A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time (Trevor Williams, Alen Hanson, Jose Osuna), 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.
1. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
include_once (‘./p2-stats/stats_functions.php’);
display_top30(640457,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
2. Mitch Keller, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
display_top30(656605,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
3. Kevin Newman, SS, Altoona – [insert_php]
display_top30(621028,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
4. Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
display_top30(657061,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
display_top30(663647,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
6. Will Craig, 3B, Bradenton – [insert_php]
display_top30(643269,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
display_top30(621368,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
8. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
display_top30(656543,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
9. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(592468,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
10. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(643230,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
11. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(605280,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
12. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
display_top30(669180,’P’,’20170416′);
[/insert_php]
13. Max Kranick, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
display_top30(668820,’P’,’20170416′);
[/insert_php]
14. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(553869,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
15. Edgar Santana, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(650828,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
16. Luis Escobar, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
display_top30(650813,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
17. Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(596720,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
18. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
display_top30(650817,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
19. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Altoona -[insert_php]
display_top30(596012,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
20. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
display_top30(621169,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
21. Stephen Alemais, SS, West Virginia – [insert_php]
display_top30(641301,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
22. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
display_top30(663399,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
23. Travis MacGregor, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
display_top30(669740,’P’,’20170416′);
[/insert_php]
24. Barrett Barnes, LF, Extended Spring Training -[insert_php]
display_top30(608627,’B’,’20170416′);
[/insert_php]
25. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
display_top30(621559,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
26. Eric Wood, 3B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(607780,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
27. J.T. Brubaker, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
display_top30(664141,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
28. Chris Bostick, INF/OF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(607471,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
29. Connor Joe, 3B, Altoona – [insert_php]
display_top30(656582,’B’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
30. Pat Light, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
display_top30(572990,’P’,’20170512′);
[/insert_php]
[insert_php]
display_topperf(‘20170512’);
[/insert_php]
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20170512′,’ind’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indians had a six game losing streak snapped tonight in what amounted to a bullpen game. It was supposed to be a spot start for Cody Dickson, but the left-hander ran into control problems and exited in the first inning. Dickson threw 34 pitches with 17 strikes, reaching his single inning pitch limit after getting just two outs and giving up two runs. Brett McKinney came on and did a good job of mixing up his pitches and working off his cutter to pitch 3.1 shutout innings with five strikeouts.
The control problems crept up again with Angel Sanchez on the mound. Sanchez gave up seven runs in two-plus innings of work, walking three batters in the process. He left in the seventh inning, and Pat Light came on, also seeing control issues, and gave up three runs, while letting three inherited runners to score. Light and Sanchez hadn’t pitched that bad recently, and after the game Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett felt that the team was due for a night like this after having a long run of great pitching recently.
One positive sign from tonight’s 11-4 loss was that Austin Meadows and Erich Weiss both continued their hot hitting in recent games. Weiss went 3-for-4 with a double, making some hard line drive contact. Barkett said that he saw the best bat speed of the year out of Meadows tonight, who went 2-for-4 with two doubles. He said he has also noticed a difference in the approach for Meadows since moving him to the leadoff spot and out of the middle of the lineup. The theory is that this has allowed Meadows to just focus on getting on base, rather than taking a different approach to knock runners in. Meadows is 7-for-20 with three doubles in five games since making the move.
A.J. Schugel and Dovydas Neverauskas both pitched a scoreless inning of relief, with Neverauskas working in the upper 90s with his fastball and getting one strikeout. – Tim Williams
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20170512′,’alt’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
ALTOONA, Pa. – It took him a while to settle in, but Yeudy Garcia battled through five innings and gave the Curve a quality outing. In his five innings of work, he allowed one earned run on five hits, while he struck out four and walked no batters.
Garcia quickly got the first two outs of the game, but he then hit a batter and allowed two line drive singles to give up the first run of the game. Going deep into the final few counts of the inning, Garcia desperately needed an out, and New Hampshire shortstop Richard Urena flew out to left on Garcia’s 27th pitch of the inning.
“I thought it was good until he got to two outs obviously,” Manager Michael Ryan said. “Being able to get out of there with only one run scored carried him through the rest of the outing. It gave him more confidence.”
Settling down in the next few innings, Garcia mostly stayed out of trouble for the rest of his outing, and he exited the game after throwing only 79 pitches (53 for strikes). Ryan mentioned Garcia’s battery mate in Jackson Williams as calling a good game, getting Garcia back on track (more on him later).
His fastball velocity sat mostly in the low-90s, typically around 90-91 MPH. I saw him hit 93 MPH once, but that was against the norm. Working a little inside-out, Garcia utilized an 84-85 MPH changeup to get a couple strikeouts on right handed batters tonight, getting swings and misses on the pitch. All of his strikeouts came on the swinging variety, with another one coming on a 91 MPH fastball.
“Once he started using his changeup and then the slider, he was able to start getting his fastball more down in the zone to get through five,” Ryan said.
The changeup stood out to me tonight, as he used it early to get in on the hands of righties.
“It’s a good pitch for him,” Ryan said of his changeup. “It has some downward action. The game has changed a little bit, so you really just can’t use it against lefties anymore. If the pitch is down, it is very effective.”
The relievers tonight – Buddy Borden and Jared Lakind – didn’t look especially impressive; however, they were able to throw up zeroes. Borden went two scoreless innings and was helped by a pick-off and caught stealing, while Lakind also went two scoreless innings but allowed multiple baserunners in both. Lakind has not been good in his last three outings, allowing 11 earned runs in 3.2 IP. Although it wasn’t pretty, it was probably good for him to get out of the game without allowing a run.
In the second inning, Elvis Escobar ripped a long liner to the right-center gap, only to be absolutely robbed by New Hampshire right fielder Jonathan Davis. In what looked like a bases-clearing triple out of the gate, Davis went completely horizontal to take the hit away from Escobar, who settled with a sacrifice fly on the play.
Jackson Williams had a very good defensive game from behind the plate, throwing out both runners trying to steal against him and picking off another at first. In the fifth, Williams threw out Jonathan Davis for the final out of the frame, as Davis was trying to snag second on the first pitch of the at-bat. In the sixth, Williams picked off Harold Ramirez at first base, throwing behind a lefty batter and making a perfect throw. In the seventh, Williams threw out Richard Urena on an unsuccessful hit-and-run attempt. Williams also threw out the only other steal attempt against him before tonight.
Williams not only did it from behind the plate, as he went 3-for-3 with a walk. In the fourth, Williams actually hit the first base bag with a hard grounder that popped up in the air and allowed Chase Simpson to score. In the seventh, he hit a soft liner to left field for his second hit of the game.
“Jackson has Triple-A and Major League experience,” Ryan said. “Guys have embraced him and have gone to him for advice. He has fit in real nice, and we are really happy to have him here.”
Chase Simpson pulled a line drive double down the right field line (batting from the right side) in the fourth inning. Simpson was the only other Curve batter with multiple hits tonight, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. He has started three straight games in a row at third base, while Wyatt Mathisen rested from a slight injury.
*Impressively, the Altoona Curve own the best home record in all of professional baseball at 11-2.
*Kevin Kramer went 0-for-3, but he was able to extend his on-base streak to 29 games in the seventh inning with an intentional walk.
*Kevin Newman hit single to right field on the second pitch he saw tonight, two days after getting a fastball to the face in Richmond. He finished the night 1-for-5 with three strikeouts, but it was good to see him healthy and available.
*Tonight was the first night of the season where Kevin Kramer and Edwin Espinal both started and went hitless. Combined, the two went 0-for-8, which is ironic because Espinal jumped Bowie’s Austin Wynns for second in the league in batting average just yesterday. That gave the Curve the top two hitters in the league in the duo.
*Injury update: Michael Suchy had surgery last week to remove a broken hamate bone from his hand. He will stay with the team in Altoona while he recovers. Wyatt Mathisen hasn’t played the last few games because of a sore quad, but he will be back in the lineup tomorrow. -Sean McCool
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20170512′,’bra’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
Cole Tucker had a chance for the cycle on Friday night. He came up with one out in the eighth inning and all he needed was a single. He doubled in the fourth inning, homered in the sixth inning, then tripled in the seventh. Unfortunately, Tucker came up short on his cycle bid…or should I say long. He hit his second homer of the game, giving him 13 total bases on the night, while driving in seven runs, as Bradenton won 20-2. Tucker came into the game with eight extra-base hits in his first 33 games and none of those were homers.
It was a group effort from the Marauders. Only Casey Hughston failed to reach base more than once, and he still walked and scored a run. Logan Hill had a huge night that got overshadowed by Tucker. He went 2-for-3 with his ninth homer, three walks, two runs scored and he drove in five runs. Will Craig reached base four times on two singles, a walk, a HBP and scored three runs. Jordan George had two hits, two walks, two RBIs and three runs scored. Alfredo Reyes and Logan Ratledge each scored three runs. Mitch Tolman drove in three runs, and Christian Kelley went 0-for-3, yet he still had two walks, a run scored and a sacrifice fly. Unfortunately for Ke’Bryan Hayes, he had the night off. That amazing thing about all of the offense is that the Marauders had no hits through three inning and they didn’t bat in the ninth.
Logan Sendelbach had the very definition of a bounce back performance. He threw five shutout innings in this game, five days after he allowed nine runs on 12 hits in 2.2 innings. Bret Helton allowed one run over three innings, while Jake Brentz allowed his second run of the season in the ninth inning.
[expand title=”Box Score” tag=”span”]
[insert_php]
create_boxscore(‘20170512′,’wva’);
[/insert_php]
[/expand]
West Virginia was rained out.
