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, Pirates – In Majors
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 1-for-4
4. Shane Baz, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 1-for-3, 2B, BB
6. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – DNP
7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP
8. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – DNP
9. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 1-for-3, BB
10. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – 1-for-5
11. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
12. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO
13. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
14. Nick Kingham, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
15. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
16. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 0-for-0
17. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 3-for-6
18. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 1-for-8, 2B
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 – 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
23. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 1-for-3, 2B
24. Jason Martin, OF, Altoona – 2-for-3, HR, BB, 2 RBI, SB
25. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
26. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – DNP
28. Conner Uselton, OF, Extended Spring Training – DNP
29. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 SO
30. Steven Jennings, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
Indianapolis won 8-1 over Pawtucket.
Clay Holmes threw seven shutout innings last time out and he didn’t walk a batter. That’s the first time he’s done both of those things in the same game in his career. He wasn’t quite that good on Friday night, but he put together a strong outing, allowing one run on six hits and two walks, with seven strikeouts and a 6:3 GO/AO ratio. Casey Sadler pitched next and had two scoreless innings. Damien Magnifico struck out the side in the ninth.
Max Moroff had the big hit in this game, a third inning grand slam for his third homer in Triple-A. Kevin Kramer hit his eighth homer and also added two singles. Jacob Stallings hit a solo homer, his first of the season. He also walked and scored two runs. Christopher Bostick hit his 19th double and walked twice. Erich Weiss had two hits and scored twice. Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona won 4-3 over Hartford.
Cam Vieaux made his Double-A debut on Friday night and it will be a memorable debut for him. He went seven innings, allowing one run on just three hits, with no walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 57 of 75 pitches for strikes. Vieaux has 24 strikeouts over his last 19.2 innings. Tate Scioneaux ran into some trouble in the ninth, but held on for the save.
Jason Martin and Will Craig had the two big hits in this game. Martin hit his eighth home run of the season, a two-run shot in the first inning. Craig drove in two runs in the third inning with his 13th double. Martin also had a single, his sixth stolen base and a walk, plus he scored on the Craig double. Ke’Bryan Hayes hit his 16th double and drew a walk. He scored on both the Martin homer and Craig double. Jin-De Jhang and Stephen Alemais also hit doubles. Bryan Reynolds had a single, walk and an outfield assist.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 10-9 over Tampa.
Jung Ho Kang started at shortstop and went 1-for-4 with a two-run double and a walk. He left in the ninth for a pinch-runner after the walk. He’s hitting .381 with three homers and 10 RBIs in six games.
Arden Pabst hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning during this offensive battle. The Marauders trailed 5-0 in the third inning and 9-4 in the seventh, before scoring three runs in each of the final two innings for the win. Pabst also added an RBI double. Alfredo Reyes had a double, walk, RBI, two runs scored and his 17th stolen base. Mitchell Tolman had two hits, a walk and an RBI. Bligh Madris added a double.
Evan Piechota made his High-A debut and got roughed up, with five runs on ten hits in four innings, while throwing 95 pitches. Jake Brentz was sent down from Altoona and he got hit around in his only inning, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks. Blake Weiman tossed two scoreless frames. Matt Eckelman got the win with two scoreless innings, despite allowing four base runners.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia won 4-0 in the first game of a doubleheader with Hickory
Cody Bolton pitched 11 shutout innings in his first two starts combined, striking out 12 batters. He extended that shutout streak on Friday with 4.1 innings of scoreless ball, allowing two hits, two walks and he struck out seven batters. Bolton cruised through the first four innings before running into his first real trouble in Low-A ball. He ran up his pitch count and Beau Sulser had to come out with the bases loaded and one out. He stuck out two batters to keep Bolton’s shutout streak alive. Susler worked another two scoreless innings to get the save.
The Power scored a run in the second and three more in the third inning. Calvin Mitchell went 3-for-3 with a run scored. Deon Stafford had two hits, a run scored and an RBI. Rodolfo Castro hit his sixth double and scored a run. John Bormann had an RBI double.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
In game two, Blake Cederlind got his first start of the season. Working on a limited pitch count because he wasn’t stretched out, he tossed three scoreless innings on just one hit. Samuel Reyes followed, making his jump to Low-A from the GCL last year. He pitched two shutout innings on one hit. Joel Cesar finished it off, walking one batter in his two innings. Reyes got the win in the 2-0 victory.
Oneil Cruz and Chris Sharpe each hit doubles. Rodolfo Castro didn’t get an official at-bat, walking twice and hitting a sacrifice fly. John Bormann had an RBI single. Calvin Mitchell went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts after going 3-for-3 in the first game.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 lost 9-7 in 10 innings.
The Pirates had 17 hits in the game, including eight with runners in scoring position. Juan Pie continued his fast start, missing the cycle by a homer. He’s hitting .476 in five games, with a double, three triples and one homer. Norkis Marcos, who received one of the bigger bonuses last July from the Pirates, had three hits, scored twice and drove in a pair. Jommer Hernandez is hitting .429 after three hits today, including his first double. Shedrik Apostel hit his second double.
Arlinthon De Dios got his second start of the season and allowed one earned run over five innings with five strikeouts. He gave up three unearned runs, though he also committed two errors that led to runs. Julio Rosario had a chance for the save, but he gave up two runs in the ninth to tie the game. Wilger Camacho lost the game in the tenth.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 won 14-9 in 10 innings, winning their first game of the season.
Angel Suero, who was supposed to be one of the top pitchers for the Pirates last year in the DSL before an injury, got his second start. He allowed three runs on three hits, two walks and two hit batters in four innings, while picking up four strikeouts. All three runs scored in the fifth without him recording an out. Luis Peralta allowed two runs on two hits and three walks. Eddy Vargas allowed four runs in two innings on four hits, a walk and three hit batters. Oliver Mateo retired all six batters he faced, four by strikeouts, to get the win. In his last appearance, he walked all four batters he faced and threw five wild pitches.
The Pirates rallied for five runs in the top of the ninth to tie the score, though they got a lot of help with three errors and a wild pitch that led to three unearned runs. They then scored five runs in the tenth without any help from miscues. Angel Basabe, the top prospect on the team, had two hits, a walk and scored three runs. Juan Mena had two doubles and drove in three runs while only playing the last three innings. Bryan Mateo had his first big game, going 4-for-6 with two doubles and an RBI. Tilsaimy Melfor is batting .417 after picking up a double and a homer. He scored twice and drove in two runs.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
