Every week we have live reports from all over the system, while I provided additional views of the minors via MiLB.tv, which included Indianapolis, Altoona and Bradenton this week. We also had live coverage of Indianapolis, Altoona, Bradenton and West Virginia in the past week. All of these reports are combined and used each week to highlight the top performers during that time span. We go with the top ten hitters and pitchers, giving you the 20 best players from last week.
HITTERS
Stephen Alemais, SS, West Virginia – The hitters section is dominated by West Virginia players this week, partially due to the fact most players on Indianapolis and Altoona didn’t have enough plate appearances due to weather issues. The other part is that Power hitters as a group had a huge week. Alemais homered as part of a three-hit game on Friday. He had two hits on Wednesday and he hit his fifth double of the season on Sunday. Alemais has continued to impress with the glove this season, as he is one of the best defensive players in the entire system. The hitting has been average at best, as you would expect more from a major college player in Low-A ball. He has a respectable .784 OPS in 22 games, showing a little bit of pop in his bat. On the other hand, he has just four walks and 22 strikeouts, so you’d like to see both of those areas improve. He didn’t take many walks last year, but this is a big jump in strikeouts. Alemais is still on track to end his season in Bradenton this year. – John Dreker
Trae Arbet, 2B, West Virginia – From a team standpoint, Arbet had a huge week by driving in 11 runs. He has a seven-game hit streak going, with six of those games coming last week. He also slugged his fifth home run of the season. We have mentioned that he needs to keep hitting well to make it further in the system, because he doesn’t add anything on defense or on the bases. Arbet has continued to hit so far though, despite 26 strikeouts in 26 games, including no walks and 12 strikeouts in his last nine games. He has a .307/.369/.564 slash line this season, which has him ranked eighth in the South Atlantic League in OPS and tops on his team. Arbet turns 23 on July 1st and he’s in his fifth season in the system, so it would be nice to see him reach Bradenton at some point this season, where he would be more age appropriate for the league. If he can continue to hit at the upper levels, they will find a better defensive spot for him. – JD
Alexis Bastardo, OF, West Virginia – Back in 2013, I got opinions on Alexis Bastardo and his outfield teammate Tito Polo that were basically split down the middle. Polo had some recurring hamstring issues that season, so when I rated them, I put Bastardo one spot higher. It didn’t take long for the tables to turn and Bastardo was the injured one, suffering a shoulder injury that cost him most of the 2014 season. Despite putting up a .344 average in 19 games, it was clear that he lost something and Polo pulled away as the best prospect. Cut to this Spring Training and I was getting reports that Bastardo was crushing the ball all spring. Now three years removed from his injury and getting a chance to play, he has looked impressive recently. Bastardo got a spot in center field when Sandy Santos showed a lack of effort. He ran with that chance, playing strong defense and collecting six hits over the last four games, including two homers on Sunday. It would be quite the comeback if he can start looking like the potential five-tool outfielder people saw prior to his injury. – JD
Clark Eagan, OF, West Virginia – Eagan was a ninth round draft pick last year and received a $160,000 bonus out of a major college program (Arkansas), but he didn’t show anything of note last year with Morgantown or during April in West Virginia. His month of May is off to a strong start though, as he picked up seven hits over the last three days, including two of his three career homers. On the season in 24 games, Eagan has a .291/.347/.442 slash line. His OPS has gone up 140 points since the end of April. As a corner outfielder with average defense and speed, he’s going to need to show more of that power that showed up this week and continue to do a solid job of getting on base. One area where he has recently excelled is making contact. After 13 strikeouts in his first 53 plate appearances, he has struck out just twice in his last 42 plate appearances. – JD
Christian Kelley, C, Bradenton – Kelley moved up on the Pirates’ depth charts last year due to his defense and his work with the pitching staff. He looked to add to his value this year by improving his offense, so he would be more than just a defensive catcher. So far, he has accomplished this. He’s currently hitting for a .333/.422/.436 line in 94 plate appearances this year, which is impressive considering he’s in the pitcher friendly Florida State League. In the last week he went 10-for-19 with a double and a home run. Kelley added a leg kick this year, eventually getting to a point where he was more comfortable with the adjustment, and felt better from a timing standpoint. It’s too early to say whether this will lead to long-term results like we’re seeing now, but it’s always good to see an adjustment and a good reason to match an improvement in the results. – Tim Williams
Jordan Luplow, LF, Altoona – Going into action on April 25th, Luplow had a .214/.267/.393 slash line in his first 15 games. Since then he has hit .353/.410/.765 in ten games. That includes two-hit games on Monday and Tuesday, and home runs on Tuesday and Sunday. Luplow flashed some power back in 2015 with West Virginia when he led all Pirates with 36 doubles and added three triples and 12 homers. The numbers went down in 2016, albeit in fewer at-bats and while playing in the pitcher-friendly FSL. Now in Altoona and playing left field regularly, we should see what kind of power he has, and whether he becomes a legit prospect. He’s playing this entire season at 23 years old, which is age appropriate for Double-A. He has shown an ability to draw walks and not strikeout too much while hitting for some power. If he can continue in that direction, than you have someone who could end up as a solid fourth outfielder for the Pirates by the second half of next year. – JD
Max Moroff, INF, Indianapolis – Max Moroff as a power hitter? Well, so far this season, yes. He hit three home runs last week and has eight this season, already tying a career high he set with Indianapolis last season and West Virginia in 2013. But there’s one big difference from those seasons and this year: the frequency in which he’s hitting them. Moroff has eight home runs this season in just 97 at-bats, needing 421 and 429 at-bats to reach those marks in previous seasons. Moroff hit two home runs — one from each side of the plate — in Indianapolis’ win over Columbus on Sunday. Moroff had a slash line of .375/.474/.938 in four games last week, a schedule that was lightened by two games being postponed due to inclement weather. Moroff hit a home run in each of his first three games this season, but cooled off after that and his average dipped to below .200 near the end of April. But Moroff’s recent surge — he’s hitting .325 over his previous 10 games — has his season average up to a more respectable .258. Moroff’s power increase shouldn’t entirely be a surprise, his groundout-flyout ratio is 0.82 this season, as it continues to drop from where it was in previous seasons. Indianapolis hitting coach Butch Wynegar has wanted Moroff to be more aggressive in at-bats and to do so from the first pitch, adding the infielder has some power. The one drawback is Moroff has committed 10 errors this season, 6 of them in 15 games at shortstop. If he can become a little more efficient in the field, his prospect value will increase if he continues to hit the way he has lately. – Brian Peloza
Carlos Munoz, 1B, West Virginia – A recent stretch of offensive success has Munoz with some strong numbers on the season now. In 25 games, the lefty hitter first baseman has a .295/.432/.466 slash line. Those numbers come with the giant caveat that he’s in his seventh season of pro ball and he’s played three season of winter ball against competition that is at least Double-A quality, with him facing the occasional Major League pitcher. Basically, Munoz should be hitting this well in Low-A. As a seventh year player who didn’t get promoted this season, it’s hard to see much of a future for him in the system. He’s showing his skills with the bat, including 20 walks against just 11 strikeouts. You would definitely like to see some more power because he has negative value on the bases and his defense is average at best. – JD
Hunter Owen, 3B, West Virginia – Owen continues to put up solid numbers at the plate, ranking ninth in the South Atlantic League in OPS due to a .287/.412/.500 slash line. He hit the ball well all spring too, so the stats have carried over into the regular season. As a player who turns 24 in September, his age works against him. He’s two years older than the average position player in the South Atlantic League. That makes it hard to prove anything offensively at the level, but it’s probably the right spot for him now, especially if they plan on leaving him at third base. Owen could use a lot of work at the position, and with Ke’Bryan Hayes ahead of him at Bradenton, West Virginia is where he is going to get the most playing time. I’ve seen him play outfield and that would be a much better spot for him on defense. If the bat continues to show well, then it will be solid enough for a corner outfielder. – JD
Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – Tucker has been running wild on Florida State League pitchers this year. He has 23 stolen bases in 27 attempts. Out of the four caught stealing, two were at third base, and two were at second, one of which was on a pitchout, and all of which were close calls. This week he went 9-for-27 at the plate, but also walked six times and stole 10 bases in 11 attempts, with two different four-steal games. Out of those ten stolen bases, four of them were of third base. Tucker isn’t the fastest runner, usually averaging around 55 grade speed, but sometimes trending higher. He gets a lot of his results due to being a smart base runner, picking his spots, and reading the pitcher well to get a good jump. If he can do a good job of getting on base consistently (.353 OBP this year), then he could really maximize his ability to steal bases, turning walks and singles into doubles and triples with the extra bag or two. – TW
PITCHERS
Tanner Anderson, RHP, Altoona – In his first season as a full-time starter, Anderson has been solid in four of his five outings so far. He made The Twenty this week after allowing one run over five innings in his only start. Last week he was on the list after one run over six innings, and he began the year with one run over his first 10.2 innings. His only poor start was three runs over 5.2 innings and included an unusual amount of walks (four, which is a career-high). Anderson has a 1.98 ERA over 27.1 innings. Opponents are batting .273 against him, but many of the hits he allows are ground ball singles that find a hole in the infield. He combats the high hit total with a low walk rate and the ability to get ground ball double plays when he’s in a jam. Anderson has served up just two homers in his three seasons and he has a 3.32 career GO/AO ratio. He’s a pitch-to-contact pitcher and so far, that has worked for him in Double-A. You would like to see more swing-and-miss from him, but at minimum he now projects as a ground ball middle reliever, which is a pretty good result from a 20th round draft pick. – JD
Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – Brault hasn’t been awful this season, but he also hasn’t reached his potential. He might be slowly turning a corner. He allowed one run on five hits in five innings against Columbus on Saturday, striking out seven and walking two in his only start last week. That’s the second time in three starts that Brault has allowed just one run on five hits. Ideally, his pitch count would be lower, so he can get deeper into the games. He threw 95 pitches in his five innings on Saturday. When discussing possibilities to replace Jameson Taillon in the starting rotation while he’s dealing with a groin issue, Brault wasn’t considered an option due to his inconsistencies. He’s looked good at times, allowing just one run in four starts this season. But he’s also had outings where he’s given up four runs and three runs, respectively. Brault seems to be turning a corner by getting his command a little more under control. If he starts to be more efficient with his pitch count, then he will again emerge as an option in Pittsburgh. – BP
JT Brubaker, RHP, Altoona – Last Tuesday night, Brubaker was spectacular in 6.2 innings of work without allowing a run. Although he has had problems with keeping the ball on the ground (and in the ballpark) so far this season, Brubaker induced three extremely timely double plays that helped him keep Richmond scoreless. It was the first time Brubaker pitched into the seventh inning this year, and he reached the 100 pitched plateau for the first time in his professional career. His fastball was good, hitting 94-95 MPH, and he coupled it with a good slider and changeup. He also did a good job getting ahead in the count, allowing him room to use his breaking pitches more. When Brubaker’s two-seamer has good sinking action, he can be very effective. He has size and room to grow more into a tall pitcher’s body. – Sean McCool
Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Altoona – Garcia has had quite a turnaround from his first three starts this season. He began the year with a 10.80 ERA and only 8.1 innings pitched in those first three games. The low inning total was due to the damage he gave up and his own high pitch counts. He made The Twenty last week after a 5.2 inning performance in which he didn’t allow an earned run. That start included him hitting 95 MPH and mixing in his changeup and slider effectively. That’s what he needs to continue to do to have success. I’m not sure we will see the 2015 Garcia again who sat 93-95 MPH and touched 97, but he can still be effective in the low-90s, with his slider as a strikeout pitch and the changeup to keep batters guessing. He’s going to need to exhibit better control because the pitch count issues crept up on Sunday when he needed 43 pitches over the final two innings, limiting him to five frames. He didn’t allow any earned runs for a second straight game, but now you want to see him go deep in a game while also getting results. – JD
Taylor Hearn, LHP, Bradenton – Hearn has seen some starts this year where his control has been off. His outing at the start of the week saw exactly that, with four walks allowed in six innings. He also has seen some starts where his control has been better, which happened at the end of the week, with just two walks in 6.2 innings. Throughout almost all of his starts this year, he has been dominant, regardless of the control. He struck out eight and allowed two runs in each outing this week, combining to allow four runs on five hits and six walks in 12.2 innings, with 16 strikeouts. Hearn’s fastball is electric, and when the slider is on, it can look like a plus offering. He’s going to have to work to continue refining his control as he moves up. This could be a situation similar to Tyler Glasnow’s control issues, where you don’t really notice the problem as much in the lower levels because his stuff allows him to hide the poor control and continue posting strong numbers. – TW
Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bradenton – Hinsz had the best start of his career last week, throwing seven shutout innings with one run on three hits, no walks, and four strikeouts. He has been working on some mechanical adjustments, focusing on when to separate his hands from his glove, which is aimed to keep his timing consistent. He was hoping to continue these improvements and carry them over into his next start, but shoulder soreness prevented that from happening, forcing him to miss his second start of the week on Sunday. The current hope is that he returns for his next start in five days, tentatively scheduled for Friday. – TW
Mitch Keller, RHP, Bradenton – Keller has been working recently on throwing his secondary stuff earlier in games. At the start of the season, opposing hitters were picking up that he was only throwing fastballs, and were starting to sit on the pitch after the first few innings, before he started incorporating his secondary stuff. He began using his off-speed stuff earlier in recent starts, including using the curveball a few times in the first inning and using the changeup more frequently in his last outing. He went seven shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out nine. All nine strikeouts came on the curveball. He’s noticed that by using the secondary stuff earlier in recent starts, opposing hitters are playing more of a guessing game, giving his fastball an edge again all throughout the game. – TW
James Marvel, RHP, West Virginia – Marvel had one really bad start this season, giving up six runs over 3.2 innings. He told Abigail Miskowiec that even though he let things fall apart in that game after starting with three shutout innings, the game helped him out by teaching him a lesson. After he gave up a hit in the fourth, he tried to make the perfect pitches to the next couple hitters, instead of continuing his game plan of attacking the zone. That’s when things fell apart. It appears he learned that lesson well, as he returned this week with one run over six innings, with no walks and a career-high eight strikeouts. Marvel is now in his first full season removed from Tommy John surgery and he’s throwing harder, adding about three MPH to his fastball, which now sits 91-93 with sinking action. He’s also commanding his pitches better, leading to an increase in strikeouts, while also maintaining a solid ground ball rate. I’d expect him to end up at Bradenton sometime this season and he should be good to go all season without having his innings limited. – JD
Oddy Nunez, LHP, West Virginia – With better defense behind him, more people would be talking about the performance put forward this season by Oddy Nunez. West Virginia’s infield has left him out to dry in two of his starts this season. After a rough season opener, the 20-year-old, 6’7″, southpaw has allowed five earned runs in five starts. Three of those earned runs would have been unearned if not for some generous hometown scoring that turned obvious errors into hits. Nunez has done his part so far, getting a ton of weak contact off of his low-90s fastball that he throws on a downward plane. He has a 3.36 GO/AO ratio and while he’s mostly pitching to contact with a fastball that is hard to square up, he still has 17 strikeouts in 21 innings this season. Nunez is still somewhat raw at this point. He only has two seasons of experience, both were in the bullpen, and he missed nearly a month in the DSL in 2015 due to identity verification issues. Due to the inexperience, expect him to remain limited this year, possibly remaining at a 4 IP/60 pitch limit for the entire season. – JD
Cam Vieaux, LHP, West Virginia – For the fourth week in a row, Cam Vieaux makes an appearance on The Twenty. If his May 7 start is what happens when he doesn’t have his best stuff, we can expect great things from him, especially since he’s old for Low-A and could see time in Bradenton before long. In his Sunday start, Vieaux need 38 pitches to get through his last two innings and had spotty control of both his fastball and slider. Still, he got out of jams and earned his first win. Over his six starts (33.1 innings), Vieaux has only allowed five runs, 28 hits, and six walks. As mentioned last week, Vieaux flirts with danger by relying on fly ball outs, but his fastball has started to touch 93, enabling him to attack hitters more effectively. If Vieaux can rely on that power for a few more strikeouts, he could very well be one of the few breakouts from West Virginia this season. – Abigail Miskowiec
