This week is headlined by a division battle between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies Low-A affiliates. In addition, it would be a good week for hitters to catch up in statistical categories.
Indianapolis Indians entered last week two games below .500. They enter this week the same after splitting a six-game series. They take on a Chicago Cubs affiliate that is headlined by 2022 deadline acquisition Ben Brown, who was a 2017 33rd round pick by the Phillies. He began the year in Double-A, but after amassing a 0.45 ERA in 20.0 IP, he moved up to Triple-A, where his ERA has nearly doubled to 0.84 in 10.2 IP. Caleb Kilian is another arm of note, who found himself on the back-end of Top 100 lists at one point, but has dropped drastically since. The team staff has the 12th highest Team ERA, but the offense has the 2nd best Team OPS. On the offensive side of things, the Iowa Cubs roster has a few more prospects who were once thought of as Top 100, but have since fallen: Brennen Davis and Miguel Amaya. Kyle Hendricks is currently on rehab assignment.
Moving on to Double-A, the Altoona Curve now find themselves under .500 after a rough week against Akron, but they are only 1.5 games back from first. They’ll face the last place Bowie Baysox. The Baysox have a poor record, but their roster still packs a punch, even with majority of their top prospects having moved on to Triple-A and the majors. Newly minted (once again) Top 100 prospect Heston Kjerstad headlines the roster. He is the only opposing Top 100 this week per Baseball America and Pipeline. It will be a fun battle of the bats between him and Henry Davis, who both have an OPS above 1.000. Sitting at ninth is Coby Mayo, who is having a fantastic bounce back year. He might find himself back on a Top 100 list at some point, as the Pipeline mid-season update has eight Orioles listed. It will be an interesting match-up, even with Bowie finding themselves near the bottom third among Team OPS and Team ERA.
Greensboro Grasshoppers find themselves in a heated battle for the North Division lead. They will take on the Asheville Tourists, who are at the bottom of the South Division. The Houston Astros affiliate isn’t a flashy roster, as their farm system has taken a hit, but it still carries eight of the Astros Top 30 prospects. The top prospect, per Pipeline, is 2022 2nd round pick Jacob Melton. The beginning of his collegiate career was riddled with injuries, but a big 2022 season pushed him into second round territory. Pipeline says the speedy outfielder has 20-20 potential.
Last but not least is the Florida State League, where the Bradenton Marauders will take on the league leading Clearwater Threshers. The Phillies affiliate boasts nine (seven healthy) of the Phillies Top 30 prospects. The headliner here being 2022 first round pick Justin Crawford, the son of Carl Crawford. Just after Crawford is 2022 third round outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. out of Florida Atlantic University. The Threshers currently have the second best Team OPS, and fifth best Team ERA.
Triple-A: Indianapolis Indians
Opponent: IOWA (CUBS)
Opponent Stats
Team OPS: .859 OPS
Rank: 2/20
Team ERA: 5.00
ERA Rank: 12/20
Top Prospects
Player | Position | Pipeline Ranking
- BEN BROWN | RHP | 6
- BRENNEN DAVIS | OF | 7
- ALEXANDER CANARIO (60-Day IL) | OF | 10
- MIGUEL AMAYA | C | 14
- CALEB KILIAN | RHP | 17
- JEREMIAH ESTRADA | RHP | 23
- RILEY THOMPSON | RHP | 27
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
Opponent: BOWIE (ORIOLES)
Opponent Stats
Team OPS: .687 OPS
Rank: 8/12
Team ERA: 4.20
ERA Rank: 8/12
Top Prospects
Player | Position | Pipeline Ranking
- HESTON KJERSTAD | OF | 5
- Pipeline Top 100: #53
- Baseball America Top 100: #96
- COBY MAYO | 3B | 9
- CADE POVICH | LHP | 12
- CESAR PRIETO | INF | 17
- CHAYCE MCDERMOTT | RHP | 18
- JOHN RHODES | OF | 20
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
Opponent: ASHEVILLE (ASTROS)
Opponent Stats
Team OPS: .746 OPS
Rank: 7/12
Team ERA: 6.22
ERA Rank: 12/12
Top Prospects
Player | Position | Pipeline Ranking
- JACOB MELTON | OF | 2
- RYAN CLIFFORD | OF | 4
- MIGUEL ULLOLA | RHP | 10
- LOGAN CERNY | OF | 20
- EDINSON BATISTA | RHP | 24
- MICHAEL KNORR | RHP | 25
- MIGUEL PALMA | C/1B | 28
- ZACH DEZENZO | 3B/2B | 29
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
Opponent: CLEARWATER (PHILLIES)
Opponent Stats
Team OPS: .745 OPS
Rank: 2/10
Team ERA: 3.95
ERA Rank: 5/10
Top Prospects
Player | Position | Pipeline Ranking
- JUSTIN CRAWFORD | OF | 4
- GABRIEL RINCONES JR. | OF | 7
- ALEX MCFARLANE | RHP | 8
- EMAARION BOYD | OF | 12
- JORDAN VIARS | OF | 13
- MICAH OTTENBREIT (60-Day IL) | RHP | 19
- YHOSWAR GARCIA | OF | 22
- JAYDENN ESTANISTA | RHP | 27
- NIKAU POUAKA-GREGO (60-Day IL) | 2B/3B | 29
Song of the Day
Pirates Prospects Daily
By John Dreker
The Pirates were off yesterday. The minor leagues were off as well. We still had five articles up, including the top performers and a look at the top draft prospects. Here are the links in case you missed anything.
**On Saturday we noted that there is a clear group of five top prospects this year. Three of those players had big games last week. Plenty of video here to watch.
**Henry Davis impresses once again, while pitcher JP Massey has an outstanding start. Here’s the look at the top ten hitters and top ten pitchers for the Pirates last week.
**Mitch Keller gets some recognition from the National League for his great week.
**MLB Pipeline updated their top 100 prospects list on Monday. Three Pirates moved up, one moved down.
**Pirates Prospects Daily: Attacking Strike Zone is Key for Mitch Keller’s Recent Success
