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Prospect Watch: The One Thing Holding Willy Garcia Back From Being a Top Prospect

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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. 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 #1, 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 mid-season top 20 update, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Bradenton – 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 K, 0 HR

2. Austin Meadows, CF, West Virginia – 3-for-5

3. Reese McGuire, C, West Virginia – 1-for-4

4. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP

5. Alen Hanson, SS, Altoona – 1-for-5

6. Josh Bell, RF, Altoona – 2-for-5, SB

7. Harold Ramirez, OF, West Virginia – Disabled List (7/7 Update)

8. Cole Tucker, SS, GCL Pirates – DNP

9. Luis Heredia, RHP, West Virginia – 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

10. Mitch Keller, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP

11. Adrian Sampson, RHP, Altoona – DNP

12. JaCoby Jones, SS, West Virginia – 1-for-4, BB

13. Casey Sadler, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP

14. Andrew Lambo, OF, Indianapolis – 0-for-4

15. Joely Rodriguez, LHP, Altoona – DNP

16. Michael De La Cruz, OF, GCL Pirates – DNP

17. Trey Supak, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP

18. Buddy Borden, RHP, West Virginia – DNP

19. Stetson Allie, 1B, Altoona – 0-for-4

20. Gage Hinsz, RHP, GCL Pirates – DNP

 

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DAILY SUMMARY

Top Pitcher: Tyler Glasnow, RHP – 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Jose Osuna, DH – 4-for-4, 3 2B

Home Runs: Willy Garcia (14)

 

AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS    

Box Score

Result: Rochester 6, Indianapolis 3

Starting Pitcher: Brandon Cumpton, RHP – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HR

Top Hitter: Chase d’Arnaud, 3B – 2-for-4, SB

Other Notable Performers:

Mel Rojas, CF – 1-for-3, BB

Game Notes: Brandon Cumpton looked good through the first four innings today, then gave up four runs in the fifth inning. The Indians were going up against Kris Johnson, who was one of the best starters for Indianapolis last year, and who was traded over the off-season to get Duke Welker back from the Twins. Johnson gave up three runs in 7.2 innings of work. Chase d’Arnaud played at third base today, and stole his 21st base. He has played second, third, and all three outfield spots this year.

 

AA: ALTOONA CURVE

Box Score

Result: Altoona 6, Bowie 3

Starting Pitcher: Pat Ludwig, RHP – 6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Willy Garcia, LF – 2-for-4, HR

Other Notable Performers:

Josh Bell, RF – 2-for-5, SB

Alen Hanson, SS – 1-for-5

Gift Ngoepe, 2B – 2-for-4

Game Notes: Willy Garcia hit his 14th homer of the year for Altoona. That total is four shy of his single season high of 18, set two years ago in West Virginia. He’s hitting for more power this year, with a .226 ISO. That’s way up from his .163 ISO two years ago, and up from his .181 ISO last year. Garcia is also trending in the right direction with his batting average (.240, .256, .271). Unfortunately, he’s going the wrong way with his walks (6.4%, 4.8%, 4.0%) and strikeouts (26.4%, 32.1%, 32.4%). The strikeouts are a bigger concern. To put them in perspective, Starling Marte only walked 3.8% of the time in Altoona, but only struck out 17.5% of the time. He also never struck out more than 23.3% of the time at any level in the minors. Even Pedro Alvarez didn’t strike out more than 24.6% of the time in his first run through the minors. Garcia has the power, speed, and defense in right field to be a starting outfielder, but that won’t happen with his strikeout totals.

 

A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS   

Box Score

Result: Lakeland 5, Bradenton 3

Starting Pitcher: Tyler Glasnow, RHP – 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Jose Osuna, DH – 4-for-4, 3 2B

Other Notable Performers:

Jordan Steranka, 1B – 2-for-4, 2B

Game Notes: Tyler Glasnow got off to a good start today, giving up one walk and one hit in four innings, with eight strikeouts. He ran into trouble in the fifth, giving up two runs on two walks and two hits. In the sixth he gave up another walk and another hit, leading to a third run, with the run ultimately scoring due to an error. This was the first start where Glasnow walked more than two batters since June 30th. It was the third time this has happened since May 22nd. In the month of July, Glasnow has a 1.82 ERA in 29.2 innings, with a 40:9 K/BB ratio. That’s a 12.1 K/9 and a 2.7 BB/9, even with the four walks today. Jose Osuna extended his hitting streak to six games with a four hit day and three doubles. He has 16 doubles on the year.

 

A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER   

Box Score

Result: West Virginia 5, Rome 4

Starting Pitcher: Luis Heredia, RHP – 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Edwin Espinal, DH – 3-for-4, BB

Other Notable Performers:

Austin Meadows, CF – 3-for-5

JaCoby Jones, SS – 1-for-4, BB

Erich Weiss, 2B – 2-for-5

Wyatt Mathisen, 3B – 2-for-4, 2B

Game Notes: Austin Meadows picked up three hits, and now has hits in nine of his last ten games, while reaching base safely in ten straight games. He has just one game out of 12 with West Virginia where he hasn’t reached base safely. The power hasn’t arrived yet, but it’s there and will eventually start to show up in the stat lines. The encouraging thing in the early part of his campaign with West Virginia is that his strikeout problems from the GCL last year aren’t an issue through his first 51 at-bats. Wyatt Mathisen returned from the disabled list today after missing a month of action. He picked up two hits, with his 11th double of the year. Luis Heredia has a 4.86 ERA in 53.2 innings, with a 22:26 K/BB ratio.

 

A-: JAMESTOWN JAMMERS   

Box Score

Result: Auburn 3, Jamestown 1

Starting Pitcher: Jake Brigham, RHP – 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Taylor Gushue, C – 1-for-4, HR

Other Notable Performers:

Jordan Luplow, RF – 1-for-4

Trace Tam Sing, SS – 1-for-3, 2B

Marek Minarik, RHP – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR

Game Notes: Jake Brigham made his first rehab start, throwing three shutout innings with just one walk allowed. He had success with Indianapolis this year, posting a 4.05 ERA in 73.1 innings, with a 63:25 K/BB ratio. Brigham doesn’t have much of a future with the Pirates as a starter, but could be valuable as a reliever later in the season when rosters expand. Taylor Gushue hit his fifth homer of the year. Trace Tam Sing, who recently signed with the Pirates, made his debut and had a double.

 

RK: BRISTOL PIRATES

Box Score

Result: Greeneville 7, Bristol 3

Starting Pitcher: Omar Basulto, LHP – 3.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Jose Salazar, 1B – 3-for-4, 2 2B

Other Notable Performers:

Edgardo Munoz, 3B – 2-for-4

Enyel Vallejo, LF – 1-for-5, 3B

Game Notes: Enyel Vallejo picked up his third triple of the year. He has been hot lately, with an .898 OPS in 70 at-bats during the month of July. It was about a year ago that Vallejo got his first real opportunity as a starter in the GCL, and he ended up posting a .793 OPS in 111 at-bats. So far this year in Bristol he has an .823 OPS in 96 at-bats. He only has two walks, which raises concern about whether he’ll be able to have success at higher levels. However, as we’ve seen with other Latin American hitters, you don’t necessarily need a high walk rate to move to higher levels and have success.

 

RK: GCL PIRATES

The GCL Pirates were off today.

 

RK: DSL PIRATES

The DSL Pirates were off today.

You can check out the DSL Pirates week eight recap here.

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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