We’ve been running the new Pirates Prospects Live format for a little over a week. This new article combines our daily previews, nightly Pirates recap, daily discussions in the comments, and of course the nightly farm system recap.
The last part had previously been its own article, called the Prospect Watch. In an effort to streamline all of the game coverage, we moved those updates to this feature.
The Prospect Watch is actually returning today at noon with a new format. With all of the game recaps happening in P2Live, the Prospect Watch will now move to a more analytical view. The debut article hits the site at noon, with reports from John Dreker, Wilbur Miller, and myself.
The Pirates are off today, as are the full-season teams. There is action in rookie ball, which Wilbur Miller posted his preview of the FCL earlier today. Be sure to check out my interview with Andrew McCutchen, which I posted after his 2,000th hit. And watch for that new Prospect Watch at noon.
PIRATES (34-30) OFF
INDIANAPOLIS (28-33) OFF
6/7: Aaron Shackelford adjusts swing and relocates power
6/6: Carmen Mlodzinski improves all the way with aggressive approach
5/26: Potential Plan For Jared Triolo Becoming More Clear
ALTOONA (30-25) OFF
6/9: Jared Jones Continues Incredible Development With Altoona
6/1: Matt Gorski Displays Athleticism And Versatility
5/25: Sean Sullivan Continues To Thrive In Altoona
GREENSBORO (31-24) OFF
6/4: Braxton Ashcraft Showing Velocity and Control in Return From Tommy John
6/2: Abrahan Gutierrez Hitting Ground Running Returning From Injury
5/26: Anthony Solometo Faces Two Top 100 Prospects In Greensboro
BRADENTON (30-27) OFF
6/10: Jack Brannigan Continues Hot Streak With Another Home Run
6/9: Ryan Harbin: Sinker/Slider Mix Dominating Single-A Hitters
6/3: Thomas Harrington Displayed Swing and Miss Secondary in Bradenton
FCL PIRATES (3-2)
Game Time: 12:00 PM EST
Projected Starter: TBA
Latest Features:
6/12: Pirates 2023 Minor League Preview: FCL Pirates
6/11: Pitching Depth Continues To Grow With Jun-Seok Shim Debut
DSL PIRATES BLACK (1-4)
Game Time: 11:00 AM EST
Projected Starter: TBA
Latest Features:
**Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Dominican Summer League Pirates
DSL PIRATES GOLD (3-2)
Game Time: 11:00 AM EST
Projected Starter: TBA
Latest Features:
**Pirates 2023 Minor League Previews: Dominican Summer League Pirates
DAILY PIRATES NEWS
Andrew McCutchen picked up his 2,000th hit in yesterday’s game. I had a chance to talk with him one-on-one last month, and posted the interview where he recapped his career.
**Andrew McCutchen: “That’s something that I chase, still to this day”
Osvaldo Bido is coming up, and Roansy Contreras is going to the bullpen. Anthony Murphy looks at what this all might say about where Quinn Priester is at right now.
**Pirates Prospects Daily: Contreras to Pen, Bido to Pittsburgh, What About Priester?
The Florida Complex League started up last week, and Wilbur Miller has already been to Pirate City to see some of the action. Today, go check out Wilbur’s preview of the 2023 FCL Pirates.
**Pirates 2023 Minor League Preview: FCL Pirates
More Recent Pirates Features
6/11: Andrew McCutchen: “That’s something that I chase, still to this day”
6/10: Williams: How Much Depth Do the 2023 Pirates Have Left?
6/8: What’s Next For The Pirates Rotation?
PIRATES PROSPECT WATCH
By John Dreker
ROOKIE: FCL PIRATES
Final Score: Pirates 9, Twins 2
Player of the Game: Antwone Kelly 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 SO
Recap:
The Pirates took an early lead on Monday afternoon and never looked back. They took a 9-0 lead by scoring in five of the first six innings, on their way to a 9-2 victory.
Starter Antwone Kelly went four scoreless frames, allowing one hit and two walks, while striking out five batters. He had six strikeouts over three scoreless innings in his season debut last week.
Jose Garces gave up two runs/one earned over three no-hit innings. Jackson Grounds tossed a scoreless frame in his second appearance. Keneth Quintanilla finished off the win with a shutout inning.
The scoring started with a two-run homer by Josh Sightler in the first inning.
Jhonson Pena and Yordany De Los Santos each had RBIs singles in the second, while Javier Rivas got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for another run.
Rafael Escalante homered for a run in the third.
De Los Santos doubled in a run in the fourth.
Rivas and Lonnie White Jr had RBI singles in the sixth.
Ewry Espinal had two hits, a walk, two steals and two runs scored. Rivas, De Los Santos, Escalante and Pena each had two hits.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES BLACK
Final Score: Pirates 7, Cubs 3
Player of the Game: Cristian Jauregui 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB, 3 Runs, 2 SB
Recap:
Cuban outfielder Cristian Jauregui got off to a rough start to his pro career with back-to-back three strikeout games. He had a strong day on Monday to start his second week of pro ball. The Pirates won 7-3 in seven innings, as he had a double, two walks, three runs and two stolen bases. He already has seven steals in six games.
Starting pitcher Clevari Tejada allowed two runs over 3.2 innings in his second pro start. Only one of the runs was earned. Keuri Almonte followed with 1.1 scoreless, then Wali Pierre allowed one run over the final two frames
The Pirates got an RBI ground out from catching prospect Jonathan Rivero to start their scoring in the first.
Samuel Escudero tied the score in the third with an RBI ground out.
Escudero and Rivero picked up RBIs in the fifth on singles. Joseph Sequera then doubled in a run to make it 5-2. A wild pitch make it 6-2, then Miguel Rodriguez capped the scoring with an RBI single.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES GOLD
Final Score: Cubs 18, Pirates 3
Player of the Game: July Vittini 1-for-3 / 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
Recap:
Starter Pitterson Rosa allowed five runs over two innings on Monday. It was just the start of the offense for the Cubs, as three Pirates pitchers allowed 18 runs (all earned) over the first five innings in a game limited to seven innings. Rosa debuted last week with four shutout innings and seven strikeouts.
Dermis Ordonez allowed eight runs over 1.2 innings on six hits and five walks. Fares Sanchez then allowed five runs over his inning of work. The Pirates went to catcher July Vittini in the fifth and he recorded the final four outs. He went 1-for-3 at the plate, serving as the DH in this game.
The Pirates actually led in this game. They were up 2-0 early after catcher Richard Ramirez hit a two-run single in the first inning. Their only other run came on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Tirado in the seventh to cut the deficit to 15 runs.
The offense managed to have 11 base runners and three hits with runners in scoring position, but the poor pitching overshadowed everything else.