Below is a recap of Wednesday’s winter league action for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Dominican Republic
Oneil Cruz appears to be done for the winter. There are mixed signals on what really happened with Cruz, including Cruz telling a Dominican reporter that he’s not injured.
The Pirates noted yesterday that he will get some issue looked at (reports say it was an ankle sprain, while others just say soreness or swelling). His GM in the Dominican said last night that he thinks Cruz is done for the winter, saying yesterday it was just minor soreness.
If that’s true, Cruz barely saw action, due in part to a late start, but he also had the flu, dental work and the current ankle issue. He hit .250 with a .792 OPS in 12 games, with a double, two homers, four steals and a 7:13 BB/SO ratio in 49 plate appearances.
It’s an unfortunate winter for him, as he had a chance to play shortstop daily and face some strong pitching this winter in the Dominican. In his next to last game, he had four at-bats against a combined group of three current MLB pitchers.
This year in the Dominican was probably the best group of pitchers in one winter league that I’ve ever seen, with a majority of the innings being thrown by pitchers with MLB experience.
Puerto Rico
Tsung-Che Cheng went 0-for-5 with a run scored. He’s having trouble against the more advanced pitching in Puerto Rico, hitting .167 with a .493 OPS in 12 games, with a double, triple and four walks.
Josh Palacios went 2-for-4 with a triple, walk, two runs and two RBIs. He has a .256 average and an .819 OPS in 11 games, with four extra-base hits and six walks.
Colombia
Andres Alvarez went 3-for-6 with three runs, two singles, a homer and an RBI. He’s now hitting .369 with a 1.082 OPS in 29 games. Alvarez is making a triple crown run. He is third in the league in average, just three points behind the leader. He’s second with seven homers, one behind the leader. He leads the league with 34 RBIs.
Rodolfo Nolasco went 1-for-3 with three walks and a run scored. He’s hitting .236 with a .763 OPS in 26 games.
Francisco Acuna went 0-for-3 with a walk. He’s hitting .217 with a .699 OPS in 28 games.
Mexico
Denny Roman allowed two hits without recording an out, but he didn’t give up any runs. He still has an 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings over 13 appearances.
Fabricio Macias had an 0-for-4 night. He’s hitting .257 in 54 games, with 14 doubles, two triples and a homer. His .664 OPS is one point above league average.
