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 (Kevin Newman, Nick Burdi and Bryan Reynolds), 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 (Travis MacGregor and Stephen Alemais), 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 2019 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, Indianapolis – DNP
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, Bradenton – DNP
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – 0-for-4
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 1-for-4
7. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – 0-for-3, BB
8. Jason Martin, OF, Pirates – In Majors
9. JT Brubaker, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
10. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – 0-for-4
11. Cody Bolton, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
12. Tahnaj Thomas, RHP, Bristol – DNP
13. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
14. Lolo Sanchez, CF, Bradenton – 2-for-4, 3B
15. Pablo Reyes, Util, Indianapolis – DNP
16. Clay Holmes, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
17. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Bradenton – DNP
18. Michael Burrows, RHP, Morgantown – 4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
19. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 1-for-3, BB, 2 SB
20. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – 1-for-2, 2 BB
21. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
22. Luis Escobar, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
23. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Greensboro – 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
24. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
25. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Altoona – DNP
26. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
27. Blake Weiman, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
28. Steven Jennings, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
29. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – DNP
30. Jesus Liranzo, RHP, Altoona – DNP
Indianapolis got blanked by Pawtucket, 3-0. Alex McRae pitched shutout ball until the seventh, when he gave up a three-run home run to Bryce Brentz. McRae finished with five hits and one walk allowed in six and a third innings, with six strikeouts. Dovydas Neverauskas threw a scoreless inning and two-thirds.
The Indy offense managed just five singles, two by J.B. Shuck. Their best scoring chance came in the fifth, when they had runners at the corners and nobody out, but they couldn’t convert. They went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost to Hartford, 7-3. Pedro Vasquez continued his strong pitching, allowing just four hits and a walk, and striking out seven, over six innings. Vasquez allowed three runs, all unearned when a fourth-inning error by Jerrick Suiter with two outs set up a three-run home run. Austin Coley actually took the loss, allowing three runs in relief after the Curve had tied the game on a two-run homer by Chris Sharpe, his first longball at the AA level. He had five with Bradenton.
The Curve had their chances, but they went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Jared Oliva was 1-for-3 with a walk and a pair of steals. That gives him 15, which is third in the league. Suiter was the only Altoona player with two hits.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton lost a 2-1 game to Tampa as Hunter Stratton couldn’t hold a 1-0 ninth-inning lead. Stratton had already thrown scoreless innings in the eight and ninth. Starter Nick Economos threw six shutout innings. He gave up just three hits and a walk, and struck out five. The only run for the Marauders came on Dylan Busby’s 15th home run. Lolo Sanchez got his first two hits at the level, one of them a triple.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
Greensboro beat Delmarva, 4-3. The Grasshoppers had only five hits, one of them Justin Harrer’s second home run. Ji-Hwan Bae reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with two walks. Fabricio Macias had two hits.
Osvaldo Bido hung on for five innings despite control problems to pick up his ninth win, which leads the league by two. (Brad Case, now in Bradenton, was one of the pitchers with seven.) Bido threw only 49 of 88 pitches for strikes and walked four, but he gave up only two runs. Yerry De Los Santos retired the last six hitters in order, striking out four, to pick up the save.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown beat State College, 6-1, as four pitchers combined to allow only two hits. Michael Burrows allowed both hits and the one run, while walking two and striking out seven in four innings. Burrows threw 71 pitches and probably came out due to his pitch count. Winston Nicacio, whom the Pirates picked up in the minor league phase of Rule 5, threw three hitless innings. Jacob Webb and 15th round draft pick Garrett Leonard each threw a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout.
Seventh rounder Blake Sabol drove in half of the Black Bears’ runs while going 2-for-3. Sabol hit his first double and competitive balance round B pick Jared Triolo got his first triple. Twelfth round pick Kyle Wilkie had a single, a walk, a run and an RBI.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol’s offense remained AWOL in a 5-0 loss to Greeneville. The Pirates managed just two hits, singles by Brendt Citta and Eli Wilson. Daniel Rivero drew a walk and the team fanned 11 times. Through five games, Bristol is batting .134 with no home runs and just seven runs. They’ve scored in just three out of 44 innings.
On the mound, Adrian Florencio made his pro debut and gave up all five runs in five innings. He allowed five hits and a walk, and struck out one. Florencio is a 6’6″ righty from the Dominican Republic who signed at age 20 last February. Considering that he was making his pro debut two levels above the Dominican Summer League, it probably wasn’t a bad showing. Enrique Santana, who signed at age 20 last fall and is now 21, made his second pro appearance. He threw two scoreless innings and fanned four. Oliver Garcia also threw a pair of scoreless innings.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 beat the Indians/Brewers Co-op team, 6-2. The Pirates got some rare good pitching. Luis Peralta, a lefty in his second DSL season gave up two runs in five innings. He allowed only two hits, but they came in the same inning and the second one left the yard. He walked none and fanned six. Mario Garcia, another second-year pitcher, allowed three hits and no walks over the final four innings, striking out seven. He’s fanned 27 so far in 19.2 IP.
The Pirates had only six hits, but four of them were home runs. The big one was a tie-breaking, three-run shot by Franrielis Bastardo. The outfielder, who signed for $260,000, now has two. Shendrik Apostel, Orlando Chivilli ($350,000) and Osvaldo Gavilan also went deep, the first for Chivilli and second each for Apostel and Gavilan.
Here’s the boxscore.
The DSL Pirates2 won a wild one, 15-10, from the Mariners. The Pirates pounded out 19 hits, with 17-year-old Rayber Romero going 5-for-5 with his second double and third triple, and three RBIs. Romero signed out of Venezuela, so we don’t know his bonus. Rodolfo Nolasco, who signed for $235,000, also had a double, (his second), three runs and three RBIs. Randy Romero, who’s in his second year, was 3-for-5 with his third double and third triple. Randy is from Mexico, so it’s unlikely he’s related to Rayber. The Pirates got two hits, including his first home run, from Bryan Mateo. Dariel Lopez ($400,000) kept his average exactly at .400 by going 2-for-5.
Lefty Adrian Melendez, who was the Pirates’ top pitching draftee in the 2018-19 signing period, ran into control problems, walking three in three innings. He gave up four runs, three of them earned. Axel Rosario, a 6’5″ 19-year-old, got the win in his second pro appearance with one and a third scoreless innings.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
