A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time (Max Moroff), 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 Mid-Season Update, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.
1. Mitch Keller, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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2. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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3. Shane Baz, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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4. Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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5. Kevin Newman, SS, Altoona – [insert_php]
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6. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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7. Will Craig, 3B, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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8. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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9. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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10. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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11. Calvin Mitchell, OF, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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12. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Bristol – [insert_php]
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13. Edgar Santana, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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14. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Altoona -[insert_php]
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15. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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16. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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17. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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18. Luis Escobar, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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19. Max Kranick, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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20. Steven Jennings, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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21. Adrian Valerio, SS, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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22. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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23. Conner Uselton, OF, GCL Pirates – Disabled List
24. Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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25. Eric Wood, 3B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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26. Eduardo Vera, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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27. Logan Hill, LF, Altoona – [insert_php]
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28. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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29. Lolo Sanchez, CF, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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30. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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Indianapolis lost 9-4, as Nick Kingham got roughed up in four innings of work against Durham. Kingham actually had a strong first inning, then some bad luck after that led to the game getting out of hand. Three of the hits during the second and third innings hit off of the glove of defenders, including a three-run double, so he was inches away from having a much better outing. The flip side is that there were some loud outs as well, so there still would have been some negative takeaways from the game. One batter missed a very long home run down the line by a foot or so, then nearly hit one out the opposite way on the next pitch, sending Danny Ortiz to the right field wall.
Kingham breezed through the fourth innings and lasted into the fifth, but after the first two batters reached, he was done for the night. He threw 87 pitches, with 50 going for strikes. He gave up eight runs on seven hits and four walks, with five strikeouts. He now has a 5.16 ERA in 59.1 innings. Edgar Santana and Dovydas Neverauskas combined for three shutout innings.
Danny Ortiz hit a three-run homer, his eighth home run of the season. Eric Wood had two hits, including his 21st double. Jordan Luplow had two singles and a run scored.
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Altoona won 3-2 over Harrisburg on Wednesday afternoon. Austin Coley got the start and went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits and four walks, which striking out seven batters. Despite the walks, he wasn’t that wild in the game, throwing 57 of his 90 pitches for strikes. Both the walks and strikeouts are season highs for him. Coley posted a 7:3 GO/AO ratio. He now has a 3.10 ERA through 98.2 innings.
Yeudy Garcia had an impressive shutout inning of work, needing nine pitches (seven strikes) to get three ground ball outs. Tate Scioneaux finished out the game with two scoreless frames.
Kevin Newman went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly, which was the go ahead run in the seventh inning. Despite a recent hitting streak, it involved a lot of games with one hit. In his last ten games, he is batting .233 (10-for-43) with one walk. Logan Hill and Tomas Morales each had two hits. Elvis Escobar hit his third home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth inning to tie the score.
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Bradenton lost 4-3 on Wednesday morning, but they got a strong outing from Pedro Vasquez. The Marauders had a good chance to win or tie this game late. In the bottom of the ninth will two outs, Alexis Bastardo walked to load the bases in a 4-2 game. Will Craig pinch-hit for Casey Hughston and drew a bases loaded walk. That brought up former Major Leaguer John Bormann, who grounded out to third base to end the game. All four runs were scored off of reliever Geoff Hartlieb in his two innings of work.
Vasquez breezed through five scoreless innings on two hits, a walk and seven strikeouts. He was done after 74 pitches, but it appeared from watching that he was scheduled for a shorter outing, as he finished strong and looked fine coming off the mound. Vasquez has already thrown a career-high 101 innings this season, so they may be limiting him the rest of the way. Even at five innings an outing the rest of the season, he would finish just under 150 innings, unless they decide to skip him or add a sixth start. Gage Hinsz, Mitch Keller and Cam Vieaux should all be fine for innings the rest of the way, so skipping Vasquez at some point seems more likely that adding another starter, which would limit everyone else as well.
Vasquez now has a 2.31 ERA, which ranks him first in the FSL. He also has the third most innings, just two outs behind the league leader.
On offense, Ty Moore had a single, double walk and an RBI. Jordan George had a walk and a single, extending his hit streak to 15 games. Mitchell Tolman hit his 12th double and scored a run. Cole Tucker had a nice game on defense, but he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, breaking a 13-game hit streak. Ke’Bryan Hayes had the day off.
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West Virginia won 7-4 in 11 innings over Kannapolis. Oddy Nunez started and went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, with no walks and four strikeouts. He had a 9:2 GO/AO ratio and 52 of his 84 pitches went for strikes. Nunez cruised through four shutout innings before giving up two runs in the fifth, with the second run scoring on a bunt single. He now has a 3.25 ERA in 80.1 innings this season.
A two-out error in the eighth inning by Trae Arbet led to two unearned runs. Matt Anderson threw 2.1 scoreless innings, though both unearned runs scored with him on the mound trying to get the final out of the eighth in place of Ronny Agustin. Dylan Prohoroff struck out the side in the 11th for the save.
Garrett Brown was the hero in this game, hitting a two-run triple in the 11th inning. He also had an RBI double earlier in the game and scored on a Carlos Munoz single after the triple. Ryan Nagle had two hits, two runs scored and a walk. Kevin Mahala had a single, a walk and two runs scored. Adrian Valerio had two singles and a run scored before leaving this game in the seventh inning after a play at second base. We are trying to get an update on why he left.
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Morgantown lost 5-4 in 13 innings to Auburn. Scooter Hightower started and put the Black Bears down early by allowing three runs in the second inning. That would be all he would give up in his six innings of work, which included just two hits allowed. After Brandon Bingel threw two scoreless innings and Morgantown took a 4-3 lead, Joel Cesar came on for the save. He didn’t get it, but the only run he allowed was unearned. He ended up striking out five batters in two innings. Cesar has given up just four hits in 11 innings. Adam Oller took the loss in his third inning of work when he allowed a walk-off single with one out in the 13th.
Bligh Madris connected on his first pro home run in the ninth inning. He also had a single and his third triple. Chris Sharpe had a double, two walks and two runs scored from the lead-off spot. Raul Siri had a single and three walks. Julio de la Cruz had the very tough night, going 0-for-6 with four strikeouts. It’s his second straight game with four strikeouts. Jared Oliva had a single and an RBI, but he also struck out three times.
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Bristol looked like they were going to win a laugher on Wednesday night and ended up getting blown out. The Pirates took a 7-2 lead in the fourth inning before the Elizabethton bats woke up and put up the next 15 runs of the game, winning by a 17-8 score. Travis MacGregor started and went five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks. He threw 85 pitches, with 74 going for strikes. That led to three strikeouts and a 5:3 GO/AO ratio. MacGregor has a 4.43 ERA in 22.1 innings over six starts. After he left, things got ugly fast for Bristol pitching.
Dany Hernandez, Adonis Pichardo, Miguel Hernandez and Argenis Romano combined to allow 14 runs over the next three innings. Surprisingly, they didn’t walk a single batter between them, but that obviously didn’t help.
The Pirates saw some nice offense with 13 hits, including six with runners in scoring position. Huascar Fuentes, Matt Diorio, Luis Perez and Henrry Rosario each had two hits. Diorio drove in three runs, Rosario brought in a pair. Edison Lantigua left the game early, but I can’t see any reason in the boxscore, so I will try to get an update. He went 1-for-1 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored before leaving (UPDATE: He left due to illness, so no injury). He was replaced by Yondry Contreras, who singled and scored a run. Nick Valaika was the only player for either team not to pick up a hit. He went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts and now has a .120 average.
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The GCL Pirates lost 7-5 to the Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon. Steven Jennings made his third pro start and this did not compared to his first two games when he threw a total of five shutout innings. The 42nd overall draft pick got knocked out of the game in the third inning after allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. He had a 3:1 GO/AO ratio.
Roger Santana pitched the fourth inning and that ended up being his only frame due to a high pitch count. If all went well, Jennings and Santana would have combined for at least eight innings, but they only got in 3.1 today. That led to some interesting relievers though.
Junior Lopez pitched for the first time this season and gave up a run during his one inning. He was suspended for failing a drug test right before the season started, then got hurt while throwing at Pirate City during his suspension. Lopez was sitting 95-96 MPH in this outing. David Lee, who was the 27th round draft pick, made his pro debut. He was the last player to sign, mostly due to his team winning the College World Series. He has very little mound experience, but the brief report from today had him throwing an outstanding curveball during his scoreless inning. Hector Garcia tossed two scoreless innings as he tries to return from an early season arm injury.
The Pirates had plenty of chances to score runs in this game and even came up with some big hits, going 5-for-18 with runners in scoring position. Victor Ngoepe, Gabriel Brito and Francisco Mepris each had two hits and an RBI. Brito and Ngoepe also added a walk to their total. Mason Martin had an RBI double and a walk. Rodolfo Castro had a single, walk and run scored. Lolo Sanchez had a typical busy day, with a single, walk, RBI and two stolen bases, giving him nine steals on the season. Calvin Mitchell returned after missing three games with an eye infection. He went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
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The DSL Pirates lost 6-2 on a day in which they collected just two hits. The Pirates went down 2-0 in the first inning before starter Noe Toribio settled down and followed that up with four scoreless innings. They would tie up the score in the top of the eighth, but reliever Randy Jimenez gave up four runs in the bottom of the inning for the loss. Julio Rosario, who came into the game with 19 walks allowed in 9.2 innings, threw two scoreless innings without a walk.
Emison Soto had the only two hits, both singles, and he didn’t get the first one until the seventh inning. Soto was thrown out trying to steal to end the ballgame. It was an odd play considering they trailed by four runs and he was the only runner on base with two outs. Not only odd (bad) that he decided to run, but usually he wouldn’t be held on at that point.
The Pirates scored their two runs on three walks, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Samuel Inoa.
