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, Pirates – In Majors
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
3. Cole Tucker, SS, Pirates – In Majors
4. Oneil Cruz, SS, Altoona – 0-for-3, BB
5. Travis Swaggerty, CF, Bradenton – 2-for-4, 2 HR (9)
6. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – DNP
7. Will Craig, 1B, Indianapolis – 0-for-1
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 – 5 IP, 2 R, ER, BB, 3 K
14. Lolo Sanchez, CF, Bradenton – DNP
15. Pablo Reyes, Util, Pirates – In Majors
16. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Bradenton – DNP
17. Michael Burrows, RHP, Morgantown – DNP
18. Jared Oliva, CF, Altoona – 2-for-4
19. Ji-Hwan Bae, SS, Greensboro – 2-for-4, 2B, BB, SB
20. Max Kranick, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
21. Luis Escobar, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
22. Osvaldo Bido, RHP, Bradenton – DNP
23. Eduardo Vera, RHP, – Released, article here
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, Indianapolis – DNP
29. Jesus Liranzo, RHP, Altoona – DNP
30. Rodolfo Castro, 2B, Bradenton – 2-for-4, 2B
Indianapolis lost to Lehigh Valley, 3-2. Yefry Ramirez started and pitched well, giving up two runs on two hits and three walks in six innings. He fanned nine. Another recent pickup, Yacksel Rios, threw two scoreless innings, striking out four. Sean Keselica gave up a run in the top of the ninth, which proved costly when Francisco Cervelli led off the bottom half with a home run. Cervelli caught the whole game and went 1-for-3 with a hit batsman. The Indians had only three other hits, two by Trayvon Robinson and one by Jake Elmore. The Indians drew just one walk, by Elmore, and whiffed a dozen times.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona blanked Bowie, 5-0. Pedro Vasquez went eight innings on 102 pitches, 71 for strikes. He gave up three hits and a walk, and struck out four. Vasquez has a 2.18 ERA in four August starts. Matt Eckelman threw the ninth. Logan Hill powered the offense, driving in three runs with a single, his 26th double and his tenth home run. Jared Oliva hit his 24th double and sixth triple. Chris Sharpe also tripled, his first in AA, and Jason Delay and Bralin Jackson each had two hits.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton beat Lakewood, 3-2. Nick Economos, back from a rough stint in AA, allowed a run on five hits and two walks in six innings, while striking out three. Joe Jacques followed with two scoreless innings. Shea Murray had some trouble in the ninth, but allowed one run to get the save. Travis Swaggerty provided two-thirds of the offense with his eighth and ninth home runs. Rodolfo Castro had two hits, including his ninth double with Bradenton. He scored the other run on Lucas Tancas’ 25th double.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
Greensboro shut out Augusta, 7-0. Winston Nicacio threw six shutout innings in his second start (seventh game) since being promoted. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out three. Nicacio’s ERA with Greensboro is 0.46. Will Gardner threw two scoreless innings and Mike LoPresti one.
On offense, Jonah Davis had another big day, coming up a triple short of a cycle. The home run was his 16th and the double his 13th. After posting a .461 OPS in 22 early-season games with Greensboro and getting demoted, he now has his OPS up to .841. Ji-Hwan Bae had a single, his 21st double and his 28th steal. He’s batting .307 on the season.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown lost to Williamsport, 4-0. Braxton Ashcraft was shaky early, giving up two runs, one earned, on four hits, a walk and a hit batsman in the first two innings. He ended up going five, though, allowing no more runs and one more hit. He struck out three. Denny Roman gave up the other two runs. The offense was limited to four hits and four walks, and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Will Matthiessen hit his third double and Brendt Citta his fifth (for Morgantown), and Ethan Paul had two singles.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol evened its record at 28-28 by beating Princeton, 7-2. Jose Maldonado threw five shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks, and striking out two. His main issue all season has been control and he didn’t exactly fill the strike zone, but he threw 44 strikes in 74 pitches. C.J. Dandeneau gave up two runs in two innings, and Yordi Rosario finished with two scoreless innings.
Francisco Acuna had a big day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs. He’s batting .329 on the season. Yoyner Fajardo stayed hot since his promotion with three hits, raising his average to .480 through his first seven games at Bristol. Jesus Valdez had two hits; in 15 August games he’s hitting .413 with 22 RBIs. Brandon Morrow also had two hits, while Eli Wilson hit his fifth double and Josh Bissonette his 11th.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates had a doubleheader rained out against the Orioles. They actually played a half inning with Arlinthon De Dios throwing shutout ball. That game will be completed on August 23rd. The second game will now be part of a doubleheader on August 24th.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 beat the Cubs1, 5-3. Raydel Velette started and threw five shutout innings, giving up five hits and a walk, and striking out three. Kelvin Disla had more trouble over the final four innings, giving up three runs, two of them earned, although he got credit for a save. Luis Tello and Eliazer Montero each had two hits; Tello had his third double, while Montero had his eighth double and fifth triple. They also stole two bases each, giving Montero 13 and Tello six on the season.
Here’s the boxscore.
The DSL Pirates2 lost to the Giants, 5-3. The Pirates got some good pitching from Felipe Mezquita and Francisco Hodge. Mezquita started and allowed one run over three innings. Hodge followed with four shutout innings, giving up three hits and no walks, and fanning four. Emmanuel Mejia got charged with the loss after allowing his first three runs of the year, two of them unearned, in his 17th relief outing. Mejia has struck out 31 in 17.2 IP. Randy Romero and Dariel Lopez each had two hits. Romero stole his 34th base in his 34th attempt.
Here’s the boxscore.
You can view the season preview here.