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, Indianapolis – [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, Indianapolis -[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. Pat Light, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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INDIANAPOLIS — He was struggling with his command, but a visit by the pitching coach seemed to turn things around.
And in a hurry.
Clay Holmes allowed one run on five hits over six innings, walking three and striking out seven in the Indians’ 6-1 win over Toledo in the first game of a doubleheader on Friday.
Not a bad finish considering how the beginning went.
Holmes did not have good command of his fastball in the first two innings, throwing just 18 of his 41 pitches for a strike. He fell behind 1-0 to seven of the first nine hitters he faced, allowing a lead-off single in the first two innings.
Four of the first five Toledo batters in the second inning reached base. Omar Infante and Logan Watkins led off the inning with singles, but Holmes erased some of that threat with a 6-4-3 double play.
But a walk and RBI single brought Indianapolis pitching coach Stan Kyles to the mound to visit Holmes. The message was simple: keep the ball down in the zone.
That message was received. Toledo lead-off hitter Alex Presley grounded out on the next pitch, a breaking pitch down in the zone.
Holmes cruised from that point, finishing with four efficient innings, throwing 37 of his 58 pitches for a strike.
Holmes’ strike percentage rose by about 20 percent over the final four innings. He seemed to rely on his fastball during the first two innings, but used more of his changeup and breaking pitches from that point.
“We challenged him to get to the bottom of the zone,” Indianapolis manager Andy Barkett said. “His fastball was kind of wavering and it looked like he was nibbling a little bit early and just couldn’t find a rhythm. Then he found the bottom of the zone and was real good after that.”
Holmes retired the side in the third inning on ten pitches, striking out Jason Krizan on a curveball. He worked around a lead-off walk in the fourth inning, with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout — all on breaking pitches. He struck out two batters — both on breaking pitches, and induced a groundout to retire the side in the fifth inning on 11 pitches.
Toledo’s Omar Infante doubled to left field with two outs, but Holmes struck out Watkins to end the inning and his outing.
“The timing wasn’t there early in the game and I was kind of searching for it,” Holmes said. “I was almost trying too hard and needed to let my arm work and let my arm catch up. It finally did and I got some command of pitches.”
Max Moroff had three RBI in the first game, two on an single and another on a sacrifice fly. Jason Rogers and Phil Gosselin added RBI singles, while Austin Meadows had an RBI groundout.
Gosselin went 3-for-3 in the first game, while Elias Diaz had a pair of hits. Christopher Bostick had a hit and scored two runs.
Indianapolis 7, Toledo 1 (Second Game)
Brett McKinney made his first start as a professional in the second game of the doubleheader and he made the most of the opportunity.
McKinney pitched well with the exception of one mistake, a solo home run given up to Efren Navarro in the first inning. That was the only hit McKinney allowed in four innings, and Toledo didn’t have another hit until a two-out infield single in the seventh inning of the Indians’ 7-1 win in the second game of the doubleheader.
McKinney started in high school and his first three years at Ohio State, but his professional career consisted of 160 relief appearances prior to Friday.
“I tried to treat it as much of a normal day as I could,” McKinney said. “I tried to treat it like I was coming in the fifth or sixth.”
McKinney is from nearby Cincinnati, which allows his family to make regular trips to see him pitch. But that usually comes with one caveat: there’s no guarantee that McKinney will pitch on any given day, depending on how a game plays out.
Recently his parents visited and were able to watch him pitch, but his in-laws visited for two games and never saw him throw.
McKinney was told prior to Thursday’s game in Columbus that there was a chance he could start the second game of Friday’s doubleheader. Once he found out he would indeed start, he made some calls to relatives. His parents and several other relatives were waiting to talk with him in the tunnel following the game.
“It’s unbelievable to have family come and see me, and support me,” McKinney said.
McKinney struck out three and didn’t walk anyone in four innings, throwing 41 of his 56 pitches. His ability to throw strikes allows that one mistake he made in the first inning to be a harmless solo home run, instead of a more damaging multi-run shot.
But that has been his story all season. McKinney has walked just four batters in 20 innings, with three of those coming in a 3-inning appearance one week ago.
“Just trying to pound the bottom of the strike zone,” McKinney said. “I was able to mix my fastball and cutter well. I kept them a little off balance with the curveball, but really I was just focused on staying down in the zone and letting them get themselves out early.”
Barkett was needing McKinney to provide what he did – a solid start that went several innings.
“He handled it well and gave us four really strong innings,” Barkett said. “He gave up a solo homer, but besides that he was excellent.”
Jacob Stallings went 3-for-3 with an RBI single and RBI double, while Jason Rogers and Phil Gosselin each had two hits. Eury Perez and Rogers each had two RBI, while Moroff walked with the bases loaded.
Doyvdas Neverauskas cruised through the seventh inning on 14 pitches, only allowing a softly hit infield single.
Gosselin has a ten-game hitting streak and is hitting .405.
Indianapolis has won 15 of its last 18 games and they are in first place in the International League West Division. – Brian Peloza
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Altoona, Pa. – On a crazy Friday night in Curve, PA, Altoona stormed back from being down 7-0 in the first inning to defeat Erie, 11-10.
51 minutes. 88 pitches. 21 plate appearances. 12 runs… All in the first inning.
Both starting pitchers were chased in the first, including the Curve’s most consistent starter this season in Alex McRae, while both teams batted around. Erie came out of the first on top, 7-5; however, the Curve tied it up at 7 in the third inning.
As for McRae, it was an unfortunate start for the righty, as he has gone at least seven innings in each of his last three outings. The game started with a seeing-eye infield single Harold Castro, followed by a grounder through Wyatt Mathisen’s legs for Jeff McVaney. After a walk to load the bases, Erie’s Christin Stewart hit a long grand slam to left center field. Stewart leads the Eastern League with 11 home runs, and he connected on McRae’s full count pitch. With his pitch count quickly rising, the Curve bullpen stirred; however, McRae allowed another two-run home run before being chased with only one out in the first.
Instead of record two quick outs to the first two batters, they both reached base and ended up scoring on the grand slam. It showed how quickly an inning can get out of control, even for a mature pitcher like McRae. He finished by throwing 29 pitches, 18 of them for strikes.
“I told him that it won’t be the last time that it happens,” Curve manager Michael Ryan said when asked what he told McRae after the outing. “This is a good learning experience for him. It could be that one pitch or one mistake he made that he can learn from. Now he knows what adjustments he can make to get out of the inning when that happens again.”
“One outing doesn’t reflect how good Alex McRae has been for us this season.”
After spotting Erie seven runs to begin the game, the Curve came roaring back in the bottom of the inning. Jerrick Suiter blasted a deep drive to the wall in right center field for a triple to score two runs, while four other players hit singles in the inning, scoring five runs. In the second, Kevin Kramer hit a bomb just right of straightaway center for his fourth home run of the season to bring the Curve back within one run. Finally, they manufactured another run in the third after lead-off singles by Jordan Luplow and Wyatt Mathisen to tie the game at 7.
“It was a great fight for our team,” Ryan said. “After those quick seven runs, it was our goal to just chip away inning by inning. The goal is to hold them there and score each inning. Confidence grew after we got a quick five.”
After those seven runs scored in the first, Curve pitchers Jared Lakind (who allowed one run before recording an out) and Buddy Borden combined to retire 16 straight batters before a two-out walk in the sixth. Lakind had one of his best outings in a while, going 3.2 innings, striking out six, and only allowing one hit. Borden went 2.1 innings without allowing a hit a striking out three, but he walked three batters.
For Lakind, it was really good for his manager to see him pitch well tonight after an extremely difficult stretch for the lefty.
“It was a great outing for him to move forward and get his confidence back,” Ryan said. “It’s tough to trust your stuff when these things are happening. As a pitcher, it might be an outing like this that can get you back on track. He learned a lot about himself today.”
With the game still tied at 7 in the sixth, Jackson Williams, Kevin Newman, and Connor Joe all doubled to score four runs in the inning, giving Altoona an 11-7 lead. In Joe’s case, it was a bases-clearing knock to the right center gap.
In the top of the seventh, Buddy Borden walked two players before leaving with one out. Luis Heredia allowed both inherited runners to score, as well as one more for three total runs in the inning, thanks to two hits and two walks.
With the Curve hanging on to a one run lead going into the eighth, Michael Ryan turned to Montana DuRapau to pick up the two-inning save. DuRapau struck out two batters to pick up his 30th career save for the Curve, which is a new franchise record.
Edwin Espinal was the only player to not record a hit tonight. Kevin Kramer bounced back after his 32 game on-base streak ending yesterday by going 3-for-4 with a double, home run, and a walk.
“Streaks like that are rare,” Kramer said, “but at the end of the day, I knew I was doing my job. I’m supposed to get on base. I was more disappointed that we lost as a team yesterday than a streak ending.” –Sean McCool
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Bradenton lost 7-1, as starter Gage Hinsz had some control issues, which led to five runs over 4.1 innings. This is a start that Hinsz will want to forget due to his inability to throw strikes. He walked four batters, hit another and threw three wild pitches. Just 35 of his 73 pitches went for strikes.
Most of the damage came during the fifth inning. Through the first four frames, Hinsz gave up just one run, and even retired eight batters in a row at one point. Things fell apart in the fifth when he allowed two walks, two singles and a homer, while also throw two wild pitches.
Hinsz hasn’t looked good since missing a start in early May due to shoulder soreness. He allowed four runs over four innings in his last start, and has just one strikeout in 8.1 innings over his last two games. It’s possible he isn’t 100%, because he had two terrific starts right before the injury, allowing two runs over 13 total innings in those outings.
Cole Tucker set a career-high with his third homer of the season. It was his only hit of the game and accounted for the only Bradenton run. He now has an eight-game hit streak and a 26-game on base streak. Will Craig added his ninth double of the season and Christian Kelley continued his impressive hitting with his eighth double. The Marauders went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and they had two runners picked off.
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West Virginia won 3-1 over Columbia, as Cam Vieaux returned from the disabled list to out-duel Blake Taylor, who was the second round pick of the Pirates in 2013. Vieaux missed a start due to tightness in his pitching arm, but that didn’t stop him from picking up right where he left off before the injury. He went 5.2 innings, allowing one run on six hits and one walk. He had three strikeouts and an 8:3 GO/AO ratio, which is well above his normal rate of grounders. Vieaux has not allowed more than one run in a start this season. Taylor was sent to the New York Mets in the Ike Davis deal and has missed significant time with injury. He allowed all three runs to the Power.
Matt Frawley and Geoff Hartlieb continued their impressive relief work on this night. Frawley has a 2.01 ERA after 1.1 scoreless. Hartlieb has a 1.37 ERA after two scoreless frames.
The Power scored their three runs on just one hit. Hunter Owen hit a two-run homer in the first inning after Adrian Valerio walked. Owen then scored in the third inning on a hit-by-pitch, two wild pitches and an error, all coming with two outs. They added four hits later in the game, but only a triple by Chris Harvey was hit well. The others were a pop up, a bunt single and an infield hit to third base. Valerio is 1-for-20 since returning from his broken hand suffered during Spring Training. He will likely see regular time at shortstop with Stephen Alemais placed on the disabled list on Friday.
