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 – 0-for-4
4. Shane Baz, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 0-for-4
6. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 1-for-3, 2B, BB, SB
7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP
8. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 0-for-2, SB
9. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – DNP
10. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis -0-for-3, BB
11. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
12. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 SO
13. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
14. Nick Kingham, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
15. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 2-for-3, HR, 4 RBI, BB
16. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 0-for-0
17. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 2-for-5
18. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI
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 – 0-for-3
23. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 0-for-2, BB
24. Jason Martin, OF, Altoona – 1-for-4
25. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
26. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Mason Martin, 1B, West Virginia – 0-for-1
28. Conner Uselton, OF, Extended Spring Training – DNP
29. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO
30. Steven Jennings, RHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP
Indianapolis won 8-0 over Scranton/WB
Starter Clay Holmes has had some rough starts this year due to control issues. He’s striking out a lot of batters and getting his share of ground balls, but he isn’t throwing enough strikes to be effective. That wasn’t the case on Saturday, as he went seven shutout innings with six hits and no walks, while striking out eight batters. He also posted an impressive 11:1 GO/AO ratio. Holmes has 51 strikeouts in 48 innings this season.
Kevin Kramer had the big hit in this game, smashing a three-run homer in the first inning to give the Indians an early 5-0 lead. He added a fourth RBI later in the game. Jacob Stallings had a big day, with three hits, three runs scored and two RBIs. Eric Wood had two hits, a walk and scored a run, plus he picked up an outfield assist. Kevin Newman doubled in this game, his first extra-base hit in three weeks. He also stole his 13th base of the season.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 11-1 to Hartford.
Bralin Jackson’s second homer of the season accounted for the only run. The Curve had just three other hits in the game. Logan Hill, Jason Martin and Jin-De Jhang had the other hits, all singles, while Stephen Alemais had the lone walk.
Logan Sendelbach got his first Double-A start and it did not go well. He gave up four runs on six hits (two homers) and a walk, while striking out one batter over three innings. Bret Helton was out next and gave up two runs in two innings, before Jake Brentz surrendered five runs in 1.2 innings. Yeudy Garcia threw shutout ball for the last four outs.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 7-6 over Charlotte on a walk-off double by Hunter Owen.
Jung Ho Kang made his second appearance with Bradenton, sliding over from third base to shortstop. He was a key part of the offense in this game, going 2-for-4 with a grand slam. He also walked and singled ahead of Owen before the game-winning hit, though Kang left for a pinch-runner. He handled four plays in the field, three of them being double plays.
Hunter Owen had a big game besides the walk-off hit. He also had two singles and a solo homer. Casey Hughston connected on his first homer of the year. Jared Oliva had two hits, a walk and he stole his 15th base.
James Marvel got the start and looked good until the sixth when Charlotte put five runs on the board. He finished with six runs on ten hits over 5.2 innings. Three relievers combined for 3.1 shutout innings, allowing the Marauders to come back to win it in the ninth.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia won 4-0 over Greensboro.
Cody Bolton made his second start for West Virginia, trying to replicate something close to his debut, which included five shutout innings and eight strikeouts. He didn’t rack up the strikeouts, but he did one better on the innings, tossing six shutout frames on three hits, one walk and four strikeouts. Bolton had a 7:2 GO/AO ratio and he threw 53 of 87 pitches for strikes. Ike Schlabach, Beau Sulser and Blake Cederlind tossed a shutout inning each to preserve the win.
Oneil Cruz was the best hitter on West Virginia last month and he has a nice stat to June. He hit two doubles, a single and drove in two runs. He now has a .282 average and nine doubles. Calvin Mitchell hit two singles to give him a .321 average. Deon Stafford hit his eighth double and walked. Chris Sharpe had a single and two walks. Kyle Watson had two hits and scored twice. Lolo Sanchez stole his 11th base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 lost 8-1.
Juan Pie, who was the Pirates second highest paid international player this current signing period ($500,000 bonus), tripled for the first hit of the game for the Pirates1. His hit scored Carlos Arroyo, who reached via walk. That hit ended up being the only one for the Pirates1 and they didn’t draw another walk until the ninth inning. That next walk was by Joesivin Medina and he got thrown out trying to steal third base to end an 8-1 game…yes, you read that right. Pie also reached on a hit-by-pitch.
Arlinthon De Dios, an 18-year-old righty from the Dominican, got the start in the opener. He went four innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and no walks, with one strikeout. Luis Nova followed and tossed three innings with no earned runs. Carlos Campos then debuted with four runs and one out, giving him a 108.00 ERA.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 lost 3-1 in their opener.
Angel Suero started and allowed three runs on four hits and one walk in five innings. He was supposed to be one of the top pitchers last year for the DSL Pirates, but a minor injury late in spring landed him on the DL to start the year and when he returned he couldn’t throw strikes. Mario Garcia tossed three shutout innings in his debut. He was signed out of Mexico last July.
Tilsaimy Melfor, who was the third player from Curacao signed by the Pirates in the last three years, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and the only RBI. Pedro Castillo had two singles. He is one of the few returning players from last year’s team. Fleury Nova had a double and scored the lone run.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here. (Will be posted tomorrow morning)
