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Prospect Watch: Willy Garcia Hits His Ninth Homer

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TOP OF THE SYSTEM

A look at how the current top 20 prospects did today.  Note that this list doesn’t include players currently in the majors. Rankings are from the mid-season update.

1. Gerrit Cole, RHP, Bradenton (4-1, 2.53) – DNP

2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Bradenton (3-5, 3.71) – DNP

3. Mark Appel, RHP (No Stats) – Unsigned

4. Starling Marte, CF, Indianapolis (.270) – 1-for-3, BB

5. Alen Hanson, SS, West Virginia (.327) – 2-for-4, 2B, BB, SB

6. Josh Bell, RF, West Virginia (.274) – Low-A DL

7. Luis Heredia, RHP (No Stats) – Extended Spring Training

8. Rudy Owens, LHP, Indianapolis (5-2, 2.29) – DNP

9. Jeff Locke, LHP, Indianapolis (4-3, 3.27) – DNP

10. Robbie Grossman, CF, Altoona (.217) – DNP

11. Gregory Polanco, CF, West Virginia (.298) – 0-for-4, BB

12. Kyle McPherson, RHP, Indianapolis (No Stats) – AAA DL

13. Nick Kingham, RHP, West Virginia (1-4, 5.57) – 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR

14. Justin Wilson, LHP, Indianapolis (5-4, 3.80) – DNP

15. Tony Sanchez, C, Indianapolis (.238) – 1-for-5

16. Bryan Morris, RHP, Indianapolis (1-2, 2.65) – DNP

17. Mel Rojas, CF, Bradenton (.266) – 0-for-5

18. Wyatt Mathisen, C, GCL Pirates (.000) – Season Starts 6/18

19. Barrett Barnes, CF (.000) – Unsigned

20. Alex Dickerson, 1B, Bradenton (.287) – DNP

 

COUPON CODE

The minor league system combined for 14 homers last week. That’s a savings of $0.50 per home run, which gives you $7 off the Pirates Prospects books this week. This code is for one week only! Use the code on the products page of the site to get your discount. Expires Sunday 6/17 at 11:59:59 PM EST.

 

DAILY SUMMARY

Top Pitcher: Rick VandenHurk, RHP (4-0, 1.14) – 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Willy Garcia, LF (.281) – 3-for-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI

Home Runs: Willy Garcia (9)

 

AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

Box Score

Result: Indianapolis 2, Rochester 0

Starting Pitcher: Rick VandenHurk, RHP (4-0, 1.14) – 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Jeff Larish, RF (.244) – 1-for-3, 2B, BB

Other Notable Performers

Starling Marte, CF (.270) – 1-for-3, BB

Chris Leroux, RHP (0.00) – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

Game Notes: Rick VandenHurk has a 1.14 ERA in 31.2 innings with Indianapolis, along with a 26:12 K/BB ratio in that stretch. Chris Leroux made his second rehab start, again pitching a perfect inning. Indianapolis only had three hits, but scored two runs thanks to seven walks and four stolen bases.

 

AA: ALTOONA CURVE

Altoona was postponed.

 

A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS

Box Score

Result: Fort Myers 5, Bradenton 3

Starting Pitcher: Colton Cain, LHP (1-4, 6.05) – 4.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR

Top Hitter: Gift Ngoepe, SS (.253) – 4-for-5, 2B

Other Notable Performers

Jason Townsend, RHP (2.04) – 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HR

Dan Grovatt, LF (.230) – 3-for-4, 2B

Game Notes: Colton Cain gave up five runs in the first inning, capped off by a two out grand slam. After the grand slam he didn’t allow a hit, and walked just one batter in his next three innings. Gift Ngoepe is now 8-for-14 in his last three games. Jason Townsend has allowed just two earned runs in 25.1 innings since the start of May. After three shutout innings tonight he has gone 13 straight innings without an earned run.

 

A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER

Box Score

Result: West Virginia 9, Lexington 7

Starting Pitcher: Nick Kingham, RHP (5.57) – 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR

Top Hitter: Willy Garcia, LF (.281) – 3-for-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI

Other Notable Performers

Alen Hanson, SS (.327) – 2-for-4, 2B, BB, SB

Elias Diaz, C (.159) – 2-for-5, 2B

Game Notes: Willy Garcia hit his 9th homer of the year, putting him in a tie with Alan Hanson and Gregory Polanco for the system lead. Garcia started the season on a slow note, with a .214/.233/.310 line in 84 at-bats in April. In May he hit for a .301/.345/.485 line in 103 at-bats. Prior to tonight’s game he had a .333/.421/.545 line in 33 at-bats in June. Alen Hanson hit his 20th double, putting him in a tie for the system lead with teammate Dan Gamache. He also stole his 17th base, putting him in a tie with Drew Maggi for the lead. The downside was that he had a throwing error, which was his 25th error of the year. Nick Kingham gave up one run each in the third, fourth, and fifth.

 

DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE

For a primer on the 2012 DSL Pirates, along with information on the players to watch, check out the 2012 DSL Preview.

 

RK: DSL PIRATES1

Box Score

Result: Pirates 9, Marlins 3

Starting Pitcher: Mervin Del Rosario, LHP (2.16) – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Carlos Esqueda, SS-2B (.360) – 3-for-6, 2 2B

Other Notable Players

Richard Mitchell, RHP (11.57) – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR

Game Notes: Mervin Del Rosario and Richard Mitchell are both hard throwers for their age. Mitchell was hitting 91 MPH at the age of 15, while Del Rosario throws 88-93 MPH.

 

RK: DSL PIRATES2

Box Score

Result: Pirates 4, Nationals 0

Starting Pitcher: Remy De Aza, RHP (0.00) – 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Maximo Rivera, DH (.273) – 3-for-3, BB, SB

Other Notable Players

Angel Sanchez, LHP (2-0, 0.00) – 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

 

ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS

AAA: Indianapolis Indians – 38-27

AA: Altoona Curve – 28-33

A+: Bradenton Marauders – 26-40

A: West Virginia Power – 21-44

RK: DSL Pirates1 – 6-3

RK: DSL Pirates2 – 4-5

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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