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 – DNP
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Indianapolis – DNP
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-4
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – 1-for-4
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 1-for-3
7. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – DNP
8. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
9. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
10. Calvin Mitchell, OF, Bradenton – 1-for-4
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-0
15. Pablo Reyes, Util, Indianapolis – 0-for-3
16. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Bradenton – DNP
17. Michael Burrows, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
18. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 0-for-4
19. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – 0-for-3, BB
20. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – 5.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO
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 – DNP
26. Blake Weiman, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
27. Steven Jennings, RHP, Greensboro – DNP
28. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – DNP
29. Jesus Liranzo, RHP, Altoona – DNP
30. Rodolfo Castro, 2B, Bradenton – DNP
Indianapolis lost 4-1 to Rochester. Cam Vieaux had a tough outing, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk, in four innings. Three of those hits were home runs. He had four strikeouts and threw 61 of 89 pitches for strikes. Yefry Ramirez followed with four shutout innings. He allowed one hit and one walk, while striking out three batters.
The offense was extremely quiet except for Hunter Owen, who hit his second Triple-A home run for the lone run. He also added a single. The rest of the lineup combined for two singles and no walks. They had just one at-bat with runners in scoring position all game. Erik Gonzalez went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
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Altoona lost 5-3 to Richmond. Sean Brady got the start and allowed five runs on nine hits in seven innings. He had no walks and six strikeouts. It’s his second rough outing after a long string of Quality Starts. Blake Cederlind pitched two shutout innings with three strikeouts. He didn’t allow a hit or walk, but he did hit two batters.
There wasn’t much worth talking about in this game overall, but Robbie Glendinning had a big game. It’s been a while since we said that, as he has been in a prolonged slump. He went 2-for-2 with two walks tonight, hitting his fourth homer in Double-A and 12th home run overall. It was a three-run shot that accounted for all of the runs. It was also the only extra-base hit for Altoona. Chris Sharpe was the only other Curve to reach base more than once. He had a single, walk, run scored and an outfield assist.
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Bradenton lost 3-2 to St Lucie. Max Kranick got into trouble in the second inning, but limited the damage to one run and ended up with a strong performance on Friday night. He went 5.1 innings, giving up two hits, three walks and he struck out four batters. Of the six base runners he allowed (one was a HBP), four of them came in that second inning when he stranded the bases loaded. Samuel Reyes allowed two runs over 2.2 innings, while Ryan Valdes tossed a scoreless ninth.
The Marauders scored two runs and they both came on Mason Martin home runs. He now has 28 on the season. They had seven other hits (all singles) and a walk, but couldn’t put anything together. The other eight hitters in the lineup each reached base once, with Dylan Busby drawing the lone walk. Bradenton struck out 13 times in the game.
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Greensboro won 7-3 over Kannapolis. Colin Selby started and went six strong innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks. He struck out five batters and had a 6:3 GO/AO ratio. Selby has a 3.04 ERA through 14 starts and 74 innings. Cody Smith allowed two runs over 1.2 innings before Yerry De Los Santos shut things down with 1.1 scoreless frames. He picked up his eighth save and now has a 1.85 ERA in 34 innings, with 51 strikeouts.
Jack Herman had a big day on offense, going 3-for-4 with his tenth home run. He drove in four runs, scored twice and stole his fourth base. Herman is hitting .270/.351/.526 in 41 games. Jonah Davis hit two doubles and scored two runs. Everyone else in the lineup reached base at least once on either a single and/or a walk.
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Morgantown lost 2-1 to State College. Jesus Valles had his best start of the season, tossing six shutout innings on seven hits and a walk. The only time he was in trouble was with two outs in the sixth, when he loaded the bases before getting the final out. He had three strikeouts and threw 53 of 82 pitches for strikes. This was the first time Valles has pitched into the sixth this season and the first time he has thrown shutout ball. Alec Rennard took the loss with two runs in 2.1 innings, giving up the walk-off run in the ninth.
Dean Lockery reached base in all three plate appearances and scored the lone run. He had a single and the only two walks for the Black Bears. Matt Gorski had a single and his seventh double. Will Matthiessen drove in the lone run.
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Bristol won 3-2 over Elizabethton. Luis Ortiz got the start and he went five shutout innings on four hits, two walks and six strikeouts. He now has a 2.89 ERA in 28 innings and the six strikeouts tonight sets a new career high (in only six pro starts). Enrique Santana allowed one run over two innings, while giving up five hits. Samson Abernathy also allowed one run over two innings, though he did it on three hits and he struck out three batters.
Ethan Goforth got the scoring started with a solo homer in the second inning, the first home run of his career. In the third inning, a throwing error brought in the second Bristol run, followed by an RBI single from Matt Morrow to give them a 3-0 lead. Josh Bissonette had three hits and scored a run. Morrow had two hits and a walk. Both Morrow and Bissonette collected their fifth doubles of the season. Francisco Acuna had two hits and a run scored.
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The GCL Pirates won 9-8 over the Orioles. Domingo Gonzalez got the start and allowed three runs over four innings. Julio Rosario followed with two shutout innings, then three pitchers saw action in the seventh. Wilger Camacho made his second appearance since returning from a late June lat injury and gave up two runs (one earned) while recording two outs. Just a note that his first appearance has been credited to Carlos Canache, but I’ll try to get that changed on MiLB. Angel Suero faced three batters, walked one, another reached on his error, and the other got a hit. Orsen Josephina had to come in for the final out. He stayed on for the eighth and then Daniel Ross came on for the final out of that inning, stranding two inherited runners. He pitched a scoreless ninth to keep the game tied 8-8.
The Pirates got on the board early with second inning RBI singles from Dylan Shockley and Sammy Siani, followed by an RBI double by Jase Bowen. In the fourth inning, Siani and Bowen each added an RBI on sacrifice flies. The Pirates were leading 5-0 at this point. In the sixth, the Pirates added two runs on wild pitches and a throwing error. In the eighth inning, Kaleb Foster got hit with the bases loaded to tie the game. Shockley won it in the ninth with a sacrifice fly.
Norkis Marcos had three hits and scored three runs. Jasiah Dixon had a single, two walks and three runs scored. Siani hit his second triple and also added a walk. Emilson Rosado hit a single and his fourth double. Yoyner Fajardo had a single, two walks and his 13th stolen base.
The Pirates still have not hit a home run through 25 games this season. The GCL isn’t a home run league by any means, there has been an entire season where no team reached double digits, but having zero homers this last is still noteworthy. This is the 54th season of the GCL and no team has ever finished with zero homers. The 1987 Dodgers are the only team with one home run all season.
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The DSL Pirates1 won 6-5 over the Indians/Brewers co-op team. Braham Rosario got the start and pitched great, allowing one run on two hits and no walks in five innings. He picked up seven strikeouts. Argenys Dominguez gave up three runs in the sixth inning, then Luis Peralta tossed a shutout frame in the seventh. Eddison Polonia, who just finished serving a 72-game suspension for PEDs, made his 2019 debut and gave up one run over one inning, picking up the win. Jordy Ortega tossed a scoreless ninth for the save.
Rafael Escalante helped lead to offense with his first home run as a pro. He also walked twice and scored two runs. Luis Tejeda, Omar Matos and Jhan Polanco each had a hit, walk and run scored. Luis Tello drove in two runs without a hit. His sacrifice fly in the eighth to center field brought home two runs.
The DSL Pirates2 now have a 39-8 record after they won 9-6 over Colorado on Friday. The big news here is that Randy Romero went 5-for-5 for the second time this week. He hit his ninth double and stole his 22nd base in 22 tries. Romero now has a .412 average through 42 games. If you want to learn more about him, why not check out the player feature I did on him this winter.
Rodolfo Nolasco hit his third home run and his tenth double, driving in a total of three runs. Alexander Mojica drove in two runs with his ninth double of the season and added another RBI on a ground out. Dariel Lopez reached base three times on a walk and two hit-by-pitches. He scored all three times he reached base.
Felipe Mezquita got the start and allowed one run over three innings while picking up four strikeouts. Francisco Hodge followed with four shutout innings and six strikeouts. Darvin Garcia, who signed on July 2nd, made his pro debut and went one inning, giving up a run on one hit, two walks and two strikeouts. Oscar Echarry came on in the ninth to get the final three outs with a 9-2 score, but he gave up four runs before he could get out of the inning. Luis Gonzalez came on for the final out and his third save.
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