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Prospect Highlights: Starling Marte Doubles, Rojas Homers, First Look at Angel Sanchez

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The title is “Prospect” Highlights, but occasionally we get some minor league footage of non-prospects in here. Sometimes it’s just players that make great plays like this outstanding catch from Chase d’Arnaud the other day. Other times it’s Major League players on rehab like Starling Marte today. He played his second game with Indianapolis yesterday as he comes back from the concussion he received a couple weeks ago. Marte is 1-for-8 with four strikeouts so far, but he did hit this stand-up double on Sunday.

Mel Rojas Jr was featured here yesterday, as we talked about his season so far and his short-term future with the club.  On Sunday, he hit his eighth home run of the season, extending his single-season high in that category. It accounted for the only run by Indianapolis. For those that keep track, Indianapolis has been in a tailspin for the last month or so, dropping from a sure playoff spot, down to 2.5 games behind in second place. The playoffs in the minors are a great experience for young players and last year it gave Gregory Polanco a chance to get in some extra games(with meaning) at the level. Teams will usually call up prospects and put them on playoff teams, such as Reese McGuire and Austin Meadows with Jamestown last year. This season however, only Bradenton and Indianapolis have a chance at playoffs and neither is guaranteed.

Finally, we have a first look at Angel Sanchez, the pitcher acquired off waivers from the Chicago White Sox on July 31st. He made his debut yesterday with Altoona. The Pirates had an Angel Sanchez that pitches for Bristol, but oddly enough, he was released right after the other Angel Sanchez was acquired. The Altoona Angel went five innings in his debut on Sunday, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks, with three strikeouts. He was a highly rated prospect going into the 2013 season, ranked #8 in the Dodgers system. After being traded to the Marlins, he was ranked #16 in their system for the 2014 season. He’s bounced around a lot this year and really struggled, but he is still just 24 and has had plenty of success in the minors, so it’s a nice pick-up to see if the Pirates can get hit back on the prospect track.

Sanchez made his debut in the Pirates system on Sunday (photo credit: Donald Lancaster)
Sanchez made his debut in the Pirates system on Sunday (photo credit: Donald Lancaster)
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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