A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today. If a player is in the majors for an extended time or loses his prospect eligibility (Austin Meadows, Colin Moran, Edgar Santana, Kyle Crick, Max Moroff and Dovydas Neverauskas), 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 our 2018 Prospect Guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.
1. Mitch Keller, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
2. Cole Tucker, SS, Altoona – 2-for-2, 2B, RBI, 2 BB
3. Shane Baz, RHP, Bristol – 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
4. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Altoona – DNP
5. Kevin Newman, SS, Indianapolis – DNP
6. Taylor Hearn, LHP, Altoona – DNP
7. Lolo Sanchez, CF, West Virginia – DNP
8. Bryan Reynolds, OF, Altoona – 1-for-4, RBI
9. Jordan Luplow, LF, Pirates – In Majors
10. Luis Escobar, RHP, Bradenton – 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
11. Clay Holmes, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
12. Braeden Ogle, LHP, West Virginia – DNP
13. Nick Kingham, RHP, Pirates – In Majors
14. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, 2B
15. Adrian Valerio, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-5
16. Calvin Mitchell, OF, West Virginia – 0-for-5
17. Oneil Cruz, SS, West Virginia – 0-for-5
18. Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (disabled list) – DNP
19. Dario Agrazal, RHP, Altoona – DNP
20. JT Brubaker, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP
21. Will Craig, 1B, Altoona – 0-for-4, RBI
22. Stephen Alemais, 2B/SS, Altoona – 3-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB
23. Jason Martin, OF, Indianapolis – 0-for-4
24. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Indianapolis – DNP
25. Eduardo Vera, RHP, Altoona – 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
26. Mason Martin, 1B, Bristol – 1-for-3, BB
27. Conner Uselton, OF, Bristol – 2-for-4, RBI
28. Cody Bolton, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
29. Steven Jennings, RHP, Bristol – DNP
30. Max Kranick, RHP, West Virginia – DNP
Indianapolis lost 5-3 to Toledo.
Alex McRae returned from his time in the majors and pitched well in his first game back. He went 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk. McRae had four strikeouts, a 9:6 GO/AO ratio and he threw 56 of 87 pitches for strikes. Josh Smoker followed and recorded the final out of the seventh, but not before giving up a hit and a walk. Casey Sadler tossed a scoreless eighth, then Tanner Anderson took the loss in the ninth due to three unearned runs caused by a Sean Rodriguez error at shortstop.
Rodriguez went 1-for-4 with a single and a stolen base in his ninth rehab game. It would appear that he will stick with Indianapolis through the All-Star break, with the Pirates being three days away from having four consecutive days off. Pablo Reyes had the two big hits in the game, driving in two runs with his first triple in the second inning. Then he belted his third home run in the fifth. Jose Osuna had two hits, including his 21st double. Kevin Kramer also hit his 21st double and Jacob Stallings added his 15th double.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Altoona won 10-2 over Erie.
Cole Tucker batted five times and had a single, his 14th double, two walks and a sacrifice fly. He also scored two runs. Stephen Alemais had three hits, including his 11th double. He also scored twice, walked and had an RBI. Will Craig scored two runs and picked up his 61st RBI. Alfredo Reyes drove in two runs with a double in his only at-bat. Logan Hill had two singles and two RBIs. Tyler Gaffney had a single, hit-by-pitch and two runs scored.
Eduardo Vera got the start, missing no time after taking a hard line drive off his right forearm during the first inning of his last start. He allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings. He had just two strikeouts, but Vera, who is mostly a fly ball pitcher, posted an 8:4 GO/AO ratio. Tate Scioneaux followed with two scoreless innings and Matt Eckelman handled the ninth.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bradenton won 8-3 over Lakeland.
Luis Escobar got the start, coming off of a season high nine strikeouts. He had another nice performance on this night, going seven innings, with two runs on five hits and a walk. Escobar had six strikeouts, an 8:5 GO/AO ratio and he threw 66 of 97 pitches for strikes. He now has a 4.08 ERA in 92.2 innings. Angel German finished out the day with one run over two innings.
On offense, everyone in the lineup had at least one hit. Casey Hughston and Jason Delay each had three hits. Hughston hit his seventh double, drove in two runs and also drew a walk. Delay had an RBI and two runs scored. Hunter Owen had a single, double and an RBI. Mitchell Tolman had two singles, two walks and three runs scored. Albert Baur and Brett Pope each had two hits.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
West Virginia won 8-2 over Hickory.
Hunter Stratton got the start and went just one inning before the game went into a long rain delay. Sergio Cubilete was on the mound when the contest started back up. He went 4.1 innings, allowing two runs. Beau Sulser finished the sixth and stranded two runners, keeping it a 3-2 game. He then threw three more innings without a hit or walk to pick up the win.
Ben Bengtson had quite a day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI. Fabricio Macias drove in three runs with a single and a sacrifice fly. Rodolfo Castro drove in a pair with a single and his 12th double. He also added a walk. Chris Sharpe had two hits, a run scored and his 11th stolen base. Ryan Peurifoy had a single, double, two runs scored, an RBI and a walk. The Power scored those eight runs despite the 3-6 hitters in the lineup combining to go 0-for-18.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Morgantown lost 8-0 to Hudson Valley.
Eighth round draft pick Zach Spears made his fourth start. He went three innings, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk, with one strikeout. Partially due to a low pitch count, Spears has put in just 9.1 innings so far. Shea Murray was out next and he recorded one out while allowing two unearned runs. Those runs scored on two walks and two throwing errors from Murray. In five appearances, he has 12 walks and no hits allowed in 2.1 innings. He’s thrown 22 of 83 pitches for strikes. He will likely continue to get chances because he has hit 99 MPH and he has very little pitching experience.
Cody Smith followed Murray and allowed two runs over 1.2 innings. John Pomeroy pitched next and had a scoreless inning, then gave way to Nicholas Economos, who allowed two runs over two innings.
There wasn’t much to talk about on offense, with just three hits and two walks. Travis Swaggerty went 1-for-4 with a single. He picked up his third outfield assist, but also committed his third error in just 12 games. Fifth round pick Grant Koch collected his first pro hit. He’s 1-for-13 with three walks in four games. Luke Mangieri hit his sixth double.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
Bristol lost 8-2 to Pulaski.
Shane Baz made his fifth start of the season, coming off of a career high nine strikeouts in his last outing. On Thursday night he equaled one part of his last start, but it wasn’t the strikeouts. For the second time in a row, Baz allowed four runs over five innings. He gave up a career high seven hits and walked one batter. He struck out six batters and had a very strong 8:0 GO/AO ratio. In 24 innings this season, Baz has a 4.50 ERA and 26 strikeouts.
John O’Reilly pitched next and threw two shutout innings. Austin Shields followed and gave up four earned runs, as he continued to struggle to the tune of a 24.30 ERA. Joe Jacques recorded the final out, but not before allowing an inherited run to score.
The Bristol offense had five singles and five walks. Conner Uselton went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Mason Martin had a walk, single and a run scored. Eddy Vizcaino had an RBI and his third stolen base. He was the only batter who failed to collect a walk or a hit.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The GCL Pirates won 8-0 over the Yankees East.
Noe Toribio got the start and tossed six shutout innings. He faced just two over the minimum, allowing two singles and hitting a batter, who was thrown out stealing one batter later. Toribio had eight strikeouts. Hai-Cheng Gong threw a scoreless seventh, then Andres Arrieta retired the only batter he faced in the top of the eighth before lighting caused the game to end early.
Justin Harrer had the big day on offense, hitting his first career triple and driving in three runs. He also had two walks and scored two runs. Kyle Mottice had a single, double and two runs scored. Patrick Dorrian had a single, two walks and two runs scored.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview here.
The DSL Pirates1 won 2-1 over the Red Sox2
Yoelvis Reyes got the start and put forth a strong effort. He threw five shutout innings, allowing five hits, with no walks, seven strikeouts and a 6:2 GO/AO ratio. That lowered his ERA to 2.96 through 24.1 innings. Arlinthon De Dios gave up one run over three innings, while Jose Amaya retired the side in order in the ninth for the save.
Yoyner Fajardo continues to be the best hitter on the team. The 19-year-old lefty hitting infielder was in right field today. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored and his eighth stolen base in nine attempts. He’s hitting .376/.484/.564 through 30 games. Ronaldo Paulino had two hits and an RBI. The Pirates failed to pick up an extra-base hit and they went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
The DSL Pirates2 lost 12-3 to the Mariners.
Enmanuel De Los Santos got the start and gave up one run on two hits and four walks in three innings. The game got out of hand after he left, mostly due to poor defense. Xavier Concepcion and Carlos Campos combined to allowed nine runs over three innings, but only two of those runs were earned. Denny Roman finished the game with two runs over three innings.
Bryan Mateo had two hits and drove in two of the three runs. Eduar Ramirez had an RBI single for the other run. Pedro Castillo and Angel Basabe each had a single and a walk. Basabe has a .313/.411/.500 slash line through his first 20 games. Tilsaimy Melfor played for the first time since injuring his shoulder on June 15th. He was the DH and went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
Here is the boxscore from the MiLB site.
You can view the season preview for both teams here.
