The MLB Future’s Game took place last night in Seattle, with the Pittsburgh Pirates sending top prospect Endy Rodriguez to play first base, along with breakout right-handed pitcher J.P. Massey. You can read about the results here. Today, I’ll break down the inning of work from Massey.
Anthony Murphy has a report on infielder Jackson Glenn, while John Dreker looks at right-handed pitcher Grant Ford. Yesterday’s brief minor league recap and today’s action are also below. – Tim Williams
TIM WILLIAMS: JP Massey, RHP, Greensboro (A+)
After twenty pitches in the bottom of the sixth inning, JP Massey received a mound visit from pitching coach Felix Hernandez. Massey had just walked two batters in a row, had two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, and was sitting at 19 pitches. Hernandez patted Massey on the chest to get him to relax. Massey walked off the mound, joking with his minor league All-Star teammates, and took a few deep breaths behind the mound.
To this point in the outing, Massey had shown why he went from a 7th rounder out of Minnesota last year, to pitching in this game. He works with a five pitch mix, throwing a four-seam, two-seam, changeup, curveball, and slider. He worked all five pitches in last night, with plenty of movement and break, but poor command. He benefitted from a few bad swings on hitter counts — and it’s important to remember everyone was probably nervous on that stage.
The talk from King Felix and the breather didn’t calm Massey down. He started the next batter with two low fastballs, and finished walking the bases loaded with a high breaking pitch and a high inside 93 MPH fastball that got away from him and pushed the batter back. His strike was a 93 MPH, two-seam fastball that was fouled off after dropping down into the middle of the zone.
Massey was at 24 pitches, and the broadcast could hear the pitching coaches saying he had a limit of 30 before his final batter. He started by dropping an 82 MPH curveball in at the top of the zone. It was a pitch he tried in the previous two at-bats, but couldn’t snap down. He got it for an 0-1 count this time. A 94 MPH fastball on the outside drew a check swing for strike two. The curveball returned for the best pitch and the best sequence of the night, dropping in at 82 MPH for the following swing at the bottom of the zone:
Filth translates. pic.twitter.com/82MQ303kiK
— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) July 9, 2023
Massey quickly moved up from Bradenton this year, after posting a 3.28 ERA in 49.1 innings. What stood out were the 57 strikeouts. The concern came with the 24 walks. He has since moved up to Greensboro, where he has a 4.05 ERA in 13.1 innings, along with a 7:10 K/BB ratio. Last night’s game showed why Massey has the control stats, but also showed some signs of a pitcher with difficult stuff to hit when he commands it.
ANTHONY MURPHY: Jackson Glenn, INF, Altoona (AA)
A three-year standout at Dallas Baptist, Jackson Glenn jumped out to a good start to his professional career helping the Bradenton Marauders down the stretch to their division championship in 2021.
He struggled when moving up to Greensboro in 2022, posting a 74 wRC+ and a .625 OPS in a very hitter friendly stadium, and league. Running it back with the Grasshoppers, Glenn put up a 134 wRC+ in 38 games in High-A before recently getting promoted to Double-A Altoona.
This time around at a new level, he didn’t wait to get things rolling, and after picking up three hits on Saturday, he now has seven in his first five games, which has included three doubles.
Glenn may never be able to make that 21-home runs he hit in college translate to the the pro ranks. The discipline at the plate (11.3 BB%), should help him find some success in Double-A.
JOHN DREKER: Grant Ford, RHP, Altoona (AA)
Grant Ford was a fifth round draft pick of the Pirates in 2019 out of the University of Nevada, where he was being used almost exclusively as a reliever for three years. He got roughed up badly his first two years, then made huge strides as a junior, which led him to the Pirates. He debuted well with Morgantown in 2019, posting a 2.97 ERA in 36.1 innings. Then the canceled 2020 season happened, followed by him having a tough time with the hitter-friendly Greensboro in 2021. His 2022 season was limited to eight games due to injury.
Ford has recently been promoted to Altoona. He had a 3.94 ERA for Greensboro in 32 innings, with 42 strikeouts and a 1.13 WHIP. He made his fourth appearance for Altoona on Saturday night. He allowed one earned run in the first three games, all three being one-inning outings. The 25-year-old Ford made quick work of Erie in the seventh inning, despite allowing a single. He needed just nine pitches to get through his night.
Ford is a three-pitch pitcher, although in two games watching him this week, I’ve only seen his slider and fastball. He used each an equal amount of times. The fastball was actually faster in the first game, hitting 95-96 MPH, while all of his fastballs in the second game were 94 MPH. The slider is a low-80s pitch with more of a downward break than any sweeping motion. He was using it in all counts with success, though one was hit hard and another hit a batter. There was one hard hit ball off of him in each game.
These are small sample sizes, but a mid-90s fastball/solid slider mix with control could get him to the majors, especially if the changeup is a usable pitch. His walks have been a little high this year, but he doesn’t have any games with more than two walks since his 2022 season debut, so they are fairly spread out. Batters are hitting just .180 against him this year. Homers have hurt him in Greensboro, but they should clear up in Altoona, which is a more neutral park.
Yesterday’s Top Performers
- Miguel Andujar (AAA): 3-5, RBI
- Aaron Shackelford (AAA): 2-3, R, HR (11), 2 RBI
- Liover Peguero (AAA): 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI, R
- Jackson Glenn (AA): 2-5, 3 RBI
- Tsung-Che Cheng (AA): 2-3, 2 R, BB, 2 SB
- Tres Gonzalez (A+): 2-4, BB, SB
- Maikol Escotto (A+): 2-4, R
- Termarr Johnson (A): 1-2, R, 2 BB, HR (8), RBI
- Wilber Dotel (A): 5 IP, 2 H, 5 BB, 4 K
- Check out the rest of yesterday’s action here.
Daily Video Rundown
Termarr Johnson is heating up with this big home run!
It’s been an up and down year for Termarr Johnson in his first full season in professional baseball. He’s struck out a little more than someone with the highly rated hit tool he was given by most draft experts. But then he’s also shown plenty of promise for a 19-year-old playing in Single-A, which includes his power potential
Another double from Jackson Glenn! pic.twitter.com/9Ot9kf7eMj
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) July 8, 2023
Jackson Glenn continues to adjust well to the Double-A level, picking up three hits on Saturday, including this double. He picked up three hits, while driving in another three runs.
Sheesh @liover_peguero, that's one way to make your presence known in Triple-A.
We love the hustle on triples at this ballpark.
After spending about a year and a half in Altoona, Liover Peguero was finally promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis, and has already picked up a couple of hits, including this two-run triple, going to right field for the three bagger.
Sunday July 9th Minor League Results
By John Dreker
INDIANAPOLIS (40-45) VS Memphis
Game Time: 1:35 pm ET
Indianapolis Starter: Jose Hernandez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
–Line: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
Player of the Game:
Final Score: Memphis 13, Indianapolis 5Jose Hernandez made another appearance during his rehab work. He tossed a scoreless first inning, before giving way to Luis Ortiz. Hernandez has thrown 2.2 scoreless in three games.
Ortiz took the loss due to poor control. He gave up five runs in the third inning. An error led to two of those runs, but the others scored due to four walks over his 1.1 frames. He threw just 22 of his 47 pitches for strikes.
Brad Case had a rough Indianapolis debut (this year, he was there last year too), allowing six runs in two innings. Kyle Nicolas threw a scoreless inning. JC Flowers lowered his ERA to 9.10 by allowing one run in his only inning of work. Cam Alldred gave up one run over the final two innings. John O’Reilly threw shutout ball.
Miguel Andujar went into the All-Star break strong, hitting his tenth homer, to go along with a single and a walk. He has a .365 average and a 1.013 OPS.
Chris Owings hit a two-run homer. Alika Williams hit a solo homer.
Liover Peguero had two hits and an RBI.
Ryan Vilade had two hits and a walk.
ALTOONA (39-40) VS Erie
Game Time: 1:00 pm ET POSTPONED
Altoona Starter: Braxton Ashcraft (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
–Line:
Player of the Game:
Recap:Altoona had their game against Erie on Sunday postponed due to rain. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on August 9th
GREENSBORO (39-39) VS Aberdeen
Game Time: 2:00 pm ET CANCELED
Greensboro Starter: TBD
–Line:
Player of the Game:
Recap:Greensboro had their Sunday game against Aberdeen canceled due to weather. It will not be made up, so the game has been wiped off of the schedule.
BRADENTON (44-35) AT Daytona
Game Time: 5:00 pm ET
Bradenton Starter: Alessandro Ercolani (4-4, 3.88)
–Line: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO
Player of the Game: Alessandro Ercolani 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO
Final Score: Bradenton 4, Daytona 2Bradenton won 4-2 over Daytona on Sunday.
Alessandro Ercolani had a solid start, going five innings on two runs, five hits, two walks and seven strikeouts. He now has a 3.86 ERA over 58.1 innings, with 58 strikeouts.
Three relievers finished the game off, including 1.1 scoreless from Wil Crowe, as he continues to rehab his early season injury.
Rodolfo Nolasco hit a two-run homer, his 11th of the season.
Josiah Sightler had a run and an RBI.
Termarr Johnson went 1-for-3 with a walk.
Lonnie White Jr went 1-for-4
Yordany De Los Santos went 1-for-2 with a stolen base, coming off of the bench to replace an injured Enmanuel Terrero.
