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-2
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 1-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – DNP
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, West Virginia – 0-for-4
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 2-for-5, BB
7. Kevin Newman, SS, Pirates – In Majors
8. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 1-for-3, BB
9. Luis Escobar, RHP, Altoona – DNP
10. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
11. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 1-for-5
12. Jordan Luplow, LF, Pirates – In Majors
13. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 3-for-5, RBI, BB
14. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 1-for-5, SB
15. Nick Burdi, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
16. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP
17. Travis MacGregor, RHP, West Virginia – 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO
18. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
19. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 1-for-2, RBI
20. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
21. Jared Oliva, CF, Bradenton – 0-for-0, SB
22. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, GCL Pirates – DNP
23. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
24. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
25. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
26. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 1-for-4, BB
27. Max Kranick, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
28. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – 0-for-4
29. Steven Jennings, RHP, Bristol – DNP
30. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
Indianapolis won 15-6 over Lehigh Valley.
Nick Kingham got the start on Sunday afternoon, coming off of a game in which he allowed the first nine batters of the fifth inning to reach base safely, with seven of them coming around to score. This game started much like how the last one ended and he was done by the end of four innings. Kingham allowed four runs on seven hits, with no walks and four strikeouts. He threw 86 pitches. Tanner Anderson followed with three shutout innings. Dovydas Neverauskas allowed one run in two innings. Jesus Liranzo gave up a meaningless unearned run in the bottom of the tenth inning after Indianapolis put ten runs on the board in the top of the inning.
Jason Martin had a game that he needed badly, coming into the day on a 6-for-74 run. He went 3-for-5 with a walk, RBI, run scored and a stolen base. You could probably say the same thing about Jerrick Suiter, who doesn’t fit the prospect profile, but needed a big day. He drove in four runs, going 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. He has just 166 at-bats this season, so he could use days like this to get him more chances. Max Moroff hit his second lead-off homer this week, giving him eight home runs on the year. He also walked three times and scored three runs. Jacob Stallings hit a three-run homer in the tenth inning. Kevin Kramer had two hits, a walk and thee runs scored.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona won 8-2 over Portland.
Dario Agrazal got the start today, coming off of six shutout innings earlier this week. He wasn’t quite that good on Sunday, but still had a solid outing. Agrazal went six innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk, with six strikeouts. He threw 60 of 86 pitches for strikes and posted a 7:2 GO/AO ratio. Geoff Hartlieb, Scooter Hightower and Matt Eckelman each followed with one scoreless inning.
The big hit in this game was a three-run homer from Arden Pabst, who also added a fourth RBI later in the game. It was his second home run since joining Altoona. Cole Tucker also had a big insurance hit, smacking a two-run double in the sixth inning. He has 18 doubles this year. Stephen Alemais had a single, walk and two runs scored. Jordan George walked three times and scored a run.
Ke’Bryan Hayes left the game after his second at-bat. He lined what looked like a single to left field, but he stepped on his bat while starting to run down the line and landed hard on his shoulder. Hayes walked off after a few minutes, but did not return. (UPDATE: After watching the replay, he definitely lost a double on a liner down the left field line. Nothing to add on the injury yet)
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 5-4 over Jupiter.
Evan Piechota started and went seven shutout innings, yet he ended up with a no-decision. He gave up five hits and two walks, while striking out three batters and throwing 68 of 88 pitches for strikes. Jake Brentz followed with a long seventh inning, allowing two hits and two walks on 33 pitches, yet he allowed just one run. Blake Cederlind gave up three runs in the tenth, but still got the win.
Mitchell Tolman had three hits and a run scored. Raul Siri and Hunter Owen each had two hits and an RBI. Adrian Valerio had a single, two walks and two runs scored. Bligh Madris returned from a minor injury that kept him out for a week and he picked up two RBIs on ground outs. Jared Oliva came into the game after Casey Hughston was ejected for arguing a strike call. Oliva can’t swing the bat yet after getting hit by a pitch more than a week ago, but he managed to draw a walk and steal his 30th base. He left later in the game for a pinch-hitter in a big spot.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia won 7-0 over Charleston.
Travis MacGregor took the mound after missing his last start and was on a limited pitch count today. He went two innings, allowing just a walk, with no runs, hits or strikeouts. Samuel Reyes took over in the third and he pitched a terrific game, going five shutout innings on five hits and no walks, with two strikeouts. It’s the first time in his career that he went longer than four innings. Elvis Escobar was out next and he finished the game off with two scoreless innings. He has allowed one run in his last 13 innings.
Connor Kaiser wasn’t hitting with Morgantown, but he’s off to a nice start with West Virginia. He’s up to a .357 average after going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs on Sunday. Rodolfo Castro pinch-ran for Dylan Busby in the fourth inning and then hit his 11th homer in the fifth inning. Robbie Glendinning and Jesse Medrano each had two hits and scored two runs. Travis Swaggerty is 2-for-17 with the Power after an 0-for-4 game today.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown won 5-4 over Williamsport.
Alex Manasa got the start and went five innings, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks, with two strikeouts. Through 12 starts, he has a 4.55 ERA in 65.1 innings. Shea Murray followed and threw a scoreless inning, with one walk and one strikeout. Will Gardner allowed just one hit in his 1.1 innings, then Francis Del Orbe helped send the game to extra innings. He gave up an unearned run in the tenth, then got the win when the Black Bears scored two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Melvin Jimenez had three hits in the game and scored a run. Daniel Amaral was a mid-game substitution and still scored two runs, including the tying run in the tenth after being the designated runner at second base in extra innings. He also his his third triple, which was the only extra-base hit for Morgantown. Zack Kone had a single, walk and an RBI. Michael de la Cruz got a rare start and had two walks and a single. Edison Lantigua had a single, RBI and run scored.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol won 4-1 over Pulaski.
Roger Santana got the start and showed why we had him in our updated top 50 prospects list earlier this month. Santana had his best career outing, throwing seven shutout innings on two hits, no walks and eight strikeouts. He had a 7:2 GO/AO ratio, and needed just 83 pitches to face one over the minimum. Vince Deyzel took over in the eighth and allowed an unearned run, while also picking up three strikeouts. Allen Montgomery tried to finish the game off and he did just that, retiring the side in order for his third save.
Jonah Davis continued to leave doubts that he is human by hitting his 12th homer and his 13th double. He also added a walk. Davis has 31 extra-base hits, six more than the second highest total in the Appalachian League and nearly double what any other 2018 draft pick has put up so far. Chase Lambert isn’t picking up many extra-base hits or playing every day, but he went 2-for-4 today to give him a .344 average in 27 games. Mikell Granberry, who has been Jonah Davis Jr this season, went 2-for-4 with his ninth double and an RBI. He had a .920 OPS coming into the game. Christian Navarro scored a crazy run in the sixth. He struck out, but reached on a wild pitch. He then stole second base, stole third base and scored on a wild pitch.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates are off on Sundays
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 are off on Sundays.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 are off on Sundays.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
