The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Po-Yu Chen to a $1.2 million deal out of Taiwan in late 2020, making a splash on the international market for the then-19-year-old. In his time as a pro, Chen has shown advanced secondary stuff, led by a mid-to-upper 80s split change, a low 80s slider, and an upper-70s curveball. He has a lot of movement on his pitches, despite the lack of a dominant fastball at 88-91 MPH.
That profile usually gets tested in Double-A, and Chen has been tested this year in his jump to Altoona in his age-22 season. Chen had a 6.11 ERA in 35.1 innings across his first seven starts of the season, with 17 strikeouts and 13 walks. Through May 21st, he was looking like a guy who might eventually need to try his luck as a reliever to make the majors.
Chen has turned things around over his last eight games. He has a 2.64 ERA in 47.2 innings, with a 39:17 K/BB ratio. That includes Friday night’s start, where he allowed two runs, one earned, in seven innings of work. Chen struck out eight batters and walked three, making this the second start during this stretch where he’s pitched seven or more innings with eight or more strikeouts.
The turnaround has kept Chen inside the top 30 of my latest Pirates prospect rankings. It’s also kept hope alive that he can continue progressing as a starter, getting results from his control and command of his advanced mix of secondary offerings.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS won 7-6
- SS Liover Peguero: 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI
- DH Henry Davis: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, SB
- 2B Alika Williams: 3-for-4, RBI
- RHP Domingo German: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
- LHP Ryan Borucki: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Henry Davis was shut down last week in his rehab from a concussion, due to issues of headaches and lightheadedness running the bases. It’s probably a good sign that in two games back with Triple-A, he’s been very active on the bases, with seemingly no issues. He had two hits on Thursday, then added a double and a stolen base on Friday night. Ryan Borucki pitched his second day in a row, showing that his rehab work is coming to a close. Borucki has pitched two perfect innings with five strikeouts in the last two days.
STATCAST HEROES
Liover Peguero has been hitting the ball hard lately, and continued that on Friday night. He had a 107.4 MPH triple and a 103.2 MPH double, getting the two hardest hit balls of the game for Indianapolis.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA won 4-3, led by Po-Yu Chen’s seven innings.
- CF Sammy Siani: 2-for-3
- DH Yoyner Fajardo: 1-for-2, 2B, BB
- RF Jase Bowen: 1-for-3, 2B, BB
- 3B Kervin Pichardo: 2-for-3, BB, 2 RBI
- RHP Eddy Yean: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Jase Bowen hit his 11th double of the year, while showing good defense at the wall in right field. Yoyner Fajardo doubled, and is now hitting .322 with a .774 OPS since joining Altoona. Eddy Yean pitched the final two innings, allowing an unearned run, and dropping his ERA to 3.20 on the year.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO won 6-4
- RHP Patrick Reilly: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 9 K
- LF P.J. Hilson: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 2B, 4 RBI
- 1B Nick Cimillo: 2-for-4, HR
- 2B Termarr Johnson: 2-for-4, 2B
- DH Mitch Jebb: 1-for-4, 3B
P.J. Hilson was taken in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft last year, and has been a boost to the Greensboro offense. After a two homer night on Friday, he is hitting for an .832 OPS with nine homers on the year. Nick Cimillo hit his 16th homer of the year, pushing his OPS to 1.042. Termarr Johnson had a two-hit game, with his 12th double. Patrick Reilly pitched 5.2 innings with two unearned runs. He showed the best and worst of his game, striking out nine, but walking four.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON lost 7-3
- RHP Mike Burrows: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
- RHP Carlos Jimenez: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
- 3B Javier Rivas: 1-for-3, 2 RBI
- SS Keiner Delgado: 1-for-4, SB
- 2B Jeral Toledo: 1-for-3, 2 BB, RBI
Mike Burrows has struggled so far in his return from Tommy John. He allowed three runs in 1.1 innings in the FCL, and has allowed five earned runs in 5.2 innings across three appearances in Single-A. I wouldn’t count on Burrows to arrive in the majors this year, as his initial focus should be getting back healthy and on track, which seems like it will take some time.
STATCAST HEROES
Javier Rivas had the hardest hit of the game, with a 103.9 MPH single. Carlos Jimenez whiffed six batters on 14 swings against his changeup, which is one of the best in the system. His fastball sat 94.4 MPH, touching 97.4, and was in the zone 62% of the time.
ROOKIE: FCL PIRATES
FCL PIRATES lost game one 4-3
- SS Jhonny Severino: 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
- 2B Yerry De Los Santos: 2-for-2, BB, 2 SB
- RF Ewry Espinal: 1-for-3, SB
- RHP Dioris Martinez: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
- LHP Victor Cabreja: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Jhonny Severino hit his tenth homer of the year, knocking in three runs in the seventh inning to provide all of the offense for the Pirates in game one. It was his second homer in as many games. Yerry De Los Santos picked up two hits and two stolen bases, giving him 18 on the season.
FCL PIRATES lost game two 13-2
- 1B Richard Ramirez: 1-for-3
- RF Carlos Tirado: 1-for-3, 2B
- CF Jhonson Pena: 1-for-3, 2B
- 3B John Zorrilla: 1-for-2, RBI
- C Luke Scherrer: 1-for-3
The Pirates had six hits in game two, while the pitching staff was hit to the point of the designated hitter, John Lopez, pitching the final two outs. Both runs were scored in the second inning, when the score was 2-2.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES BLACK
DSL PIRATES BLACK were postponed.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES GOLD
DSL PIRATES GOLD won 3-1
- RHP Adolfo Oviedo: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K
- CF Miguel Rodriguez: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
- LF Angel Rodriguez: 1-for-3, 3B
Oviedo was signed in 2022, and is in his third season. He’s having his best control results this year, with five walks in 18.1 innings, after 27 walks in 34.2 innings last year.
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 7:05 PM – LHP Marco Gonzales (0-0, 3.00)
- Double-A: Altoona, 6:00 PM – RHP Drake Fellows (2-2, 3.06)
- High-A: Greensboro, 6:30 PM – TBD
- Single-A: Bradenton, 6:05 PM – RHP Peyton Stumbo (1-2, 4.74)
- Rookie: FCL Pirates, 10:00 AM – TBD
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Black vs DSL Pirates Gold 10:00 AM – TBD
