With only one team remaining on the schedule, we take our last look of the season at the prospects who did well during the past week. Instead of voting for a Player of the Week from Indianapolis, we are just going to cover the players who would have qualified for inclusion in our Player of the Week article. That’s any player with 12 or more plate appearances and an OPS of .800 or better, and any pitcher with a 0.00 to 3.00 ERA in at least three innings pitched. Since there is only one team left, that could have left us with a very small number of players, but it turns out that Indianapolis had a great week and a staggering number of 13 players made the list. I’m not 100% sure 13 players from one team have qualified in one week before.
Here are the top players sorted by OPS for hitters and ERA for pitchers. Indianapolis is off on Sunday, before finishing their schedule with four games over three days next week. I have to first say that I’m a bit surprised that they are playing a doubleheader on Tuesday when the playoffs have already been decided in the league. Usually they only play those makeup games if necessary this late in the year.
The Hitters
Jared Oliva – Oliva has been on fire since August 3rd. This past week saw him lead the system with a 1.344 OPS in 18 plate appearances. In his last 31 games, he has a .396/.458/.613 slash line, with 12 doubles, three homers and nine steals. After a slow start to the season, he’s up to a .771 OPS in 96 games.
Ji-hwan Bae – Bae played just enough to make it on this list before he moved up to Pittsburgh for his big league debut. He’s impressed in his first two games with the Pirates after putting up a 1.240 OPS in 13 PAs with Indianapolis this week.
Malcom Nunez – Nunez was one of a handful of Altoona players who moved up this past week after their season ended. He has played three games for Indianapolis, getting 12 PAs (the minimum is based on two PAs per game), going 3-for-9 with a homer and three walks. That gave him a 1.167 OPS.
Endy Rodriguez – Rodriguez had a 1.088 OPS in 19 PAs with Indianapolis before leaving last night with what appeared to be either a back or side injury that occurred during his at-bat in the fifth. He came out to catch in the sixth, but you could tell he was uncomfortable and he left after one batter. That’s too bad because I wouldn’t have been surprised if he finished with Indianapolis on Wednesday, then joined the Pirates for the final week. He has to be added to the 40-man roster this off-season anyway, so a chance to get some big league time in this year wouldn’t have been a bad idea.
Brendt Citta – Citta has been making a name for himself lately, doing well with his chance to get some playing time with first base open for competition, as well as turns in the outfield and DH. He had an .833 OPS this past week, and he has a .928 OPS in his last 21 games.
Tucupita Marcano – Marcano hit just .235 this past week, but a homer and five walks led to an .821 OPS in 22 PAs. He has an .855 OPS in 23 games with Indianapolis this season.
The Pitchers
Osvaldo Bido – Bido has been strong for most of the second half, after dealing with shaky control for the first half. This past week he went 5.2 innings, striking out ten batters, while allowing an unearned run on three hits and four walks. Obviously the walks are too high, but the strikeouts are impressive, and the performance gives him a 2.31 ERA in his last 46.2 innings (dates back over two months), with a .206 BAA and 57 strikeouts.
Quinn Priester – Priester dominated Altoona this year, though his last start with the team wasn’t up to par, with seven earned over 3.2 innings. He moved up to Indianapolis and got back on track quickly, throwing five shutout innings on two hits, two walks and six strikeouts. He’s probably going to get one more Triple-A start before heading on to the Arizona Fall League, which begins on October 3rd.
Cody Bolton – Bolton has been working with lower pitch counts all season, but he’s been healthy all year and pitching regularly, sometimes as a starter, sometimes in extended relief outings. This week he threw three shutout innings on two hits, no walks and five strikeouts. That gave him a 3.01 ERA in 74.2 innings, with a 1.26 WHIP and 81 strikeouts.
Junior Fernandez – Fernandez tossed three shutout innings over two relief appearances, with no hits, two walks and three strikeouts. He has allowed two runs over seven innings since joining the Pirates earlier this month as a waiver pickup.
Travis MacGregor – MacGregor made two relief appearances, allowing one run in four innings, with three hits, three walks and six strikeouts. He’s an upcoming free agent, so it will be interesting to see if the Pirates bring him back. He has a 6.94 ERA in Indianapolis over 22 games/35 innings. He has looked great at times and also has five outings of 4+ runs. In the other 17 appearances, he has a 1.93 ERA in 28 innings.
Jerad Eickhoff – Eickhoff allowed one run over four innings on six hits, no walks and five strikeouts. His 4.96 ERA is rough, but his 1.15 WHIP is actually the third best in the league among the 36 pitchers with at least 90 innings pitched. He also ranks ninth in strikeouts.
Joe Jacques – Jacques allowed one run on one hit (a homer), no walks and three strikeouts in three innings. He has a 3.82 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP in 35.2 innings with Indianapolis this year, joining the team in mid-June after rehabbing a spring injury.
