Not much good from the starting pitchers today. Justin Meis, Anthony Solometo and Alessandro Ercolani all had mediocre to poor starts, the latter two due to a lack of control. The only starter who did reasonably well was Cam Alldred, who’s not normally a starter.
YESTERDAY’S RESULTS
Prospect Watch: Rough Starting Pitching Around the System; Altoona Explodes on Offense
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Cam Alldred
- Final Line: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K
Notable Performances:
- Tucupita Marcano 1-3, BB, SB
- Endy Rodriguez 1-4
- Malcom Nunez 0-4
- Nick Gonzales 1-4, 3B
- Carmen Mlodzinski 2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 2 K
Game Recap:
Indianapolis (5-7) couldn’t get much offense going and lost to St. Paul, 3-2.
Cam Alldred got the spot start and did a solid job. He fanned six over four innings and gave up only three hits and a walk, although that was enough to result in two runs.
Hunter Stratton and Daniel Zamora combined for three scoreless innings while Indy scored twice to tie the game. Tucupita Marcano singled in one run and Miguel Andujar doubled in the other. The team, though, went 1-for-8 with RISP.
Carmen Mlodzinski, who hasn’t shown the form for Indy that he did in spring training, gave up the go-ahead run in the eighth on a double following a leadoff walk. Nick Gonzales had a triple, but also struck out twice. Travis Swaggerty left the game early because he wasn’t feeling well. Chavez Young replaced him and fanned three times.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Justin Meis
- Final Line: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Notable Performances:
- Lolo Sanchez 3-5, BB
- Liover Peguero 2-6, SB
- Matt Fraizer 1-4, BB
- Noe Toribio 2 IP, H, 5 K
- Tyler Samaniego 2 IP, H, 4 K
Game Recap:
Altoona (2-4) blew multi-run leads in the ninth and tenth, losing to Erie, 13-10. The Curve were done in by some horrid relief pitching and defense.
The Curve had an early 6-2 lead. Justin Meis didn’t have a great start, though, lasting four innings and allowing four runs. They still led 6-4 in the ninth, though, with the help of two scoreless innings each from Noe Toribio and Tyler Samaniego. They each allowed one hit, and Toribio fanned five and Samaniego four. Unfortunately, Cam Junker and Braeden Ogle combined to blow the two-run lead.
Altoona took a 10-6 lead in the top of the tenth on an error and RBI singles by Dylan Shockley and Josh Palacios. In the bottom half, though, Ogle started by allowing two walks and a double. Juan Minaya replaced him and the first batter he faced reached on an error by Liover Peguero, who was hurt on the play. Minaya should have gotten out of it with the score still 10-9, but a two-out error by Mason Martin let the tying run score, then Minaya gave up a three-run walkoff home run.
Lolo Sanchez led the offense with three hits. Peguero, Shockley and Palacios each had two.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Anthony Solometo
- Final Line: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Notable Performances:
- Tsung-Che Cheng 1-5
- Abrahan Gutierrez 1-5
- Jase Bowen 1-5, HR (2), 3 RBI
- Maikol Escotto 1-3, BB
- Hudson Head 3-3, BB, SB
- Brenden Dixon 2-3, 2B, HR (1), HBP
- Cy Nielson 2 IP, 3 K
Game Recap:
Anthony Solometo couldn’t throw strikes, but Greensboro (4-2) came back from a 5-1 deficit to score nine runs in the sixth through eighth innings, picking up a 10-6 win.
After a relatively easy first inning, Solometo labored through three and two-thirds in all, needing 77 pitches. Only 44 of those went for strikes. He walked four and was charged with four runs. It was emblematic of his start that the first three runs scored on a bases-loaded walk, a wild pitch and a straight steal of home.
The bullpen came through well for the Hoppers. Jaycob Deese allowed a run over two and a third innings, then Cy Nielson retired six straight, three on strikes. Jack Carey left with an injury after allowing a hit and a walk to start the ninth. Santiago Florez let one of those runners score but finished it out.
The Hoppers overcame the four-run deficit with two swings of the bat. Jase Bowen connected for his second home run of the year with two aboard in the sixth. Brenden Dixon then hit his first with one on to put Greensboro ahead in the seventh. Dixon also had a double on the day.
Greensboro could have run the score up more, but they had three runners thrown out stealing. Hudson Head went 3-for-3 with a walk, but also got caught stealing twice.
LOW-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Box Score: LINK
Starting Pitcher: Alessandro Ercolani
- Final Line: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, K
Notable Performances:
- Jesus Castillo 1-3, 2 BB
- Wyatt Hendrie 2-4, 2B
- Braylon Bishop 2-4
- Julian Bosnic 2 IP, 2 BB, 3 K
Game Recap:
Alessandro Ercolani’s first start in full season ball didn’t go well and Bradenton (2-4) lost to Lakeland, 6-3.
Ercolani struggled to throw strikes, managing only 33 of them in 62 pitches. He gave up six runs in two and two-thirds innings. The bullpen came through, as Carlos Lomeli, Julian Bosnic and Yunior Thibo combined to go five and a third scoreless innings, giving up just one hit.
The offense couldn’t make up for the early deficit. They drew eight walks to go with seven hits, but went 1-for-9 with RISP. Also, a Wyatt Hendrie double was the only hit that wasn’t a single, as this team so far appears to have very little power.
There were a few positives, including Shalin Polanco’s season debut. He went 1-for-3 with a walk. Polanco should help a team on which today’s starting outfield — Enmanuel Terrero, Braylon Bishop and Jauri Custodio — came in with no hits in the season’s first five games. Bishop did get his first two in this one, and Custodio got his first. Jesus Castillo reached base three times on a hit and two walks. His OPS sits at 1.027 despite the fact that he has no extra base hits.
Having followed the Pirates fanatically since 1965, Wilbur Miller is one of the fast-dwindling number of fans who’ve actually seen good Pirate teams. He’s even seen Hall-of-Fame Pirates who didn’t get traded mid-career, if you can imagine such a thing. His first in-person game was a 5-4, 11-inning win at Forbes Field over Milwaukee (no, not that one). He’s been writing about the Pirates at various locations online for over 20 years. It has its frustrations, but it’s certainly more cathartic than writing legal stuff. Wilbur is retired and now lives in Bradenton with his wife and three temperamental cats.
Pens axed their entire front office. Not Bucs related
Thank god
Korn Ferry polishing up their resume.
Travis Williams hug watch.
Who has some prospect good news? Feels like a bunch of rough starts and injuries all around the system this week…
Endy with two hard hit balls last night, hopefully an early sign of adjusting quality contact into his already-sound plate discipline.
Thomas Harrington was dirty in his first outing. If anyone is stoked about Carlos Jimenez’s stuff they should be pissing themselves over Thomas Harrington.
Luis Ortiz has a perfectly functional third pitch, also good.
Peguero’s third throwing error in just six games, and it ends with an injury?
Maybe it was his feelings that were hurt? Where the heck is Brennan Malone?
Malone is on the 60 day IL iirc
I feel like Lolo should be around 36 y/o by now. Shalin Polanco is going to be the next Lolo in my eyes. Feel like I have been reading about Lolo in these reports since Rich Hill was a rookie. I just wrote four straight sentences with the word “Lolo” in it.
Lolo
I’ll take a liter of cola. The opening scene was amazing.
I know it’s SSS, but this is a reoccurring theme and it’s getting worse.
NG is striking out 39% of the time. That doesn’t translate at all to Major League Baseball.
No but wait he needs to be in the big leagues playing 2b like yesterday! /s
I’ve literally read in these rooms that he’s the best hitting prospect in the system.
Service time manipulation! They actually tell him to strikeout so they can save money
Well John Baker says he’s ready, soooo…..
Nick G is a very sad story. What are the chances he has a career where he matches the performance we got from someone like Newman from 2018-22(which even with a couple below replacement years) was 2 fwar in agg
Might be his best case scenario.
Was worried about an injury, so very happy it was just a bean burrito not sitting well for Swaggs.
Was about to eat Mexican for lunch but that post may be a sign to get Korean instead.
I’m missing the depth chart on the site and the search bar isn’t functioning? Just my device or others also??
The depth chart isn’t linked anywhere. I’ve been asking for a year and a half.
It can be found here:
Piratesprospects.com/depth-chart
Wow and it’s updated nice! I value this as much as the prospect books that i purchase here. Great work. First one I went to was Cal Mitchell.
I love the depth chart
Thanks everybody.
At what point should i become concerned the Pirates inability to hit w RISP at ANY level is a systemic problem in the organization?
I think you mean hit period. Take a look at these pathetic averages. Indy is a mess.
Andujar .182
Gonzales .195
Mitchell .172
Nunez .206, zero XBH
Owings .182
Shackelford .077
Young .111
Sooooo…hug watch for Swags?
Huggin that toilet.
Fraizer drops a drive at the wall in center with two outs. Cost Meis two runs so far.
For years, it’s seemed that the Pirate’s suffered inordinate injuries, but this year is ridiculous, particularly for pitchers.
Anyone else waiting on pins and needles to hear if Burrows is going under the knife? Fully expecting the worst.
Bad time to be a Pirates pitcher with your last name beginning with B. I’d be mighty nervous if I was in the system with a last name like Bianco.
Unfortunately I am assuming he is going to need surgery. I only hope that he does not try to delay the inevitable and miss more than this season and back pitching in the 2nd half of 2024
seems like it is happening to the majority of starting pitchers across the league
at least it happened before his service time starts
Personally, I blame Manfred.
Mr Miller are you pitch clock bashing?
Basically are you postulating that because pitchers are now forced to work more quickly, their muscles aren’t getting the extra few seconds of rest between pitches, which is then, in turn, creating greater overall strain on the arm?
It was a joke.
I love the pitch clock.
How so?
I guess it’s a good thing the Pirates didn’t re-sign Roberto Perez. He just had season-ending shoulder surgery.
Feel bad for him.
Only played 5 games this year and 17 PA. Bucs had him for 4 times as long last year, for what it is worth…… feel for the guy though. Not the way a player thinks their career will end like…
Nature’s way of telling you to go home & play with the kids!
Excited for solo’s start, specifically to watch where that velo is living today
yeah so uhhh how was the velocity
Oh man, no game times? Now I have to click around two=three more times to find out! The horror!
It’s up at the top, in the intro part
Wait, what?
I didn’t post this, but I can see when Wilbur last edited it, and that time was just before he posted it. So that was there from the start
I added the game times spot back to our template for the article. We got rid of them because we tried out posting once everything was done and the article was complete. We had some good discussions early yesterday, so we will probably keep posting it as a preview and update throughout the day.
Like that very much.