A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time, 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. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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9. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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10. Calvin Mitchell, OF, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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11. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Bristol – [insert_php]
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12. Edgar Santana, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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13. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Altoona -[insert_php]
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14. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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15. Jordan Luplow, LF, Pirates – [insert_php]
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16. Luis Escobar, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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17. Max Kranick, RHP, Bristol – [insert_php]
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18. Steven Jennings, RHP, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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19. Adrian Valerio, SS, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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20. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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21. Conner Uselton, OF, GCL Pirates – Disabled List
22. Max Moroff, INF, Pirates – [insert_php]
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23. Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP, Pirates – [insert_php]
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24. Eric Wood, 3B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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25. Eduardo Vera, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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26. Logan Hill, LF, Altoona – [insert_php]
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27. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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28. Lolo Sanchez, CF, GCL Pirates – [insert_php]
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29. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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30. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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INDIANAPOLIS — They’ll live to play another day.
Indianapolis equaled the number of runs in one inning that it scored in the first two games of the Governor’s Cup Semifinals combined, and Nick Kingham threw seven shutout innings in a 5-0 win over Durham.
The Indians trail in the best-of-5 series, 2-1, but the remaining games will be played at Victory Field and they don’t lack confidence they have one more comeback in them this season.
Game 4 will be played in Indianapolis on Saturday night. A team that began the season 8-16, but rebounded to run away with the International League West Division title, isn’t going to be rattled by being down 0-2 in a best-of-5 series.
“We’ve been resilient all year and we’ve been down before,” Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett said. “Somebody always steps up it seems like and Kingham did (on Friday).”
The potential comeback from an 0-2 series deficit began with Kingham’s impressive outing. He threw seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and three walks, striking out four and throwing 61 of his 95 pitches for a strike.
Kingham’s performance was not only big for the team, but significant for himself. He allowed four runs on four hits and four walks in 2.2 innings of his previous postseason start with Double-A Altoona last year.
But that was at the end of his return from Tommy John surgery and he admitted to simply being tired from throwing for so long in his return. Now, he’s gone through a full season and is feeling “night and day” in terms of his endurance and health.
“I was exhausted and had been throwing for 14 or 15 months straight from the time I started playing catch after surgery,” Kingham said. “I was just fatigued and tired going into it, not bouncing back like normal and it kind of showed. I’m coming off a full off-season of rest and a normal year so it’s not even comparable.”
Aside from his previous postseason start not going well, Kingham didn’t do that well in his previous two outings against Durham. In July, Kingham allowed eight runs on seven hits and four walks in four innings against the Bulls; while giving up six runs in 5.2 innings in June.
Kingham started to find a groove in the third inning, retiring the side on six pitches.
And all the offense Indianapolis needed came in the bottom half of that inning, in the second time through the lineup against Durham starter Burch Smith. Kevin Newman and Erich Weiss led off the bottom of the third with singles, scoring on Joey Terdoslavich’s two-run double to the gap. He later scored on Jacob Stallings’ RBI sacrifice fly.
Terdoslavich’s big hit was one the team has been waiting for this series.
“We were waiting for it in Durham,” Barkett said. “In Game 2 we had some chances to break that game open and we were one big hit away but we didn’t get it. But tonight Joey Terdoslavich came up with the big two-run double and situational hitting was good. Hit-and-runs were executed well, we had some sacrifice flies. Things were good.”
Indianapolis had eight hits but was shut out by Durham on Thursday. That timely hitting proved to be the difference on Friday, as Indianapolis managed two less hits but scored five more runs.
“We put together good at-bats all series, but they have some guys that make pitches and that’s why they won 86 games this year,” said Terdoslavich, who had a pair of hits. “I think Kingham out-pitched their guy and we had some big hits.”
Durham brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning with consecutive one-out singles against Indianapolis reliever Edgar Santana. That brought up the heart of the Bulls’ lineup, but Santana induced a pair of outfield fly outs to end the threat.
Indianapolis added an insurance run in the eighth inning. Edwin Espinal hit what should have been an inning-ending double play, but Durham shortstop Willy Adames bobbled the ball
Durham threatened in the sixth inning, putting runners on the corners with two outs. Kingham got out of the jam by inducing Pat Leonard hit a flare to center field which Danny Ortiz tracked down with a sliding catch to end the inning.
Indianapolis will need to win again to keep its season alive. Drew Hutchison will get the start for the Indians. He allowed five earned runs over four innings in his last start, but had not given up more than one earned run in the previous three starts.
“He’s pitched in some big games before and has had a heck of a year,” Barkett said of Hutchison. “I have a lot of confidence in him.”
Durham will start Brent Honeywell, who has a 3.64 in 24 starts with the Bulls this season. – Brian Peloza
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BOWIE, Md. – Michael Suchy and Elvis Escobar each drove in three runs as Altoona beat Bowie, 8-4. The win gave the Curve a 2-0 lead in their playoff series.
The Curve were facing a tough task initially in the form of Tanner Scott, a hard-throwing lefty who piles up both walks and strikeouts. Scott had shut Altoona out in his previous three starts against them, but only for three innings each as he’s under strict pitch limits. This time the Curve got to him in the third inning, helped by a couple of walks. A Jerrick Suiter double brought in the game’s first run and Escobar later ripped a bases-loaded single to center to drive in two more.
Alex McRae had a solid start for Altoona. He throws four more or less average pitches that he mixed up well in this game, giving hitters a variety of speeds and looks to worry about. His fastball sat at 93-94 the first two innings and closer to 90-93 after that, although he’d occasionally reach back to pump it up to 94-95. McRae allowed only four hits and two walks through six innings, but two of the hits left the park. One of those came in a three-run third that tied the game.
The tie lasted only an inning as Altoona scored three more in the fifth. Escobar and Suchy each drove in runs with doubles, and Mitchell Tolman later singled in a third run, making it 6-3. In the seventh, with the score 6-4, Suchy unloaded a long, two-run HR to left, leaving him just a triple shy of a cycle.
Yeudy Garcia and Tate Scioneaux finished the game for Altoona. Garcia threw two innings, looking much better than he did earlier in the year. His fastball consistently hit 94-95, as opposed to 90-92 early this season, and his command was much better. Getting ahead in the count makes a big difference for Garcia, because it sets up his slider, which is his out pitch. He gave up two hits and got two strikeouts in his two innings, and otherwise got a string of groundballs. Scioneaux gave up a leadoff single in the ninth but then got three quick outs. He threw mostly 90-92 mph fastballs, along with a couple of sliders.
One unhappy note: Cole Tucker was removed from the game after one inning to get x-rays on his hand. He was hit in the foot by the game’s first pitch. He appeared unhurt and later was thrown out trying to steal third. It’s possible the hand injury occurred when he slid headfirst into the bag, but that’s not a certainty. Tucker was replaced by Tolman, who took over at second with Pablo Reyes moving to third. The move worked out in a way, because Tolman made two spectacular diving stops on defense, converting both to outs. One came on a grounder to his left. The second was a grounder up the middle on which Tolman made a remarkable effort to pop up and get an off-balance throw to first for the out. (He did have an error on a routine grounder later.)
Apart from Suchy and Escobar, the Curve got big offensive contributions from Reyes and Wyatt Mathisen. Each reached base four times, Reyes on a single and three walks, Mathisen on two singles and two walks.
Altoona has a chance to put Bowie away tomorrow at home. Austin Coley is slated to start for the Curve. – Wilbur Miller.
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Bradenton finished their season with a 70-62 record.
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West Virginia finished their season with a 69-67 record.
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Morgantown finished with a 40-35 record.
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Bristol finished their season with a 17-49 record.
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The GCL Pirates finished their season with a 26-34 record.
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The DSL Pirates finished with a 36-34 record.
