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 (Clay Holmes, Jacob Stallings, Kevin Newman 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, Nick Burdi 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 – 4.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Indianapolis – DNP
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Indianapolis – 2-for-5, RBI, SB
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-4
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – 1-for-4
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 2-for-4, HR (7), RBI, BB
7. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – 1-for-5, RBI
8. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 1-for-5
9. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
10. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – DNP
11. Cody Bolton, RHP, Altoona – DNP
12. Tahnaj Thomas, RHP, Bristol – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 SO
13. Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
14. Lolo Sanchez, CF, Bradenton – 1-for-3, SB
15. Pablo Reyes, Util, Indianapolis – DNP
16. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Bradenton – DNP
17. Michael Burrows, RHP, Morgantown –
18. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 2-for-5, BB, SB
19. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – 2-for-4, SB
20. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
21. Luis Escobar, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
22. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
23. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
24. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Altoona – DNP
25. Aaron Shortridge, RHP, Bradenton – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
26. Blake Weiman, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
27. Steven Jennings, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
28. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – DNP
29. Jesus Liranzo, RHP, Altoona – 2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
30. Rodolfo Castro, 2B, Bradenton – 0-for-1
Indianapolis won 7-6 over Rochester in ten innings. Mitch Keller got the start and got roughed up late. In 4.2 innings, he allowed five runs on six hits, with one walk and five strikeouts. He gave up a home run to Drew Maggi, the former Pirates prospect still plugging away (and doing well) in the minors. Tyler Lyons followed with 1.1 shutout innings and stranded a runner for Keller. Dovydas Neverauskas had two strong shutout innings. Geoff Hartlieb took the win with one run over two innings, picking up five strikeouts.
Cole Tucker had two hits, a run scored and an RBI. He picked up his tenth stolen base. Kevin Kramer had two hits, including his seventh home run of the season. He also added a walk. Hunter Owen had a single and his second double for Indianapolis. Will Craig had a single and an RBI. He played his fourth game out in right field and committed his first error, a throwing error late that put a runner on third base. Erik Gonzalez hasn’t been hitting well during his rehab, but he had a big hit in this game, bringing home two runs with a single. He also walked. He’s hitting .203, with a .552 OPS in 17 rehab games. He still has as many as eight more games of rehab if they want to continue to leave him in Indianapolis to see if the bat can get going.
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Altoona lost 6-5 in 11 innings to Richmond. Beau Sulser got the start and went four innings. Austin Coley followed with two scoreless frames. They each pitched well, though both were hurt by an error that brought home one unearned run each. Angel German returned from his brief team suspension and tossed two scoreless innings. Matt Eckelman blew the save with two runs in the ninth, while Jesus Liranzo took the tough loss, giving up two runs in two innings, with both of them being the free runner on second base to start the inning.
Brett Pope had three hits, a walk, a run scored and an RBI. Mitchell Tolman, Chris Sharpe and Logan Hill each had two hits. Tolman hit his 14th double and drove in a run. Sharpe had a walk, run scored and his seventh double for Altoona. Bligh Madris drove in his 45th run. Jared Oliva had two singles, a walk and his 29th stolen base, though he didn’t figure in any of the scoring. Robbie Glendinning had a single, walk, run scored and RBI.
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Bradenton won 3-2 over St Lucie. Mason Martin had the big hit, driving in two early runs with a double to give him 97 RBIs on the season. The rest of the lineup contributed four hits, all singles from four different players. No one else reached base more than once. Lolo Sanchez stole his eighth base since being promoted and his 28th steal overall in 41 attempts. Travis Swaggerty picked up an outfield assist.
Aaron Shortridge got the start and allowed two runs over six innings, giving up four hits, two walks and three strikeouts. He has a 3.69 ERA in 105 innings, just 4.1 innings behind league leader and teammate, Max Kranick. Joe Jacques got the win with two scoreless frames and Shea Murray got his third save by striking out the side in the ninth. He has 53 strikeouts in 32.1 innings this season.
You can view the season preview here.
Greensboro won 3-2 over Kannapolis. Alex Manasa pitched great, but did not factor in the decision. He tossed six scoreless frames on two hits and a walk, with five strikeouts and an 8:3 GO/AO ratio. Cristofer Melendez took the seventh inning and served up two runs. Cam Alldred got the win with a scoreless eighth and Michael LoPresti picked up his first save with Greensboro with shutout ball in the ninth.
Ji-Hwan Bae had two hits, a run scored and his 18th stolen base. He has a .306 average in 55 games. Jack Herman went 0-for-3, but he brought home the winning run with a sacrifice fly. Fabricio Macias had a single, RBI and his 14th stolen base. Victor Ngoepe picked up his first hit with Greensboro.
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Morgantown lost 4-1 to State College. Eighth round pick Austin Roberts made his first pro start and gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in 3.1 innings. Denny Roman followed with 3.2 scoreless innings, before Garrett Leonard allowed the final two runs in the eighth.
The Black Bears had six hits, no walks and they went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Nick Patten’s fourth double was the only extra-base hit. Blake Sabol picked up the lone RBI. Kyle Wilkie had two singles. Brendt Citta has an .876 OPS with Morgantown after a 1-for-2, HBP night. He put up an .831 OPS in 18 games with Bristol before his promotion.
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Bristol won 1-0 over Elizabethton. Tahnaj Thomas started his first game back from suspension for hitting a player and he pitched outstanding. Thomas tossed five shutout innings on three hits, with no walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 46 of 64 pitches for strikes. We will have much more on his outing over the next few days. Lizardy Dicent and Ryan Troutman each pitched two innings to finish off the shutout win.
Francisco Acuna hit his 12th double of the season and drove in Aaron Shackelford in the sixth inning with the lone run of the game. Acuna is now batting .330, with an .868 OPS. Josh Bissonette had two hits, including his first pro triple.
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The GCL Pirates lost 4-3 to the Orioles. Ryan Harbin, who signed for $397,500 as the 17th round pick this year, made his pro debut and had a solid performance despite taking the loss. He gave up one run over three innings on three hits, one walk and two strikeouts. Elvis Escobar made his second rehab appearance and gave up a run on one hit and two walks, while recording two outs. Mario Garcia gave up two runs over three innings. Hai-Cheng Gong and Yandy Vega handled the other 1.1 innings cleanly.
Jase Bowen had his first three-hit game as a pro. He’s now batting .283/.362/.383 through 16 games. Andres Alvarez had two hits and drove in two runs. Daniel Amaral played a rehab game and collected two hits and scored a run.
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The DSL Pirates1 lost 6-5 to the Brewers/Indians co-op team. Raydel Velette started and was limited to two outs due to control issues. He allowed one run on a hit and three walks, and was helped out by Antonio Gonzalez, who stranded three inherited runners, then went on to throw another three scoreless innings. Carlos Campos allowed four runs in two innings, but just one run was earned. Raul Mora walked four batters, leading to the walk-off loss. He went 2.2 innings without giving up a hit.
The offense was led by Ronny Sanchez, who drove in two runs with his first pro home run. Orlando Chivilli had two hits and scored two runs. Sergio Campana had a single, walk and his 12th stolen base.
The DSL Pirates2 moved to 40-8 with a 5-4 win over Colorado. Adrian Mendez gave up three runs over five innings, in what was his best outing in a few starts. The highest bonus pitcher from last year’s signing class ($355,000) has a 7.02 ERA in ten starts. Wandi Montout got the win with one run over three innings. Enmanuel Mejia tossed another scoreless inning. He has 11.2 shutout innings to begin his career, with just two hits allowed and 21 strikeouts.
The offense was led by Rodolfo Nolasco, who hit his fourth home run and drove in a total of three runs. Carlos Arroyo hit his sixth double and drove in one run. Randy Romero had a single, run scored, two stolen bases and an outfield assist. He has 24 steals in 24 attempts and a .407 average.
You can view the season preview here.
