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 – 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO
2. Austin Meadows, CF, Pirates – In Majors
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI
4. Shane Baz, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – DNP
6. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 2-for-3, RBI, BB
7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP
8. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 0-for-3
9. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 2-for-5, HR, 4 RBI
10. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
11. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
12. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – 5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
13. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
14. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
15. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 2-for-3, 3B
16. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-4
17. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 1-for-2, 2B, RBI
18. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 1-for-4, 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-3, HR, RBI, BB, HBP
23. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 0-for-0
24. Jason Martin, OF, Altoona – 2-for-5
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 – 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
30. Steven Jennings, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
Indianapolis won 3-2 over Toledo.
Clay Holmes got the start in the afternoon contest. He came into the game allowing just one run over his last 12 innings. He stretched that to 17 innings with one earned run after going five today, with five hits, two walks and one unearned run. Holmes had five strikeouts, a 6:3 GO/AO ratio and 48 of his 71 pitches went for strikes. He now has a 3.66 ERA after 59 innings, with 63 strikeouts. Johnny Hellweg pitched the ninth and retired the side in order for his tenth save. He has allowed one run in 25.1 innings this season.
Kevin Newman, Kevin Kramer and Christopher Bostick each had two hits today. Kramer hit his second triple. Bostick now leads the International League with a .325 average. Newman also had a walk and an RBI, but he was thrown out stealing twice in this game. Max Moroff had an RBI single and a run scored. Jung Ho Kang played shortstop and went 1-for-4 with a single, leaving him 1-for-12 through three games in Triple-A.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona won 7-2 over Binghamton
Mitch Keller started and didn’t have his best stuff, but got the job done. He allowed two runs over six innings on four hits and four walks, with three strikeouts. Keller had a 7:3 GO/AO ratio and threw 47 of his 85 pitches for strikes. He now has a 3.25 ERA in 72 innings, with a 66:29 SO/BB ratio. He’s just three walks away from his single season high, set last year in 116 innings. Yeudy Garcia tossed a scoreless seventh, Sean Keselica had the eighth and Geoff Hartlieb finished things in the ninth.
The Curve got six of their seven runs on home runs and four came on one swing. Bryan Reynolds hit his first home run of the season, a grand slam in the first inning. Cole Tucker would later hit his first, while Will Craig extended his career high in homers to eight this season with a solo shot in the fifth inning. He also walked and was hit by a pitch in the ninth, which caused him to leave the game, so that’s something to keep an eye on. (UPDATE: Craig was hit on the knee or lower leg. He walked down to first bases, jogged a little, then walked off the field, all with no help, so likely just a bruise. Could just be that it was 7-2 in the ninth at the time and no reason to push it.) Bralin Jackson had three hits, a stolen base and an outfield assist.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 4-1 over Florida
Oddy Nunez returned from a short stint on the disabled list to make the start for Bradenton. He had a nice outing, allowing one run on seven hits and one walk in five innings. Nunez had three strikeouts and needed just 55 pitches to get through his day. Scooter Hightower retired all six batters he faced, four by strikeout. Blake Weiman got the save in the game shortened to eight innings due to rain.
Everyone in the lineup reached base at least once, with six players reaching base multiple times, so it’s surprising that they only scored four runs. Jared Oliva drove in two runs with his 12th double and seventh homer. Casey Hughston walked in all three plate appearances. He also stole his third base and got an RBI on a bases loaded walk. Hunter Owen and Alfredo Reyes each had two hits. Mitchell Tolman had a single and two walks.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia won 3-2 over Augusta.
Cody Bolton made his fourth start with West Virginia and came into the game with 15.1 shutout innings. He ran that shutout streak up to 19.1 innings before allowing a home run to lead-off the fifth inning. He gave up another run in the fifth, finishing with two runs on four hits and no walks, with just one strikeout. He had 19 strikeouts coming into the day. Joel Cesar followed and tossed three shutout innings with five strikeouts. Samuel Reyes got the save with a scoreless ninth, striking out two batters.
The Power scored their go ahead run in the ninth on a walk to Kyle Watson, followed by two throwing errors on a pick-off and then the right fielder throwing the ball away. That allowed Watson to score from first base. Calvin Mitchell drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and also hit his 17th double. Oneil Cruz hit his 13th double. Rodolfo Castro had an RBI single. Ben Bengtson extended his hit streak to 14 games with a ninth inning single.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 lost 4-2.
On offense, Shendrik Apostel hit his first career homer. He also drew a walk and drove in both runs. Carlos Arroyo had two hits. Joseivin Medina is hitting .333 after going 1-for-3 with a walk. Juan Pie, who started off on fire this year with seven extra-base hits in seven games, went hitless for a second straight game.
Yandy Vega pitched terrific while getting a no-decision. He went five innings, allowing one run on two hits and one walk, with three strikeouts. Jose Amaya got the loss, although all three runs he allowed were unearned in his 2.2 innings.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 won for just the second time, beating the Giants 10-9.
Matthew Mercedes, who is one of the few returning players, went 3-for-3 with his fourth homer and drove in four runs. He also scored three runs. Angel Basabe, who received a $450,000 bonus in July, had three hits and drove in two runs. Juan Mena and Ivan Rosario each had two hits. Edgar Barrios and Pedro Castillo each walked twice.
Mario Garcia started and went four innings, allowing two unearned runs on two hits and three walks, with five strikeouts. Luis Peralta, who received a $110,000 signing bonus, was out next and he gave up three runs on a hit and four walks in 1.1 innings. Eddy Vargas followed and allowed two runs in his 1.1 innings, without allowing a hit. He walked three batters. Oliver Mateo allowed an unearned run and got the win, while Jose Marcano got the save.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
