell struck out five of the six other batters he faced, mixing a fastball that was hitting 97 consistently with a 90 MPH breaking pitch.
**The Marauders were aggressive on the bases tonight, stealing four bases, with no caught stealing. That aggressive running didn’t always work out, as they were thrown out on the bases at least twice trying to get an extra base on a hit.
**Alfredo Reyes continued to show off his plus arm strength tonight, saving a run by throwing a laser from right field to the plate on the fly. It was a perfect strike to Christian Kelley, who made a nice swipe tag to get the runner. Kelley also helped save a run in extra innings with a nice block of the plate on a tag during a squeeze bunt.
**Will Craig continues to show good defense at first base, making another nice diving stop tonight to prevent a single to his right.
**Casey Hughston struck out with two outs in the 10th inning with a runner on second. The opposing pitcher attacked him on the outer half of the plate, and Hughston swung through three of the four pitches. He’s still having issues on the outer half of the plate, and while his numbers are better this year, his strikeout rate around 30% doesn’t point to him having a lot of success in the upper levels. – Tim Williams
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[/expand]West Virginia was rained out on Saturday. They will play a Sunday doubleheader
