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, Pirates – [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 — He didn’t rely on his fastball as much as normal, but still grinded through a solid outing.
Nick Kingham allowed one run on five hits over six innings, walking two and striking out four, against Louisville on Sunday in a 1-0 loss.
He likely would have gotten into the seventh inning if not for some extended at-bats in a lengthy second inning that began with a ten-pitch groundout. Kingham threw 29 pitches in the second inning, when he allowed the only run of the game; but averaged 15.6 pitches in the other five innings he pitched.
“Anytime he can go out there and get us six innings of work coming back from Tommy John (surgery) in his first season back from injury, it’s a step in the right direction,” Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett said. “He did his job by giving us six innings and holding that team to one run.”
Ideally, Kingham would have worked more to establish his fastball, Barkett said, noting Kingham instead effectively used more breaking pitches and changeups.
Kingham said recently that he has fallen behind too many hitters, which allows them to dial in his fastball.
“Lately my fastball has been the pitch to hurt me because I’ve been falling behind,” Kingham said. “I’ve been switching it up and mixing it up a little more kind of helped me (on Sunday). We’ll see how it goes – I may stick to it or let the at-bat dictate what happens next. Nothing really off. I just haven’t been getting my off-speed over for strikes, so they’ve been sitting on fastballs.”
Louisville had three consecutive singles in the second inning, leading to the game’s only run. Kingham induced an inning-ending double play. He also erased a lead-off single in the third inning with a double play, retiring nine consecutive batters at one point.
Kingham grinded through the sixth inning, allowing a single that hit the second base bag, but would have been a difficult play to make otherwise. But on the next play, Kingham got some help from Eric Wood who made a diving stop for a groundout at first base.
He walked the next batter before getting Renda to groundout to end the sixth inning.
Kingham threw 107 pitches on Sunday, marking the third consecutive game he’s eclipsed the century mark in pitch count. He’s also completed at least six innings in two of his last three starts.
“The last three (starts), little by little, steps in the right direction,” Kingham said. “I’m happy with the way I’m throwing the ball right now and everything feels good. I just need to repeat. Just keep doing what I did, going into the sixth or seventh with as few runs as possible.”
Wins are not a significant statistic, which is a good thing because Kingham might not get many with the run support he’s getting. Indianapolis has not scored in his last three starts when Kingham has been on the mound – a combined 18.1 innings.
Louisville starter Lisalverto Bonilla — signed and lost on waivers from the Pirates organization in the span of two-plus months last off-season — threw seven shutout innings, allowing two hits, walking one and striking out six.
Eury Perez led the bottom of the ninth inning with a triple into the left-center field gap. Christopher Bostick grounded out to third base and Perez was later caught in a rundown straying too far from third on Jordan Luplow’s grounder to first base. Louisville intentionally walked Danny Ortiz to get to Eric Wood, who grounded out into a fielder’s choice.
Dovydas Neverauskas struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning. – Brian Peloza
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Altoona lost 7-4 to Erie, but Logan Hill had a nice second game for his new team. After hitting 16 homers for Bradenton, it didn’t take Hill long to add to that total in Altoona, connecting on a two-run shot in the third inning. He also added his first double and drew a walk, going 2-for-4 on the day. His 17th homer puts him one ahead of Jordan Luplow for the lead in the farm system.
Cody Dickson started and allowed six runs over four innings. He was followed by Luis Heredia, who limited the damage over his wild three innings. He gave up a run on one hit, but walked four batters and threw 29 of his 55 pitches out of the strike zone. Heredia now has a 3.33 ERA in 27 innings over 17 appearances with Altoona. Jake Brentz threw the eighth and retired the side in order, two on strikeouts.
Besides Hill on offense, Pablo Reyes, Elvis Escobar and Wyatt Mathisen each collected a double as their only hit. Jerrick Suiter drove in two runs with a single. Edwin Espinal had a single and a walk. Kevin Newman had the night off.
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BRADENTON, Fla. – Starling Marte’s return today was pretty uneventful. He played five innings, going 0-for-3 at the plate, and reaching on a throwing error. He advanced to second on that error, but was thrown out at third base on a ground ball hit to the shortstop. Marte also struck out against rehabbing reliever Chaz Roe.
Cole Tucker was the one who stood out in the plate and on the field, showing off skills across the board. That started in the first inning when he hit a single, then stole second and third base, giving him 30 steals on the year. He later ripped a double to the opposite field off a left-hander, making solid contact on the play.
Tucker also showed off his skills on the field, making a nice play in the second inning deep in the hole on a ground ball. He backhanded the play in the outfield grass, then turned and made a strong throw over to first in order to get the runner.
This play by Cole Tucker deep in the hole was impressive. Backhand stop and then a strong throw on the turn to get the runner. #Pirates pic.twitter.com/FwPtwWp19j
— Tim Williams (@TimWilliamsP2) July 2, 2017
Speaking of strong defensive plays, Ke’Bryan Hayes had a nice play today at third. Hayes made a backhand stop on a hard hit ball down the third base line, with a speedy runner at the plate. He then turned and fired to Will Craig, who made a nice long stretch to barely get the runner. This is the second time this week that Hayes has made a fantastic play at third on a fast runner, capped off by Craig making a big stretch to complete the play. It’s almost a daily occurrence that Hayes makes a strong play in the field.
Taylor Hearn was pitching a solid game today before the skies opened up and causes a suspended game in the sixth inning. Hearn went five-plus innings, allowing one run on two hits, with two walks and seven strikeouts. The one run came on a home run, which happened during the pouring rain, just before the game was called. That was unfortunate, as the rain had been going steadily for an inning and a half, and the game should have been stopped much earlier.
Hearn was sitting 94-97 MPH with his fastball, showing downward movement at times, and was showing good control through most of the start. There was a point early when he had some issues, but he started introducing his changeup, and got back on track. He was throwing almost exclusively fastballs the first two innings, before mixing in a slider and a few changeups at the end of the second. Hearn’s two walks came to the leadoff batter of the game, and with two outs in the second. After that, he settled down and looked very efficient.
Today was another encouraging sign for Hearn, walking just two batters for the second straight start, after walking four batters per game in his previous three outings.
One final note, Mitchell Tolman continued hitting the ball well, smoking a double off the left field wall in the second inning. Tolman is now 11-for-19 in his last five games. – Tim Williams
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CHARLESTON, WV -Having scored 29 runs in the first three games of this four-game series against the Hickory Crawdads, it seems the West Virginia Power have turned a corner. For the second game in a row, every Power player reached base at least once. Victor Fernandez was the only player without a run by the time the Power walked off the field with a 10-3 victory. West Virginia now stands at 6-5 in the second half of the season.
Manager Wyatt Toregas feels like the team has hit a turning point in the season. “It was getting to that point in the season where it gets a little long, and some guys were trying to check out on us, and we told them not to.”
Like yesterday’s game, everyone got in on the action, and the team jumped out to a lead early. Carlos Munoz and Trae Arbet hit RBI singles in the first inning to give starter Eduardo Vera a 2-0 lead. Arbet went 3-for-4 with a run scored and has been looking more like the Trae Arbet who was voted to the All-Star team after a .303/.384/.539 April.
Toregas has been working directly with Arbet to get him back to that early level of confidence. “We had a heart-to-heart,” Toregas said. “We sat him a little bit in Augusta to send a message, and he answered.”
Albert Baur clubbed his fourth homer of the year (his second in as many games). Baur has never been much of a power hitter in spite of his 6’4”, 215 lbs. frame, but the two he’s gotten a hold of this week have been mammoth shots. Kevin Mahala added a solo shot of his own, his second of the year, in the seventh inning.
Adrian Valerio extended his hit streak to six games with a single in the first inning. He added an RBI single in the third, but he robbed the Power of a run-scoring opportunity when he was thrown out at home plate while trying to score on an infield single.
Eduardo Vera didn’t need the nine runs of support he received while he was on the mound for six innings. He has been absolutely lights out for the Power this year, allowing fewer than three runs in all but one of his appearances this year. Vera’s strongest feature is his unshakeable control. Over his last three starts, including today, he has only given up two earned runs and has walked three in 17 innings pitched. His ERA now stands at 2.78 and ranks fifth among eligible active SAL pitchers.
Vera’s fastball reportedly touched 97 in his last start and touched 95 once today. He had no control at that velocity, but he exhibited masterful command in the 91-93 MPH range. His curve looked great, and he used it effectively late in the count.
“I’ve been working on my curveball which felt better today,” said Vera. “It’s a strikeout pitch, but I feel comfortable throwing it early in the count too.”
He only threw his changeup in the later innings, but he got swing-and-misses with it. At 81 MPH, it nicely set up the fastball.
“The changeup, I think, has been good all year, but I’m improving the movement,” said Vera.
Vera’s only mistake was a solo home run with one out in the sixth, but he fought back to get the next batter looking at strike three.
Matt Eckelman pitched three innings of relief. He had strong command in the first two innings but struggled in the ninth inning. He couldn’t locate his fastball or his curve. His curve has great break, but he rarely caught the zone with it. He escaped the serious trouble, giving up two runs while allowing two walks and three hits.
* Hunter Owen, who left the game yesterday after an HBP, has been moved to Morgantown. He’ll likely see some reduced playing time as he deals with some residual soreness, but he is not injured. Nick King, the utility infielder added to the Power roster, has experience at second, third, and short so he will relieve the load placed on the injury-prone West Virginia infield, which is still missing Stephen Alemais.- Abigail Miskowiec
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Morgantown won 4-2 over Williamsport behind solid starting pitching from Sergio Cubilete and offense from three draft picks. Cubilete allowed one run over five innings, which followed up six shutout innings in his start earlier this week. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out four batters. Cubilete threw 46 of his 77 pitches for strikes and had a 6:2 GO/AO ratio. He got some help with a couple nice plays from shortstop Brett Pope, who has been very impressive with the glove this afternoon.
On offense, Jared Oliva went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Tristan Gray had an RBI double. Bligh Madris had a single, triple, run scored and an RBI. Oliva showed impressive speed in the bottom of the eighth, reaching on what looked like a routine grounder to shortstop with a decent throw afterwards. After being bunted to second base by Gray, Oliva scored on an infield single that had an odd bounce before it reached the first baseman. Oliva made it without a throw. Earlier in the game he stole his second base.
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Bristol lost 2-0 despite having 12 base runners in the game against Bluefield on Sunday. The Pirates received terrific pitching from lefty starter Domingo Robles, who showed a lot of improvements this spring, adding to his velocity and displaying better control. He allowed one run over six innings, giving up three hits and a walk. Robles needed just 64 pitches to get through his outing. He had just one strikeout, though he was getting quick outs, resulting in the low pitch count and a 9:5 GO/AO ratio. Miguel Hernandez threw the final two innings and had the exact same pitching line with one run on three hits, one walk and one strikeout.
The offense was great with no one on base in this game, but once someone go on, the bats went silent. They had eight hits, including a double and a triple, plus four walks. The Pirates went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight base runners. Four runners were erased on three double plays and a caught stealing.
Edison Lantigua went 1-for-3 with a walk. He has a .282/.364/.590 slash line in his first ten games. Late round draft pick Ryan Peurifoy had two hits, a walk and his first stolen base. Matt Diorio capped off a strong week with a double and a walk.
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The GCL Pirates are off on Sundays.
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The DSL Pirates are off on Sundays.
