ALTOONA, PA – Today was my last day in Altoona, and the end of my second week on the road covering the Pittsburgh Pirates development system. I’ll have a lot of individual player reports hitting the site over the next few weeks, carrying through most of September. Today’s live coverage is light, as I’m exhausted from the last two weeks. Fortunately, Jared Jones had a big day in Indianapolis, and the DSL Pirates Gold opened their DSL semi-finals series with a win, giving plenty to discuss on this Sunday.
Player of the Day
JARED JONES, RHP, INDIANAPOLIS
Jones went six innings, allowing one run on two hits, with four walks and ten strikeouts. The strikeout total was a season-high. He’s previous recorded double-digit strikeouts on May 20th, 2022 (10) and June 27th, 2021 (11). Jones has allowed a lot of walks this month, with 18 in 25 innings. This follows a month of July where he had six walks in 23.2 innings.
Ten More to Follow
NICK GONZALES, SS, INDIANAPOLIS
Gonzales picked up two doubles on Sunday. He’s been hitting and hitting for power over the last week. After going 2-for-4 with a double last Sunday, he followed with a double and a home run earlier this week, with a hit in every start. His strikeout rate in Triple-A is 25.7%.
CANAAN SMITH-NJIGBA, RF, INDIANAPOLIS
Smith-Njigba reached base safely four times on Sunday, going 2-for-3 with two walks. This was his third multi-hit game this week. It was also the second game of the week where he reached base safely four times.
GRANT KOCH, C, INDIANAPOLIS
Koch went 3-for-4, knocking in both Indianapolis runs on Sunday. The catcher has a hit in five straight games. This is his second three-hit game this week, and third of the month of August.
TSUNG-CHE CHENG, SS, ALTOONA
Cheng had the only extra base hit on a quiet day for the Altoona offense. He doubled to left field, which was the same place where he recorded a hit last night to start Altoona’s comeback victory as the tying run. His ability to hit to all fields and generate barrels, while being a threat to drop a bunt at any time, makes him one of the more potentially dynamic hitters on the Altoona roster.
MIKE JARVIS, 2B, ALTOONA
Jarvis added six sixth stolen base for Altoona today, along with his 26th across two levels this year. The second baseman didn’t get the best jump, but showed a lot of acceleration to take the bag early in the game. Jarvis reached base safely on a pop up that the Akron third baseman dropped. That third baseman dropped another pop up in the sun during the same inning. Yesterday, the same third baseman accidentally stepped on his sunglasses during a play at third. I don’t know if this is a correlation or a causation, but Jarvis benefitted, and then took advantage with the extra bag.
LUKE BROWN, CF, GREENSBORO
Brown went 3-for-4 with a homer in the eighth inning, which momentarily gave Greensboro the lead. Watching Brown last week, he’s got a good line drive swing, and can really get ahold of one from time to time. This was his fifth homer for Greensboro in 157 at-bats this year.
MITCH JEBB, SS, BRADENTON
Jebb went 1-for-4 with a walk and a triple on Sunday. The Pirates’ second round pick is batting .238/.337/.310 in 84 at-bats during the month of August.
LUIS PERALTA, LHP, BRADENTON
Peralta went three innings in the start for Bradenton on Sunday. The lefty allowed a run on four hits, with two walks and four strikeouts. During the month of August, he has a 1.98 ERA in 13.2 innings, with a 19:7 K/BB ratio.
TONY BLANCO JR., DH, DSL PIRATES GOLD
The DSL Pirates Gold won the first game of the semi-finals, with Tony Blanco Jr. hitting a two run homer to lead the way. Blanco homered five times this year in the DSL across 136 at-bats, with a .235/.325/.397 line.
VICTOR CABREJA, LHP, DSL PIRATES GOLD
Cabreja pitched his longest and best outing of the year to give the DSL Pirates Gold a 1-0 lead in the DSL semi-finals. The lefty went seven innings, allowing one run. He had previously been limited to 3-5 inning appearances. During the month of August, he combined for 10.1 innings across four appearances, allowing one run.
Sunday’s Home Runs
- Luke Brown, CF, Greensboro (5)
- Tony Blanco Jr, DH, DSL Pirates Gold (1)
Sunday’s Minor League Results
INDIANAPOLIS (59-65) VS Iowa
Score: Indianapolis 2, Iowa 1
Indianapolis Starter: Jared Jones, RHP (5.46)
–Line: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, 1 HR
Player of the Game: Jones
Attendance: 10,773
Notable Performers
- Nick Gonzales, SS (2-for-5, 2 2B)
- Canaan Smith-Njigba, RF (2-for-3, 2 BB)
- Grant Koch, C (3-for-4, 2 RBI)
ALTOONA (56-61) VS Akron
Score: Akron 9, Altoona 2
Altoona Starter: Nick Dombkowski, LHP (3.69)
–Line: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Player of the Game: Tsung-Che Cheng, SS (1-for-3, 2B)
Attendance: 3,817
Notable Performers
- Jacob Gonzalez, DH (1-for-3, BB, RBI)
- Mike Jarvis, 2B (1-for-5, SB)
GREENSBORO (63-54) AT Rome
Score: Rome 6, Greensboro 5
Greensboro Starter: Joshua Loeschorn, RHP (5.68)
–Line: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
Player of the Game: Luke Brown, CF (3-for-4, HR [5], 3 RBI)
Attendance: 1,088
Notable Performers
- Jack Carey, RHP (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K)
BRADENTON (67-52) AT Jupiter
Score: Jupiter 6, Bradenton 5
Bradenton Starter: Luis Peralta, LHP (5.07)
–Line: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Omar Alfonzo, C (2-for-5, 2 RBI)
Attendance: N/A
Notable Performers
- Mitch Jebb, SS (1-for-4, 3B)
DSL PIRATES GOLD (1-0) VS DSL Phillies White
Score: Pirates 3, Phillies 1
Pirates Gold Starter: Victor Cabreja, LHP (1.29)
–Line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Player of the Game: Tony Blanco Jr., DH (1-for-4, HR [1], 2 RBI)
