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Winter Leagues: Four Hits For Diaz, Ramirez Stays Hot

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In Venezuela from Saturday, Andrew Lambo was back at first base for the second game in a row. It was the first time he played there on back-to-back days. Lambo was there for six innings on Saturday before moving on defense to right field, which also happened on Friday night. He handled all eight chances he had without an error, including one ground ball, plus he fielded a sacrifice bunt successfully. On Friday, he had ten total chances without a miscue. At the plate, Lambo went 1-for-4 with an RBI, run scored and two strikeouts.

Diaz had four hits on Saturday
Diaz had four hits on Saturday

Elias Diaz had himself quite a day, going 4-for-4 to raise his average to .323 through 13 games. He has an .824 OPS. Diaz hit well in his limited time behind the plate this year with Bradenton and his defense was praised around the league. During his first three seasons in the U.S., he topped out at a .221 average and didn’t show much plate patience. He will be 23 years old next season, so he could finally be coming into his own now.

Jhonathan Ramos faced two batters on Saturday, walking the first, then getting a double play from the next hitter. In his last nine outings combined, he has given up no runs, one hit and one walk over 6.2 innings. In his last seven appearances, every out he has recorded has been from either a strikeout or a ground ball.

Andy Oliver got his second start. While his performance was a huge improvement over his debut, Oliver still got roughed up and showed wildness. He gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in 2.1 innings. Oliver picked up five strikeouts. In his first start, he gave up three runs and recorded just one out before being chased from the game.

In Puerto Rico, Benji Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with a single. He is 5-for-13 through six games played.

Ivan De Jesus Jr. went 0-for-4 on Saturday, dropping his average to .302 through 25 games. He has been linked to the Baltimore Orioles, but has not yet signed a contract.

From Australia on Sunday, Sam Kennelly went 0-for-1 with a walk before being replaced on defense in the eighth inning with the game out of hand. Kennelly is hitting .167 through 14 games. He had been splitting his time between second and first base early in the year, but this weekend series, he only played second base.

From Friday night in Colombia, Harold Ramirez was the only Pirates player in action. He went 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and a walk. He is hitting .365 through 17 games, with two doubles, two triples, ten walks and five stolen bases.

The Dominican League was off Saturday. They will hold their All-Star game today.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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