Every week, minor league baseball takes a break on Monday, with the exception of the action in rookie ball. That gives an opportunity to catch up on the best performers from the previous week of games, which I do every Tuesday in the Pirates Prospect Watch.
This week, the format gets a bit of a change. Instead of just listing the top hitters and the top pitchers in the system, I’m breaking down the results by team. Just a little bit more organization to allow you to easily digest so much information in one day.
Below are the top performers in the Pittsburgh Pirates system from May 14th-20th. In case you missed it, and want a long-term view of the system, the top prospect rankings on the site were updated at the end of last week.
INDIANAPOLIS
TOP HITTERS
- Matt Gorski, OF – .412/.450/1.177, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 20 PA
- Henry Davis, C – .368/.478/.947, 2 2B, 3 HR, 23 PA
- Ji Hwan Bae, UTIL – .409/.482/.636, 2 2B, 1 HR, 27 PA
The depth in Indianapolis exists on the hitting side at this point. The Pirates are opening this week by tapping into that depth, with reports that they are calling up Ji Hwan Bae. The utility player hit for a 1.118 OPS this past week, and has a .367/.479/.551 line with four homers in 122 plate appearances this year in Triple-A.
The other two top performers this week in Triple-A were Matt Gorski and Henry Davis, who hit three homers each. Gorski had the best offensive week in the entire system. He will need to repeat this level of performance to get a call to the big leagues, as he has a .300 OBP on the year in Triple-A, with a high strikeout rate. Davis will also need to continue hitting for power to return to the big leagues. It was good to see him hit his first three homers this week, in what hopefully is a build back up to the top level.
TOP PITCHERS
- Jose Hernandez, LHP – 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
With Paul Skenes in the majors, Indianapolis is short on pitching prospect depth. A lot of their best pitchers now are older veterans, with Domingo German recently being added to the roster. Jose Hernandez is one of the top lefty relief options, and threw three shutout innings this past week.
ALTOONA
TOP HITTERS
- Brenden Dixon, INF – .500/.539/.833, 1 2B, 1 HR, 13 PA
- Seth Beer, 1B – .353/.353/.529, 1 2B, 1 3B, 17 PA
- Kervin Pichardo, INF – .286/.286/.571, 1 2B, 1 HR, 14 PA
Altoona’s top hitters this week came from guys who haven’t had consistent results at the plate in 2024. Seth Beer is a wild card depth option for the Major League first base situation, and keeps hitting well in Double-A. That’s not a huge challenge for a 27-year-old with MLB experience. Beer has a .781 OPS on the season. Brenden Dixon stepped up this week with some big games, improving his season OPS to .687 and hitting his second homer of the year. Kervin Pichardo, who the Pirates received in a trade for LHP prospect Jackson Wolf, hit for some power to bring his season OPS up to .590.
TOP PITCHERS
- Braxton Ashcraft, RHP – 10.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 14 K
- Drake Fellows, RHP – 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
- Thomas Harrington, RHP – 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
- Sean Sullivan, RHP – 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Altoona’s pitching received a blow this past week, with top prospect Bubba Chandler being removed with a forearm issue. The Pirates have said his IL placement is more precautionary, and they expect him to pitch again this year. That’s a good sign.
Altoona has no shortage of talented pitchers. Braxton Ashcraft made two starts this past week, combining for one run allowed in ten innings of work, striking out 14. He was joined by fellow top ten prospect Thomas Harrington, who pitched four perfect innings in his second Double-A appearance. Drake Fellows was added in the 2021 Joe Musgrove trade, and has been limited in his time in the system due to injuries. He’s looking good in his move to Double-A, striking out seven in four shutout innings this past week. Sean Sullivan doesn’t have the same dominant strikeout stuff, but he continues getting results with seven shutout innings. Sullivan looks like one of the best mid-season promotion options, to see what he can do in Triple-A.
GREENSBORO
TOP HITTERS
- P.J. Hilson, OF – .294/.333/.824, 3 HR, 18 PA
- Charles McAdoo, 3B – .409/.458/.682, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 24 PA
- Termarr Johnson, INF – .304/.429/.565, 3 2B, 1 HR, 28 PA
One of the hitting highlights last week was the offense from Termarr Johnson. The 2022 number four overall pick has struggled all year, but showed a stat line that reflects the skill which made him a high draft pick. He hit for power to all fields, reaching base at a good rate, and limiting strikeouts. Charles McAdoo continues to hit in Greensboro, looking like one of the better older hitting prospects on the team. The 22-year-old, who was drafted out of college last year in the 13th round, has a .320/.392/.552 line with six homers this year for Greensboro. He could be a candidate for a promotion to Altoona this summer. P.J. Hilson was a minor league Rule 5 pick, and stepped up for Greensboro this week with three home runs.
TOP PITCHERS
- Dominic Perachi, LHP – 7.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K
- Alessandro Ercolani, RHP – 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
- Derek Diamond, RHP – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
- J.P. Massey, RHP – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Dominic Perachi is a reliever who made two extended appearances this past week, striking out 11 in 7.1 innings. The 23-year-old lefty has a 1.02 ERA in 17.2 innings this year in High-A, after struggling in Double-A to start his season. Alessandro Ercolani is one of the top pitching prospects at the level, showing why with one run in four innings, striking out six. Derek Diamond is a guy who could start in the upper levels, showing good control with five shutout innings, no walks, and five strikeouts. It was good to see J.P. Massey put up his best start of the year, though he’s showing control problems that have led to 17 walks in 28 innings.
BRADENTON
TOP HITTERS
- Axiel Plaz, C/1B – .300/.385/.900, 2 HR, 13 PA
- Sergio Campana, OF – .364/.462/.364, 4 SB
Bradenton didn’t get much on the hitting side this week. Their best performance was from Axiel Plaz, who was promoted mid-week from the FCL Pirates. Plaz homered twice in three games, making an immediate impact at the Single-A level. He had a .596 OPS in the FCL last year, and a .531 OPS this year. Sergio Campana showed off his speed, with a system-leading four stolen bases on five attempts this week.
TOP PITCHERS
- Michael Kennedy, LHP – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
- Carlson Reed, RHP – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Two of the more promising pitchers in the lower levels are Michael Kennedy and Carlson Reed. I wrote about Kennedy for Baseball America, detailing the progression and cerebral approach from the 19-year-old lefty. Kennedy is the top prospect at this level, ranking just outside the top ten in the Pirates system. He continued his impressive season with seven strikeouts and two runs allowed in five innings. Reed worked as a reliever in college, and has been moving to the rotation in pro ball. He’s shown enough to envision a future where he could at least be a reliever in the majors. The best part of this past week’s start was the one walk, as control has always been the thing holding Reed back.
FCL PIRATES
TOP HITTERS
- Jhonny Severino, INF – .500/.619/1.000, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 21 PA
- Yordany De Los Santos, INF – .529/.556/.647, 2 2B, 2 SB, 19 PA
- Tony Blanco Jr., 1B/DH – .400/.400/.667, 1 2B, 1 HR, 28 PA
The hitting in rookie ball was led by three of the better wild card hitting prospects in the system. Jhonny Severino was acquired last summer for Carlos Santana, and has a .382/.475/.647 line in 40 plate appearances in the FCL this year. Yordany De Los Santos was given an aggressive push to Single-A last year at the age of 18. He looked overmatched, with a high strikeout rate, finding himself back in the FCL this year. He’s made the most of the return, batting .375/.432/.575 with reduced strikeouts and power from the middle infield at a young age. Tony Blanco Jr. has some of the best power in the lower levels, and hit his first homer in the FCL this past week. All three of these guys are candidates to move to Single-A at some point if they keep hitting.
TOP PITCHERS
- Zander Mueth, RHP – 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
- David Matoma, RHP – 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Zander Mueth was drafted 67th overall in last year’s draft, taken out of Belleville High School in Illinois. He’s got a fastball that can get up to the upper 90s, from an almost sidearm delivery with a lot of movement. Mueth has allowed one earned run in 11 innings this year, across three starts, while striking out 13 and walking five. He’s the top prospect in the FCL. David Matoma is the hardest thrower in the FCL, and made his first multi-inning appearance this week. The 18-year-old pitcher has one run in seven innings, with 11 strikeouts and three walks this year.
FCL PIRATES MONDAY RECAP
The FCL Pirates won 8-5 on Monday against the FCL Rays.
Matoma made his second multi-inning appearance, allowing three runs, one earned, on three hits in two innings. He didn’t issue a walk, and struck out three. The game was started by Carlos Castillo, an 18-year-old right-hander who has a 3.00 ERA in nine innings after allowing one run in three innings on Monday.
Severino went 3-for-4 with a triple and a stolen base. De Los Santos went 3-for-3 with a double, a stolen base, a walk, and two RBIs. Ramon Ramirez (2-for-4, 2B, 4 RBI), Miguel Sosa (2-for-3, BB, RBI), and Enmanuel Terrero (2-for-3, 3B, BB, RBI) all had multiple hits.
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 7:38 PM – TBD
- Double-A: Altoona, 6:05 PM – RHP Po-Yu Chen (0-3, 5.46)
- High-A: Greensboro, 6:30 PM – RHP J.P. Massey (3-3, 4.82)
- Single-A: Bradenton, 6:30 PM – RHP Hung-Leng Chang (2-1, 1.44)
- Rookie: FCL Pirates, 12:00 PM – TBD
