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, Altoona – [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, Altoona – [insert_php]
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5. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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6. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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7. Will Craig, 1B, 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. Max Moroff, INF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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25. Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP, Pirates – [insert_php]
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26. Eric Wood, 3B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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27. Eduardo Vera, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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28. Logan Hill, LF, Altoona – [insert_php]
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29. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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30. Lolo Sanchez, CF, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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INDIANAPOLIS — He loaded the bases in the top of the first inning with just one out, but Buffalo didn’t take advantage.
Indianapolis starter Steven Brault induced a double play and didn’t allow another serious scoring threat en route to throwing seven shutout innings in a 4-0 win.
Brault further solidified his position as Triple-A’s leader in ERA, lowering his to 2.06 after his efficient start against the Bisons.
But this one had something different: Brault had just two strikeouts, his lowest total in a start since getting the nod in Indianapolis’ opening day. He got ahead of hitters early and forced contact, leading to 13 groundouts.
“Tonight was a culmination of things coming together,” Brault said. “I’ve been working on my changeup a lot more and I’ve been working on being able to get ahead of hitters and trying to get them out as soon as possible.”
The first inning, per Brault’s label, was “the exact opposite,” as he needed 19 pitches to get out of a jam.
Buffalo’s Gregorio Petit doubled with one out. He was later caught between second and third on a fielder’s choice. Brault played the rundown perfectly by going straight at Petit, but his throw to second was high and allowed Petit to return safely to second.
The Bison loaded the bases on a walk, but Brault induced a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. Brault needed 19 pitches to get through the first inning, but became efficient moving forward.
Brault needed just eight pitches each in the second and fourth innings; and he threw 11 pitches in both the fifth and sixth innings.
“Whenever you can put up a zero in the first it’s huge,” Brault said. “But to get out of a jam which I put myself in and to be able to work out of it, that’s huge.”
Brault walked just two batters and allowed three hits, throwing 59 of 86 pitches for a strike.
“He attacked every hitter,” Indianapolis catcher Elias Diaz said. “He was down in the zone and his two-seamer was working a lot. He didn’t try to strikeout hitters, he just tried to let the hitter make contact. He was out in the zone and even his changeup was working well.”
The efficient outing wasn’t a magic formula, simply the result of keeping the general ideology that has led to Brault dominating the Triple-A level over the past several months.
“He was throwing strikes,” Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett said. “He stayed in the zone and didn’t try to make perfect pitches. He stayed in the strike zone and has been throwing the ball well. Our plan was to go right after them, and he did and kept the ball on the ground to do a good job.”
Indianapolis scored all four of its runs in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, Elias Diaz hit a two-run double against the left field wall. Phil Gosselin followed with his own two-run double.
Montana DuRapau worked around two walks in the ninth inning, but did not allow a hit. DuRapau has not allowed a run in six of his seven appearances with Indianapolis since being promoted to Triple-A. He’s only allowed a baserunner in two of those seven outings.
Jordan Luplow was 3-for-3, while Edwin Espinal was 2-for-4. – Brian Peloza
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Altoona has off today.
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Bradenton took a beating on Monday night, losing 13-3 to Lakeland. Cam Vieaux started this game and it went well through the first three innings, with Bradenton holding a 2-0 lead. It was all downhill after that. Vieaux allowed three runs in the fourth inning, then another three in the sixth before getting knocked out of the game. He came into the day with four home runs allowed all season and served up two on this night, along with nine other hits.
Jordan Jess followed Vieaux and had a horrible time in his 1.1 innings, giving up four runs of his own in the sixth before he could record just one out. In the seventh inning, he gave up two more runs. This was a far cry from his High-A debut three days ago when he threw 1.1 shutout innings.
Mitchell Tolman led off the game with his sixth home run of the season. Later in that first inning, Ty Moore brought home the second run with a sacrifice fly. The Marauders didn’t score again until the eighth inning when two walks, a wild pitch and an RBI ground out from Moore brought home their final run. Moore also had a single and a stolen base in this game. Will Craig had a single, walk and a run scored. Casey Hughston hit his eighth triple, one behind the league leader, who has been promoted. That gives Hughston almost four full weeks to get the top spot without that total increasing.
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West Virginia won 8-2 over Lakewood on Monday night. The Power had 11 hits on the night, with six of them going for extra bases. Newcomer Oneil Cruz played his second game since the trade and hit his first triple for West Virginia. He also had a walk and two runs scored. Cruz had three hits in his debut, including his first home run. Adrian Valerio had two hits, including his 13th double. Albert Baur drove in three runs and Ryan Nagle knocked in a pair. Garrett Brown was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and his ninth stolen base. Clark Eagan hit his 18th double, while Arden Pabst hit his 12th double.
Mike Wallace started the game and was strong until late in his outing when he gave up two runs. In 6.2 innings, he had nine strikeouts and a 6:3 GO/AO ratio. Ronny Agustin threw the final 2.1 innings for the save. He didn’t allow a hit and stranded two inherited runners.
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Morgantown won 6-3 over Batavia. Austin Meadows had his rehab moved up from the GCL to Morgantown on Monday. He batted second and played left field in this game. Meadows hit a two-run double in the third inning to give the Black Bears a lead that they wouldn’t lose. He also had two walks on the night.
Tenth round draft pick Beau Sulser made his second start and went four innings, allowing two runs. He was followed by Adam Oller, who has pitched great for Morgantown. He threw four shutout innings tonight, and now has a 1.00 ERA through 27 innings. Oller missed a large portion of Spring Training and part of Extended ST with a shoulder impingement, so he is really making up for lost time.
Morgantown had eight hits on the night, but also got some help from five Batavia errors. Chris Sharpe had a single, RBI, walk and run scored. Raul Siri had two hits, scored twice and drove in two runs. Brett Pope had a single, walk, run scored, RBI and stolen base.
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Bristol was rained out today. They will play a doubleheader tomorrow.
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The GCL Pirates were able to pull off a victory on Monday by not swinging the bat. Their 3-2 win over the Phillies included runs scoring on bases loaded walks in the sixth and seventh innings, and a walk-off wild pitch in the ninth.
Steven Jennings made his sixth start and it’s beginning to look like the Pirates are limiting their new prep pitchers to three innings per game. Jennings reached three innings in his second start and hasn’t progressed past that total four outings later. The same holds true for Shane Baz and Cody Bolton. On Monday, Jennings allowing one run on three hits and two walks. He didn’t record a strikeout, but had a nice 6:3 GO/AO ratio. He now has a 3.31 ERA in 16.1 innings.
Yeudry Manzanillo followed Jennings and put in a nice outing, which followed up his worst game of the season last time out. He gave up six runs over 2.2 innings on Wednesday, then came back today with one run over six innings to pick up the win. Manzanillo now has a 4.34 ERA in 29 innings.
The Pirates had eight hits and eight walks in the game, needing all of those for the win because they weren’t hitting well with runners on base. They went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners stranded. Rodolfo Castro had a walk and two hits, including his ninth double. Calvin Mitchell had three walks. Mason Martin was 1-for-4 with a single, run scored and a walk (note that the boxscore currently says 1-for-3, but that’s with him getting credit for a sac bunt on a failed sac bunt attempt, so that will be changed). Jeremias Portorreal had a single, walk and an RBI. Lolo Sanchez had a single and run scored.
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The DSL Pirates had an odd doubleheader on Monday. Their opponents, the Dodgers2, needed the day off on Tuesday, so they changed their Tuesday home game with the Pirates to a Monday doubleheader.
Game one looked like a sure loss for the Pirates, who trailed 6-0 going into the bottom of the seventh (final inning). John Lantigua reached on an error to start the inning, then ended up hitting a two-run single to win the game. In between his two at-bats, the Pirates had five hits and two walks. Over the first six innings of the game, the Pirates had two runners reach base, with a first inning single and a second inning double.
Ronaldo Paulino hit two doubles and drove in two runs. He has 12 doubles on the season. Lantigua also added two hits. Sherten Apostel had a single and a run scored. Jean Eusebio had a walk and a run scored.
This game was ugly before the bottom of the seventh. The infielders for the Pirates combined to make six throwing errors, which led to four unearned runs. Starter Santiago Florez allowed two runs (one earned) over four innings. Francis Del Orbe allowed four runs (one earned), while recording just two outs. That brought out Julio Gonzalez, who pitched great over 2.1 innings, allowing two runners to reach base, both on errors.
Game Two Recap: The Pirates didn’t wait until the seventh inning to score their seven runs in game two, as they swept the doubleheader with a 7-2 victory. Backup catcher Yair Babilonia had the big hit, driving in three runs with a bases loaded double in the fourth inning. Sherten Apostel homered in the fifth inning, a solo shot that gives him seven home runs on the season and ties him for the top spot in the DSL. Emison Soto, Williams Calderon and Matthew Mercedes each had a pair of hits.
Pablo Santana started this game and went five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and no walks, with four strikeouts. He now has a 3.09 ERA in 35 innings this season. Wilmer Contreras retired all six batters he faced to close out the win. The Pirates committed four more errors in this game, giving them ten on the day.
