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 – 0-for-4, BB
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 3-for-5, SB
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – DNP
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, West Virginia – 0-for-2, RBI, BB
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 2-for-4, 2B
7. Kevin Newman, SS, Pirates – In Majors
8. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 0-for-4, RBI
9. Luis Escobar, RHP, Altoona – DNP
10. Clay Holmes, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
11. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 2-for-4, BB
12. Jordan Luplow, LF, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, BB
13. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
14. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 0-for-4
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 – 2-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB
20. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
21. Jared Oliva, CF, Bradenton – DNP
22. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, GCL Pirates – 3-for-5, RBI, SB
23. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
24. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
25. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – 6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
26. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 0-for-1, 2 BB
27. Max Kranick, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
28. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – 1-for-4, RBI, BB
29. Steven Jennings, RHP, Bristol – DNP
30. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
Indianapolis lost 5-4 to Louisville.
Tyler Eppler got the start and was able to break a string of poor outings. Eppler had allowed at least three runs in each of his last seven starts, but he was on his game on Friday night. He went six innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk. He had four strikeouts, a 7:4 GO/AO ratio and he threw 58 of 86 pitches for strikes. Michael Feliz followed and retired the side in order on ten pitches, picking up one strikeout. Jesus Liranzo had an easy eighth, but the ninth proved to be tricky and Damien Magnifico was brought on for the last out with the bases loaded. He allowed two hits and all three runs ended up scoring for the walk-off loss.
Indianapolis got all of their runs on homers in the third inning. Eric Wood hit a solo shot, his ninth of the season. Jose Osuna followed four batters later with a three-run shot. It was his seventh of the year. Kevin Kramer had a single and his 32nd double. Max Moroff and Jordan Luplow each had a single and a walk.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 3-1 to Richmond.
Dario Agrazal got the start on Friday night. He went six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out six batters. He had an 8:3 GO/AO ratio and threw 63 of 91 pitches for strikes. This is the most runs he has allowed since returning from his shoulder strain. In his last five starts combined, he gave up four runs over 26 innings. Yeudy Garcia had a strong relief performance, throwing two shutout innings with four strikeouts. Tate Scioneaux pitched a scoreless ninth.
The Curve had seven hits, but they all came from three players. Cole Tucker had three hits and both Bryan Reynolds and Logan Hill had two hits. Tucker stole his 31st base. Hill drove in the only run. Stephen Alemais drew two walks. Ke’Bryan Hayes returned to action for the first time since he stepped on his bat on Sunday and fell awkwardly on his shoulder. Hayes went 0-for-4 with a walk.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton had their game postponed due to rain. They will play a doubleheader tomorrow.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia won 6-4 over Rome.
Sergio Cubilete threw 29 pitches and surrendered four runs in the first inning, then managed to follow that up with five shutout innings on 58 more pitches. He allowed five straight hits in the first to lead to the runs. The rest of the game, he gave up four more hits, while finishing with no walks, seven strikeouts and a 5:1 GO/AO ratio. Elvis Escobar followed with two shutout innings and three strikeouts. Logan Stoelke threw a scoreless ninth for the save.
Lolo Sanchez had a big game, going 2-for-3 with a single, double, walk, RBI and two runs scored. He is batting .355 in his last ten games. Connor Kaiser has been hitting well after not doing much with Morgantown at the plate. He’s now hitting .346 with the Power after going 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and a walk. Rafelin Lorenzo hit his second homer and also doubled. Travis Swaggerty didn’t have any hits, but he had a walk, RBI and a run scored. He’s hitting .121 (4-for-33) since being promoted from Morgantown.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown lost 4-3 to Mahoning Valley.
Alex Manasa made the start on Friday night and had trouble right from the beginning. In four innings, he allowed four runs (three earned) on ten hits and a walk, failing to register a strikeout. He also had a wild pitch, balk and the unearned run came on his own throwing error. Miguel Hernandez followed with three shutout innings and Alec Rennard tossed a scoreless frame.
Fabricio Macias had himself quite a day. He went 4-for-4 with a double and a walk, giving him a .381 average in 11 games with Morgantown. The Black Bears didn’t have an RBI in the game. Two runs scored in the fourth on a throwing error, then another crossed the plate on a passed ball in the ninth. Grant Koch had two men on base in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the team down one run. He struck out to end the game.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol lost 7-3 to Elizabethton.
Yeudry Manzanillo got the start, trying to help keep Bristol’s slim playoff hopes alive. He went five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk, with three strikeouts. He also hit two batters and threw three wild pitches. Will Kobos followed and was strong through two innings, striking out four batters. In the eighth inning, he got roughed up a bit, allowing three runs, though only one ended up being earned. Joe Jacques recorded the final two outs of the eighth, then threw a scoreless ninth.
All three Pirates runs were unearned. Conner Uselton had two hits and an RBI. Mason Martin had an RBI single and a walk. Pat Dorrian had a single and a walk. Jonah Davis hit his 15th double and walked. His 33 extra-base hits lead the league and all Pirates 2018 draft picks (by a wide margin).
This loss eliminated Bristol from the division race, but they still have a slim chance for second place, which would get them a playoff spot. It’s very slim though. They need to win their final five games and Kingsport needs to lose at least four of their last five games. If Bristol goes 4-1, then Kingsport would have to lose all five remaining games. A tie in the records at the end of the season would go to Kingsport because they won the season series.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates won 7-2 over the Braves.
Michael Burrows made his fourth and final start of the season on Friday. The 2018 11th round pick did something today that he didn’t do in his first three games…he gave up a run. That run was unearned due to two errors, so Burrows finished with a 0.00 ERA in 14 innings. He had two strikeouts and a 10:1 GO/AO ratio in five innings. Kleiner Machado followed with one scoreless inning, then Juan Henriquez gave up one run over the final three innings.
On offense, Ji-Hwan Bae went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, an RBI and his tenth stolen base. Jack Herman went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and a walk. He is batting .348 with one game left in the season, third best in the GCL. Fernando Villegas had a single, double and drove in two runs. Francisco Acuna had a single, double, walk and two RBIs. John Lantigua had two hits and Mariano Dotel, who came over from the DSL this week, collected his first hit.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 lost 5-4 to the Cubs1.
Valentin Linarez finished his season with four runs on six hits and a walk in five innings. He ends his rookie year with a 3.86 ERA in 39.2 innings. Joelvis Del Rosario was out next and he gave up one run on one hit in three innings.
Daniel Rivero had three hits, including his tenth double. His .319 average is tied for 14th best in the league, though he’s just seven points away from the seventh best average. Yoyner Fajardo had a single, his eighth triple and he drove in two runs. He’s one behind the league leader in triples. Norkis Marcos had two hits and a run scored. Emilson Rosado hit his 11th double.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 lost 7-0 to Colorado.
Estalin Ortiz got the start and allowed one run on four hits and two walks in five innings. He had five strikeouts. Ortiz finishes the season with a 4.53 ERA in 55.2 innings, with 51 strikeouts. Yeison Santos had a rough finish to a very strong rookie campaign. He gave up five runs over two innings. That left him with a 2.06 ERA in 43.2 innings. Miguel Diaz allowed an unearned run in the eighth, then the rains came and wiped away the end of the game.
The Pirates had just four hits and a walk, with all of the hits being singles. They have their share of scoring chances though, due to three stolen bases in three attempts. They went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Edgar Barrios had two of the hits. Omar Matos had a single and his 13th steal.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
