On Tuesday night, Paul Skenes threw six shutout frames in Indianapolis. The top prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, and the best pitching prospect...
Paul Skenes looks ready for the big leagues, following a six shutout inning performance for Indianapolis on Tuesday night. The 2023 first overall pick...
There are no minor league games on Monday, which means every Monday's Pirates Prospect Watch features the best performers from the previous week.
This week...
The Pirates have Gold Glove third basemen in Ke'Bryan Hayes and Jared Triolo. They've got another candidate in the system in power hitter Jack Brannigan.
Valentin Linarez had one of the biggest recorded velocity jumps in minor league baseball last year.
Baseball America tracked the year-over-year four-seam velocity gainers from...
At the start of the 2023 international signing period, the Pittsburgh Pirates added David Matoma as their first signing out of Uganda. The right-handed...
BRADENTON, Fla. - The Pittsburgh Pirates are converting 2023 third round pick Garret Forrester to a catcher, splitting his time between first base and...
A 3-run rally in the 7th inning was enough to push the Phillies over the Pirates at McKechnie Field this afternoon. Starter Kevin Correia had a shaky top of the 1st inning. The first four batters he faced all singled, bringing in 2 runs. Then with runners on the corners, Correia buckled down, getting a foul pop out then two strikeouts to end the inning. The Pirates got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning. With one out, SS Pedro Ciriaco doubled into left field, and 2B Neil Walker moved him to third base with a line drive single into right. 1B Lyle Overbay also lined into right field, to drive in Ciriaco, though Walker was out when he tried to get from first to third. DH Matt Diaz also singled, but he and Overbay were left on base at the end of the inning. Correia worked around a single in the 2nd inning, then retired the side in order in the 3rd inning. The Pirates also went down in order in both the 2nd and 3rd. Diaz tied the score in the 4th, with a walk and a stolen base, then a single by 3B Andy Marte. Brian Burres pitched the 4th and 5th innings, allowing only a double. Fernando Nieve took the mound next. The first batter he faced was Ryan Howard, who blasted a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. Nieve gave up a walk and a single after the homer, but left them on base. The bottom of the inning began with a walk by Walker. Pinch-hitter Tony Sanchez bounced a ground-rule double over the left field wall, moving Walker to third. RF Garrett Jones ground out to first, which let Walker score to tie it up again. Marte hit the next ground rule double, driving in Sanchez with the go-ahead run. Nieve came back out for the top of the 7th, and that's when he got into even more trouble. Two singles (one to former Pirate Brandon Moss) and a double tied the score again, at 4-4. Nieve was relieved by Mike Dubee (whose dad is Phillies' pitching coach Rich Dubee). Dubee gave up a ground out to second, which allowed Moss to score from third base. A single brought in the third run of the inning, then Dubee got a strikeout to end the inning. Bryan Morris pitched the 8th inning, and gave up the final Phillies' run with a double, a ground out, and a sacrifice fly. Daniel Moskos pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 9th to wrap things up. The Pirates threatened in the bottom of the 7th. Singles by CF Alex Presley and LF John Bowker and a walk by 2B Corey Wimberly loaded the bases with one out. All three were left standing there when both 1B Josh Fields and Tony Sanchez struck out.
C Wyatt Toregas also singled for the Pirates. SS Chase d'Arnaud, RF Andrew Lambo, and CF Gorkys Hernandez all got into the game as well.
Moving along with the third basemen in the Pirates' minor league organization. Two new faces today, plus a familiar friend:
Jeremy Farrell -- R/R, 6' 3", 200 lb The Pirates selected Farrell in the 8th round of the 2008 draft. His playing time has been limited by a series of injuries, so that he's only played in 73 games and 79 games in his two full years of pro ball. In 2010, it was knee problems. He began the season on fire in A+ Bradenton, hitting .315 in April and .327 in May, with a combined 7 homers and 33 RBI. In June, the knee got bad, had to be drained, then got infected. Farrell was out of the lineup until August, but when he returned, he went right back to hitting, though without the modest power he'd had earlier in the season -- .333 in August, but with no homers and just 6 RBI. He did strike out less in August. Farrell played some first base in State College in 2008, but has been exclusively at third in the two seasons since. He's made 25 and 20 errors at third over those two season (respectively), and that's going to have to improve. Farrell will likely be moved up to AA Altoona for 2011, where his two main jobs will be to cut back those errors and to stay healthy.
Pirates 4, Blue Jays 1 Pitchers were the story for the Pirates this afternoon in Dunedin, Florida. Five Pirates' pitchers combined to hold the Blue Jays to 4 hits this afternoon in Dunedin, Florida. Charlie Morton made his second strong start in the Grapefruit League. He gave up one run in the top of the 1st, courtesy of two former Pirates: CF Rajai Davis led off with a double, legged out when LF Matt Diaz was a little slow in picking up (the Pirates should have anticipated Davis' speed). 3B Jose Bautista drove the run in with a single slipped through into left field. Morton ended the inning by inducing a double play, then he retired the side in both the 2nd and 3rd innings. That included a nice barehanded snatch of a bunt attempt, and a whirl to throw the batter out at first. Brad Lincoln buzzed through the next three innings, retiring all 9 batters he faced. Morton and Lincoln each struck out one batter, and neither gave up a walk. Tyler Yates and Jeff Locke each took an inning, and neither gave up a hit, though Yates walked one. Cesar Valdez gave up the other two Jays' hits in the 9th inning. After a strikeout, he surrendered two singles, and with a wild pitch, that gave him runners on the corners. But he picked the runner off first, then ended the game with a strikeout.
The Pirates' hitters were having some trouble with Blue Jays' starter Brett Cecil. Cecil struck out 5 of the first 6 Pirates' batters, and allowed only one hit, a double by C Jason Jaramillo, in the 3rd inning. Jaramillo doubled again to lead off the 6th inning. CF Andrew McCutchen followed with a walk, then a ground out put both runners into scoring position. 3B Pedro Alvarez drove in both with a standing triple into the right field corner, to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead. They added a run in the 7th, when 2B Brian Friday doubled into left field with two outs, then scored on C Dusty Brown's single. Another two-out rally provided the Pirates' fourth run in the top of the 9th. SS Pedro Ciriaco lined a singled into right field, then stole second base. 3B Josh Rodriguez slipped a single into left field, and Ciriaco came around to score. Rodriguez also stole second base, and Brown was hit by a pitch, but the rally ended when CF Corey Wimberly popped out.
Also getting into the game: Jeremy Farrell pinch-hit (ground out) in the 8th inning; his father, John Farrell, is the new manager of the Blue Jays. 1B Josh Fields, LF Alex Presley, RF Gorkys Hernandez, and 3B Andy Marte also played.
Continuing to look at the third basemen in the Pirates' minor league organization:
Elevys Gonzalez -- Bats Both / Throws R, 5' 11", 175 lb Gonzalez is a Venezuelan native who made some big improvements in 2010. He appeared to be headed for a return trip to State College to begin the season (he'd played 13 games there in 2009), but due to injuries further up the ladder, Gonzalez was instead assigned to A level West Virginia in May. He embraced the challenge, hitting .303 in 9 games there, with a homer and 2 RBI. He dropped down to .195 in June, but by the end of the month, he was getting more playing time, and in July he had the average back up to .300, with 7 RBI. At first Gonzalez was splitting his playing time between second base, third base, and shortstop, functioning as the Power's utility infielder. But by August, he was playing regularly at third base, as Jesus Brito struggled defensively there. More time on the field translated to more plate appearances and better hitting for Gonzalez -- .289 with 2 homers and 16 RBI in August. He finished the season with a flourish at the plate, with 3 homers in the last 5 games, and 3 hits in the last game. Overall for the season, Gonzalez hit a solid .275, with 9 doubles, 4 triples, 6 homers, and 31 RBI. The 21-year-old should be ready for A+ Bradenton for 2011, where he will likely play more third base, but also spend some time at second and short.
The mobile site for Pirates Prospects was upgraded today. The appearance hasn't drastically changed, although there are some new features. One of those features...