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Prospect Watch: Alen Hanson Homers, Nick Kingham With a Strong Start

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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 (Stolmy Pimentel #13). If a player is in the majors, he will be removed, everyone below him will be shifted up a spot, and a new player will be added to the bottom of the list. If a player is out for the season (Jameson Taillon #2, Clay Holmes #12), he will be removed and everyone below him will move up a spot. Removing these guys doesn’t mean they have lost prospect status. It is just an attempt to get 20 active prospects on the list. Rankings are from the 2014 Prospect Guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

1. Gregory Polanco, CF, Indianapolis – 0-for-1

2. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Bradenton – DNP

3. Austin Meadows, CF, West Virginia – Disabled List (4/22 Update)

4. Alen Hanson, SS, Altoona – 1-for-4, HR

5. Nick Kingham, RHP, Altoona – 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 HR

6. Reese McGuire, C, West Virginia – 2-for-5, BB

7. Josh Bell, RF, Bradenton – DNP

8. Luis Heredia, RHP, West Virginia Power – Disabled List (4/22 Update)

9. Harold Ramirez, OF, West Virginia – 2-for-5, BB

10. Andrew Lambo, OF, Indianapolis – Disabled List (5/7 Update)

11. Joely Rodriguez, LHP, Altoona – DNP

12. Blake Taylor, LHP, Extended Spring Training – DNP

13. Cody Dickson, LHP, West Virginia – DNP

14. Barrett Barnes, CF, West Virginia – Disabled List (4/14 Update)

15. JaCoby Jones, SS, West Virginia – 2-for-6, 2B

16. Michael De La Cruz, OF, Extended Spring Training – DNP

17. Wyatt Mathisen, 3B, West Virginia – 1-for-6

18. Jin-De Jhang, C, Bradenton – DNP

19. Casey Sadler, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP

20. Stetson Allie, 1B, Altoona – 0-for-2, BB

 

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The 2014 Prospect Guide is now available, and is the perfect resource to follow the minor league system during the 2014 season. You can order your copy on the products page of the site.

 

DAILY SUMMARY

Top Pitcher: Nick Kingham, RHP – 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 HR

Top Hitter: Danny Collins, DH – 3-for-4, 2B, BB

Home Runs: Alen Hanson (6)

 

AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS    

Box Score

Result: Buffalo 6, Indianapolis 2

Starting Pitcher: Adam Wilk, LHP – 4.2 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR

Top HitterChris McGuiness, 1B – 2-for-4, 2B

Other Notable Performers:

Tony Sanchez, C – 1-for-4

Chris Dickerson, CF – 0-for-3, BB

Game Notes: For the first time in his last 21 starts, Chris Dickerson failed to get a hit. He did draw a walk, meaning he has now reached base safely in 35 of his 36 starts this season. Tony Sanchez returned to the minor leagues, although he did it this time without prospect status. Sanchez now has 132 at-bats at the major league level, which is two more than our cutoff for prospect eligibility (130 at-bats for hitters). Thus, Sanchez has been removed from the top 20 list above. The month of May has not been a good one for Adam Wilk, who has a 6.17 ERA in 23.1 innings so far, capped off by a bad start tonight. He was previously removed from the rotation, before being added back to the mix following the promotion of Brandon Cumpton. Chris McGuiness picked up two hits, after being the top hitter in the system last week.

 

AA: ALTOONA CURVE

Box Score

Result: Erie 4, Altoona 3

Starting Pitcher: Nick Kingham, RHP – 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 HR

Top Hitter: Alen Hanson, SS – 1-for-4, HR

Other Notable Performers:

Justin Howard, DH – 1-for-4, 2B

Game Notes: Nick Kingham has struggled this year with his walk rate, as John Kokales wrote about over the weekend. Prior to this start, Kingham had 23 walks in 50 innings, which was well above his pace in the lower levels. Tonight was much better for the right-hander, who walked just one batter in seven innings. The flip side is that he gave up two solo homers, breaking his impressive run of giving up just one home run in 123.1 innings at the Double-A level. The encouraging thing is the walk rate, especially since Kingham has walked just three batters in 14 innings over his last two starts. Alen Hanson hit his sixth homer of the year, with all six coming this month. He has a .913 OPS in the month of May.

 

A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS   

Bradenton was off today.

 

A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER   

Box Score

Result: West Virginia 14, Rome 6

Starting Pitcher: Buddy Borden, RHP – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR

Top Hitter: Danny Collins, DH – 3-for-4, 2B, BB

Other Notable Performers:

Harold Ramirez, CF – 2-for-5, BB

JaCoby Jones, SS – 2-for-6, 2B

Reese McGuire, C – 2-for-5, BB

Erich Weiss, 2B – 3-for-5, BB

Elvis Escobar, RF – 2-for-5, 2B

Game Notes: The West Virginia offense was on fire tonight. Six players had multiple hits, with the team combining for 14 runs on 16 hits and six walks. Reese McGuire had two hits, extending his hitting streak to 16 games. He also reached base safely for the 29th game out of 33 games this season. Erich Weiss continued his strong hitting this season, and now has a .326/.421/.413 line in 172 at-bats. He’s been very consistent, with an .854 OPS in April, and an .811 OPS in May. Elvis Escobar is starting to heat up, with an .808 OPS in 38 at-bats over his last ten games. Buddy Borden didn’t have the best start, but had more encouraging signs. He only allowed four hits, and didn’t allow any walks. The walks have been the biggest issue for him, as he usually limits the hits. Borden now has a 2.53 ERA in 46.1 innings, with a 45:18 K/BB ratio and a .188 BAA.

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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