The top performers in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system this week included two extended hitting streaks; the debut of a trade deadline acquisition; and some emerging performances from the 2021 draft class — led by Lonnie White, who hit three homers this past week.
Player of the Week
LONNIE WHITE, CF, BRADENTON
Lonnie White has missed a lot of time since being drafted 64th overall by the Pirates in 2021. The former Penn State commit is starting to show why he was so highly regarded out of Malvern, PA. In the last week, White batter .304/.407/.913 with three doubles, a triple, and three home runs. He also added four walks and only struck out once in 27 plate appearances. White is following his first full month of his pro career, and the last week was a very positive sign that he’s starting to get comfortable on the field.
Ten More to Follow
MASON MARTIN, 1B, INDIANAPOLIS
Martin was moved to Indianapolis recently, where he’s dealt with strikeout issues in the past. Last week, he batted .250/.400/.438. He only struck out three times in 20 plate appearances, while walking four times. He didn’t hit a home run, which is typically expected of him, but he added a double and a triple. The overall stat line was productive, and the K/BB results give him value beyond the power that he still has.
JACKSON GLENN, INF, ALTOONA
Jackson Glenn homered twice for Altoona this past week, batting .417 with a 1.212 OPS. He also showed off some nice defense on several occasions at third base. The Pirates drafted Glenn in the fifth round in 2021 out of Dallas Baptist University. He’s got a .280/.330/.484 line in Altoona this year with four homers, after hitting six with Greensboro to start the season.
TSUNG-CHE CHENG, INF, ALTOONA
Cheng is riding a 14-game hitting streak, after picking up a hit in every game for the second week in a row. This week he batted .409/.440/.455 in 25 plate appearances. The 5′ 7″, 173 pound infielder doesn’t bring a lot of power, with just one double. He shows some of the best contact skills in the Pirates’ system, shown through this hitting streak. In 14 games, he has a .365/.393/.500 line in 56 plate appearances, with four doubles, one homer, and just eight strikeouts. He’s also added two steals, both of which came this past week.
AARON SHORTRIDGE, RHP, ALTOONA
Shortridge went six innings, allowing one run on seven hits, with a walk and nine strikeouts. I noted the other day how Shortridge has a start like this at least once a month. This game was actually his sixth best game score of the season, at 62. He had a 65 and a 70 in July. He had a 69 in June after a nice six shutout innings. Six shutout got him a 66 in May. In April he had a 63 after one run in five mostly clean innings, with six strikeouts. Shortridge falls on the other end of the performance spectrum just as often, with game scores of 37 and 27 in the last month. His ability to put up starts like the one last week are what make him a prospect worth keeping in the rotation.
JACKSON WOLF, LHP, ALTOONA
The Pirates got their first look at Jackson Wolf on Sunday, after the left-hander was acquired in the Rich Hill/Ji Man Choi trade. Wolf pitched 4.2 innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits and a walk. He struck out five. Wolf was pitching in Double-A for the Padres, with a 4.08 ERA in 88.1 innings, along with a 105:22 K/BB ratio. For more about him, check out the trade deadline recap.
THOMAS HARRINGTON, RHP, GREENSBORO
Harrington made two starts this week. His first outing was one of the best starts in the system this year, although not his best start in Greensboro, which is a testament to his performance so far across 12 games. Harrington pitched seven innings, allowing one run on four hits, with a walk and 11 strikeouts. His follow up didn’t go as well, allowing two runs on three hits in 3.2 innings, with two walks and four strikeouts.
BUBBA CHANDLER, RHP, GREENSBORO
Chandler had the best start of his career this past week, continuing a stretch of shutdown pitching over his last four starts. After a 12-day break in July, Chandler returned with one run across his next 22.2 innings of work, for an 0.40 ERA. He had a 24:4 K/BB ratio, showing great results with his control. He also only allowed ten hits. The Pirates added Chandler in the third round in 2021, joining Lonnie White in the over-slot prep approach that year. Chandler had the highest bonus as a two-way player, and has been exclusively focusing on pitching for the first time this year. That’s really starting to pay off for him, based on the latest results.
PO-YU CHEN, RHP, GREENSBORO
Chen doesn’t have electric stuff, but he does know how to pitch, and can turn out the lights on an opposing offense. That happened this past week, when he allowed one run on one hit in five innings, with no walks and seven strikeouts. The Pirates paid Chen $1.25 million to sign out of Taiwan in 2021. The 21-year-old exceeded his career high in innings during the last start. He now has a 4.00 ERA in 99 innings with Greensboro, with an 8.8 K/9 and a 3.1 BB/9. Chen has been hurt by home runs, which weren’t as big of an issue at the lower levels. He’s been a bit worse on the road with power results, so the elevated homers aren’t just a result of the home park.
MICHAEL KENNEDY, LHP, FCL PIRATES
The Pirates added Kennedy in the fourth round of last year’s draft, giving the prep lefty an over-slot bonus. This week he pitched five shutout innings, allowing five hits, no walks, and striking out eight. In 32.2 innings across nine appearances, Kennedy has a 2.48 ERA and a 45:16 K/BB in his pro debut in the FCL.
ROINNY AGUIAR, INF, DSL PIRATES
Auigar is starting to heat up, after struggling in his return to the DSL. The infielder hit .625/.647/1.063 with one homer in 17 plate appearances this past week. He was the top hitter in the DSL the week prior, going 7-for-10 with three walks. Aguiar currently has a ten game hitting streak, where he’s batting .643/.688/.893 in 32 plate appearances.
Last Week’s Home Runs
Indianapolis
- Miguel Andujar, OF
- Domingo Leyba, INF
- Ji-Hwan Bae, OF
Altoona
- Jackson Glenn, INF (2)
- Lolo Sanchez, OF
- Carter Bins, C
Greensboro
- Tres Gonzalez, OF (2)
- Malcom Nunez, INF
- Jack Brannigan, INF
- Maikol Escotto, INF
- Nick Cimillo, C/1B
- Jase Bowen, OF
Bradenton
- Lonnie White Jr., OF (3)
- Deivis Nadal, INF
- Rodolfo Nolasco, OF
FCL Pirates
- Esmerlyn Valdez, INF
- Eddy Rodriguez, INF
DSL Pirates
- Roinny Aguiar, INF
- Eduardo Oviedo, OF
- Angel Perez, C
INDIANAPOLIS (50-56)
Last Week’s Record: 2-3
Player of the Week: Mason Martin, 1B (.250/.400/.438, 20 PA)
Top Performers
- Jared Jones, RHP (5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 7 K, 1 HR)
- Hunter Stratton, RHP (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 0 HR)
- Domingo Leyba, INF (.571/.727/1.000, 1 HR, 12 PA)
- Miguel Andujar, OF (.478/.500/.696, 1 HR, 24 PA)
- Ji-Hwan Bae, OF (.222/.364/.556, 1 HR, 11 PA)
ALTOONA (48-50)
Last Week’s Record: 4-2
Player of the Week: Jackson Glenn, INF (.417/.462/.750, 2 HR, 26 PA)
Top Performers
- Tsung-Che Cheng, INF (.409/.440/.455, 25 PA)
- Chavez Young, OF (.308/.526/.308, 19 PA)
- Aaron Shortridge, RHP (6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 0 HR)
- Jackson Wolf, LHP (4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR)
- Braxton Ashcraft, RHP (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR)
GREENSBORO (53-46)
Last Week’s Record: 5-1
Player of the Week: Thomas Harrington, RHP (10.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 15 K, 2 HR)
Top Performers
- Bubba Chandler, RHP (7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K)
- Po-Yu Chen, RHP (5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 1 HR)
- Valentin Linarez, RHP (3 G, 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 0 HR)
- Sammy Siani, OF (.467/.579/.667, 19 PA)
- Tres Gonzales, OF (.250/.318/.650, 2 HR, 22 PA)
BRADENTON (58-43)
Last Week’s Record: 2-4
Player of the Week: Lonnie White (.304/.407/.913, 3 HR, 27 PA)
Top Performers
- Charles McAdoo, INF (.500, .615, .600, 13 PA)
- Julian Bosnic, LHP (4.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 0 HR)
- Luis Peralta, LHP (3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 0 HR)
FCL PIRATES (28-16)
Last Week’s Record: 1-4
Player of the Week: Michael Kennedy, LHP (5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K)
Top Performers
- Luigi Hernandez, RHP (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K)
- Jeral Toledo, INF (.400/.471/.533, 20 PA)
- Eddy Rodriguez, INF (.333/.308/.667, 1 HR, 13 PA)
DSL PIRATES BLACK (14-26)
Last Week’s Record: 1-3
Player of the Week: Dariel Francia, RHP (3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 0 HR)
Top Performers
- Dermis Ordonez, RHP (3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 HR)
- Angel Rodriguez, OF (.300/.417/.500, 12 PA)
DSL PIRATES GOLD (29-12)
Last Week’s Record: 4-0
Player of the Week: Roinny Aguiar, INF (.625/.647/1.063, 1 HR, 17 PA)
Top Performers
- Eduardo Oviedo, OF (.353/.353/.588, 1 HR, 17 PA)
- Pitterson Rosa, RHP (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 0 HR)
