The Pirates are playing the Yankees over at McKechnie Field. Here at Pirate City, the Pirates are playing the Yankees minor league teams. The A-ball teams are home today, featuring a lot of interesting hitting prospects. A group of hitters just came over from McKechnie, so they’ll probably be jumping in to take at-bats each inning. I saw Ali Solis in uniform, so it looks like he’ll finally be getting into some action this afternoon. Tyler Waldron will also be starting the high-A game. The lineups, pitchers, and notes are below.
Triple-A
Lineup: Darren Ford (8), Drew Maggi (4), Clint Robinson (3), Tony Sanchez (DH), Matt Hague (5), Jerry Sands (DH), Andrew Lambo (9), Jeff Larish (7), Alex Valdez (6), Devin Ivany (2)
Pitchers: Tyler Waldron, Hunter Strickland, Tim Alderson, Nate Baker, Jeff Inman
Notes: Tyler Waldron is starting the Triple-A game, but he mentioned yesterday that he’ll be starting the year in Altoona.
Double-A
Lineup: Gift Ngoepe (6), Mel Rojas Jr. (8), Jarek Cunningham (4), Stefan Welch (5), Carlos Mesa (DH), Charlie Cutler (DH), Justin Howard (9), Dan Grovatt (7), Chris Lashmet (3), Kawika Emsley-Pai (2)
Pitchers: Matt Benedict, Quinton Miller, Jhonathan Ramos, Kenn Kasparek, Zach Foster, Porfirio Lopez
Notes: A few of the relievers are already to the point where they’re throwing back-to-back days. Miller and Foster both threw yesterday. Now that Tony Sanchez is in Triple-A, Charlie Cutler has been moved down to Double-A, where I think he’ll be the backup.
High-A (Home)
Lineup: Alen Hanson (6), Taylor Lewis (7), Dan Gamache (4), Jose Osuna (3), Willy Garcia (9), Wyatt Mathisen (2), Eric Avila (5), Junior Sosa (8), Jonathan Schwind (DH), Ashley Ponce (DH)
Pitchers: Tony Watson, Ryan Hafner, Pat Ludwig, Kyle Haynes, Lance Breedlove, Jhondaniel Medina
Notes: Tony Watson will be making the start today, pitching in his first game since February 28th, and only his third game this Spring. Gregory Polanco is out of the lineup for the second straight day. I’m not too concerned, since I saw Polanco doing normal fielding drills this morning. UPDATE: Just received word that Polanco is going over to McKechnie today to get his Minor League Player of the Year award. He’ll also be a minor league backup in that game. It’s interesting to see Wyatt Mathisen remaining in the high-A games. I don’t think he’ll start the year with Bradenton, but I could see him with West Virginia. I expected Elias Diaz to move down and start taking playing time from him in high-A at this point. Then again, if we’re only looking at things from a legit prospect standpoint, it would make sense to have Diaz in Double-A, Mathisen in high-A, and Jin-De Jhang in low-A, giving them the most opportunities to catch games this Spring. Today will be the first day I’ll get to see Jhondaniel Medina, who was acquired for Yamaico Navarro.
Low-A (Home)
Lineup: Max Moroff (6), Dilson Herrera (4), Barrett Barnes (8), Stetson Allie (DH), Josh Bell (9), Luis Urena (7), Jared Lakind (3), David Valesente (2), Eric Wood (5), Raul Fortunato (DH)
Pitchers: Joely Rodriguez, Tom Harlan, Axel Diaz, Yhonathan Herrand, Martires Cadet, Wilson Lee, Roberto Espinosa
Notes: This is a really interesting lineup to follow today. Pretty much every hitter has something about him that makes him an interesting prospect to follow. Some obviously stand out more than others (Herrera, Barnes, Bell). I was asked how Stetson Allie looked on Twitter. So far the results haven’t been good. He’s looked over-matched, striking out a lot. I mentioned the other day in a podcast that I don’t see him making it past A-ball as a hitter. He hasn’t done much to change that opinion.
