A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time (Colin Moran and Edgar Santana), or loses his prospect eligibility (Kyle Crick and Dovydas Neverauskas), 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 our 2018 Prospect Guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.
1. Mitch Keller, RHP, Altoona – DNP
2. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis – 0-for-4,BB
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 0-for-3, 2 BB
4. Shane Baz, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 2-for-5, 2B, RBI
6. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 1-for-5, RBI
7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP
8. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 0-for-3
9. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – Disabled list
10. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – 2-for-5, 2B
11. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – 4 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 3 SO
12. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO
13. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
14. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
15. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 0-for-5
16. Max Moroff, INF, Pirates – In Majors
17. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-4, 2B
18. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 2-for-6, BB
19. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 2-for-6, 3B, 2 RBI, BB
20. Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (disabled list) – DNP
21. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO
22. JT Brubaker, RHP, Altoona – DNP
23. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 0-for-3, 2 BB
24. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 1-for-4, 3B
25. Jason Martin, OF, Altoona – 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
26. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
28. Mason Martin, 1B, West Virginia – 3-for-7, RBI
29. Conner Uselton, OF, Extended Spring Training – DNP
30. Cody Bolton, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
Indianapolis lost 4-2 to Syracuse. Still on a limited pitch count due to the two weeks he spent with the Pirates, Clay Holmes made his second start. His first one last week was four shutout innings and 50 pitches. He did that game one better by throwing five shutout innings on Wednesday afternoon. Holmes allowed two hits, two walks, picked up four strikeouts and had a 5:2 GO/AO ratio. He needed just 60 pitches to get through his day.
Indianapolis had a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning when Tyler Jones allowed two runs to tie it up. They went into extra innings, where Damien Magnifico allowed two runs in the tenth for the loss.
The Indians got on the board in the third inning when Jerrick Suiter doubled, then scored on a Kevin Newman ground out. They added another run in the sixth on a base loaded walk to Jacob Stallings, which scored Austin Meadows, who led off the inning with a walk. Indianapolis wasted a big chance that inning, failing to score another run after the first four batters all reached base. They had five hits total in the game, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Jordan Luplow had two hits, including his first double of the season.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 9-6 to Erie in ten innings. Starter Dario Agrazal came into the game with a 1.00 ERA through his first three starts. That number went up to 1.46 on Wednesday morning, but he still had a solid outing. Agrazal went 6.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and no walks. He had four strikeouts, a 9:3 GO/AO ratio and threw 61 of his 85 pitches for strikes. The only downside to his season at this point is the low strikeout total. He has 11 through 24.2 innings.
After Agrazal left, Logan Sendelbach, Bret Helton and Jake Brentz each served up homers, which tied the game left and caused the Curve to lose in extras.
On offense, the entire club contributed. Cole Tucker and Will Craig were the only players without hits, but each walked twice and scored a run. Logan Hill, who has been in a slump all season, went 1-for-5, but that one hit was a big one. He homered for the second time this season, a three-run shot in the sixth inning. Ke’Bryan Hayes had two hits, including his second double. Jason Martin added his fourth double and Stephen Alemais hit his first triple. Christian Kelley had two hits.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton lost 7-3 to Tampa on Wednesday night. Starter Luis Escobar has been showing improved control this season, walking two batters in his first 16.1 innings, after issuing 60 walks last year. He had his first setback this season on Wednesday, giving up six earned runs over four innings, with five walks and five hits allowed. He led the system in strikeouts last year, but has 15 strikeouts through 20.1 innings this season.
Bo Schultz took the next step in his return from Tommy John surgery by pitching on back-to-back nights for the first time. He threw shutout ball in the fifth, giving him 10.2 scoreless innings this season, while allowing just two hits. Mike Wallace was up next and he retired all nine batters he faced, four by strikeout.
On offense, Bradenton put up two runs in the third inning, starting with a Tyler Gaffney single, followed by an RBI double from Adrian Valerio. An Alfredo Reyes single would give them their second run. They added another run in the fourth inning on great base running from Casey Hughston, who walked to start the inning. The next batter up grounded out to third base and Hughston went first to third on the play. He scored one batter later on a ground out.
Gaffney’s hit gave him a 14-game on base streak to start the season. Reyes stole his fifth base. Hughston had a single and two walks.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia sent Travis MacGregor to the mound for game one of a doubleheader. He looked outstanding early, then ended with a couple of rough innings. MacGregor allowed one runner over the first three innings while striking out six batters. In the fourth and fifth innings combined, he allowed three runs on a walk and four hits, with three of those hits being doubles. He needed 42 pitches for those final two innings. MacGregor threw 60 of 87 pitches for strikes, picking up eight strikeouts and a 6:1 GO/AO ratio. He now has 28 strikeouts in 17.1 innings.
After MacGregor left with the score tied, Matt Seelinger came on and took the loss despite allowing one hit and no walks in two innings, while striking out four batters. Two Rome runners reached base on errors by Ben Bengtson, which led to the winning run in the 4-3 loss. Bengtson also committed an error earlier in the game.
The big hit on offense was a two-run homer from Deon Stafford, his first home run of the year. Mason Martin had two hits, including an RBI single. Calvin Mitchell hit his fifth double and he also drew a walk. Rodolfo Castro hit his first double of the season. Lolo Sanchez went 0-for-3, is fifth straight game without a hit.
Here’s the boxscore from the MiLB site.
In game two, Evan Piechota pitched brilliantly, throwing six shutout innings on three hits and a walk. He also threw six shutout innings in his last appearance. Between both starts, he faced a total of 40 batters to get 36 outs. Piechota left with a 0-0 score, giving way to Blake Weiman, who threw a scoreless seventh to send it to extra innings. Joel Cesar allowed two runs in the eighth (one earned) but the Power tied it in the bottom of the inning. The game got out of hand in the ninth and West Virginia lost 8-3.
Oneil Cruz hit a two-run triple in the eighth to tie the score, his second triple of the season. He also had a single and a walk. Chris Sharpe had a double and a walk. Calvin Mitchell went 1-for-3, giving him a .355 average. Lolo Sanchez pinch-ran for Mitchell in the eighth and was thrown out at home for the third out, sending the game to the ninth.
You can view the season preview here.
