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 – 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – 1-for-5, 2B, BB, 2 RBI
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 3-for-4, BB, 2 RBI
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 1-for-4
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Morgantown – 1-for-4, BB
6. Shane Baz, RHP, Bristol – DNP
7. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 0-for-2, BB
8. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – 2-for-4, 2B
9. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 2-for-7, 2 2B, 3 RBI
10. Luis Escobar, RHP, Altoona – DNP
11. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
12. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 3-for-6
13. Jordan Luplow, LF, Pirates – In Majors
14. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 1-for-4
15. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 1-for-4, BB
16. Nick Burdi, RHP, Altoona – DNP
17. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP
18. Travis MacGregor, RHP, West Virginia – 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO
19. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
20. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – 1-for-2
21. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
22. Jared Oliva, CF, Bradenton – DNP
23. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, GCL Pirates – 1-for-4, 3B, BB
24. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
25. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
26. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – DNP
27. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 1-for-5
28. Max Kranick, RHP, West Virginia – 3.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
29. Sherten Apostel, 3B, Bristol – 0-for-1, HBP
30. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – 0-for-3, BB
Indianapolis won 3-1 over Lehigh Valley.
Mitch Keller made his sixth start for Indianapolis, still looking for his first solid performance in Triple-A. That finally happened on this night with a very strong performance. In six innings, he allowed one run on four hits, a walk and a hit batter. He had six strikeouts and a 7:4 GO/AO ratio, while throwing 64 of 88 pitches for strikes. Recently acquired Buddy Boshers made his Indianapolis debut a got three ground outs, working around a walk. He threw 17 pitches, ten for strikes. Steven Brault was next and went 1.1 innings, striking out three of the four batters he faced. Alex McRae recorded the final two outs.
On offense, Kevin Newman had a single and his 30th double. He scored two runs. Jacob Stallings had two hits and scored two runs. Pablo Reyes hit an RBI single. Jason Martin had a single and a run scored. Wyatt Mathisen had a single and a walk.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona won 9-7 over Trenton.
Eduardo Vera got the start tonight and went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits, with no walks and five strikeouts. He threw 80 pitches, with 52 going for strikes and he posted an 8:4 GO/AO ratio. He has now allowed two runs in six of his last eight starts, with the other two being one run and three runs. Bret Helton took over in the seventh for two scoreless frames. Sean Keselica tried to close out the big lead and had a disastrous outing, walking five and giving up a hit, while recording one out. Just 11 of his 32 pitches went for strikes. Three runs scored before he left and Matt Eckelman inherited three others. Eckelman allowed a two-run single, but finished off the win.
Logan Hill drove in four runs, hitting his 14th homer and also adding a double. Cole Tucker had three hits, a walk and drove in two runs. Ke’Bryan Hayes hit his 28th double and drove in a pair. Bryan Reynolds had three singles and a run scored. Tyler Gaffney had two singles, two hit-by-pitches and two runs scored. He has now been hit 20 times this season. Jordan George had two walks, two runs scored. Both Will Craig and Christian Kelley had a single and a walk.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton lost 5-3 to Tampa.
Evan Piechota allowed one run over seven innings in his last start. Matching that performance would be impossible just a few batters into tonight’s game. He allowed three runs in the first and another two in the second. He quickly settled down, retiring 12 of the last 13 batters, but the damage was done. A.J. Schugel was out next and he threw 17 pitches, giving up a single, with no walks and two strikeouts. Jake Brentz took the ball in the eighth and was scoreless, then Angel German handled the ninth.
The offense had a lot of trouble putting the ball in play, striking out 16 times. They managed to collect seven hits, including Mitchell Tolman’s second home run. Raul Siri had an RBI double in the ninth, his first hit since being promoted to High-A. Casey Hughston had a double, walk and an outfielder assist. Hunter Owen had a single and a walk. Jared Oliva is still out since leaving on Tuesday following a hit-by-pitch, but he’s not on the DL.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia won 5-3 over Greensboro.
Travis MacGregor got the start and was hard to hit, but he had some control issues. In four innings, he allowed three runs (one earned) on one hit (home run) and four walks, with two strikeouts. The two unearned runs scored on his own error. Elvis Escobar followed and retired all six batters he faced, three by strikeouts. Beau Sulser got the save, retiring the side in order in the seventh.
The Power scored four runs in the third inning. They got three singles to load the bases with one out. A fielder’s choice and throwing error ended up with no outs and two runs scoring. Deon Stafford then hit an RBI single, followed by a sacrifice fly from Rodolfo Castro for the final run. Raul Hernandez had an RBI single in the first inning, and also had a walk and a double in the game. Stafford had two hits. Oneil Cruz returned after missing two games with a minor injury and went 1-for-4 with a run scored.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
In game two, Max Kranick got the start and was roughed up in 3.1 innings, allowing five runs on four hits and two walks, with four strikeouts. Two of the runs he allowed came off of reliever Drew Fischer, who was able to strand one of the three runners he inherited. Kranick came into the game with one walk in his last six starts combined. Fischer allowed two runs of his own in 1.2 innings. Joel Cesar came out in the sixth and retired all six batters he faced to pick up his second save in a 9-7 victory.
As you would expect with nine runs, there were some nice games on offense. Robbie Glendinning had three hits and drove in three runs. He had a double and also added a walk. Rafelin Lorenzo had three hits, two RBIs and a run scored. Calvin Mitchell hit two doubles to give him 23 on the season and he drove in two runs. Jesse Medrano hit a two-run homer. Fabricio Macias had a single, double, walk, three runs scored and his third stolen base.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown lost 8-7 to State College.
Mike Gretler had a single, his eighth double and drove in two runs. Jhoan Herrera hit his fourth homer. He also singled and scored two runs. Michael de la Cruz had a single, an RBI and two runs scored. Travis Swaggerty went 1-for-4 with a single and a walk. He picked up an outfield assist, while also committing his fourth error.
Mike LoPresti got the start and went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks. He had two strikeouts and a 10:3 GO/AO ratio. Ryan Valdes followed with four runs (three earned) over 1.1 innings. Cody Smith was next and he surrendered two runs in 1.2 innings.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol won 4-2 over Greeneville.
Colin Selby got the start and struck out eight batters through four innings, but also ran up his pitch count in the process. He was removed after four, with two runs on six hits and two walks, throwing 48 of 83 pitches for strikes. Selby has a 3.41 ERA in 34.1 innings with 34 strikeouts. Will Kobos followed with two scoreless frames. Joe Jacques was next and he also put up two shutout innings. Allen Montgomery handled the ninth for the save.
Bristol had just three hits in the game, but they managed to score four runs. Dean Lockery had an RBI double. Chase Lambert hit a sacrifice fly. Brendt Citta walked with the bases loaded for his RBI. Sherten Apostel had to leave after being hit by a pitch (forearm) in the fourth inning. He was being checked out after the game to determine the extent of the injury. Apostel was replaced by Mikell Granberry, who singled and scored a run.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates won 8-6 over the Yankees East.
Santiago Florez got the start and went five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks, with four strikeouts. He was followed by Saul de la Cruz, who allowed a run on two hits and two hit batters in his only inning. Lizardy Dicent went two innings and gave up two runs. He came into the day with a 2.16 ERA in ten appearances. Hai-Cheng Gong got the ninth inning with a two-run lead and he retired the side in order for his first pro save.
Jack Herman went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored. He now has eight doubles and a .364 average, which ranked him second best in the GCL at the end of the game. Kyle Mottice went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. He stole his 14th base in 14 attempts. Pat Dorrian and Fernando Villegas each drove in two runs. Dorrian has 26 RBIs now, tied with Steven Kraft for the team lead. Jean Eusebio went 1-for-4 with an RBI and his fourth stolen base. Ji-Hwan Bae hit his second triple, walked and scored twice.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 won 7-5 over the Cubs1.
The Pirates got two RBIs each from Juan Pie, Carlos Arroyo and Shendrik Apostel. Pie hit his 11th double, scored twice and stole his sixth base. Apostel had two hits, including his ninth double. Arroyo, Yoyner Fajardo and Darwin Baez each had two hits. Daniel Rivero had a double, two runs scored and his ninth stolen base.
Arlinthon De Dios got the start and went four innings, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks, with five strikeouts. Yandy Vega followed with one run over two innings, striking out three batters. Domingo Gonzalez picked up his third save by giving up two runs (one earned) over the final three innings.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 lost 3-2 to the Royals2.
Mario Garcia got the start and went 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits and one walk, with five strikeouts. Raydel Velette went 2.2 shutout innings, though he did allow a two-run single that was the difference in the game.
Angel Basabe hit his seventh double and drove in a run. He also picked up his fourth outfield assist. Fleury Nova had a single, a run scored and his 12th stolen base. Omar Matos had a single, walk, RBI and two stolen bases.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
