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, Morgantown – 0-for-4
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Indianapolis – 2-for-4
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, Bradenton – DNP
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 0-for-3, BB
7. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, 2B
8. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 2-for-4
9. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
10. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – 1-for-2, HR (10), 2 RBI, HBP
11. Cody Bolton, RHP, Altoona – DNP
12. Tahnaj Thomas, RHP, Bristol – DNP
13. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
14. Lolo Sanchez, CF, Bradenton – 0-for-5
15. Pablo Reyes, Util, Morgantown – 0-for-3, HBP
16. Clay Holmes, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
17. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Bradenton – DNP
18. Michael Burrows, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
19. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 3-for-4, RBI, SB
20. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – 0-for-4
21. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO
22. Luis Escobar, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
23. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Greensboro – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
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 – 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
Indianapolis lost 6-1 to Louisville. Alex McRae was the tough luck loser in this game, giving up two runs over six innings. He wasn’t sharp in the game, allowing nine hits and a walk, but he limited the damage. Montana DuRapau followed with three runs in the seventh and Jake Brentz allowed one in the eighth.
The offense had seven hits and three walks, but only came up with one big hit. In the fourth inning, Will Craig hit his 14th double, followed by an RBI single from Trayvon Robinson. Cole Tucker and Jason Martin each had two hits. Craig’s double was the only extra-base hit. Erik Gonzalez was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter, finishing the game at shortstop. He is 0-for-11 with no walks in four games.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona lost 7-2 to Akron. Domingo Robles had a rough outing, allowing five runs over just 2.1 innings. He gave up five hits, two walks and hit a batter. This is the third time in his last four starts that he couldn’t get through five innings. Yeudy Garcia followed with one run over 1.2 innings and he hit a batter. Blake Cederlind was next and he went two shutout innings, striking out three, while remembering to hit a batter. Angel German allowed one run and hit the mandatory one batter during his 1.2 innings. Jesus Liranzo faced one batter and struck him out.
The Curve got nine hits and five of them went for doubles, so they had their chances to score. Jared Oliva had three of those hits and they were all singles. He had an RBI and his 18th stolen base. Jason Delay had two doubles and a walk. Mitch Tolman hit his tenth double, Bligh Madris hit his 16th double. Alfredo Reyes had a single, double, walk and an RBI.
Beau Sulser has been named as an All-Star replacement for James Marvel, who was promoted to Indianapolis.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 12-2 over Jupiter. Max Kranick got the start and allowed two hits to the first two batters, then just three more base runners the rest of the way. He went seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits, with no walks and five strikeouts. Kranick threw 65 of 92 pitches for strikes and he had a 9:6 GO/AO ratio. He is coming off the month of June, where he had a 2.56 ERA in five starts. Shea Murray followed with two shutout innings on one walk and three strikeouts.
On offense, Travis Swaggerty had two singles and a double (his ninth), driving in two runs. Calvin Mitchell hit his tenth home run, a two-run shot in the fourth inning. He left shortly after being hit by a pitch in his next plate appearance. No word on whether he was hurt or he just left due to the lopsided score. Jesse Medrano replaced Mitchell and hit his second home run. Lucas Tancas had the big hit with a third inning grand slam. Ryan Peurifoy also homered. Adrian Valerio had two hits and drove in two runs. Rodolfo Castro had two hits, including his fourth double since being promoted.
You can view the season preview here.
Greensboro lost to Hagerstown, 7-5. Osvaldo Bido did not have his best start. He had command problems throughout the start, missing with his fastball and being unable to use his secondary stuff effectively. He had a lot of deep counts and ended up trying to throw the fastball by hitters. The pitch has good velocity and life, but it’s not that dominant. The command issues caught up to Bido in the form of a three-run blast in the second and a pair of RBI doubles in the sixth. Bido was charged with six runs in five-plus innings. He gave up only five hits, but there were a number of very loud outs. He walked two and struck out only two.
The Grasshoppers got all their runs in the third. Most of the damage came on a two-run triple by Jonah Davis, followed by Jack Herman’s seventh home run in the equivalent of less than a month. Herman and Grant Koch each had two hits.
A few comments:
What a difference a day makes. Herman couldn’t seem to pick up anything yesterday. Today, he lined out, lined a homer to left, and ripped a long triple to right center. (He did get caught looking to end the game.)
Mason Martin last year seemed to be trying to pull the ball on every single swing. This year has been different. Today he beat the shift with a grounder past third for a single, flied out deep to left and lined a ball off the pitcher (he was thrown out by the shortstop). He only got one hit out of it in this game, but the difference in approach was clear and it’s not costing him any power.
Ji-Hwan Bae didn’t do much at the plate. He had a liner down the left field line that was caught because the left fielder was playing way over toward the line, which Bae is going to see a lot given his approach. Defensively he shows impressive tools, covering a lot of ground in the infield and fielding the ball well on the run. He can get too flashy; he picked up an error in this game on a routine grounder when he held the ball much longer than necessary, then threw hard to first and threw the ball away. But he’s not quite 20.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown lost 6-4 to Auburn. Braxton Ashcraft got his fourth start and it did not go well. He allowed six runs on six hits and a walk, in five innings. Ashcraft picked up five strikeouts and he pounded the zone, with 51 of 68 pitches going for strikes. He now has a 6.75 ERA in 18.2 innings. Yandy Vega, Denny Roman and Austin Roberts each threw one shutout inning.
Sixth round pick Will Matthiessen hit his first pro home run in the fourth inning, then added his second one two innings later. Ke’Bryan Hayes went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his third rehab game. Pablo Reyes, who is also in his third rehab game, went 0-for-3 with a HBP. Matt Gorski hit his fourth double and Matthew Fraizer hit his first pro double.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol lost 4-3 to Kingsport on Tuesday night. Luis Ortiz started and bounced back from a rough outing. He debuted with five shutout innings, but six days later, Ortiz gave up four runs and nine base runners in 3.2 innings. In his third start tonight, he gave up one run on three hits and no walks in five innings. The 20-year-old right-handed was an international signing last year and skipped over the bottom two levels in the system. Ryan Troutman followed with two shutout innings and Enrique Santana threw a scoreless eighth. Bristol took a 3-1 lead in the ninth, but Oliver Garcia recorded just one out before giving up three runs for the loss, and the lone out was on a rare outfield assist getting a runner at home plate.
Jean Eusebio had three hits on the night, picked up his first two steals and he scored a run. Francisco Acuna had two hits and a stolen base. Samuel Inoa hit his first home run of the season. Josh Bissonette had an RBI single and two walks. Jesus Valdez had a single and was hit by two pitches.
In the ninth, Eusebio was removed for a fifth infielder with the bases loaded, which worked when a grounder to his replacement resulted in an out at the plate. Since Mariano Dotel was technically an outfielder at the time, he got credit for an outfield assist on the play.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates won 6-5 over the Braves, as this year’s first round pick, Quinn Priester, made his pro debut. Priester gave up one run in two and a third innings. He gave up three hits and a walk, and struck out two, with the one run scoring after he left. Priester’s fastball was sitting in the low-90s, topping out close to 94. His curve was inconsistent and he got one strikeout on a change. Saul De La Cruz gave up a hit to let Priester’s baserunner score, but otherwise breezed through two and two-thirds innings, fanning three. Bryan Torres and Willy Basil each allowed two runs over two innings.
Juan Pie had a productive game at the plate without collecting a hit. He had three walks, an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. Emilson Rosado had an RBI double, a walk and a run scored. Norkis Marcos picked up two hits, including a bases loaded infield hit for the walk-off winner in the ninth. Carlos Canache went 1-for-1 with two walks and a sacrifice fly. The Pirates scored one run on a throwing error and another on a wild pitch.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 beat the Indians, 12-8. Every batter in the lineup had at least one hit. Sergio Campana, Osvaldo Gavilan, Juan Jerez, Darwin Baez and Shendrik Apostel each had two. Jerez connected for his fourth home run and drove in three. Campana had his fourth triple and fourth steal, and Gavilan his first double. Jerez now has an OPS of .916 and Campana .884. Starter Joelvis Del Rosario gave up five runs in four and two-thirds innings. Antonio Gonzalez, who came in with an ERA of 1.69, gave up three runs in an inning and a third. Raul Mora finally shut things down with two and two-thirds scoreless innings.
Here’s the boxscore.
The DSL Pirates2 lost to Colorado, 8-6. Carlos Arroyo had two hits, including his third double, and three RBIs after replacing Rayber Romero early in the game. Four other players — Deivis Nadal, Dariel Lopez, Bryan Mateo and Randy Romero — all went 2-for-4. Romero hit his fourth triple and scored three runs. Jauri Custodio also had a triple. Starter Felipe Mezquita gave up three runs in three innings. A couple of errors after two were out in the sixth led to three unearned runs off Miguel Toribio, making the difference in the outcome.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
