Monday is always a quiet day in the minors, as the full-season teams are off and only the rookie leagues are playing. With only three games, the focus today goes to the best players from last week. Below you’ll find the standouts throughout the system, along with the rookie league results from Monday afternoon.
Missed the daily results this past week?
7/25: Termarr Johnson Has 12 Homers Since June 2nd
7/26: Jase Bowen Hits 18th Homer, Mitch Jebb Makes Debut
7/27: Anthony Solometo Pitches Altoona to a Win
7/28: Jared Jones Has His Best Start For Indianapolis
7/29: Bubba Chandler More Consistent, Jhonny Severino Homers in Debut
7/30: Rodolfo Castro Hitting Righties, Tsung-Che Cheng Hitting
Player of the Week 7/24-7/30
JARED JONES, RHP, INDIANAPOLIS
The Pirates have a youth movement going in Pittsburgh, and one of the best remaining prospects in the Triple-A level stepped up with a big start this week. Jared Jones allowed two runs in six innings, giving up no walks and striking out seven. The lack of walks was the standout. Jones has nasty stuff, with a mid-to-upper 90s fastball and a plus slider. His control might be taking a step forward. He’s yet to give up more than two walks a start in Triple-A, and has two walks and 17 strikeouts in 15 innings over his last three appearances. If Jones continues this pace, he could find himself in Pittsburgh by the end of the year.
More to Follow
LUIS ORTIZ, RHP, INDIANAPOLIS
Ortiz was sent to the minors after giving up six runs in 3.1 innings on July 4th in Los Angeles. He gave up five homers in his final two games in the majors. His struggles continued in the minors through three outings. He gave up three homers in his previous two starts. This week may have snapped him out of his slump. He allowed one run in five innings of work, walking three and striking out eight.
INDIANAPOLIS OFFENSE
The best player in the minor league system this week was arguably Miguel Andujar, who definitely doesn’t have prospect status. He did bat .417/.500/.792 with three homers in 28 plate appearances. Andujar led a busy Indianapolis offense that saw big performances from Jason Delay (.500/.563/.786, 16 PA), Domingo Leyba (.368/.478/.632, 23 PA), and Aaron Shackelford (.294/.455/.706, 22 PA). Vinny Capra (.929 OPS) and Rodolfo Castro (.905) joined those guys with an OPS above .900 this week. Josh Palacios even hit a walk-off homer, before going to Pittsburgh and hitting a walk-off homer.
TSUNG-CHE CHENG, SS, ALTOONA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cheng recorded a hit in every game last week, extending his active hitting streak to eight games. The infielder hit .348/.375/.609 in 24 plate appearances, adding his first homer at the level. This is the second hitting streak of eight games for Cheng since making his debut for Altoona on June 23rd. The positive thing about the active streak is that he’s hitting for more power, with three doubles to go with the home run.
JACK BRANNIGAN, INF, GREENSBORO PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Last year’s third round pick, Brannigan played his first full week with Greensboro, batting .381/.435/.762 with two homers in the home ballpark. Brannigan was recently promoted to the level, after hitting .253/.398/.451 with seven homers in 201 plate appearances for Bradenton. His power has turned on in the summer months. Brannigan hit six homers during the month of June, with five coming between June 4th and June 9th.
JOSIAH SIGHTLER, 1B, GREENSBORO
Sightler was promoted to Greensboro this week, and the 2022 15th rounder definitely brought his bat. The first baseman hit .368/.478/.579 with one homer in 23 plate appearances across his first five games at the level. Sightler was one of the best hitters in Bradenton during the month of July, batting .536/.583/.964 with six homers in 72 plate appearances. He didn’t make his debut with Bradenton until June 29th, after missing time with an injury.
DEREK DIAMOND, RHP, GREENSBORO
Diamond was also promoted to Greensboro this week, and made two starts, with the second one being a one inning appearance. He combined for seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, with a walk and five strikeouts. Last year’s sixth round pick for the Pirates, Diamond showed more consistency in his final five starts with Bradenton, putting up a 2.10 ERA in 30 innings, with a 25:6 K/BB ratio.
BUBBA CHANDLER, RHP, GREENSBORO
One of the more promising signs in the lower levels over the last few weeks has been the pitching from Bubba Chandler. The 2021 over-slot third rounder gave up one run on two hits in five innings this week, with no walks and four strikeouts. In his last three starts, Chandler has just that one run allowed in 15.2 innings, with six hits allowed and an 18:4 K/BB ratio. The improvement follows a 12-day break after giving up five runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings on July 6th.
DOMINIC PERACHI, LHP, BRADENTON PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Perachi was piggybacking off Drake Fellows, but may have been called upon too early. The lefty entered in the first inning on Saturday, allowing two inherited runners to score. He settled down after that, pitching six scoreless innings with ten strikeouts on the night. Last year’s 11th round pick, this was a career high in strikeouts for Perachi, eclipsing nine strikeouts on May 9th, when he allowed one run in five innings.
MITCH JEBB, SS, BRADENTON
Jebb was drafted by the Pirates in the second round this year in large part due to his contact skills. He’s already shown those in his pro debut, going 8-for-14 with two doubles in his first three games with Bradenton. After a modest 1-for-3 with a double to start his career, he went 3-for-5 the next night, and 4-for-6 with another double in his third game. After an 88% contact rate at Michigan State, the Single-A pitching seems to be just a warm-up to Jebb.
NICK CIMILLO, 1B, BRADENTON
Drafted out of Rutgers last year in the 16th round, Cimillo’s carrying tool is his power. He’s been playing mostly first base and DH this year, where his power would need to show up in games. That happened this week, with two home runs as Cimillo batted .400/.552/.750 in 29 plate appearances. What’s more promising is that he walked more than he struck out (7:5), showing good plate patience with the power.
ESMERLYN VALDEZ, OF, FCL PIRATES PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Valdez had a huge week in rookie ball, going 6-for-11 with two doubles and a home run. This is his second year in the FCL, after one year in the DSL. He’s taken a huge step forward this year, batting .394/.459/.628 on the season, with five homers in 94 at-bats. That matches his five homers in 129 at-bats in the DSL. He’s a power-first prospect, who is starting to hit for more on-field power without sacrificing contact.
ROINNY AGUIAR, INF, DSL PIRATES PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The infielder hasn’t had a great season in his return to the DSL, but Aguiar had a great week. He went 7-for-10, adding three walks. Prior to last week, he was 6-for-38 in the month of July, with two walks and 13 strikeouts.
Monday’s Minor League Results
FCL PIRATES (28-11) AT FCL Rays
Score: Pirates 6, Rays 5
FCL Pirates Starter: Hunter Barco, LHP (1.17)
–Line: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Javier Rivas, SS (3-for-4, BB, 2B)
Notable Performers
- Carter Bins, C (2-for-4, RBI)
- Jhonson Pena, CF (2-for-4, 2 2B)
- Wesley Zapata, 2B (2-for-2, BB, 2 RBI
- Enmanuel De Los Santos, RHP (2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR)
- Isaias Uribe, LHP (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K)
DSL PIRATES BLACK (14-23) VS DSL Tigers 1
Score: Pirates 3, Tigers 2
Pirates Black Starter: Dariel Francia, RHP (2.97)
–Line: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Keuri Almonte, LHP (2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR)
Notable Performers
- Dermis Ordonez, RHP (2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR)
- Cristian Jauregui, RF (1-for-3, BB, SB)
DSL PIRATES GOLD (26-12) VS DSL Red Sox Red
Score: Pirates 6, Red Sox 1
Pirates Gold Starter: Inmer Lobo, LHP (1.86)
–Line: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Roinny Aguiar, 2B (3-for-4, HR, BB, 2 RBI)
Notable Performers
- Eduardo Oviedo, CF (2-for-5, HR)
- Alexis Torres, RHP (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR)
- Diego Chiquillo, LHP (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR)
- Luis Joseph, RHP (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR)
