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 (Austin Meadows, Colin Moran, Nick Kingham, 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. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 0-for-4
3. Shane Baz, RHP, Bristol – DNP
4. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – DNP
5. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 0-for-3, BB
6. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP
7. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 1-for-3, BB, SB, RBI
8. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 0-for-3, BB
9. Jordan Luplow, LF, Pirates – In Majors
10. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
11. Clay Holmes, RHP, Pirates – DNP
12. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
13. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 0-for-3, RBI
14. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-5
15. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 1-for-5
16. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 0-for-5
17. Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (disabled list) – DNP
18. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – DNP
19. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
20. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 1-for-4
21. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 0-for-3, BB
22. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 0-for-2, BB
23. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
24. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Altoona – DNP
25. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – 0-for-4
26. Conner Uselton, OF, Bristol – 0-for-0
27. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
28. Steven Jennings, RHP, Bristol – DNP
29. Max Kranick, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
30. Domingo Robles, LHP, West Virginia – 6.1 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO
Indianapolis lost 9-2 to Toledo.
The offense consisted of back-to-back sacrifice flies in the sixth inning by Jose Osuna and Kevin Kramer. Kevin Newman and Sean Rodriguez each walked in the inning, then scored on the sacrifice flies. Wyatt Mathisen and Jackson Williams each had two singles and a walk.
Casey Sadler got the spot start, his second one in the last eight days. The Indians needed innings from him and he gave it his best, going 6.2 innings, with three runs on five hits and one walk. Sadler had five strikeouts, an 8:4 GO/AO ratio and he threw 64 of 98 pitches for strikes. Josh Smoker followed and recorded the final out of the seventh, then gave up a run in the eighth.
Montana DuRapau pulled off some great pitching in the eighth by stranding three inherited runners, but then he got battered around in the ninth, giving up five runs on three home runs. Ryan Lavarnway, who was not the first position player to pitch today for the Pirates, came on for the final two outs and he did it on three pitches.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 7-1 to Erie.
Pedro Vasquez got the start and didn’t last long, leaving with what was described as an arm injury. I watched and noticed his control was way off, but didn’t see any signs of an injury on his last pitch. He wasn’t doing well at the time, allowing four runs on four hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. Logan Sendelbach followed him and had a lot of trouble getting out of the second inning, giving up two more runs on two hits and three walks, while throwing 30 pitches. He pitched the third, then Yeudy Garcia took over in the fourth and threw two scoreless innings.
Altoona was short on pitching after Austin Coley returned yesterday and his low pitch limit only allowed him three innings. So after homering in the top of the sixth, Logan Ratledge took over on the mound. He has plenty of mound experience already (for an infielder) making seven previous career appearances, including a game in which he picked up a save this year. So it’s not unusual to see him on the mound, except it was only the sixth inning. Ratledge threw the final three innings, allowing one run on two hits, with three walks and three strikeouts.
It was a quiet game on offense besides the Ratledge homer. The Curve had four hits total, with three being singles. They walked twice, struck out 12 times and no one reached base more than once.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 5-2 over Daytona.
Mike Wallace got the start, one day after his younger brother made his second Bradenton start. He put together a strong outing on Sunday, giving up nine hits over 6.2 innings, but it led to just one run. Wallace had no walks, five strikeouts, an 8:4 GO/AO ratio and he threw 71% of his 100 pitches for strikes. Jordan Jess allowed a solo homer, then Blake Cederlind made things interesting by loading the bases in the ninth, before getting his third save.
Jared Oliva continued his strong season by picking up his 20th double, to go along with two walks, two runs scored and two stole bases, giving him 28 steals on the year. Lucas Tancas had a double and drove in two runs. Hunter Owen and Albert Baur each had two hits and a run scored. Brett Pope finished off a strong week with a single, walk and his first steal with Bradenton.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia lost 6-3 to Delmarva.
Domingo Robles gets his second start of the week, coming off of one run over five innings on Monday. He pitched well early in the game, then got hit around late. Robles finished with five runs on ten hits in 6.1 innings, with no walks and five strikeouts. He threw 64 of 93 pitches for strikes and had a 7:5 GO/AO ratio. This is the first time since May that he has allowed more than two earned runs in a start. Drew Fischer got the final two outs in the seventh, then Joel Cesar allowed a run on a solo homer over the final two innings.
Lolo Sanchez continues to play well, going 1-for-3 with an RBI single, a walk, a HBP and his 19th stolen base. Ben Bengtson topped off his big week somewhat quietly, going 1-for-3, with a walk, stolen base and run scored. Rodolfo Castro hit his 13th double. Jesse Medrano had a single and a double.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown lost 3-2 to Staten Island.
Sixth round pick Michael Flynn had his best start on Sunday, going four innings while allowing one base runner on a single. He had three strikeouts, a 7:2 GO/AO ratio and he threw 34 of his 49 pitches for strikes. He came into the day with an 11.74 ERA and a .351 BAA in his first three outings. Miguel Hernandez tossed one inning and allowed a run. Juan Henriquez followed and gave up a run. Cam Alldred threw 1.1 scoreless, then John Pomeroy allowed a run in the eighth to take the loss.
The Black Bears had four doubles in this game, but those extra-base hits, plus three singles and one walk, led to just two runs. Zack Kone played his second game and picked up his first hit (a double). Mike Gretler collected his first double, while Luke Mangieri hit his seventh double and Edison Lantigua hit his third. Lantigua also drew the only walk. Travis Swaggerty played a role in both runs with an RBI single, before scoring on Gretler’s double. Swaggerty also committed his fourth error in just 15 games.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol lost 11-5 to Greeneville.
Colin Selby returned to the rotation after skipping one start due to minor soreness. On Sunday, he allowed five runs on six hits over four innings, with no walks and one strikeout. Vince Deyzel has been pitching well this season, but he allowed two runs in his only inning tonight. Yeudry Manzanillo took the ball in the sixth and allowed four runs in two innings, then gave the ball to Austin Shields, who has been struggling all season and even during the spring. Shields ended up retiring the side in order on just ten pitches.
On offense, Jonah Davis contributed a two-run triple. It was his 15th extra-base hit in 17 games. Christian Navarro went 3-for-4 with his first double and a run scored. He replaced Conner Uselton on defense in the first inning, which was illness related. Francisco Mepris hit his first triple. He also scored a run and had an RBI. Sherten Apostel stole home on a double steal. Jeremias Portorreal had a single, walk, run scored and an outfield assist.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates were off on Sunday.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 are on their All-Star break. They sent Yoyner Fajardo to today’s All-Star game. He went 1-for-2 with a single.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 are on their All-Star break. They sent Angel Basabe to the All-Star game today. Basabe went 0-for-1 and played briefly in left field. Pitcher Willy Basil was a late addition to the team and he retired the only batter he faced.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
