A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time (Trevor Williams, Alen Hanson, Jose Osuna), 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.
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, Pirates -[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, Pirates – [insert_php]
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29. Connor Joe, 3B, Altoona – [insert_php]
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30. Pat Light, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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INDIANAPOLIS — He rattled off several positive attributes of what he just watched and then paused for a moment.
Clay Holmes had just finished throwing not just his best start of the season, but arguably the best outing of any Indianapolis starter this year. Indians manager Andy Barkett commended Holmes’ approach, adjustments and quality of pitches.
And that’s when Barkett paused.
“There are really not enough good things I can say about that outing,” he said.
Holmes allowed two runs on seven hits over seven innings, needing just 81 pitches to throw the longest outing of any Indianapolis starter this season. He struck out eight and walked nobody. And four of those strikeouts came on a minimum three pitches.
Holmes threw a “major league” type of game.
“When you’re starter can put them away in three pitchers or less, and with strikeouts, that’s dangerous,” Barkett said. “That tells you he has more than one pitch that is effective that he can go in the strike zone with.”
Indeed, Holmes had good use of all his pitches — the fastball, slider, curveball and sinker. He used the slider-cutter early and later went to the curveball. And the sinker was mixed in that paired with a fastball sitting in the mid-90s.
Charlotte had three singles in the first inning to score a run. Only one of those singles, from lead-off hitter Jose Vinicio, was well hit. One was an infield hit and the other a grounder that found a hole through the left side of the infield.
The good part of that first inning: “I was able to force some early contact which I’ve struggled some with early in the year,” Holmes said.
But the better part: “I didn’t let those groundball singles through the infield affect me and I didn’t try to do more,” Holmes said.
Barkett raved about the adjustments Holmes made after the first inning, noting in previous starts he took longer to get his mechanics in sync, if at all in some cases.
“It seemed like he was able to get back in the zone and then he stayed in it,” Barkett said. “He used his breaking ball very effectively. They had to respect his fastball. The slider-cutter he throws was sharp today, probably the sharpest we’ve seen it all year. It was consistent. The kid has a lot of weapons to throw at you. And when they’re all around the strike zone and electric like they were today, he’s pretty hard to hit.”
Holmes only needed 17 pitches to get out of the first inning, but he became even more efficient after that first frame. Prior to Tuesday’s start, Holmes had thrown just one inning of 10 pitches or less. He retired the side on 10 pitches or less three times against Charlotte.
Holmes threw a seven-pitch third inning; a 10-pitch fifth inning, and a nine-pitch sixth inning.
“It was one of those days where my stuff was there and I was able to put guys away when I needed to,” Holmes said. “I think I’m learning the mindset of going at hitters early and not trying to trick hitters — just going after them.”
Holmes’ lone mistake was a pitch over the plate that Jason Bourgeois crushed to left field for a home run in the seventh inning. But Holmes rebounded by inducing a groundout and flyout on four pitches to end the inning, and his outing.
Indianapolis had five players with multi-hit games, led by Austin Meadows who was 3-for-4 with two runs scored from the lead-off position.
Meadows led the game off with a single, stole second, and moved to third on a flyout, before scoring on a sacrifice fly.
He nearly hit a home run in the fifth inning, but the ball bounced off the chain link portion of the right field wall.
Eric Wood, Elias Diaz, Jason Rogers and Joey Terdoslavich each had two hits. Wood and Diaz had RBI hits, while Erich Weiss had an RBI sacrifice fly.
Indianapolis used two relievers — Angel Sanchez and Pat Light — who both threw a scoreless, efficient inning. Sanchez struck out two and retired the side on 10 pitches in the eighth, hitting the mid-90s with his fastball. Light retired the side in the ninth inning on eight pitches. – Brian Peloza
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Altoona lost big enough on Tuesday night to Richmond that infielder Chris Diaz had to finish the game on the mound. Tanner Anderson has been reliable this season, coming into this game with a 1.98 ERA in five starts. He pitched fine for three innings before things got out of hand in the fourth, resulting in four earned runs in 3.2 innings. Anderson gave up a single, walk, wild pitch, double and a walk before leaving for Buddy Borden, who had major control issues.
Borden came into this game with an 0.00 ERA and it remained at that after throwing one inning, but it was a very ugly outing. He threw 32 pitches, with just eight going for strikes. Borden allowed an inherited runner to score in the fourth on a hit batter and a walk. In the fifth, he should have got out of the inning quickly, but Connor Joe dropped a foul ball out in right field with two outs. That was followed by three straight walks, which ended Borden’s night. A run scored after he left, but it was unearned due to the error. Miguel Rosario managed to throw 1.1 innings without a run, then he gave way to Jared Lakind, who got roughed up for six runs in one frame. Chris Diaz gave up three runs in his inning.
Altoona had a nice game on offense go to waste. They picked up 13 hits and walked three times, although they could have had much more than six runs. The Curve went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 runners on base. Kevin Kramer extended his on base streak to 26 games with a single, a two-run double and a hit-by-pitch. The double was his tenth of the season and he also picked up his third stolen base.
Pablo Reyes broke out a slump with a 4-for-5 day, scoring three runs. Kevin Newman was 2-for-5, including an RBI triple on a line drive down the right field line. Edwin Espinal was 1-for-4, driving in a run on a sacrifice fly.
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Bradenton received some strong pitching from Pedro Vasquez and two relievers, helping them defeat Jupiter 3-1 and win their 20th game. Vasquez went 6.2 innings in this contest, allowing one run on seven hits and no walks, while picking up four strikeouts. This was his longest outing of the season, and he threw 100 pitches on the night, 67 for strikes. He now has a 2.41 ERA through 37.1 innings this season.
Yunior Montero followed Vasquez and worked out of some trouble in the seventh inning, picking up a strikeout with the bases loaded and two outs. Montero then struck out the side in the eighth inning, giving him 33 strikeouts in 16.1 innings this season. Jake Brentz followed and threw a scoreless ninth for the save. He had allowed one run in 12 innings this season, while picking up 16 strikeouts. All three of his outs on Tuesday were fly balls.
Bradenton scored all three runs off Jupiter’s starter in his 5.2 innings. It was good they got to him, because three relievers, including former Pirate Nick Neumann, combined to retired the final ten batters in order. Mitchell Tolman got the scoring started with an RBI single that brought home Christian Kelley, who reached base on his sixth double of the season. Logan Hill scored the second run when Alfredo Reyes got in a rundown between first and second, allowing Hill to go home from third base. The third run scored on a Will Craig single, which brought home Ke’Bryan Hayes, who singled and stole second base (his 11th steal of the year). Cole Tucker went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts. The walk extended his on base streak to 18 games.
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West Virginia has off today.
