Mitch Jebb did it all on Monday, leading Greensboro to an 8-6 victory to open their first week of July. Jebb went 2-for-2 with a homer, three walks, and two stolen bases.
Jebb put Greensboro on the board in the third inning with a three run homer, which was his fifth of the year. He had previously walked in the first inning, and stole his 17th base of the year, but was left on second with one out.
He walked again in the fifth, and drew a leadoff walk in the seventh. After stealing third for his 18th base, Jebb scored on a Jack Brannigan sacrifice fly, putting Greensboro up 7-3. The final at-bat of the game saw Jebb hit an RBI single in the ninth, adding the eighth run for Greensboro.
The Pirates drafted Jebb in the second round last year. He was seen as a high-contact hitter with good plate patience and a lot of speed. The speed has definitely shown, with 18 stolen bases in 20 attempts at this level. He also has two triples. The plate patience and contact skills have not shown up, though Jebb did start to heat up in June, batting .253/.381/.304.
Jebb has five homers on the year, but power isn’t a big part of his game. This was the third game in a row that he picked up multiple hits, and the eighth game in a row where he’s reached base safely twice. During that span, he’s batting .440/.641/.560 with a 32.5% walk rate, a 7.5% strikeout rate, and six stolen bases.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS won 3-2
- LHP Marco Gonzales: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
- 2B Ji-Hwan Bae: 1-for-4, 2B, BB
- SS Alika Williams: 2-for-4, RBI
- CF-RF Matt Gorski: 1-for-4
- RHP Fineas Del Bonta-Smith: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Marco Gonzales made his return to the mound in a three inning rehab appearance. Gonzales threw 51 pitches on the day. He was followed by three shutout innings from Fineas Del Bonta-Smith. Ji-Hwan Bae hit his sixth double in Triple-A.
STATCAST HEROES
The double from Bae traveled 105.2 MPH. Gonzales picked up five whiffs on 13 swings against his changeup.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA lost 2-1
- RHP Drake Fellows: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
- SS Tsung-Che Cheng: 3-for-4, HR, BB, RBI
- CF Sammy Siani: 2-for-4, BB
- C Carter Bins: 1-for-3, BB
- LF Yoyner Fajardo: 1-for-3, 2 BB
The lone run from Altoona came on a solo homer from Tsung-Che Cheng in the second inning. It was the eighth homer of the year for Cheng, who also had two singles and a walk. The Pirates added Drake Fellows in the Joe Musgrove trade prior to the 2021 season. Drafted in 2019, Fellows dealt with injures after the trade that limited him to 23.2 innings in his career, prior to this season. The 26-year-old has a 3.06 ERA and a 32:16 K/BB in 35.1 innings. This was by far the best start of his career.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO won 8-6, led by the big day from Mitch Jebb.
- RHP Wilber Dotel: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
- DH Jack Brannigan: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
- 1B Josiah Sightler: 1-for-4, HR
- 2B Termarr Johnson: 1-for-3, BB, SB
- RF Wyatt Hendrie: 1-for-3, HR, BB
Jack Brannigan homered for the third game in a row. He now has 11 home runs on the season in Greensboro. Josiah Sightler added his seventh homer of the year. Wyatt Hendrie is typically a catcher, but got time in right field, and hit his first homer since being sent down to High-A. Wilber Dotel had struggled for the better part of a month, but has allowed two earned runs in 18.1 innings over his last three starts. The best part has been his reduced control, with just three walks in that span.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON lost 9-6 in 11 innings.
- 1B Axiel Plaz: 2-for-3, 2 HR, BB, 3 RBI
- RF Eddy Rodriguez: 2-for-4, BB, SB
- C Omar Alfonzo: 1-for-4, 2B
- LF Braylon Bishop: 2-for-4, 2B, SB, BB
- RHP Mike Walsh: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Axiel Plaz homered twice, launching a solo shot in the fourth and a two run shot in the eighth inning. He was intentionally walked in the tenth inning with runners at second and third and one out. Plaz now has nine home runs at this level in 114 plate appearances, batting .212/.289/.505 at the level.
STATCAST HEROES
The first homer from Plaz went 404 feet at 108.3 MPH. The second had an exit velocity of 102 MPH. He also had a 104 MPH lineout.
ROOKIE: FCL PIRATES
FCL PIRATES lost 7-3
- 3B Jhonny Severino: 1-for-3
- 2B Carlos Caro: 1-for-3, 2B
- 1B Tony Blanco Jr.: 1-for-2, BB
- RHP Jose Regalado: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
- RF Ewry Espinal: 0-for-2, RBI
The Pirates had three hits in this game and one walk. One of their runs scored on a throwing error, followed by a balk with runners at second and third. Another run came on a groundout, after Carlos Caro reached on a double.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES BLACK
DSL PIRATES BLACK lost 5-0
- C Jesus Lizardo: 1-for-3
- 1B Yosmar Gimenez: 1-for-3
- DH Kendrick Herrera: 0-for-2, BB
The Pirates Black had two hits and three walks in their shutout loss.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES GOLD
DSL PIRATES GOLD won 18-3
- 1B Edward Florentino: 5-for-6, 2 2B, 3B, 5 RBI
- C Samuel Escudero: 4-for-5, 2 2B, BB, 5 RBI
- DH Jonathan Rivero: 3-for-4, 2B, 2 BB, 3 RBI
Thirteen of the runs were knocked in by the three hitters above. Edward Florentino was signed in January, and has been one of the best early hitters from the Pirates’ most recent international class. Samuel Escudero hit for a cycle last week, and picked up four more hits on Monday. This was the third game in the second season for Jonathan Rivero, who is now 6-for-12 with two doubles.
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 6:35 PM – RHP Quinn Priester (2-1, 3.45)
- Double-A: Altoona, 7:00 PM – RHP Enmanuel Chapman (1-0, 5.14)
- High-A: Greensboro, 7:05 PM – LHP Dominic Perachi (4-1, 1.93)
- Single-A: Bradenton, 6:30 PM – RHP Carlson Reed (4-3, 2.21)
- Rookie: FCL Pirates, 12:00 PM – TBD
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Black, 11:00 AM – TBD
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Gold, 11:00 AM – TBD
