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, Indianapolis – DNP
2. Austin Meadows, CF, Pirates – In Majors
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 2-for-5, 2 SB
4. Shane Baz, RHP, Bristol – DNP
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 2-for-5, 2B
6. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 2-for-4,2B
7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP
8. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – DNP
9. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 0-for-3, RBI, BB
10. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – 0-for-4, 2 RBI
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 – 0-for-3, RBI
16. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-3
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 – 5.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 SO
22. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 0-for-5
23. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 0-for-3,BB
24. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – DNP
25. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
26. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – 1-for-5, HR, 4 RBI
28. Conner Uselton, OF, Bristol – 1-for-5
29. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
30. Steven Jennings, RHP, Bristol – DNP
Indianapolis lost 5-3 to Columbus
JT Brubaker got the start and bounced back nicely from his worst start of the season. In his last game, Brubaker allowed six earned runs, which was twice his previous high this season. On Thursday, he threw 5.2 shutout innings, allowing five hits and two walks. He struck out eight batters, which is his high since joining Indianapolis, and he posted a 7:0 GO/AO ratio. He now has a 3.66 ERA in 51.2 innings in Triple-A.
Damien Magnifico allowed one run in his 1.1 innings, then Enny Romero had a tough outing as he continues his rehab. He recorded just one out, but not before allowing four runs, three of them being earned. Dovydas Neverauskas picked up the final two outs.
Kevin Newman had a single, his 19th double and scored two runs. Jordan Luplow brought in two runs on RBI ground outs. Adam Frazier hit his second triple. He has a .209 average in 11 games with Indianapolis. Ryan Lavarnway had a single and a walk.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 3-2 to Harrisburg.
Pedro Vasquez got the start and put together a terrific outing during what has been a rough season. He allowed just one run, which was unearned, on three hits and no walks in six innings. Vasquez struck out seven batters and needed just 73 pitches to get through his night. The seven strikeouts are a season high and it’s the first time this year that he didn’t allow an earned run. Bret Helton followed and allowed one run in 1.2 innings. Sean Keselica took the tough luck loss, with an unearned run in the tenth.
Cole Tucker had two hits, a run scored and two stolen bases, giving him 18 steals on the season. Bryan Reynolds had the only RBI on a sacrifice fly, otherwise the Curve went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded ten men on base. Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a single and a double. Bralin Jackson had a double and a walk.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton lost 11-2 to Palm Beach.
Alfredo Reyes was a surprise in the lineup after Altoona manager Michael Ryan said on Wednesday night that he was being promoted today. Reyes had two hits, a walk, a run scored, an RBI and he stole two bases, giving him 23 steals on the season. Hunter Owen drove in a run. Jared Oliva had a single, walk and a run scored. Bligh Madris hit his eighth double.
Adam Oller got the start and struggled, allowing six runs over 4.1 innings. Bake Cederlind threw 1.2 scoreless innings, then Ronny Agustin allowed a run in his only inning. Angel German pitched the ninth and allowed three earned runs. Bradenton pitchers combined to walk ten batters.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia lost 4-3 to Hickory.
Max Kranick threw shutout ball in each of his last two starts, although one was limited to four innings due to a rain delay. Today’s start was limited to four innings as well, though that was due to his pitch count. Kranick threw shutout ball on just two hits, but he had four walks and seven strikeouts, which helped get him to 80 pitches and ended his night. He had a 5:0 GO/AO ratio, which is a great sign from someone who had a shockingly low 0.38 GO/AO ratio coming into the game.
Ike Schlabach was out next and he gave up two runs over three innings. Samuel Reyes followed and threw a scoreless eighth, but couldn’t close out the win. He allowed two runs in the top of the ninth to make it a 4-3 score.
Brett Pope had the big hit in this game, driving in two runs in the sixth inning with his seventh double. The Power scored their other run in the first on Fabricio Macias and Pope, followed by a double play ground out. The last nine West Virginia batters in the game all stuck out. After the game, Pope was promoted to Bradenton.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown lost 5-2 to Mahoning Valley.
Aaron Shortridge made his third start on Thursday. This year’s fourth round pick allowed one run in each of his first two games, albeit on limited pitch counts as he builds his pitches up. This outing didn’t go as well, with three runs on four hits and two walks in 2.2 innings. He struck out five batters, but he also needed 62 pitches to get through his limited work. Ryan Valdes allowed two runs in 3.1 innings, then Cody Smith, Logan Stoelke and Miguel Hernandez retired the side in order during their inning each of work.
Morgantown had just one RBI in the game, coming on a ninth inning homer by Jhoan Herrera, his third of the season. The other run came on a Brett Kinneman walk, followed by a Luke Mangieri single and a throwing error from the outfielder. The Black Bears struck out 16 times in the game.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol won 12-5 over Princeton.
The bats went big early, hitting five home runs. Jonah Davis hit two homers and a triple, which gives him eight extra-base hits in his last three games. He drove in three runs and scored twice. Mason Martin had just one hit in five trips to the plate, but it was a big one. His fifth homer with Bristol was a grand slam. Chase Lambert had four hits, including a double and a homer. He drove in three runs and scored a pair. Sherten Apostel added his first home run. He also had a double, walk and two runs scored.
Roger Santana made his second start and allowed just one run over five innings. He surrendered five hits, with one walk, one hit batter and one strikeout. Santana had a 9:3 GO/AO ratio. Will Kobos allowed one run in two innings, followed by Austin Shields giving up three runs over the final two frames.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates won 10-5 over the Phillies East.
Travis MacGregor made his second rehab start and went four innings as expected. He was sitting 91-93 MPH and allowed one run on two hits, with no walks and four strikeouts. MacGregor gave up one run on four hits and a walk in three innings during his first rehab outing. Brad Case was out next and allowed four runs over four innings, striking out five batters. Lizardy Dicent threw a scoreless ninth.
Jack Herman (30th round pick) played his second game and his hit first homer, a two-run shot in the second inning. He also walked twice and scored two runs. Ji-Hwan Bae had a single, walk, run scored and his third stolen base. Fernando Villegas had a single, walk and two runs scored. John Lantigua had three hits and an RBI. Steven Kraft drove in three runs.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 won 7-5 over the Rangers1.
Bryan Torres, who was the top international pitcher signed by the Pirates, threw six shutout innings on Thursday. He gave up two hits, walked one, struck out three, and posted an 8:3 GO/AO ratio. Torres also threw six shutout frames in his previous start. He was followed by Starlyn Reynoso, who walked three batters. All three scored, though none were earned runs. Miguel Diaz was next and he allowed two runs over 1.1 innings. Domingo Gonzalez recorded the final out of the eighth, then closed things out in the ninth for the save.
This game included something you’ve probably never seen before. Rayvi Rodriguez went 4-for-4 and drove in six runs, all without picking up an extra-base hit. Yeison Ceballo, Randy Romero and Danny Angulo each scored two runs. Carlos Arroyo stole his fourth base. Juan Pie went 1-for-4 with a single.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 won 9-4 over the Tigers2.
Francisco Hodge got the start and went four innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks, with four strikeouts. Prior to this game, he had allowed three earned runs over 17.2 innings. Yeison Santos followed with two scoreless innings, then Carlos Campos went 1.1 innings, before Denny Roman got the final five outs, all on strikeouts. In his first outing, he struck out all three batters he faced.
Pedro Castillo went 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored. Juan Mena had two hits, two walks, two runs scored and two RBIs. Matthew Mercedes had two hits and two RBIs. He leads the team with 17 runs batted in. Omar Matos hit his third double and stole his second base. Fleury Nova stole his fifth base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
