Friday was a busy day for winter ball and the Pittsburgh Pirates. We start the recap with Australia, where six Pirates were in the starting lineup. Before we get into that, our winter coverage took a huge hit on Friday with Miguel Yajure, Lewin Diaz and Ali Sanchez all getting claimed off of waivers, so they won’t be included in our articles anymore. On the flip side, we added a player too (see link below).
In Australia, Sydney had six Pirates play in their 7-5 loss. Jesus Castillo batted second and played shortstop. He went 0-for-4 with a walk and run scored. He has a .107 average and a .349 OPS in eight games.
Jase Bowen batted third and played center field. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored. He’s hitting .345 with a .781 OPS this winter in nine games.
Ernny Ordonez batted cleanup and played first base. He went 1-for-4 with a run scored. He’s hitting .262 with a .636 OPS in 13 games.
Dylan Shockley batted fifth and caught. He was 1-for-3 with his third double, a walk, RBI and a run scored. He has a .212 average and a .636 OPS in 12 games.
Sammy Siani batted sixth and played right field. He went 0-for-4 with an RBI. He’s hitting .262 with a .700 OPS in 13 games.
Solomon Maguire batted eighth and played left field, giving the team an entire outfield of Pirates prospects. He went 0-for-4, giving him a .200 average and a .431 OPS in nine games.
In the Dominican, Oneil Cruz went 1-for-2 with a double, walk, sacrifice fly, stolen base and two RBIs, in the first game of a doubleheader. It was his first double and second steal. In game two, he went 1-for-3 with a single, RBI, stolen base and a HBP. He has a .261 average and an .835 OPS in seven games.
Miguel Andujar went 1-for-4 with a single. He has a .280 average and a .768 OPS in 12 games.
Rodolfo Castro went 1-for-2 with a home run, a sacrifice bunt and a hit-by-pitch. It was his first homer of the winter (see video below). He has a .197 average and a .622 OPS in 21 games.
In Puerto Rico, the Pirates signed shortstop Shawn Ross as a minor league free agent. He graduated college this year and played independent ball, combining to hit 42 homers and steal 31 bases between both leagues. However, the winter league in Puerto Rico is a huge step up in competition and it’s showing in his stats so far. He played his 18th game of the season on Friday night, going 0-for-2 with two walks. He has a .113 average and a .450 OPS.
In Mexico, Jared Oliva went 1-for-3 with a single, walk and HBP. He has a .284 average and a .751 OPS in 42 games.
Fabricio Macias went 0-for-3 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly. He is now hitting .256 with a .669 OPS in 41 games.
In Colombia, Andres Alvarez went 2-for-5 with a double, triple, two runs, an RBI and a walk. He has a .356 average and a 1.096 OPS in 15 games.
Rodolfo Nolasco went 0-for-3 with a walk. He has a .260 average and an .890 OPS in 16 games
Francisco Acuna went 1-for-2 with a walk. He’s hitting .204 with .619 OPS in 16 games.
Diego Chiquillo tossed a scoreless inning on one hit, one walk and one strikeout. He has a 2.70 ERA in 6.2 innings, with nine walks and seven strikeouts.
Cristian Charle threw a shutout frame on one hit and one strikeout. He has a 6.75 ERA in 6.2 innings, with 11 strikeouts.
Here’s Castro’s homer (warning: the last 50+ seconds are just a very slow trot around the bases and a celebration, so you don’t need to watch the entire clip).
Que TA-BLA-ZO
