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 (Colin Moran, Edgar Santana, Kyle Crick, Max Moroff 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-5, 2B
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 0-for-5
4. Shane Baz, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 2-for-5, 2B
6. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 3-for-5, RBI
7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP
8. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – DNP
9. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – Disabled list
10. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – 2-or-4, 2B, BB
11. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
12. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – 4.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO
13. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
14. Nick Kingham, RHP, Altoona – DNP
15. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 2-for-5, 2 RBI
16. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 0-for-3
17. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 1-for-4, 2B
18. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 2-for-4, 3B
19. Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (disabled list) – DNP
20. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – DNP
21. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
22. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 2-for-5, 2 2B
23. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 0-for-1
24. Jason Martin, OF, Altoona – 3-for-4, BB, RBI, SB
25. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – DNP
26. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
27. Mason Martin, 1B, West Virginia – DNP
28. Conner Uselton, OF, Extended Spring Training – DNP
29. Cody Bolton, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
30. Steven Jennings, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
Indianapolis lost 8-6 to Columbus on Friday night. Clay Holmes had his third straight tough outing after beginning his minor league season with two straight shutout starts. On Friday night, he got knocked out in the fifth inning after allowing seven runs (five earned) on eight hits and four walks. Holmes had a 6:3 GO/AO ratio, with four strikeouts. He threw 57 of his 92 pitches for strikes. He now has a 5.33 ERA in 25.1 innings.
Tyler Eppler pitched the final four innings and was strong with no runs on one hit and one walk, while striking out four batters. He now has a 2.34 ERA over 34.2 innings.
Indianapolis and Altoona each picked up 14 hits in losses tonight. The Indians got three hits from Kevin Newman, who scored a run and picked up an RBI. Jordan Luplow, Kevin Kramer, Jacob Stallings and Pablo Reyes each had two hits. Christopher Bostick also added a two-run homer, his first of the season, while Austin Meadows hit his eighth double.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 9-8 to Reading after failing to hold a late lead. Pedro Vasquez made his second start of the season and went five innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks. He had a 6:2 GO/AO ratio, four strikeouts and he got his pitch count up to 75. Vasquez went three innings in his season debut last week.
Bret Helton relieved Vasquez and threw a scoreless sixth before things got crazy in the eighth off of Tate Scioneaux and Geoff Hartlieb. They allowed a total of five runs, although one scored on a little league homer on a missed catch from Logan Hill, then the last four scored on a grand slam with two outs. If Hill makes that catch, then it’s likely that no runs score.
The Curve wasted a strong night from the offense. Jason Martin and Christian Kelley each had three hits and a walk. Will Craig, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bralin Jackson each had two hits. Logan Hill hit a two-run homer in the third inning, his fourth of the season. Craig hit two doubles, giving him eight on the season. Martin hit his seventh double, scored three runs and stole his first base of the season. Hayes hit his fifth.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton lost 6-4 to Palm Beach on Friday night. Starter Luis Escobar got roughed up, allowing five runs over his 4.2 innings. He only walked two batters to go along with seven hits allowed, but he also hit two batters and threw three wild pitches, so he had a tough night with his control. Escobar now has a 4.63 ERA in 35 innings. Ronny Agustin allowed one run over two innings, while Jordan Jess finished up things with two shutout frames.
On offense, Tyler Gaffney hit his third home run of the season and stole his ninth base. He went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Jason Delay added a solo homer, his first of the season. The Marauders had six hits, no walks and they had just one at-bat with runners in scoring position all game.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia won 2-0 over Hagerstown. The last time that Sergio Cubilete pitched was 24 days ago and he lasted just two batters before he was hit in the face with a line drive. His return was even better than you could expect, with five shutout innings on one hit, two walks and three strikeouts. Cubilete had a 6:3 GO/AO ratio and needed just 55 pitches to get through his night.
Ike Schlabach, who has been pitching well in the rotation, came in to relieve Cubilete. He gave up four hits over two innings, but kept Hagerstown off the board. Blake Weiman finished it off with two more shutout frames, while striking out four batters. He picked up his third save.
The Power had their chances to score with three extra-base hits among their seven hits in the game. They also had two walks and a hit batter. West Virginia got on the board in the seventh with a double by Calvin Mitchell, followed by back-to-back singles from Dylan Busby and Rodolfo Castro. In the eighth, Ryan Peurifoy doubled, the scored on a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch. Oneil Cruz added his fourth triple later in the inning. The double by Mitchell was his ninth of the season.
Here’s the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
