The minor league season kicked off the final stretch this past week. Technically, the MLB All-Star Break isn’t the half-way point for most of these leagues. The rookie leagues, for example, will end in the next month. Some leagues have about six weeks to go, while the top levels will play deeper into September.
This past week was shortened at the full-season level, due to each league taking a break for All-Star week. As a result, there were only three games, and not a lot of opportunities for multiple top performers at each level.
Every Tuesday, I try to recap three top hitters and pitchers in the Pittsburgh Pirates system from the previous week at each level. Because of the shortened week, I’m only focusing on one hitter and one pitcher from each level who stood out this past week.
INDIANAPOLIS
TOP HITTER: Ji Hwan Bae – .500/.600/1.000, HR, 2B
Bae was the best hitter for Indianapolis in the first half, and picked up where he left off in the start to the second half. He went 4-for-8 with a home run and a double, playing in two of the three games for Indianapolis. He’s batting .361/.443/.512 in Triple-A this year, with five homers.
TOP PITCHER: Aaron Shortridge – 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Shortridge returned from his rehab assignment to make his 2024 debut in Triple-A. He allowed one run in four innings of work, with the lone run coming off a homer. Shortridge is in his first full season back from Tommy John this year. Last year he made it to Triple-A by the end of the year, allowing one run in five innings.
ALTOONA
TOP HITTER: Sammy Siani – .200/.333/.500, HR, 2 BB
Siani had a big game for Altoona on Saturday. He went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and two stolen bases. The outfielder is batting .265/.333/.367 during the month of July, showing improvements over his .241/.298/.379 line last month, which was his first full month in Double-A.
TOP PITCHER: Thomas Harrington – 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
Harrington closed out the break with an 11 strikeout performance. He returned to action with another double-digit strikeout game, with ten strikeouts in six innings. He’s allowed an 0.90 ERA in three starts this month, and has a 2.44 ERA in 62.2 innings on the season with Altoona, striking out 69 and walking eight.
GREENSBORO
TOP HITTER: Termarr Johnson – .333/.429/.667, HR, 2B, 2 BB
Johnson picked up hits in all three games this weekend, extending his hitting streak to 15 games. The hit on Sunday was a solo homer in the ninth inning for his 10th homer of the year. His streak began on June 27th, and in that time he’s batting .365/.459/.571, with a 14.7% walk rate and three home runs.
TOP PITCHER: Alessandro Ercolani – 4.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Ercolani pitched in extended relief this weekend, closing out a game with one run across four innings. He struck out six and only allowed one walk and one hit. He’s got an advanced six pitch mix for a 20-year-old, but was moved out of the rotation earlier in the year due to getting hit around too much. He has an 0.90 ERA in three appearances across ten innings this month.
BRADENTON
TOP HITTER: Shalin Polanco – .286/.286/.714, HR
Polanco picked up hits in both of his games, including a home run in the first game. Both games were played on the same day, and Bradenton didn’t have a lot of offense, with Polanco being one of the few productive hitters.
TOP PITCHER: Carlson Reed – 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Reed pitched four shutout innings on Friday, before rain suspended the game and ended his outing. Last year’s fourth round pick now has a 2.60 ERA in 72.2 innings, with an 87:40 K/BB in his pro debut.
FCL PIRATES
TOP HITTER: Carlos Caro – .615/.688/.692, 2B, 2 BB, 3 SB
Caro had a huge week at the plate, going 8-for-13 with a double and two walks. Those numbers don’t include his game on Monday, where he went 1-for-3 with another double and a walk. The Pirates signed Caro at the end of 2022, and he’s done nothing but hit across two professional seasons. He has a combined .306/.422/.471 line in two seasons in rookie ball.
TOP PITCHER: Zander Mueth – 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
In his last six starts, Mueth has pitched five innings each time, with one or fewer runs allowed per start. In total, he’s allowed two earned runs in 30 innings, with a 33:9 K/BB. The Pirates drafted Mueth out of high school with the 67th overall pick last year. He has a 1.51 ERA in 47.2 innings during his first pro season.
DSL PIRATES
TOP HITTER: Edward Florentino – .429/.667/.857, HR, 5 BB
Florentino was signed by the Pirates as part of the most recent international signing class, and has been the best hitter from the group so far. He’s hit for power, with five homers in 94 at-bats, adding his fifth this past week. He also gets on base at a high rate, drawing five walks this week to push his OBP to .472. He’s got a 22% walk rate this season.
TOP PITCHER: Adolfo Oviedo – 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Oviedo is in his third professional season, and has taken a step forward this year. He was putting up good numbers last year, but had serious control problems. This year he’s been posting numbers similar to his start last week, not only shutting down the rookie leagues at the age of 19, but doing it with better control. He’s got a 2.05 ERA in 26.1 innings, with a 25:7 K/BB this year.
ROOKIE BALL MONDAY RECAP
The FCL Pirates won 6-0.
Clevari Tejada, a 19-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic, pitched 5.2 shutout innings, allowing one hit, two walks, and striking out four. RHP David Matoma closed out the game with a scoreless inning, striking out the side.
Jhonny Severino went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Yordany De Los Santos went 2-for-3 with an RBI and his 21st stolen base of the season. Carlos Caro went 1-for-3 with a two RBI double. Richard Ramirez went 2-for-3.
The DSL Pirates Black lost 3-1 in a shortened five inning game.
RHP Angel Herrera pitched two scoreless innings to start the game, striking out two. Herrera is a 17-year-old from Venezuela, and was part of this year’s signing class. Andres Villafane went 1-for-3 with the line RBI on his sixth double of the season. Kendrick Herrera went 1-for-3. Phillando Williams went 1-for-2 with a walk.
The DSL Pirates Gold were suspended 0-0 in the seventh inning.
The offense was being no-hit through six innings, while also drawing zero walks. Cristian Jauregui reached on an error and stole his 15th base of the season, breaking up the perfect game.
RHP Cesar Aquino pitched 4.2 shutout innings, allowing two hits, one walk, and striking out four. The 19-year-old was signed by the Pirates in March, and has an 0.68 ERA in 26.2 innings in his first pro season.
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 7:38 PM – TBD
- Double-A: Altoona, 6:05 PM – RHP Chris Gau (0-4, 2.95)
- High-A: Greensboro, 6:30 PM – RHP Patrick Reilly (5-4, 3.30)
- Single-A: Bradenton, 6:30 PM – TBD
- Rookie: FCL Pirates, 12:00 PM – TBD
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Black, 11:00 AM – TBD
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Gold, 11:00 AM – TBD
