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Pirates Prospects Daily: Sean Sullivan Continues To Thrive In Altoona

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Altoona Curve pitcher Sean Sullivan (52) May 23, 2023 David Hague/Pirates Prospects

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Overall, the numbers weren’t kind to Sean Sullivan’s time in High-A Greensboro, but there were some encouraging things if you dug deep enough — like how he did when he wasn’t actually pitching in Greensboro.

Now up in Double-A with the Altoona Curve, he’s showing exactly what he can do in a non-hitter friendly environment. 

Sullivan pitched a career high seven innings on Tuesday, kicking off Altoona’s series against the Hartford YardGoats. He allowed seven hits and three runs while walking one and striking out five.

While he isn’t a big swing and miss guy (29 K in 34.2 innings), Sullivan floods the strike zone with pitch after pitch, getting through innings at a quick pace. It took him just four pitches to finish the first inning, and need just 83 overall to get through the seven frames.

The ability to put the ball in play and get quick outs has allowed him to complete at least six innings in each of his last three starts. Last year he completed six innings twice over 15 starts (20 overall appearances).

Sullivan was an intriguing name coming out of Cal University back in 2021, easily getting overlooked by the prep players the Pirates took earlier in the draft. He was ranked in MLB Pipeline’s Top 250, and the Pirates were able to take him in the eighth round.

Other publications heralded his fastball command, pitch sequences, and high floor as a potential back of the rotation starter.

The lack of swing and miss will probably limit his upside, but he continues to be a big part in a Altoona rotation that has the third lowest staff ERA in the Eastern League currently.

Prospect Notes

— It wasn’t a game that he is going to put in his highlight reel, but Owen Kellington grinded his way to a four inning start on Tuesday, tied for his season long.

The control was spotty (two walks), and he didn’t miss a lot of bats (only one strikeout), but he found a way to bounce back from a 30 pitch first inning to still finish four full frames.

Kellington has one of the best pitches in the system, and even though he should dominate Single-A hitters with it on most nights, there are some where it won’t get the chase it usually does.

I would like to see the velocity come up just a bit, but he’s a prospect I’ve certainly started to plan around watching when Bradenton is on stream.

— Maybe the two best leadoff hitters in the system are both playing in Greensboro right now – Tres Gonzalez and Tsung-Che Cheng. 

Cheng has almost exclusively batted out the cleanup spot, even going all the way back to 2022 with Bradenton, but Tuesday Tres got the edge. He responded with a pair of walks, a run scored and stolen base. 

Batting in the two-hole, Cheng walked once, picked up two hits, scored twice and stole a base.

A lot happening at the top of the order for the Grasshoppers right now, who broke an eight game losing streak on Tuesday.

Daily Video Rundown

Known more for his defense, Scott still came up with this big triple that completed the Altoona comeback.

Jacob Gonzalez hits his third home run of the season, finally putting the Curve on the board in the eighth inning.

Anthony Murphy
Anthony Murphy
Anthony began writing over 10 years ago, starting a personal blog to cover the 2011 MLB draft, where the Pirates selected first overall. After bouncing around many websites covering hockey, he refocused his attention to baseball, his first love when it comes to sports. He eventually found himself here at Pirates Prospects in late 2021, where he covers the team’s four full season minor league affiliates.

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