A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time (Tyler Glasnow, Trevor Williams, Alen Hanson), or loses his prospect eligibility, he will be removed from this list. Everyone below him will be shifted up a spot, and a new player will be added to the bottom of the list. If a player is out for the season, he will be removed and everyone below him will move up a spot. Removing these guys doesn’t mean they have lost prospect status. It is just an attempt to get more active prospects on the list. Rankings are from the 2017 Prospect Guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages. We are working on fixing the stats.
1. Austin Meadows, CF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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2. Mitch Keller, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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3. Kevin Newman, SS, Altoona – [insert_php]
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4. Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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6. Will Craig, 3B, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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7. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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8. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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9. Nick Kingham, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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10. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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11. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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12. Braeden Ogle, LHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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13. Max Kranick, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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14. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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15. Edgar Santana, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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16. Luis Escobar, RHP, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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17. Dovydas Neverauskas, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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18. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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19. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Altoona -[insert_php]
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20. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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21. Stephen Alemais, SS, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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22. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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23. Travis MacGregor, RHP, Extended Spring Training – [insert_php]
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24. Barrett Barnes, LF, Extended Spring Training -[insert_php]
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25. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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26. Eric Wood, 3B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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27. J.T. Brubaker, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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28. Chris Bostick, INF/OF, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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29. Connor Joe, 3B, Altoona – [insert_php]
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30. Jose Osuna, 1B, Pirates – [insert_php]
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INDIANAPOLIS — He had shown glimpses of his ability this season, but not for the duration of an entire outing.
Steven Brault changed that on Friday against Scranton Wilkes-Barre, putting together his best start of the young season. He allowed one earned run on five hits over six innings, striking out nine and walking just one.
There were no lack of positives after Brault’s fourth start of the season. His command continued its upward trend and Brault put together some very efficient innings, while also working out of some considerable jams.
“To me that was a major league outing,” Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett said. “The first couple of outings he had you saw the major league stuff at times, you just didn’t see the execution and conviction. And tonight you saw the conviction and execution of pitches, especially when his back was against the wall.”
Brault threw 65 of his 100 pitches for a strike against the RailRiders, as his strike percentage continues to trend upward from the 58 percent strike ratio he had in his first two outings. He walked only one batter on Friday, after walking eight over his previous three starts.
“I think he’s trusting his stuff better now and we talk to him about not trying to nibble and really trying to attack the zone,” Barkett said. “I thought his fastball had life tonight. I thought he used his pitches well. A really impressive performance and a step in the right direction.”
The organization’s 11th-ranked prospect was originally scheduled to start on Saturday, but was moved up in the schedule to keep him on his normal four days rest, due to the team’s off day on Monday.
Brault opened the game with two very efficient innings. He retired the side in the first inning on eight pitches, striking out Scranton’s Tyler Wade, who went down looking. Top prospect Clint Frazier grounded out to shortstop on the first pitch. Scranton was retired in order on 15 pitches in the second on a pair of groundouts and a strikeout.
“It goes kind of understated how nice it is to have a quick first inning, talk about a confidence booster,” Brault said. “Once you get the first one out of the way that is good because that’s usually the tough one, trying to find your delivery. It was nice to have that tonight.”
Using his athleticism in his delivery has been a focal point for Brault. His ability to follow through on that and attack the zone enabled those quick early innings.
“I think being able to go both sides of the plate with my fastball was really helpful,” Brault said. “Using the fastball and sinker off the fastball, so it’s almost like two separate pitches that I’m developing. Being able to do that will help me get the quicker outs.”
Brault worked out of a jam in the fourth inning, allowing a pair of singles to lead off the inning. A wild pitch advanced those runners to second and third with nobody out.
But Scranton couldn’t get a ball out of the infield the remainder of the inning. Brault struck out Donovan Solano swinging, while Mason Williams hit a slow dribbler that Elias Diaz fielded and threw to first for the groundout. Brault escaped the jam by getting Ruben Tejada to fly out to second base.
Brault worked around a lead-off single in the fifth inning, retiring the next three batters on a strikeout, groundout and flyout. Wade struck out on a check-swing, and must have said the wrong word to the umpire, getting ejected as he walked back to the dugout
In his last inning of the night, Brault struck out the side with a walk mixed in. Brault struck out Dustin Fowler after falling behind 2-0.
Scranton’s lineup featured some of the best hitting prospects in the Yankees’ organization. Three of those prospects went 2-for-9 with four strikeouts
Clint Frazier, the organization’s No. 2 prospect, went 0-for-3 against Brault; Dustin Fowler, the No. 8 prospect, was 1-for-3; and Wade, the No. 11 prospect, was 1-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Edgar Santana entered in relief in the eighth inning, with runners at first and second with one out. He got out of the jam with two quick outs — a popout to shortstop and a groundout to shortstop. Santana allowed one hit and struck out two in 1.2 innings, dropping his earned run average to 0.93.
Indianapolis struggled again offensively, managing just six hits. Scranton starter Chad Green struck out eight and walked one, allowing four hits over six shutout innings. Tyler Webb, who was a Rule 5 pick by the Pirates this off-season, pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning for Scranton. Pat Light retired the side in order in the seventh for Indianapolis.
Max Moroff was 1-for-4 with a strikeout, while Gift Ngoepe was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. Austin Meadows was 1-for-3 with a walk, but was also caught stealing on a close play at second. Elias Diaz was 0-for-4 but threw out the only runner trying to steal. Christopher Bostick was 2-for-4 with a double, while Jason Rogers was 2-for-3.
Indianapolis threatened in the eighth inning, putting runners at first and third with one out. Gift Ngoepe struck out looking at an 81 MPH breaking pitch, and Meadows also struck out to end the inning. – Brian Peloza
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Altoona lost 3-2 to Akron in the opener of a six-game road trip. Tanner Anderson started, coming into the game with just one run allowed over 10.2 innings. This wasn’t a typical Anderson start, where he’s efficient with his pitches by throwing strikes and getting ground balls. He allowed three runs on four hits and four walks in 5.2 innings. He needed 53 pitches to get through the first three innings, then in the next two frames, he retired the side in order, but the outs included three line drives and a fly out. Anderson ran into trouble with two walks and a single in the sixth before being removed. The four walks are a career high and he had three strikeouts.
Miguel Rosario followed Anderson and allowed one of the three inherited runs to score, otherwise he threw 1.1 shutout innings. Tate Scioneaux was up next and he threw a shutout inning. He has not allowed a run in 7.2 innings.
On offense, Altoona had seven hits and two walks, but they went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Chase Simpson had the big day with a solo homer and a double. Michael Suchy also had a double, his second of the season. Connor Joe was 1-for-4 and scored Altoona’s first run on a Zane Chavez sacrifice fly. Kevin Newman and Kevin Kramer each went 1-for-4 with a single. Newman is hitting .300 now, while Kramer dropped to a .400 average. Jordan Luplow pinch-hit and grounded out to end the game. Pablo Reyes drew two walks and stole his first base.
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BRADENTON, Fla. – For the second night in a row, the Marauders starter was bounced early. Tonight’s early exit came from Gage Hinsz, who lasted only 1.1 innings, giving up six runs on six hits, with two walks and one strikeout. The only encouraging thing about tonight’s outing was that Hinsz had some good velocity, sitting consistently in the 94-96 MPH range with his fastball, and mixing in an upper-70s curve.
The downside was that he wasn’t commanding his pitches at all tonight, missing the strike zone consistently, and getting hit around when he did throw strikes. In the first inning, he threw almost as many balls as he did strikes, although he escaped the inning with just a double and a walk, and no runs allowed. He worked around the strike zone a bit more often in the second inning, but was getting hit around, leading to a six run second inning that ended with Sam Street allowing one final run to score.
The performance was similar to Taylor Hearn last night, who didn’t allow any runs in the first, then gave up five runs in the second inning to end his evening. Hearn and Hinsz are the number nine and ten prospects in the system, respectively. A lot of that ranking is due to their upside right now, more than where they are at the moment as prospects. You can really see the difference between them and Mitch Keller when watching their starts this week.
Keller didn’t have the best control in his outing on Thursday, but was still able to battle through it and pitch six innings, while going without a walk. That’s not necessarily because Keller has better stuff. All three pitchers throw in the mid-90s, with Keller and Hearn trending a bit higher, especially early in the game. They all have breaking pitches that flash plus when they’re on. They all have a feel for a changeup, and show some promise with the pitch at times.
The key difference is that Keller is more polished right now. He has better command of his fastball on a more consistent basis, and commands the curveball more frequently. When things started falling apart for Keller, and two of his pitches weren’t working, he was able to turn to the curveball to help get him back on track. When things started falling apart for Hearn and Hinsz, all of their pitches stopped working.
That just illustrates how much work those guys have to do compared to Keller, and as I wrote today, Keller has work to do himself. I could still see Keller moving up to Altoona by mid-season, but I think Hearn and Hinsz might be in Bradenton all season, as they both have more to work on with their development.
The Marauders ended up losing 18-2. Sam Street gave up six runs in 2.2 innings, with two unearned. Bret Helton gave up two more runs in three innings of work. Daniel Zamora had the best outing of the night, giving up just one hit in a scoreless inning of work. The Marauders ran out of pitchers, and turned to position player Trace Tam Sing in the 9th, who was sitting 85-86, touching 88 with his fastball, but got hit around and gave up four runs.
**Cole Tucker had a hard hit single, and was robbed of another hit on a hard liner right to the first baseman. Tucker had two other hard hit balls that went right to fielders earlier this week.
**Kevin Krause went 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk, showing some promise on offense. He was playing right field, and looked pretty rough at the position with his routes. Krause was originally a catcher, but isn’t a strong defender behind the plate. He moved to right field, but if his power develops and he turns into an offense-first prospect, he might have to move to first base, or be a DH option. – Tim Williams
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CHARLESTON – The West Virginia pitchers have to be incredibly sharp when taking the mound at home. Why? Because they can be pretty sure they’re going to get virtually no run support. In their first nine home games, the team has amassed 19 runs, including the eight they nabbed in their first home win. (All of this becomes even more embarrassing when you consider two things: four of those games went into extra innings, and they scored 60 runs on their recent seven-game road trip. “In two straight games every guy in the lineup got a hit,” said hitting coach Ryan Long. “That never happens.”)
That said, Matt Anderson turned in his best start of the year to keep the Power in the game. Anderson’s curveball was particularly effective this evening and induced a number of swing-and-misses. He couldn’t place his fastball, however, and paid the price with four walks and a wild pitch. Despite the mistakes, he left the ballgame without conceding a run.
Most of Anderson’s trouble came from the release point on his fastball, which is something he and Power pitching coach Drew Benes have been working on all season. “He’d miss down, he’d try to make an adjustment, and then he’d miss up,” explained Benes.
Luckily, Anderson had his curveball working “as a first pitch strike and as a pitch he can put guys away with,” Benes said.
Eduardo Vera took the mound and extended the shutout through the eighth inning, but one swing of the bat in the ninth inning undid all the brilliant work by the two Power pitchers. In the top of the ninth, Vera gave up a solo shot on the first pitch of the inning before retiring the next three batters in order.
The Power batters, though, lost this ballgame. Despite out-hitting Lakewood six to four (including two one-out doubles), the Power never were able to string together two hits in an inning. They abandoned three men in scoring position and saw their small ball efforts fall apart. Twice Lakewood caught Logan Ratledge stealing on a botched hit-and-run, and both Stephen Alemais and Trey Arbet missed opportunities for sacrifice bunts.
Bunting has been the focus of Coach Long throughout the 2017 season. “Alemais bunted at a high pitch, so the decision-making part of it comes into play. Trey’s was more of a misunderstanding,” said Long after the game. “The more you use it in the game, though, the more comfortable you get with it.”
Ty Moore was the only Power batter to collect a pair of hits. He remains red-hot at the plate, hitting his sixth double in ten games. Stephen Alemais snapped his seven-game hit streak and struck out twice. West Virginia batters struck out ten times.
To add insult to injury, the Power went down in the ninth on three pop outs in foul territory. – Abigail Miskowiec
