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 – 1-for-3, BB, SB
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 1-for-5, 2B
4. Shane Baz, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 0-for-1
6. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
8. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 0-for-4
9. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – Disabled list
10. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – 1-for-3, RBI, BB
11. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
12. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
13. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
14. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO
15. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 0-for-2, 2 BB
16. Max Moroff, INF, Pirates – In Majors
17. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 0-for-4
18. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 1-for-4, BB
19. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 2-for-4, 3B, RBI
20. Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (disabled list) – DNP
21. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – DNP
22. JT Brubaker, RHP, Altoona – DNP
23. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 2-for-5
24. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 1-for-5
25. Jason Martin, OF, Altoona – 1-for-3, 2B, 2 BB
26. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Bradenton – 7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
28. Mason Martin, 1B, West Virginia – 1-for-5
29. Conner Uselton, OF, Extended Spring Training – DNP
30. Cody Bolton, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
Indianapolis lost 7-2 to Charlotte on Sunday. Nick Kingham made his fourth start and while he had some issues with a high pitch count in this game, he still put in a strong effort. He gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks, with six strikeouts. He threw 96 pitches in his 5.2 innings, with 63 going for strikes. Kingham now has a 1.59 ERA in 22.2 innings, with 27 strikeouts.
AJ Schugel made his first rehab appearance with Indianapolis and allowed a run on two hits, while recording two outs. He was limited to 15 pitches. Casey Sadler gave up two runs on four hits and three walks in 2.1 innings.
Indianapolis had 13 runners on base, but only five at-bats all game with runners in scoring position. Part of that low total was from Kevin Kramer, who had two walks, but was thrown out stealing twice (and he also committed a costly fielding error). Austin Meadows had a single, walk, run scored and his third stolen base. Eric Wood collected three hits on the day. Jose Osuna and Jordan Luplow each had a hit, a walk and an RBI. Osuna collected his sixth double and he has a .341 average. He has committed one error in 23 chances at third base over 11 games.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 5-4 to Richmond, as Taylor Hearn had a rough outing in his third start of the season. Hearn had two strong starts to begin the seaso, but this one got away from him quickly with two runs in the first inning. He would give up two more runs in the fourth and another in the fifth before leaving with two outs. In 4.2 innings, he allowed five earned runs on six hits and two walks, with five strikeouts. The bullpen pitched well with just two runners allowed over 4.1 scoreless innings, but the Curve couldn’t mount the comeback.
Cole Tucker returned to the lineup after leaving Friday’s game early following a hit-by-pitch. He went 1-for-5 on Sunday with a double and a run scored. Christian Kelley had the big game on offense, driving in three runs on three hits, including a two-run homer in the second inning. Will Craig had two singles. Jason Martin had a double and two walks. Wyatt Mathisen had a triple, walk, two hit-by-pitches and he scored two runs.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 4-3 on Sunday over Fort Myers. Eduardo Vera started and retired the first 13 batters he faced before serving up a home run. That stretch of 13 batters including two at-bats from rehabbing MLB player Byron Buxton. Vera ended up going seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits, with no walks and two strikeouts. He needed just 82 pitches, throwing 54 for strikes, while posting a 10:8 GO/AO ratio.
Bligh Madris was the entire offense in this game. The Marauders scored in the first on a Tyler Gaffney walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt and a fielding error on a Madris grounder. They added another run in the sixth on a Madris walk, followed by an Albert Baur double. Madris singled in the eighth and then moved up on an error, a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch to make it a 3-3 game. In the ninth, Madris singled home Casey Hughston for the walk-off win.
Scooter Hightower won his fourth game in relief with two shutout innings. Lucas Tancas had two hits and a walk. Tyler Gaffney reached base safely for the 11th game in a row.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia lost 6-5 to Asheville. Ike Schlabach started in place of the injured Sergio Cubilete and he had an outstanding day. Schlabach allowed just one hit, a second inning single, as he threw five shutout innings. He walked three batters, struck out five and posted a 4:2 GO/AO ratio while throwing 42 of his 66 pitches for strikes. It was a much better performance than his spot start last week due to the doubleheader, when he allowed five runs over four innings.
Hunter Stratton followed Schlabach and it was a tough debut for last year’s 16th round draft pick. He gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits in two innings. After a scoreless eighth from Joe Cesar, Blake Cederlind lost the game in the ninth.
On offense, Deon Stafford and Oneil Cruz each had two hits, while Dylan Busby and Kyle Watson each drove in a pair of runs. Cruz hit his first triple, while Busby scored twice and collected his third double. Stafford also doubled, giving him five on the season to go along with a .341 average. Calvin Mitchell is hitting .364 after going 1-for-4 with a walk. Lolo Sanchez was dropped to ninth in the order due to his recent slump. He’s hitting .190 after an 0-for-4 day.
Here’s the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
