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, 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 updated 2018 Mid-Season Prospect Guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.
1. Mitch Keller, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – DNP
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 0-for-3, BB
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – DNP
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, West Virginia – 0-for-4
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 2-for-4, HR, RBI
7. Kevin Newman, SS, Pirates – In Majors
8. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 1-for-4
9. Luis Escobar, RHP, Altoona – DNP
10. Clay Holmes, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
11. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 2-for-4, 2B, RBI
12. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, 2B
13. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, RBI
14. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 0-for-3, BB
15. Nick Burdi, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
16. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP
17. Travis MacGregor, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
18. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
19. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 0-for-2, HBP
20. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO
21. Jared Oliva, CF, Bradenton – DNP
22. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, GCL Pirates – 0-for-5
23. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
24. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
25. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – DNP
26. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 1-for-4, 3B
27. Max Kranick, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
28. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – 0-for-4, BB
29. Steven Jennings, RHP, Bristol – DNP
30. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
Indianapolis won 8-6 over Columbus, putting the two teams in a tie for first place.
JT Brubaker got the start, trying to continue his recent string of success that includes three runs and one walk over his last 29.2 innings. He couldn’t keep up his fast pace, but that outing wasn’t bad. Brubaker went five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out eight batters. He threw 59 of 95 pitches for strikes and had a surprisingly high fly ball rate, considering that he has a 1.84 GO/AO ratio this season. He now has a 3.11 ERA in 107 innings with Indianapolis.
Buddy Boshers took the sixth inning and tossed a shutout frame. Tanner Anderson allowed two runs in his two innings, though one was an unearned tally. Dovydas Neverauskas made things interesting in the ninth by allowing two runs.
Jose Osuna hit a two-run homer in the first inning, his sixth of the season. He was followed two batters later by a solo home run from Kevin Kramer, his 13th. Jordan Luplow returned to Indianapolis and collected his 23rd double. Eric Wood also hit his 23rd double during a 3-for-3 night. Ryan Lavarnway had two hits and drove in two runs. Pablo Reyes had two hits, a run scored and an RBI.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona won 6-3 over Harrisburg.
Cam Vieaux got the start and was very strong for five innings until his high pitch count knocked him out early. He threw shutout ball on four hits (all singles) with no walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 59 of 89 pitches for strikes. Vieaux now has a 3.48 ERA in 82.2 innings with Altoona. Bret Helton was next and he gave up two runs in his only inning. Logan Sendelbach retired all six batters he faced, then Geoff Hartlieb allowed an unearned run in the ninth to finish things off.
Alfredo Reyes had the big hit of the night, connecting on a grand slam in the fourth inning. It was his fourth home run of the season and his first in 27 games with Altoona. Bryan Reynolds hit his 18th double. He also had a single and an RBI. Jordan George had a double, RBI, walk and run scored. Stephen Alemais hit his fourth triple of the season.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton lost 7-5 to Charlotte.
Gavin Wallace got the start and didn’t have it from the beginning, but he took one for the team to get through five innings. He allowed seven runs on 12 hits and a walk, with two strikeouts. Wallace served up three homers on a night he didn’t have his usual ground ball stuff working, posting a 3:6 GO/AO ratio. Blake Weiman followed and retired all six batters he faced, three on strikeouts. Jake Brentz and Angel German each tossed scoreless innings.
Hunter Owen hit his 16th home run of the season and his 21st double. He now ranks fifth in the league in homers and he’s 16th in OPS (.763). Mitchell Tolman had a single, double and an RBI. John Bormann had two singles, a walk and an RBI.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia lost 3-2 to Rome.
Oddy Nunez got the start for the Power, trying to continue his success since being demoted from Bradenton. He did just that tonight, allowing an unearned run in his five innings of work, with two hits, two walks and seven strikeouts. That’s his highest strikeout total since August 4, 2017. Nunez now has a 1.88 ERA with West Virginia. Drew Fischer allowed a run on three hits in two innings, while striking out five batters. John Pomeroy had his fifth straight scoreless appearance since being promoted from Morgantown, where he had five consecutive shutout outings before he left. Beau Sulser was the hard luck loser when Rome hit a walk-off sacrifice fly after an error and a ground out put the winning run on third.
Rodolfo Castro had two hits, a walk and a run scored, though he committed two errors, including the costly one in the ninth. The Power had a total of seven hits, all singles, and one walk. They committed four errors and two runners were thrown out stealing. Travis Swaggerty is 4-for-31 with no walks since being promoted.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown lost 3-2 to Mahoning Valley.
Zach Spears got the start on Thursday night and was limited due to control issues. He threw shutout ball, allowing one hit, three walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch. He was up to 66 pitches before being removed. Ryan Valdes followed with one run over 2.2 innings. Will Gardner allowed two runs while recording two outs. Cam Alldred lowered his ERA to 1.63 with 1.2 scoreless frames.
Mike Gretler was the only batter to reach base more than once. He went 2-for-3 with two singles, a HBP and an RBI. Melvin Jimenez drove in the only other run with his first double of the season.
This game officially eliminated Morgantown from the playoff race with 11 games left in their season. They have a 25-40 record.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol lost 15-7 to Kingsport.
Denny Roman made his third start since being promoted from the DSL. He went four innings and pitched into the fifth without recording any outs. Roman gave up five runs on five hits and three walks, with seven strikeouts. He was ejected in the fifth inning for hitting the lead-off batter. He should get one more start this season unless he is suspended for tonight’s incident. If he’s done, Roman struck out 56 batters in 34.1 innings this season. John O’Reilly followed with five runs (four earned) in two innings. Vince Deyzel allowed five runs in the seventh. Jacob Webb retired all four batters he faced in 1.1 innings.
Pat Dorrian had a big night, going 3-for-4 with two triples, two runs scored, an RBI and a walk. He is 7-for-15 with four extra-base hits since joining Bristol. Chase Lambert had a single, triple and two RBIs. Jonah Davis hit his 14th double, walked and scored two runs. He was named to the Appalachian League season All-Star team on Thursday afternoon. He leads the league with 32 extra-base hits. Brendt Citta hit his second home run and walked twice.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates won 4-1 over the Blue Jays.
Noe Toribio got the start and finished his season on a high note. In six innings, he allowed one run on five hits and one walk. He had one strikeout and a 9:6 GO/AO ratio. Toribio finished with a 5.68 ERA in 50.2 innings. Randy Jimenez followed him and he was nearly perfect for three innings. The only batter who reached base got on via an error. He had two strikeouts and a 5:3 GO/AO ratio.
The bottom of the lineup (7-9 hitters) provided the offense with Francisco Acuna, Nick Patten and Justin Harrer combining for four of the team’s five hits. They each scored a run and Patten drove in a pair of runs. Ji-Hwan Bae went 0-for-5 and Jack Herman went 0-for-4 to lose ground in the batting race with only two days left.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 lost 9-5 to the Dodgers Guerrero.
Yoelvis Reyes got the start and allowed six runs on five hits and four walks in 4.2 innings. Oscar Echarry followed with one run in 1.1 innings and Wilger Camacho was saddled with two unearned runs in two innings.
For five runs being scored, the offense was fairly quiet. Norkis Marcos had two hits, two runs and a walk, along with his 14th stolen base. Carlos Arroyo had two walks, a single and a run scored. Germin Lopez had a triple, two walks and his 14th stolen base. Juan Pie went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 won 7-4 over the Giants2.
Christian Charle got the start and tossed three shutout innings. Enrique Santana had a rough fourth, allowed three runs on four walks. Carlos Campos went 3.1 innings, allowing one run, while striking out five batters. Willy Basil picked up his first save with two shutout innings.
Ronaldo Paulino had a big game on offense with three hits and a walk in four trips to the plate. He hit his sixth homer and scored three runs. Ivan Rosario had two hits, drove in two runs and stole his eighth base. Omar Matos had an RBI double and his 12th stolen base. Angel Basabe had an RBI single and his eighth stolen base. The top five hitters in the lineup combined for 12 strikeouts. The bottom four spots had one strikeout.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
