Steven Brault got a lot of recognition on Monday for his terrific performance last week over two starts. He was named the International League Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season. MLB Pipeline featured him on their Prospect Team of the Week. He also got the cover photo for The Twenty article we post every Monday, because he was the best player in the system last week.
When you throw shutout ball over seven innings twice in the same week, you’re going to get a lot of recognition for it. Brault has been pitching well all season though. He went into Tuesday’s start with a 2.20 ERA, which was the best in the International League. He obviously held that spot at the end of the day when it dropped down to a 2.06 mark. On Saturday night, he improved on it again, taking it down to 1.94, which is where it now sits.
Besides the best ERA, Brault is third in the IL with his 1.07 WHIP. He ranks ninth with 120.1 innings pitched, and that’s with him spending a short time in the majors and skipping a start to pitch in the Triple-A All-Star game. He ranks eighth in the league with 109 strikeouts. Brault is now holding batters to a .199 BAA, and he’s getting his usual share of grounders, posting a 1.29 GO/AO ratio. It’s also impressive that he has picked his team up when they make mistakes behind him. Brault has not allowed an unearned run all season. For comparison sake, Indianapolis as a team has allowed 44 unearned runs.
The amazing thing about his season is the consistency. His worst start was four runs allowed back on April 28th. Since that game, his worst start was three runs over six innings, and all three of those runs came on a home run. That homer was hit by Richie Shaffer, who has two partial years of MLB experience and he has 26 homers this season. If you’re going to give up a home run, you want to get beat by the best in the league.
I might need to back track on calling his consistency the amazing part of his season. The amazing part is probably the fact that a below .500 team can’t find a spot for their most consistent Triple-A pitcher this season. It’s not like he just started doing well, he was our Pitcher of the Month in both May and June. He has thrown four innings this year for the Pirates, all in relief. He’s going to pitch again in Pittsburgh this year, though there is a strong possibility his role is just going to be as a long reliever to fill innings. If I had to guess, any possible starter innings will likely go to Tyler Glasnow, which makes sense if there is only one spot.
Brault has earned the chance to start this September (actually well before that), we just have to see if they give him a shot.
** Jordan Luplow was also featured in that Prospect Team of the Week article from MLB Pipeline, as well as being one of the ten hitters in The Twenty. He had two hits in each of his last four games last week, which included his 23rd homer. He also started the week with five hits between Monday and Tuesday, which included his 22nd homer.
With Gregory Polanco looking like he could go on the disabled list today, Luplow would be an option to come up. That might depend on whether Francisco Cervelli is going on the disabled list as well. The Pirates might decide to call up Elias Diaz instead and give Cervelli a short break instead of a disabled list visit. We will find out sometime this afternoon. If Luplow isn’t up now, he will be up sometime in September. He doesn’t have much Triple-A experience, but he has done as much as you could possibly ask in his short time in Indianapolis.
PLAYOFF PUSH
The Pirates trail in their division by 4.5 games. They are eight games back for the second wild card spot.
Indianapolis is in first place, with a 4.5 game lead. Their season ends September 4th.
Altoona is in a tie for first place. Their season ends September 4th.
Bradenton is in third place, 5.5 games behind. Their season ends September 3rd.
West Virginia is in third place, 2.5 games out of first. Their season ends September 4th.
Morgantown is in first place, 1.5 games ahead. Their season ends September 7th.
Bristol is in last place, 18.5 games back. They can be eliminated today. Their season ends August 31st.
The GCL Pirates are in third place, six games behind. Their season ends September 2nd.
The DSL Pirates are in fourth place, 4.5 games back. Their season ends August 26th.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
The Pirates were off yesterday
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates were off yesterday. They start a quick two-game series on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers today. The Pirates will send Ivan Nova to the mound for his 24th start in the series opener. He has posted a 6.67 ERA in five starts since the All-Star break. On the road this season, Nova has a 4.73 ERA in 13 starts. The Brewers will counter with right-hander Brandon Woodruff, right-hander Zach Davies, who has a 4.40 ERA in 24 starts this season.
In the minors, JT Brubaker goes for Altoona tonight. He has a 3.38 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break. Oddy Nunez starts for West Virginia. He comes into the game with a .229 BAA, a 1.12 WHIP and a 1.95 GO/AO ratio. Morgantown is on their All-Star break, with the game taking place tonight. They are sending five players to the All-Star game. Cody Bolton is scheduled for the GCL Pirates and Bristol should be sending Hunter Stratton to the mound. Bristol has a doubleheader and needs to finish Sunday night’s game first, which was suspended in the 3rd inning with Bristol winning 6-4. Yesterday’s game was canceled due to rain. If they can’t play the doubleheader today, both games will be canceled.
MLB: Pittsburgh (58-60) @ Brewers (61-59) 7:40 PM
Probable starter: Ivan Nova (3.87 ERA, 21:94 BB/SO, 149.0 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (67-53) @ Buffalo (54-67) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Drew Hutchison (3.73 ERA, 46:101 BB/SO, 130.1 IP)
AA: Altoona (62-57) @ Portland (57-60) 7:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: JT Brubaker (4.65 ERA, 33:86 BB/SO, 102.2 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (64-53) vs Daytona (44-71) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: TBD
Low-A: West Virginia (57-59) vs Lexington (54-64) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Oddy Nunez (3.53 ERA, 25:87 BB/SO, 94.1 IP)
Short-Season A: Morgantown (31-22) vs State College (29-23) 7:05 PM 8/16 (season preview)
Probable Starter: TBD
Rookie: Bristol (11-38) @ Pulaski (33-16) 6:00 PM DH
GCL: Pirates (16-27) vs Tigers East (11-31) 12:00 PM
DSL: Pirates (33-28) vs Indians (23-34) 10:30 AM (season preview)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is Mitch Keller’s ninth strikeout from Saturday. You get the full at-bat here and it’s a long one.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
8/14: Gage Hinsz activated from disabled list. Jake Brentz assigned to Altoona and placed on disabled list.
8/12: Phil Gosselin claimed on waivers by Texas Rangers.
8/10: Jhan Marinez claimed on waivers by Texas Rangers.
8/10: Nick King assigned to GCL Pirates.
8/9: Joey Terdoslavich placed on Indianapolis disabled list.
8/8: Matt Anderson placed on West Virginia disabled list. Blake Cederlind activated from disabled list.
8/8: Jerrick Suiter activated from Temporary Inactive List. Jake Brentz assigned to Bradenton.
8/7: Dovydas Neverauskas optioned to Indianapolis. George Kontos added to active roster.
8/7: Danny Ortiz sent outright to Indianapolis.
8/7: Gage Hinsz placed on disabled list. Alexis Bastardo released.
8/7: Carlos Munoz promoted to Bradenton. Brent Gibbs activated from West Virginia disabled list.
8/7: Austin Meadows assigned to Morgantown on rehab.
8/6: Max Moroff optioned to Indianapolis. Sean Rodriguez added to active roster.
8/5: Pirates claim George Kontos off waivers. Designate Jhan Marinez and Danny Ortiz for assignment.
8/5: Pirates acquire Sean Rodriguez from Atlanta Braves for Connor Joe.
8/5: Wade LeBlanc reinstated from bereavement list.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Six former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus two trades of note. On this date in 1969, the Pirates traded pitcher Jim Bunning to the Dodgers for two minor league players and cash. The Hall of Fame pitcher was near the end of his career and on the downside, so the Pirates didn’t miss him much. That was good because they all got was six games from the two players that they got in return.
On this date in 1910, the Pirates purchased the contract of Max Carey from his minor league team. That was the start of his 17-year career with the team. Carey played 2,178 games for Pittsburgh, collecting 2,416 hits and 918 walks, with 1,414 runs scored and 688 stolen bases. He’s fourth in team history in runs, hits and games, second in walks and first all-time in steals.
Players born on this date include:
Oliver Perez, pitcher from 2003 until 2006. He was involved in two big trades that both worked out well, coming over with Jason Bay and leaving for Xavier Nady. He had 239 strikeouts during the 2004 season.
Ramon Morel, relief pitcher from 1995-97. He was signed as an amateur free agent in 1991 and made it from high-A to the majors during the 1995 season.
Duffy Dyer, catcher from 1975 until 1978. He was drafted in the first round in 1966. The Pirates acquired him for Gene Clines right after the 1974 season.
Bernie Walter, pitcher for the Pirates on August 16, 1930. He was actually the team’s batting practice pitcher, spending the entire 1930 season with the Pirates, but he only pitched one inning. He never even played minor league ball, so that one inning was his entire career.
Red Peery, pitcher for Pirates on September 22, 1927. During the end of the 1927 season, shortly before the Pirates went on to their fourth World Series, Peery pitched at the end of a blowout loss during a doubleheader. That would be his only appearance for the Pirates.
Lew Carr, shortstop for the 1901 Pirates for two weeks. Honus Wagner was a third baseman at that time, as he didn’t play shortstop regularly when he first joined the Pirates. Carr played nine games and held his own at the plate with a .701 OPS, but regular shortstop Bones Ely took his job back and Carr was released.
