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Prospect Watch: Strong Pitching All Around the System

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TOP OF THE SYSTEM

A look at how the current top 30 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, 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 30 active prospects on the list. Rankings are from early season update, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Altoona – DNP

2. Austin Meadows, CF, Bradenton – 1-for-4, R

3. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

4. Josh Bell, 1B, Altoona – 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB

5. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – 1-for-4, RBI, BB, 3 R

6. Reese McGuire, C, Bradenton – 1-for-4

7. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

8. Elias Diaz, C, Indianapolis – 2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB

9. Harold Ramirez, OF, Bradenton – Pan-Am Tournament

10. Cole Tucker, SS, West Virginia – 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 SB

11. Kevin Newman, SS, Morgantown – 2-for-7, BB, RBI

12. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, GCL – 2-for-3, RBI, HBP, BB

13. Mitch Keller, RHP, Bristol – DNP

14. Clay Holmes, RHP, Bradenton – DNP

15. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, West Virginia – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 0 HR

16. Adrian Sampson, RHP, Indianapolis – DNP

17. Max Moroff, 2B, Altoona – 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI

18. Barrett Barnes, OF, Bradenton – DNP

19. JaCoby Jones, SS, Bradenton – 1-for-3, R, BB

20. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, West Virginia – DNP

21. Trey Supak, RHP, Bristol – DNP

22. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bristol – DNP

23. Adam Frazier, SS, Altoona – 1-for-4, BB, 3 K

24. Willy Garcia, OF, Indianapolis – 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB

25. Steven Brault, LHP, Altoona  – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 0 HR

26. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Morgantown – 2-for-7, BB

27.Tyler Eppler, RHP, Bradenton – DNP

28. Adrian Valerio, SS, GCL – 0-for-3

29. Connor Joe, 1B, West Virginia – DNP

30. Jacob Taylor, RHP, GCL – DNP

DAILY SUMMARY

Top Pitcher: Stephen Tarpley, LHP – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Keon Broxton, RF – 3-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB

Home Runs: Jordan Luplow (7), Trae Arbet (2)

AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS    

Box Score

Result: Indianapolis 12, Toledo 1

Starting Pitcher: Angel Sanchez, RHP – 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

Top Hitter: Keon Broxton, RF – 3-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB

Other Notable Performers:

Willy Garcia, CF – 3-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2B, BB, 2 RBI

Tony Sanchez, DH – 1-for-2, RBI

Alen Hanson, 2B – 1-for-4, RBI, BB 3 R

Game Notes: Angel Sanchez threw six strong innings and the Indianapolis bats collected 12 runs and 15 hits. The only player in the lineup that didn’t have a hit by the second inning was Steve Lombardozzi, who went 0-for-5 despite having the highest average of anyone in the lineup. Sanchez has allowed five earned runs over his last four starts and he has a 2.97 ERA with Indianapolis. Brad Lincoln threw three shutout innings to close out the game.

Keon Broxton led the offense with three hits and three RBIs. He also scored two runs and drew a walk. He has a seven-game hit streak and has reached base in 12 straight starts. He had a game back on July 9th in which he didn’t get a chance to bat, so it doesn’t affect the hit streak. Willy Garcia had three hits and drove in two runs. Alen Hanson scored three runs. Elias Diaz had two hits, a walk, two runs and an RBI.

AA: ALTOONA CURVE

Box Score

Result: Altoona 4, Richmond 2

Starting Pitcher: Steven Brault, LHP – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Max Moroff, 2B – 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Josh Bell, 1B – 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB

Adam Frazier, SS – 1-for-4, BB, 3 K

Game Notes: Steven Brault had a nice recovery from his worst start of the season, throwing six strong innings. He gave up five hits, didn’t walk anyone and threw a ton of strikes. Brault had 92 pitches on the night, 67 going for strikes. In his last game, he allowed six runs in 1.2 innings.

Max Moroff had three hits and drove in two runs. He raised his average to .322 and collected his 21st double of the season. Josh Bell had an RBI single and walked twice. After going 0-for-12 from June 30-July 2, Bell has reached base in ten straight games and he has an eight-game hit streak. Adam Frazier struck out three times in this game and he is 2-for-18 in his last five games. It was just the second time he has struck out three times in 234 pro games.

A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS   

Box Score

Result: Bradenton 3, Lakeland 1

Starting Pitcher: Frank Duncan, RHP – 7.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Edwin Espinal, 1B – 3-for-4, RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Austin Meadows, CF – 1-for-4, R

Erich Weiss, DH – 1-for-3, BB

JaCoby Jones, SS – 1-for-3, R, BB

Game Notes:  Frank Duncan continued the strong pitching against Lakeland, giving up one run over seven innings in Saturday night’s 3-1 win. The Marauders allowed six runs against Lakeland in the four-game series, which includes a 16 inning game on Thursday. Duncan went seven innings for the third time in four starts. Bradenton had plenty of chances to open this game up, but they went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Austin Meadows had a single and scored a run in this game. In July, he has a .351/.383/.442 slash line in 17 games. He is also hitting .351 in 26 games since the All-Star break. Edwin Espinal had three hits and drove in a run. He had two hits in Friday’s game.

A: WEST VIRGINIA POWER

Box Score

Result: West Virginia 7, Lexington 2

Starting Pitcher: Stephen Tarpley, LHP – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Jordan Luplow, 3B – 1-for-3, 3 RBI, BB

Other Notable Performers:

Chase Simpson, 1B –  2-for-2, 3B, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI

Cole Tucker, SS – 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 SB

Taylor Gushue, C – 2-for-2, 2 RBI

Game Notes: Stephen Tarpley continued his run of strong starts, allowing one run over six innings, while picking up eight strikeouts. He also had seven ground ball outs in this game. Tarpley has allowed a total of seven earned runs over his last six starts. If you take out his five earned run outing back on June 15th, he has given up a total of nine earned runs in ten starts. The eight strikeouts are a season high and two short of his career best set last season.

Jordan Luplow homered for the seventh time this season, which extended his hit streak to six games. He has 31 extra-base hits this season. Cole Tucker stole two bases, giving him 24 on the year. Elvis Escobar was thrown out stealing for the 18th time this year. He has been successful on just eight of his 26 attempts. Chase Simpson reached base all four plate appearances and drove in his 40th run.

A: WEST VIRGINIA BLACK BEARS

Game One Box Score

Result: Auburn 6, West Virginia 4

Starting Pitcher: Cesilio Pimentel, RHP – 0.1 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Danny Arribas, C- 2-for-2, R, RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Mitchell Tolman, 3B – 2-for-3, 2B

Kevin Kramer, 2B – 1-for-4, R

Kevin Newman, SS – 1-for-4, R, RBI

Game Notes:  This game started off ugly, with starter Cesilio Pimentel giving up six runs and recording just one out. That would be all Auburn needed in game one of the doubleheader, as they handed Morgantown a 6-4 loss. Jonathan Minier followed Pimentel with 4.2 scoreless innings, though he did give up three hits and four walks, while allowing all three inherited runners to score.

Ty Moore drove in his 19th run of the season and Danny Arribas had two hits and an RBI, but he left the game early for an undisclosed reason. After a horrendous start to his career, Casey Hughston has slowly improved his average. He began 1-for-43, but in the ten games since then, he has picked up hits in eight of them, going 10-for-31 over that stretch.

 

Game Two Box Score

Result: West Virginia 3, Auburn 1

Starting Pitcher: Luis Paula, RHP – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Ty Moore, LF – 2-for-3, 2B, R, RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Kevin Newman, SS- 1-for-3, BB

Kevin Kramer, 2B – 1-for-3

Game Notes:  Luis Paula might get lost on a night like tonight with great pitching all around, but his performance was perhaps the most impressive. This was his first start as a pro and the first time he went longer than 3.2 innings. Paula had a strong scouting report out of college, but he hasn’t shown the velocity that matched those reports. He was said to hit 95 MPH, though in short outings with the Pirates, he has been 89-90, touching 91 MPH. That didn’t matter on this night, as he shutdown an Auburn team that put up six runs in the first game. The five strikeouts is a career high, though all his other outings were in relief, so that’s not too surprising.

Kevin Newman had a single, extending his hit streak to six games. He has raised his average 55 points during that streak, after hitting .158 in his first 14 games. Kevin Kramer had a single and he now has a five-game hit streak.

RK: BRISTOL PIRATES

Box Score

Result: Danville 5, Bristol 4

Starting Pitcher: Logan Sendelbach, RHP – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Trae Arbet, 2B – 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Carlos Munoz, 1B – 1-for-5, 2B

Logan Ratledge, SS – 1-for-5

Game Notes: Trae Arbet is hitting well this year at Bristol though it does come with some asterisks. He is batting .396 and he slugged his second homer of the season in this game. He also committed his fifth error, struck out twice and was caught stealing. Arbet was signed to an over-slot deal during the 2013 draft out of high school, but he was about to turn 19 when he was drafted, so this year he’s a 21-year-old repeating the Appalachian League. He was a shortstop prior to this year before moving to second base. While the hitting has looked good early on, his plate patience, lack of speed and poor defense (now at a lower value position) still seem to be a problem. He will have a hard time continuing to hit well without taking more walks, or at least cutting down on the strikeouts.

 

RK: GCL PIRATES

Game One Box Score

Result: Pirates 3, Tigers 1

Starting Pitcher: Nicholas Economos, RHP – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

Top Hitter: Michael de la Cruz, CF – 2-for-3, 2B, 3B, RBI

Other Notable Performers:

Justin Seller, SS – 1-for-4

Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B – 2-for-3, RBI, HBP

Game Notes: The Pirates took the first game of the doubleheader in extra innings, scoring two runs in the top of the eighth for the 3-1 win. Nicholas Economos looked good in his second start, after pitching in relief during his first three games as a pro. He allowed one run in five innings, while striking out five batters. He now has a 2:13 BB/SO ratio in 14 innings, with a .178 BAA.

Ke’Bryan Hayes and Michael de la Cruz each had two hits, scored a run and drove in a run. Hayes also reached on a HBP, while de la Cruz had a double and triple. Raul Siri didn’t get a hit on the day and he has been in a big slump. In the first seven games of the season, he was hitting .481/.559/.704, with three doubles and a homer. In the 15 games since then, he is hitting .204 with two doubles and has seen his season OPS drop 542 points.

Justin Sellers played his fifth rehab game and his return has been a slow progress. He came out of the game after seven inning, getting replaced on defense by Adrian Valerio, which means Sellers still hasn’t played a full game yet. He also hasn’t played back-to-back days, which won’t happen unless he goes somewhere else tomorrow, since the GCL is off. This is his third rehab stint this season, with the first coming in late April with Indianapolis, followed by a brief stint with Bradenton in early June.

Game Two Box Score

Result: Tigers 5, Pirates 0

Starting Pitcher: Nestor Oronel, LHP – 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 0 K, 0 HR

Top Hitter: Michael de la Cruz, CF – 1-for-2, 2B, BB

Other Notable Performers:

Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B – 0-for-0, BB

Yunior Montero, RHP – 4.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR

Game Notes: The Pirates lost game two by a 5-0 score and they managed to collect just one hit. Starter Nestor Oronel put them down early, giving up three runs on four walks and a hit. Yunior Montero pitched well following Oronel, giving up one run over 4.1 innings. Richard Mitchell pitched the seventh inning and recorded the only strikeout by a Pirates’ pitcher. Usually the Pirates wouldn’t even have pitched in the seventh inning since this was a road game, but they were the home team in this game after yesterday’s contest in Bradenton was rained out.

The only hit was a first inning double by Michael de la Cruz to start off the game. After a fourth inning walk to de la Cruz, Tiger pitchers retired the last 13 batters. Ke’Bryan Hayes was the only other batter to reach base when he drew a walk in the first inning. He left the game early, though it may have more to do with playing 11 innings Saturday, rather than something else(injury/benched) because he left after playing defense in the third with no chances in the field.

RK: DSL PIRATES

The DSL Pirates are on their All-Star break until Monday.

 

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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