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 – 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
2. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 2-for-5, 2B, HR, RBI
3. Shane Baz, RHP, Bristol – 3 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
4. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 0-for-3, 2 BB
5. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 2-for-4, SB
6. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP
7. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 1-for-4, 2B, BB
8. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 2-for-5
9. Jordan Luplow, LF, Pirates – In Majors
10. Luis Escobar, RHP, Altoona – DNP
11. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
12. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
13. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 1-for-4
14. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – DNP
15. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 1-for-5, 2 RBI
16. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 2-for-4, BB
17. Nick Burdi, RHP, Altoona – DNP
18. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
19. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
20. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, HBP
21. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 1-for-4
22. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
23. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
24. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Altoona – 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO
25. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – 0-for-3
26. Conner Uselton, OF, Bristol – 0-for-4
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 – DNP
Indianapolis won 6-4 over Buffalo.
Mitch Keller got his fourth start in Triple-A, and while you wouldn’t call it a strong outing, it was an improvement over what we have seen so far with him at Indianapolis. Keller went five innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits and one walk, with four strikeouts. He needed 96 pitches to get through five, with 68 going for strikes. Keller now has an 8.66 ERA in 17.2 innings, with 24 strikeouts. Montana DuRapau was next and he tossed three shutout innings for the win, followed by a five-pitch ninth inning from Tanner Anderson for the save.
Ryan Lavarnway hit his seventh home run while serving as the DH, but it was the other catcher who had the big day at the plate.Jacob Stallings drove in four runs with two doubles and he also added a walk. Christopher Bostick walked three times and scored twice. Kevin Newman had two singles, his 25th stolen base and he scored two runs.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona won 10-2 over Binghamton.
Eduardo Vera got the start and he went 5.2 innings, surrendering two runs on seven hits and three walks. He had three strikeouts, an 8:3 GO/AO ratio and he threw 61 of 97 pitches for strikes. Vera hasn’t allowed more than two runs in a start since June 24th. Geoff Hartlieb threw 1.1 scoreless innings, followed by Matt Eckelman and Tate Scioneaux each retiring the side in order over the final two innings.
On offense, Jordan George had himself quite a day. He went 4-for-5 and drove in five runs. He now has a .299 average through 77 games. Will Craig had a single, his 21st double, his 82nd RBI, two runs scored and a hit-by-pitch. Bryan Reynolds went 2-for-5 and scored three runs. Cole Tucker hit his fourth home run of the season and his 17th double. He also scored a pair of runs.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton had their game with Florida suspended in the middle of the fourth inning with the Marauders up 10-0. Tomorrow is the last meeting between the two teams and there is rain in the forecast, so there is no guarantee that this game will go official. If it does, Dario Agrazal went three shutout innings for the second straight rehab start. He allowed two hits, a walk and struck out two batters. Hunter Owen and Adrian Valerio hit homers. The second game of today’s doubleheader has been canceled. The two teams will try to finish today’s game on Sunday, then play another seven inning contest.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia lost 4-3 to Asheville.
Travis MacGregor got the start and allowed four earned runs for the second straight start. That’s after limiting the opposition to two or fewer runs in each of his first 12 starts. MacGregor allowed four hits (two were homers), with three walks and six strikeouts. Oddy Nunez made his 2018 debut with West Virginia next and tossed three shutout innings. Drew Fischer struck out the side in the ninth on 14 pitches.
The Power scored their runs early on an RBI single by Rafelin Lorenzo and a two-run single from Calvin Mitchell. Rodolfo Castro and Oneil Cruz each had two singles and a run scored. Cruz also added a walk. Lolo Sanchez hit his 15th double, walked and scored a run.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown won 5-2 over Brooklyn.
Aaron Shortridge got the start and went just 2.1 innings, allowing two hits and two walks, but no runs. There may have been some reason he left early, possibly limiting his pitch count (he was up to 46 pitches already), so we will have to check into that if he misses a start next week. Nicholas Economos allowed one run in 2.2 innings. Will Gardner gave up one run in 1.1 innings. Logan Stoelke took over in the seventh and threw 1.2 scoreless, before Conner Loeprich finished the game off with an easy ninth.
Everyone in the lineup reached base safely at least once, as the Black Bears had ten hits and seven walks. Brett Kinneman, Daniel Amaral and Luke Mangieri each had two hits. Mangieri homered in the first inning and added another RBI later in the game. Amaral also had a walk, RBI and run scored. Mike Gretler hit his fifth double. Connor Kaiser stole his seventh base. Travis Swaggerty was 0-for-4 with a walk. Jin-De Jhang started his rehab assignment (concussion) and he went 1-for-3 with a walk.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol lost 5-0 to Elizabethton.
Shane Baz got the start and cruised through the first two innings before things fell apart in the third. Baz picked up a strikeout and allowed a hit in the first, yet he got out of the inning on just six pitches. He needed a few more pitches in the second to get the same results (one hit, one strikeout), but he was still under 20 pitches headed to the third inning. He gave up two singles, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch in the third, which led to two runs, one being unearned after an error. In the fourth inning, he gave up three consecutive singles and a walk, before being removed with no outs.
Reliever John O’Reilly was able to strand two of the three inherited runners. O’Reilly threw three shutout innings with five strikeouts, then Austin Shields gave up one run in two innings on three walks and three strikeouts.
The offense was shut down in a big way. Brendt Citta singled in the fifth inning for the only hit. Chase Lambert and Gabriel Brito drew the only walks, though Lambert was immediately erased on a double play.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates won 2-1 over the Tigers East.
Santiago Florez got the start and pitched well for six innings, giving up just one run, which was unearned. He allowed four hits, walked three (one intentional) and had two strikeouts. Luis Nova followed with two shutout innings, then Lizardy Dicent took the final two innings for the win.
The Pirates won this game on a walk-off bunt single by Steven Kraft in the bottom of the tenth inning. That was just their fourth hit of the day. Kraft, Ji-Hwan Bae and Justin Harrer had singles earlier in the game. The Pirates tied the game in the seventh on a pinch-hit sacrifice fly by Samuel Inoa, then he put down a sacrifice bunt in the tenth that moved the eventually winning run to third base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 lost 6-4 to the Rays2
Starlyn Reynoso got the start and allowed one run over four innings. He’s had control issues this season, but he walked just one batter in this game. Yerry De Los Santos allowed an unearned run in his only inning. Jose Maldonado threw shutout ball in the sixth. Enrique Santana allowed two runs in the seventh, which tied the score. Julio Rosario also allowed two runs, though one was unearned.
Shendrik Apostel was the big bat on offense, with a single, his seventh double, an RBI and a run scored. His double was the team’s only extra-base hit and they had just one walk. Norkis Marcos went 1-for-3 with a single, walk and two runs scored, as well as his seventh stolen base. Jommer Hernandez singled to extend his hit streak to eight games.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 lost 9-5 to the Royals2
This game was the completion of a suspended game from two weeks ago, so the stats in the boxscore revert back to that date. Estalin Ortiz started and went five innings, allowing one run. Oliver Mateo was on the mound when the game was suspended and he returned to the mound once they resumed play. He went 2.1 innings, allowing six runs (five earned). Carlos Campos was needed to record the final two outs, but not before he gave up two runs on four hits.
Despite scoring five runs, the Pirates had just four hits and they were all singles. Edgar Barrios drove in two runs without a hit. Pedro Castillo had a single, walk, his fifth stolen base and two runs scored. Daniel Angulo had two hits, a run scored, a stolen base and an RBI. Mariano Dotel stole his ninth base (though he now has ten on the season)
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
In the regularly scheduled game for today, which was now down to seven innings, Francisco Hodge got the start. He threw five shutout innings on three hits and a walk, while striking out five batters and posting an 8:3 GO/AO ratio. Braham Rosario was out next and he threw a scoreless sixth. Raydel Valette came out for the save with a 2-0 lead and gave up three hits and three runs for the loss. The final two runs score off of Wander Romero, who balked and threw two wild pitches (all with the same batter up) to allow the run to score.
The Pirates had six hits in the game and Mariano Dotel had half of them. He hit two singles and his fourth triple. Mario Jerez hit an RBI double. Eduar Ramirez hit a double and scored a run.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
