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 – 2-for-5, 2B
4. Shane Baz, RHP, Bristol – DNP
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 0-for-4, BB
6. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 1-for-4
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 – 0-for-1
11. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
12. Clay Holmes, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
13. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
14. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
15. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, 2B
16. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 0-for-4
17. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – DNP
18. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – DNP
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-4
23. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 0-for-4
24. Jason Martin, OF, Altoona – 0-for-1, 3 BB
25. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO
26. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Altoona – 5 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO
27. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – 0-for-4
28. Conner Uselton, OF, Bristol – 1-for-4
29. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
30. Steven Jennings, RHP, Bristol – 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
Indianapolis lost 2-1 to Durham.
Casey Sadler got the spot start in place of Clay Holmes, who was called up to the Pirates on Sunday afternoon. Sadler went five shutout innings on three hits and no walks, while striking out five batters. Brandon Waddell was out next as he continues to pitch in relief recently. It has not gone well for him in that role. He gave up two runs over 2.2 innings, handing him the loss today. Jesus Liranzo finished off the day with 1.1 scoreless.
Max Moroff drove in the only run for the Indians, hitting a single and his eighth double. Arden Pabst, who was making his Triple-A debut, had two singles and scored the lone run. Kevin Kramer hit his 17th double. Jung Ho Kang went 0-for-4 in his second game back from a minor wrist injury. Kevin Newman had a single to extend his hit streak to 11 games (batting .356 during that stretch).
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 9-4 to Erie.
Eduardo Vera made his first start since last Sunday, when he got knocked out of the game early. It was the first time since Opening Day, when he was on a limited pitch count, that he failed to go at least six innings in a start. He was unable to go six in this game as well, though it looked like he would until a rough fifth inning. Vera allowed five runs in the fifth, giving him a final line that included six runs on five hits and three walks in five innings. He walked just one batter in his first four games combined with Altoona. Bret Helton allowed three runs in two innings and Logan Sendelbach had a scoreless frame.
The offense was all from home runs. Logan Hill and Jordan George hit back-to-back solo homers in the second inning. Hill then hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, his 11th of the season. Jason Martin had three walks and scored on Hill’s second homer. Cole Tucker had a single and his 11th double. Bryan Reynolds had a single and a walk.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 5-0 over Fort Myers.
Oddy Nunez has pitched well since coming off of the disabled list earlier this month, but what he did on Sunday was special. Nunez threw a complete game no-hitter, which was called in the middle of the eighth due to rain. He faced just two batters over the minimum, with two walks and a hit batter. A double play erased the second walk one pitch later. Nunez struck out six, had a 9:6 GO/AO ratio and threw 59 of 98 pitches for strikes. It’s the first time that he has thrown eight innings in his career.
Hunter Owen caught the game, just his second game behind the plate as a pro. In his debut two days ago, he committed three passed balls. Owen helped at the plate on Sunday, driving in two runs with a double and a triple. Jared Oliva gave some insurance runs in the seventh with a bases clearing double. Alfredo Reyes reached all three times, with a single, two walks and he stole his 20th base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia was rained out today. They will play a doubleheader tomorrow.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown was rained out. They will play a doubleheader tomorrow.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol lost 9-2 to Elizabethton.
Steven Jennings, the 42nd overall pick last year, made his second start of the season. In his first game, he pitched well through four innings, then got knocked out if the fifth. I mentioned that Extended Spring Training starts mostly consist of four innings until they get stretched out for the last one, so by the time he got to the fifth, he was reaching his limit. In today’s game, he had five shutout innings before things fell apart in the sixth and four runs scored against. So the final line doesn’t look good, but he was in new territory as a pro when all of the damage happened.
Joe Jacques, a 33rd draft pick this year, followed Jennings and allowed five runs before he could get out of the sixth, making it a nine-run inning. He was replaced in the seventh by Argenis Romano, who tossed three shutout innings.
There wasn’t much offense to write about in this game until the ninth inning when Victor Ngoepe doubled, then Mikell Granberry singled him in for the first run. Their two hits equaled the amount of hits by the Pirates in the first 8.1 innings. Brendt Citta would add an RBI single before the final out.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates are off on Sundays
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 are off on Sundays
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 are off on Sundays
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
