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-3
4. Shane Baz, RHP, Bristol – DNP
5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – DNP
6. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 1-for-3, SB
7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
8. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 2-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB, SB
9. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – DNP
10. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – 1-for-2, 2B, BB, SB
11. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
12. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
13. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
14. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
15. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, SB
16. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 0-for-4
17. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 0-for-5
18. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 3-for-5, HR, 3 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
24. Jason Martin, OF, Altoona – 1-for-3, SB
25. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
26. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB
28. Conner Uselton, OF, Bristol – DNP
29. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
30. Steven Jennings, RHP, Bristol – DNP
Indianapolis won a rain-shortened game 4-3 over Norfolk.
Tyler Eppler got the start and was cruising until the sixth inning. After beginning with five shutout frames, Eppler gave up three runs before he could get through the sixth inning. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out three batters. Jesus Liranzo followed and stranded a runner in the sixth, recording the final out for Eppler. Liranzo got the save for his one batter of work.
Kevin Kramer, Jordan Luplow, Max Moroff and Wyatt Mathisen each doubled. It was the 21st for Luplow, who also walked and stole his sixth base. Kramer hit his 16th and stole his sixth base. Kevin Newman swiped his 15th bag. Kramer, Moroff, Mathisen and Pablo Reyes each had an RBI.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 2-1 to Richmond.
Taylor Hearn picked up a complete game, but not the way he wanted. The game was called in the middle of the fifth and eventually they ruled it a final after a long delay. Hearn got the shortest possible complete game, going four innings on the losing side, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks, with five strikeouts. He now has a 3.63 ERA, with 76 strikeouts in 67 innings.
The Curve scored their lone run in the third with singles by Bralin Jackson, Jason Martin and Jordan George. They would collect just one other hit, another single by George. Christian Kelley drew the only walk and Martin stole his seventh base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton lost 10-0 to Fort Myers.
James Marvel has been pitching well lately, but not on this night. He gave up seven runs on 11 hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. His other numbers were actually pretty good out of context. Five strikeouts in 4.2 innings isn’t bad. A 7:0 GO/AO ratio is hard to top, while throwing 62 of 91 pitches for strikes is a nice percentage. Unfortunately for Marvel, they didn’t help on this night.
Blake Weiman also had a rough outing which was easily his worst of the season. He allowed three runs on five hits over 1.1 innings. Prior to tonight, he had surrendered just four earned runs all season. Scooter Hightower settled things down with two shutout innings, then Matt Eckelman pitched the ninth.
The offense put together five hits, with two doubles from Hunter Owen and singles by Mitchell Tolman, Bligh Madris and Albert Baur. Tolman also drew a walk. The Marauders went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, but that one hit was an infield single by Madris after Owen doubled.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia won 8-1 over Hickory.
Max Kranick threw four shutout innings on this night after five shutout innings in his last outing. He allowed two hits, walked two batters and failed to pickup a strikeout. Kranick threw 31 of his 53 pitches for strikes. He was limited to four innings due to a long rain delay after the top of the fifth. Sergio Cubilete was out next and he allowed one run in three innings. Beau Sulser and Joel Cesar each tossed scoreless innings.
Oneil Cruz connected on his ninth homer to lead-off the game. He finished with three hits and drove in three runs. Deon Stafford also had three hits and scored two runs. Lolo Sanchez, Chris Sharpe, Brett Pope and Ben Bengtson each had two hits. Sanchez hit his 11th double and stole his 13th base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown won 4-3 over State College.
First round draft pick Travis Swaggerty made his pro debut in center field and went 0-for-3 with a walk. Daniel Amaral, Brett Kinneman and Luke Mangieri each had two hits.
Fabricio Macias, who we earlier mistakenly reported that he was going to West Virginia, actually showed up in Morgantown. It was some confusion between the two similar team names, mixed with him actually showing up on the West Virginia roster before being moved to Morgantown. He was put on the Power roster yesterday because that’s the team he was assigned to before he was put on the restricted list while he waited for his contract approval. Macias is here for now and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a throwing error in his debut.
Osvaldo Bido made his second start and it turned out much better than his first, which got blown wide open at the end. He went six innings in this game, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks, with four strikeouts. He threw 60 of 89 pitches for strikes and had an impressive 10:2 GO/AO ratio. The bullpen of Juan Henriquez, Cam Alldred and Nicholas Economos handled one inning each, with Alldred allowing the one other run.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol lost a heart-breaker, 13-12 to Greeneville.
Oliver Garcia, who pitched well in the DSL last year, then impressed in Extended Spring Training, made his season debut. It did not go as planned. After a quick first inning, things fell apart in the second. Four runs would score before he left the game with one out, then two inherited runners scored after he left. Four of the six runs were earned. Adonis Pichardo relieved Garcia and allowed five runs in the third inning to put the game out of hand quickly.
Pichardo finished with six runs over 3.2 innings, then was followed by Leandro Pina, who gave up an unearned run in his one inning. Draft picks Joe Jacques and Will Gardner debuted with one scoreless frame each.
The offense came from Mason Martin, who hit his second homer, driving in three runs and scoring three times. Draft picks Chase Lambert and Dean Lockery each had three hits in their debuts. Lambert scored three runs. Jeremias Portorreal drove in two runs. The Pirates had just two walks and struck out 15 times. They scored 33 runs total in the three-game series.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates lost 10-0 to the Phillies.
Randy Jimenez got the start in game four of the season for the Pirates. He did not pitch well last year in the DSL, but earned a promotion to the U.S. this spring after showing strong improvements with his control (which was awful last year to put it nicely). He has a low-90s cutter/sinker combo with movement on both pitches. Jimenez went 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks. He struck out four batters and had a 7:0 GO/AO ratio.
Lizardy Dicent, who was up from the DSL, took the mound next. He went 1.2 innings, allowing four runs. While just one of the runs was earned, Dicent made two errors, so he was responsible for them. Andres Arrieta allowed four runs over the final 2.2 frames, with two being earned.
The offense in this game was offensive. Three draft picks debuted, which made it look like a loaded GCL lineup due to Jean Eusebio and Ji-Hwan Bae at the top, followed by three college bats. The Pirates had just one hit though, a seventh inning single by Justin Harrer. Four players each drew one walk and Samuel Inoa had a hit-by-pitch and a stolen base to go with his walk. Bae went 0-for-4, but stole his first base. Francisco Acuna also stole a base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 lost 9-8 to the Indians
Jesus Valles got the start and continued to pitch well. He made our top prospects article (The 21) on Monday for his six shutout innings last week. He pitched just four innings today, but didn’t allow a run, while striking out five batters. He now has a 1.86 ERA in 19.1 innings. Enrique Santana made his pro debut and did not get greeted warmly, giving up seven runs in 1.2 innings. Raydel Velette was next and he tossed 2.1 scoreless frames, before giving way to Domingo Gonzalez in the ninth. Just like Santana, Gonzalez was signed near the June 15th international deadline and made his debut today. He allowed three hits and a walk for the walk-off loss, without recording an out.
The top of the lineup had a nice day. Lead-off hitter Yoyner Fajardo had a triple, his first homer and a walk, scoring three runs. Norkis Marcos batted second and had two singles, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. Daniel Rivero had two singles, an RBI and two runs scored in the third spot. Juan Pie, the top prospect for either DSL Pirates team, went 0-for-4 on the day. Emilson Rosado and Sherten Apostel each drove in two runs. Apostel hit his fifth double. Just to pile on because why not. Bladimir Susana, signed the same day as Gonzalez and Santana, went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. He debuted yesterday at second base with a 1-for-4 day.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 won 11-8 over the Royals2
Estalin Ortiz started and it did not go well for the hard-throwing lefty. He gave up six runs (just one earned, though his own error contributed) on four hits and two walks, with three strikeouts in 1.2 innings. He now has a 11.57 ERA and has completed just seven innings in his four appearances. Christian Charle allowed three runs over 3.1 innings, then Eddy Vargas and Carlos Campos each tossed two scoreless frames.
Germin Lopez went 3-for-4 with his first home run. He drove in two runs and scored three times. Mariano Dotel went 2-for-5 and scored four runs. He stole his second base of the season. Edgar Barrios had two walks and a run scored in the lead-off spot. Fleury Nova scored twice and Omar Matos hit his first triple.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
