Top prospect Gerrit Cole will make the start this afternoon for Indianapolis, trying to bounce back from a tough outing six days ago. Also looking for a bounce back is Stolmy Pimentel, who has been hit hard since the calendar flipped from April to May. All four Pirates affiliates won yesterday. For a look at the possible starters over the next few weeks, please check out our Probable Pitchers Chart. We have added a Recent Transactions section to the bottom of this page, for all Pirates minor league transactions. A full recap of yesterday’s action can be found here.
AAA: Indianapolis (34-15) @ Buffalo (26-20) 1:05pm
Probable starter: Gerrit Cole (3-2, 3.75)
Yesterday’s Result: Indianapolis 6, Buffalo 5
Gerrit Cole will make his tenth start of the season this afternoon. He is coming off his worst start of the year, eight runs over 5.2 innings against Pawtucket on Sunday. Cole has pitched a total of 48 innings this season, giving up 36 hits, four homers and 23 walks, while picking up 35 strikeouts. Three of those homers he has served up, came against today’s opponent on 5/14, when he allowed four runs over six innings. Cole struck out 136 batters in 132 innings last year, but this season he has yet to pick up more than five strikeouts in any game. He has a 1.33 GO/AO ratio and a .214 BAA.
AA: Altoona (20-27) vs Richmond (23-23) 6:00pm
Probable starter: Stolmy Pimentel (2-2, 3.35)
Yesterday’s Result: Altoona 14, Richmond 4
Stolmy Pimentel will get his tenth start of the season tonight. He started the season off strong, going 2-0, 0.30 in five April starts. Since May has started however, he is 0-2, 7.33 in four outings. He has faced Richmond twice already this year with vastly different results. In April, he threw six shutout innings, striking out a season high eight batters. In May, he allowed six runs over 4.1 innings, his worst start of the year. Pimentel has been excellent against right-handed batters this year, holding them to a .190 BAA, while lefties are hitting .292 against him. Oddly enough, he has almost the same exact split at home and on the road. On the road, he is holding hitters to a .193 BAA, while in home starts, batters are hitting .293 against him.
High-A: Bradenton (20-28) @ St Lucie (26-20) 6:30pm
Probable starter: Eliecer Navarro (0-8, 3.78)
Yesterday’s Result: Bradenton 8, St Lucie 6
Eliecer Navarro will make his ninth start of the year tonight. He has also pitched once in relief. Navarro has been the victim of tough luck all season, allowing more than three earned runs just once all year (4 ER two starts ago). Despite that, he leads the organization in losses. He has faced St Lucie twice already this year, allowing five earned runs over 9.1 innings. In 47.2 innings this season, Navarro has given up just nine walks, while striking out 44 batters. He has yet to give up a walk or a home run to a left-handed batter this season.
Low-A: West Virginia (26-22) vs Lakewood (19-27) 7:05pm
Probable starter: Joely Rodriguez (3-3, 2.76)
Yesterday’s Result: West Virginia 11, Lakewood 2
Joely Rodriguez will make his tenth start of the season tonight. He has been very strong since a slow beginning to his year. In his first four starts, he allowed 20 runs over his first 19.2 innings. Since then, Rodriguez has given up just two earned runs in his last five starts combined, a total of 29.1 innings. At home this year, he is 1-2, 3.16 in five starts. His last two home starts, he has given up one earned run over 12 innings and didn’t walk a batter in either game. Rodriguez has 39 strikeouts in 40 innings, with a 2.03 GO/AO ratio and a .263 BAA.
Recent Transactions
5/23 Vic Black placed on disabled list.
5/22 Orlando Castro assigned to Jamestown. Josh Smith added to West Virginia roster
5/20 Alex Dickerson placed on DL. Justin Howard added to Altoona roster.
5/19 Chase d’Arnaud assigned to Altoona roster.
5/18 Jeff Karstens added to Altoona roster.
