A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time (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]
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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, Indianapolis – [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, Bristol – [insert_php]
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13. Max Kranick, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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14. Elias Diaz, C, Pirates – [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, Bristol – [insert_php]
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24. Barrett Barnes, LF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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25. Max Moroff, 2B, Pirates -[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. Jin-De Jhang, C, Altoona – [insert_php]
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Indianapolis lost 6-5 to Columbus on Wednesday night, but they got a couple big hits from new bats in their lineup. Starling Marte hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning to make the game close. Jordan Luplow hit a solo shot in the sixth inning, his second for Indianapolis and 18th on the season. Marte also had a single, walk and a stolen base. He was the designated hitter on this night. Luplow also added a walk and an RBI single in the fourth inning.
Drew Hutchison started this game and couldn’t keep up the terrific pace he put up in June with a 1.87 ERA. He gave up a three-run homer in the first inning, then another three runs over the rest of his 5.1 innings. He gave up two homers in the game, with eight hits, two walks and four strikeouts. It was his shortest outing since May and the most runs he has allowed this season.
Edgar Santana made his return to Indianapolis and threw 1.2 shutout innings on two hits, one walk and two strikeouts.
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ALTOONA, Pa. – J.T. Brubaker took the hill tonight, looking to rediscover his winning ways from a few starts ago. In his last three outings, Brubaker has allowed 15 earned runs in 11 innings, good for a 12.27 ERA. In the two starts before then, he threw 13 scoreless innings. Needless to say, things have been up and down for Brubaker.
Unfortunately tonight, he continued on his stretch of poor starts, only working three innings and allowing four earned runs. Two of the runs that scored against him in the second inning were a result of a double down that line that looked to take a funny hop on Wyatt Mathisen; however, he was still hit pretty hard all night.
“He didn’t finish hitters,” Manager Michael Ryan said. “There were a lot of two strike hits, and he couldn’t get out of innings. Two out runs all the time lately. Finish should be the keyword for him – finish hitters and finish innings.”
When Brubaker is able to locate his stuff in the bottom of the zone, he has been very good. When his stuff is elevated, like it was tonight, he can be extremely hittable.
The difference between double digit strikeouts, like four starts ago, and only getting through three innings is easy.
“Up in the zone compared to down in the zone,” Ryan said. “That’s what the difference is.”
Sean Keselica relieved Brubaker in the fourth (after pinch-hitting himself in the bottom of the third), and he went two scoreless innings. Keselica allowed two walks and struck out one batter. With these two innings, he lowered his ERA to 1.99 in 49.2 innings this season.
Brandon Cumpton came in after Keselica, pitching in Altoona for the first time since August of 2013. He made his Double-A debut this season this past Saturday in Erie, pitching one scoreless inning. Tonight, Cumpton struggled through his first two batters, allowing a long double to left center field and then a walk; however, he recorded six straight outs to get through his two innings of work. More specifically, it only took him six pitches in the seventh inning to get three outs. His fastball reached 94 MPH tonight.
“The stuff looks good to me,” Ryan said. “The most important thing is how he feels. He says he feels good, so that’s the win for us. That’s what the whole organization is excited about.”
The current plan is for Cumpton to remain in the bullpen and not pitch more than two innings.
Miguel Rosario and Jake Brentz each threw a scoreless inning of relief. Rosario now has an ERA of 0.94 this season.
Offensively, Jerrick Suiter went 3-for-3 with a walk for the Curve tonight. He hit his fifth home run of the season in the second inning. He also added an RBI single in the sixth and a line drive single to center field in the ninth. Suiter has put up some really good numbers since his promotion to Double-A, batting .291 with seven doubles and a triple. He has seen a nice jump in numbers since his time in Bradenton, where he only had an OPS of .630 earlier this season. He looks to be hitting like he was in West Virginia two seasons ago, which is a good sign for the 2014 26th round draft pick.
Otherwise, Jin-De Jhang was the only other Curve player with two hits tonight. He also laid down a successful sacrifice bunt in the ninth. -Sean McCool
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Bradenton lost a tough one on Wednesday night, dropping a 3-2 decision to Palm Beach in 14 innings. Cam Vieaux started this game and did an impressive job of limiting the damage. He went seven innings, giving up two runs on 11 hits and a hit batter. He now has a 1.42 ERA in three starts with Bradenton. Vieaux’s previous high for hits allowed was eight, which happened once this year and once last year.
After Vieaux left, Daniel Zamora, Geoff Hartlieb and Jess Amedee each threw two shutout innings. Amedee was asked to go a third inning and that’s when things fell apart. He walked two batters, threw a wild pitch, then allowed a walk-off single on an infield hit to third base. Mitchell Tolman was at third base in this game after Ke’Bryan Hayes left Tuesday’s game with what appeared to be a minor leg injury.
Bradenton had a lot of scoring chances in this one. They stranded ten runners and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Cole Tucker reached base four times on a single, double, walk and a HBP. Will Craig had two singles and a sacrifice fly in six trips to the plate. Jordan George had two hits and an RBI. Mitchell Tolman collected his eighth double.
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West Virginia had their game suspended in the third inning. They were trailing 6-2 at the time and starter James Marvel had allowed all six runs. The game will be resumed tomorrow before the regularly scheduled game.
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Morgantown lost 4-1 on a quiet night for their bats. Gavin Wallace started and he went four shutout innings on three hits and no walks, with four strikeouts. He threw two shutout innings in his debut, and then went three scoreless in his last game, so he continues to look strong as he raises his inning totals each time out. Nicholas Economos was next out and he allowed four runs in his two innings. Pasquale Mazzocoli then retired all six batters he faced, three by strikeouts.
The team put together just three hits, yet they still had some chances to score. That’s because they had two extra-base hits, six walks, went 3-for-3 in steals and had three batters reach on hit-by-pitches. They didn’t capitalize though, going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranding ten men on base. The big problem was that they struck out 14 times in the game.
Deon Stafford hit his fourth double and also drew a walk. Lucas Tancas hit his first double and stole his first base. Dylan Busby went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. He is 1-for-9 with three walks in his first three games.
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Bristol moved to 4-10 on the season with a 9-4 win over Kingsport. The Pirates were down 4-0 going into the sixth inning, then scored the last nine runs of the game.
This game was supposed to be a start for Jacob Taylor, but he’s dealing with a minor back injury, so Evan Piechota was asked to fill in. He allowed four runs over 4.2 innings in his first pro start. After he left, Drew Fischer and Miguel Hernandez were nearly perfect. They combined for 4.1 no-hit innings, with Fischer issuing one walk and Hernandez retiring all six batters he faced.
Yondry Contreras was back in the lead-off spot after batting down in the order for one game. He responded with a two-run triple in the eighth inning. Luis Perez had two doubles and drove in two runs. Henrry Rosario drove in three runs. Matt Diorio had a double, two walks and two runs scored. Kyle Watson had two walks and two runs scored. Melvin Jimenez had two hits and a run scored.
There was apparently some poor umpiring in this game, as both managers were ejected by the home plate umpire within the first three innings.
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The GCL Pirates lost 7-2 to the Phillies to drop to 2-7 on the season. Austin Shields started and had some control issues, but there was a positive from the outing. Shields walked four batters, yet he was able to limit the damage to one run and get through five innings. That last part is the important takeaway from the game because he was still working his way back from a May arm injury that shut him down for a very brief time. His control hasn’t been on since he came back, walking ten batters in 9.2 innings, but he has a 1.85 ERA and a .176 BAA. Now he can go from rehab mode, which this technically was for him, into improving his control, to get it back to where it was for the first half of Extended Spring Training before the injury.
The Pirates had six hits in the game, with Lolo Sanchez and Gabriel Brito collecting two hits apiece. Sanchez stole his third base and scored a run, while Brito hit his second double and also scored a run. Rodolfo Castro went 1-for-4 and has reached base safely in all eight games.
Samuel Reyes allowed a home run to the second batter he faced. That’s the only run he has allowed in 9.1 innings in the GCL.
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The DSL Pirates won 7-1 on Wednesday over the Dodgers2, taking two games from one of the best teams in the league. The Pirates now have an 18-10 record on the season.
Starter Jose Marcano went five innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk. That lone tally scored on a fourth inning home run. Marcano struck out three batters and posted a 7:2 GO/AO ratio. Pablo Santana finished the game for the rare four inning save. He threw shutout ball on three hits and one walk, with two strikeouts.
On offense for the Pirates, shortstop Francisco Acuna had a big day, going 3-for-5 with two triples, two runs scored and two RBIs. Sherten Apostel slugged his first home run of the season, driving in his 25th run in 25 games. Larry Alcime played his first full game back after a hamstring injury and went 1-for-5 with a run scored. Rayvi Rodriguez got a rare start and tripled, scored two runs and stole his third base. Kyle Simmons stole three bases in the game to give him eight on the season. Matthew Mercedes hit his fifth double.
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
Who’s this Marte guy at AAA? The guy’s killing it.
I think he’s someone they like a lot. He’s moved up through the system pretty quickly.
Since the don’t have a spot for Luplow in Indy while Marte is there maybe they should send him to the Pirates. Would be nice to have an actual outfielder that can hit. Just kidding I know he was just promoted to AAA and Clint would never play him ahead of a vet anyway.
The second part of your last sentence is why I would like to see CH gone. Jose Osuna has shown power – better slugging percentage than Jaso, and much better than Frazier, and he hits RHP’s better than both Jaso and Frazier. But, why play a 24 year old with better numbers when you can get a 33 year old former Catcher like Jaso out there?
I don’t mind seeing Jaso because hes been a very hot hitter lately, but i do wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment. Never before this year has the lineup construction seemed more baffling. Frazier looks overexposed, but plays almost every night while Osuna PH every third game. Diaz crushes the ball and shows off a laser for an arm and Chris Stewart starts 3 of 4 games. Ngoepe is the only other major league caliber SS we had defensively, yet he started how many more games at 2nd, where his bat profiled even worse. Been a frustrating season to watch.
So they play Osuna and he gives them 3 OF Assists. You mentioned Gift Ngoepe – I agree and hope the Pirates have him report directly to Chicago today. He’s the best MI backup in the Pirates system.
Kevin Newman needs to be promoted to AAA. I would DFA Moroff and his .323 OPS and Gosselin and his .320 OPS rather than allowing them to continue to clog the system. Time to push guys like Newman, Tucker, Valerio, and Alemais.
hope Calvin Mitchell is just getting a mental break.
He played Monday and Tuesday. No one plays every single day in the GCL. He’s coming off of a HS schedule where they sometimes played 2-3 games a week to a schedule that has six games a week in the brutal Florida sun everyday.
Thx!
Man…luplow’s batted ball profile is unexpected. In a year where he setting career highs in ISO and home runs, he has meaningfully lowered his fly ball % and increased his ground ball %. He is also both pulling more and going opposite field more frequently than in past years, and going center much less. His HR/FB is ~20% which seems unsustainable. His BABIP and k% are pretty stable with prior years, walk rate is a touch lower.
Can someone with more experience in this stuff opine on whether this all makes sense in aggregate, or is luplow getting lucky with all his homers?
It’s a good observation, but I wouldn’t be so quick to call this a meaningful change…minor league batted ball data is notoriously wonky and there’s still ~40% of the season to go. He has shown a steady increase in pull percentage as he’s developed and pulled balls are more likely to be hit on the ground so there’s probably *some* signal here, just maybe not so strong that it indicates a permanent change.
You’re probably correct to question the *sustainability* of a 20% HR/FB rate. That’s tough for anyone to sustain, especially a guy who hits a lot of fly balls like Luplow.
Fear the Lolo. And can we call the DSL team Los Piratas?
Apostel had 25 RBI’s in 25 games…impressive. Polanco has 20 RBI’s in almost 50 games. Maybe a swap is in order…..
He is definitely somebody to watch, but his glove leaves a lot to be desired.
Of course, when Miguel Sano was in Lo A he had 42 errors in 120 games at 3B. Last year at Minnesota he was still fielding under .900, but he was used as a DH quite a bit.
Will Gift Ngoepe still be with the black bears tomorrow?
They haven’t said how long his rehab will be, but I find it hard to believe they would send him there just to play one game.
That DSL offense has been looking really good the last week to ten days
They have been surprisingly good lately. It’s not a high offense league and a lot of the big numbers are put up by the older players in their 3rd/4th years in the league. So to see a bunch of first year players and a couple in their second year, put up big offense numbers is impressive.
Jose Marcano and Pablo Santana had to be excellent to combine for 9 innings of one run ball in the DSL, especially against the Dodger team. I could not find any info about them in the P2 Prospect Guide other than just Marcano being signed. He is listed as 6’2″ 193 and is a LHSP who just turned 18. Any info about the types of pitches they throw/velocity? Thank you.
Before the season, they had a couple weeks of Pirates vs Pirates games in Spring Training and I talked to a handful of the hitters afterwards and asked them about the best pitchers. Neither Marcano nor Santana were mentioned by anyone, so I held off on getting reports on them. I’ll either ask more about them if they make one of our The Twenty articles or for the season wrap-up
Blame it on NH and Gayo who don’t know how to sign good international talent 🙂
You are talking about players in the lowest level of professional baseball and you think NH and gayo are great. Please reconsider what you are saying. those players haven’t proven anything to anybody yet and most if not all will fail.
Right. So why even have a Dominican team, Debbie Downer? Sheesh.
I was just teasing. Of course most will fail, that is a given. But they certainly are performing better than predicted and maybe there will be one or two who turn out to be real prospects.