The South Atlantic League held their All-Star game last night and it ended in a thrilling 3-3 tie after seven innings due to rain. The West Virginia Power sent four players to the game, though only three played. Cam Vieaux, Trae Arbet and Ty Moore were joined by reliever Jordan Jess, who was a late addition to the squad.
On Monday night, Arbet took part in the Home Run Derby and finished in second place. During the game itself last night, he went 0-for-3 and struck out three times. He batted ninth, started at second base and played the entire game.
Ty Moore also played the entire game and he left with some hardware. He played left field and went 1-for-3 at the plate with a single and a run scored. He was named the Defensive Player of the Game. He only made two plays in the game, so one of them (or both) must have been a nice play.
Cam Vieaux was the one who didn’t play, but Jordan Jess had an impressive performance in this game. I had to check to verify this first before writing it up, because Gameday sometimes won’t keep track of balls/strikes correctly. Jess started the first batter of the bottom of the fifth off with nine straight foul balls. Seven pitches later, he had three strikeouts. He threw 16 pitches and all 16 were strikes.
* If you missed it from yesterday morning because it got pushed off the top spot quickly due to draft news, I broke down the West Virginia player performances from the first half. I mentioned all 32 players they have used so far this season. Not an exciting group, but there are some players who have made a lot of progress since last year.
* The GCL Pirates are starting to take shape with Conner Uselton and Calvin Mitchell signing last night. Both will play in an outfield that also contains two international players of note. Both Kevin Sanchez and Jeremias Portorreal are slated for the GCL this season. Portorreal had a breakout season last year in the DSL and has hit well this year during Extended Spring Training, although the defense wasn’t highly regarded. Sanchez received the highest bonus ($450,000) for the Pirates during the 2015-16 international signing period. He’s a speedy center fielder with a solid approach at the plate.
In addition to the stacked outfield, Shane Baz will be the main attraction. The Pirates also took a pretty good pitcher with the 42nd overall pick, so whenever Steven Jennings signs (he has indicated he will) he will be assigned to the GCL. You will also get sixth round pick Cody Bolton and 19th round pick Jake Webb, two high school pitchers with upside who have said they will sign. It’s going to be a fun team to follow, and I’ve already made my plans to go see those players during the Fall Instructional League.
* Andrew McCutchen passed Dick Groat last night for 17th place on the Pirates all-time list for games played. McCutchen now sits at 1,259, which is 37 games behind Manny Sanguillen for 16th place. There are 34 games left before the July 31st trade deadline. Chances Sanguillen stays in 16th place for a long time? We will know in 40 days.
PLAYOFF PUSH
Bradenton has been eliminated from the first half playoffs
West Virginia has been eliminated from the first half playoffs.
*This section will disappear on Thursday and reappear later in the season with all eight affiliates and the Pirates updated daily.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates won 7-3 on Tuesday night over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates will send Trevor Williams to the mound tonight for his ninth start. He has a 5.06 ERA in three starts this month and had a 5.06 ERA in five starts and one relief appearance last month. The Brewers will counter with right-handed pitcher Junior Guerra, who has a 2.84 ERA in six starts, with a 1.23 WHIP and 21 strikeouts in 31.2 innings.
In the minors, Nick Kingham gets the start for Indianapolis. He has been limited to 13.2 innings total over his last three starts. In those starts, he has allowed 11 earned runs on 22 hits and six walks. The Altoona starter for tonight’s game is Dario Agrazal, who is making his Double-A debut. He left the Florida State League as the leader in innings pitched with 80.1, fifth with a 1.03 WHIP and just outside the top ten with 63 strikeouts. Sergio Cubilete is scheduled for Morgantown. More on him in the season preview, which was posted yesterday. West Virginia is on their All-Star break for one more day.
MLB: Pittsburgh (33-38) @ Brewers (38-35) 8:10 PM
Probable starter: Trevor Williams (5.16 ERA, 15:34 BB/SO, 52.1 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (40-30) vs Toledo (30-39) 1:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Nick Kingham (4.83 ERA, 12:28 BB/SO, 31.2 IP)
AA: Altoona (38-30) vs Trenton (46-24) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Dario Agrazal (NR)
High-A: Bradenton (37-29) @ Clearwater (37-32) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Taylor Hearn (4.60 ERA, 27:74 BB/SO, 60.2 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (30-36) vs Lexington (34-35) 7:05 PM 6/22 (season preview)
Probable starter: TBD
Short-Season A: Morgantown (1-1) @ Williamsport (1-1) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable Starter: Sergio Cubilete (NR)
DSL: Pirates (7-8) vs Cubs1 (4-11) 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is our first Morgantown highlight. Sandy Santos showing off out in left field
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
6/20 Pirates sign Conner Uselton and Calvin Mitchell.
6/20: Pirates announce nine draft signings.
6/20: Dario Agrazal promoted to Altoona. Yeudy Garcia placed on disabled list.
6/19: Tomas Morales assigned to Altoona. Zane Chavez placed on disabled list.
6/18: Chris Stewart activated from the disabled list. Jacob Stallings optioned to Indianapolis.
6/16: Pirates sign Shane Baz.
6/16: Justin Maffei assigned to Altoona.
6/15: Ronny Agustin assigned to West Virginia.
6/14: Matt Frawley sent to New York Yankees as part of earlier trade.
6/14: Francisco Cervelli activated from disabled list. A.J.Schugel optioned to Indianapolis.
6/13: Adrian Valerio and Victor Fernandez activated from disabled list. Sandy Santos and Andrew Walker assigned to Morgantown
6/13: Barrett Barnes placed on disabled list. Justin Maffei and Eury Perez assigned to Indianapolis.
6/13: Anderson Feliz assigned to Altoona.
6/12: Jameson Taillon activated from disabled list. Phil Gosselin optioned to Indianapolis.
6/11: Kevin Kramer placed on disabled list.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Two former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus one game of note. The players are 1B/RF Garrett Jones and 1923 infielder Spencer Adams. Jones played five years for the Pirates, hitting .256/.318/.462 in 677 games, with exactly 100 homers. Adams spent four years in the majors, playing one year each with four different teams. With the Pirates as a rookie, he had a .608 OPS in 25 games, splitting his time between second base and shortstop.
On this date in 1888, the Pittsburgh Pirates (then know as Alleghenys) were no-hit for the first time in franchise history. It was a six inning game, called due to rain. Pittsburgh lost 1-0 and reached base twice in the game, once by error and once on a walk. The opposing pitcher for the Chicago White Stockings was George Van Haltren, who has a connection to the Pirates. He played for Pittsburgh in 1892 and 1893, and by that time he was an outfielder. He hit .338 during that second season. Van Haltren won 40 games as a pitcher, but made his name as a hitter and he is one of the best players not in the Hall of Fame. He hit .316 career in 1,990 games and scored 1,642 runs, while stealing 587 bases. He is also fourth all-time in outfield assists.
