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, 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 – 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, BB, 2 RBI, SB
3. Shane Baz, RHP, Bristol – 5 IP,4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 9 SO
4. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 1-for-2, 3 BB
5. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 0-for-5
6. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP
7. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – DNP
8. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 2-for-4
9. Jordan Luplow, LF, Pirates – In Majors
10. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
11. Clay Holmes, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
12. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
13. Nick Kingham, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
14. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 1-for-3, HBP
15. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-3, RBI
16. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 0-for-4
17. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
18. Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (disabled list) – DNP
19. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – DNP
20. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
21. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI
22. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 2-for-4, RBI
23. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, 2 RBI
24. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
25. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Altoona – DNP
26. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – 2-for-5, RBI
27. Conner Uselton, OF, Bristol – 1-for-4, BB
28. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO
29. Steven Jennings, RHP, Bristol – DNP
30. Max Kranick, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
Indianapolis won 7-0 over Columbus.
Casey Sadler started in place of Alex McRae, who was called up to the majors earlier today. Sadler had already pitched twice in relief this week, so his performance on Saturday night was even more impressive than it appears on its own. He threw six shutout innings on five hits and one walk, with five strikeouts and an 8:3 GO/AO ratio. Sadler also threw 93 pitches, with 58 going for strikes. Jesus Liranzo followed and he had a strong three innings, facing one over the minimum (one walk) for the save. He has a 3.18 ERA in 15 appearances with Indianapolis.
Jason Martin and Eric Wood each drove in two runs. Wood collected his 19th double. Sean Rodriguez played his sixth rehab game and hit his first home run for Indianapolis. Jose Osuna had a single, his 20th double and a walk. He has a .344 average through 44 games. Kevin Kramer had a single, HBP and scored two runs.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona won 6-4 over Trenton.
Cam Vieaux has been pitching great since he joined Altoona last month. This was his worst Double-A start, but he still managed to go deep in the game for a team that had to go to a position player twice this week. Vieaux went seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk. He had four strikeouts and threw 59 of 94 pitches for strikes. He now has a 2.08 ERA in 39 innings with Altoona. Yeudy Garcia was out next and he retired all six batters he faced, four by strikeouts, for his third save.
Cole Tucker had a busy night in the lead-off spot. He hit his 13th double, third triple, stole his 20th base and also had a walk, run scored and two RBIs. Ke’Bryan Hayes reached base four times, with a single and three walks. He also scored two runs. Bryan Reynolds had two hits. Will Craig hit his 17th double and drove in a pair, giving him 60 RBIs on the season. Stephen Alemais had two hits, a run scored and an RBI.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 4-1 over Fort Myers.
James Marvel had an outstanding start tonight, allowing one run over seven innings, while striking out nine batters. That represents a new single game high for strikeouts. Marvel gave up just one hit, a fourth inning solo homer. He also hit one batter and walked another with two outs in the seventh inning. He threw 102 pitches on the night, with 72 going for strikes. Ronny Agustin (8th) and Blake Weiman (9th) retired the final six batters in order.
Albert Baur hit his 14th double and his ninth homer, to help lead the offense. Jared Oliva had an RBI on his 16th double. Adrian Valerio had a single and a sacrifice fly. Arden Pabst had two hits. Casey Hughston hit his second triple of the season.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia lost 4-2 to Hagerstown.
Cody Bolton got the start, trying to bounce back from six earned runs over two innings in his last start. This game wasn’t up to his early standards with West Virginia, but it was a nice outing after what we saw last time. Bolton went six innings, allowing three runs on six hits and no walks. He had four strikeouts, an 8:3 GO/AO ratio and threw 54 of 78 pitches for strikes. He now has a 3.15 ERA in 34.1 innings. Drew Fischer allowed one run over two innings, while Matt Seelinger struck out the side on 13 pitches in the ninth.
The offense was one swing of the bat from Oneil Cruz, who connected on a two-run homer in the third inning. It was his 11th home run of the season. Cruz also stole his ninth base. Jesse Medrano singled in the fifth inning for the only other West Virginia hit. Fabricio Macias had two walks and a run scored.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown won 7-6 over Auburn.
Osvaldo Bido (pictured up top) has a lot of potential, but his control seems to get the best of him at some point in every outing. That didn’t happen on this night, as he went five innings, allowing one run on three hits, with no walks and eight strikeouts. He threw 57 of 83 pitches for strikes and he had a 7:0 GO/AO ratio. Cody Smith followed and he gave up five earned runs on just 20 pitches. Miguel Hernandez was next and he worked around some base runners for 2.1 scoreless. Logan Stoelke took the ninth with a 7-6 lead and picked up his third save.
Travis Swaggerty hit his first pro homer in the third inning, then added his first triple later in the game. He also reached on a hit-by-pitch and picked up an outfield assist. Fifth round pick Grant Koch played his first game and went 0-for-2, drawing three walks. Robbie Glendinning had a double, two walks, an RBI and two runs scored. Daniel Amaral stole his 12th base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol won 15-9 over Princeton.
Shane Baz made his fourth start and easily surpassed his previous career best in strikeouts. Coming into this game, Baz never had more than five strikeouts in a start, though he was on a strict pitch limit during his time in the GCL last year. He struck out nine batters on this day, but still had some troubles early and late in his outing. Baz pitch into the sixth, failing to record an out before being removed. He finished with four runs on four hits and four walks in five innings. He threw 91 pitches, with 56 going for strikes.
Luis Diaz followed Baz and allowed four runs over 1.2 innings, though just one of those runs was earned. Will Gardner finished out the game with the final 2.1 innings.
Bristol had 18 hits, but the biggest surprise on offenses wasn’t a hit. It was Jonah Davis losing his ten-game hit streak to start his career by going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. He contributed in the first inning with a sacrifice fly. Mikell Granberry continued his hot streak with a single, double and his second home run. He has a .381 average in 11 games. Victor Ngoepe had four singles, an RBI and three runs scored. Brendt Citta had three hits, including two doubles. He drove in two runs and scored three times. Sherten Apostel reached all five times with a single, HBP and three walks. Mason Martin had two hits, two runs and an RBI.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates won 8-5 over the Blue Jays.
The Pirates trailed 5-2 going into the bottom of the ninth. Francisco Acuna walked to start the inning, then scored on a Jack Herman triple. With one out, Steven Kraft hit an RBI ground out, making it 5-4. That was followed by a Patrick Dorrian walk, a Fernando Villegas double, an intentional walk to Justin Harrer, then Nick Patten hit a walk-off grand slam for his first pro home run. Herman is hitting .500/.571/.864 through his first six games.
Luis Arrieta started and did not get very far, allowing four runs over 1.1 innings. He was followed by Luis Nova, who put in a very strong performance. Nova went 4.2 innings, allowing one hit and no walks, with four strikeouts. Jacob Webb threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. John O’Reilly made his second appearance and allowed a run on two hits and two hit batters in his only inning. Saul de la Cruz got the win with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 won 4-3 over the Indians.
Juan Pie picked up his sixth triple, to go along with a walk, run scored and his fourth stolen base (he was also caught for the fourth time). Yoyner Fajardo went 2-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored. Norkis Marcos had a single and two walks. Jommer Hernandez had two hits. Carlos Arroyo had three hits, a run scored and an RBI.
Yandy Vega started and went five innings, allowing two runs on three hits, a walk and he had five strikeouts. Domingo Gonzalez followed with a walk and a hit over three scoreless frames. Oscar Echarry had the final two innings, giving up an unearned run in the tenth, but still getting the win.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 lost 7-6 to Colorado.
Willy Basil started and had some troubles, as well as defensive issues behind him. That combo led to three runs (two earned) over two innings. Luis Peralta gave up two runs over three innings, while striking out five batters. Denny Roman dominated in his first three outs (11 strikeouts in 4.2 innings) then allowed two runs over two innings today, although he did strike out four batters. Carlos Campos came on in the eighth and threw a scoreless inning.
Bryan Mateo had a big day on offense, collecting three hits and three RBIs. He hit his fourth double, as did Omar Matos, who drove in two runs. Pedro Castillo had two hits, a walk and a stolen base. Angel Basabe had a single, run scored and his third stolen base.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
