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Prospect Watch: Casey Hughston’s Homer Helps Give Morgantown NYPL Title

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P2 Top 30

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 (Nick Kingham, Jacob Taylor), 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 the mid-season update, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

3. Austin Meadows, CF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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4. Josh Bell, 1B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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5. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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6. Reese McGuire, C, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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7. Elias Diaz, C, Pirates – In Majors

8. Harold Ramirez, OF, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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9. Cole Tucker, SS, West Virginia – Disabled List

10. Kevin Newman, SS, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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11. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Morgantown -[insert_php]
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12. Mitch Keller, RHP, Bristol -[insert_php]
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13. Clay Holmes, RHP, Bradenton – Disabled List

14. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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15. Max Moroff, 2B, Altoona -[insert_php]
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16. Barrett Barnes, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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17. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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18. Trey Supak, RHP, Bristol -[insert_php]
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19. Gage Hinsz, RHP, Bristol -[insert_php]
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20. Adam Frazier, SS, Altoona -[insert_php]
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21. Willy Garcia, OF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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22. Steven Brault, LHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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23. Kevin Kramer, 2B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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24. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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25. Adrian Valerio, SS, GCL -[insert_php]
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26. Connor Joe, 1B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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27. John Holdzkom, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

28. Jordan Luplow, 3B, West Virginia – Disabled List

29. Casey Hughston, OF, Morgantown -[insert_php]
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30. Billy Roth, RHP, Bristol -[insert_php]
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P2 Top Performers

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Indianapolis Indians Prospect Watch

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P2 Game Notes

Indianapolis held a big lead late in the game, going up 5-1 against Columbus heading to the bottom of the seventh. That was due to a strong start from Chris Volstad, who gave up one run in six innings, with a walk, six hits, and seven strikeouts. The bullpen didn’t have as good of a night, with A.J. Morris and Josh Wall giving up a combined five earned runs, including four in the seventh inning, which ended up leading to a 6-5 loss for the Indians in game one.

The Indians missed a possible scoring chance in the top of the first inning when Alen Hanson was thrown out at home with one out on a grounder to the shortstop. Hanson and Gorkys Hernandez led off the game with back-to-back singles, then moved to scoring position after a sacrifice bunt. Indianapolis couldn’t get a run in the inning, but started their scoring in the third.

Hernandez came up to the plate in the third with a runner at second and one out. After a wild pitch put the runner at third, Hernandez had a single to bring in the first run of the game. It was one of three hits for Hernandez, and one of four times he reached base on the night, including a walk.

Volstad gave up his only run of the night in the bottom of the third, after giving up three singles in the inning. Indianapolis scored another run in the top of the fourth, thanks to an RBI single from Dan Gamache with two outs. That gave the Indians a 2-1 lead, which they held until the seventh inning.

The Indians appeared to break the game open in the top of the seventh. Hanson and Hernandez led off the inning with back-to-back singles again, with Hanson getting his second hit of the night. Hanson was thrown out at third after a failed sacrifice bunt attempt by Steve Lombardozzi, although the runners moved in scoring position after a wild pitch in the next at-bat with Willy Garcia at the plate. This led to a run when Garcia grounded out to short. Another run scored on a passed ball with Josh Bell at the plate. Bell walked and moved to second on another wild pitch, then scored on a Keon Broxton single. Broxton stole second, and moved to third on another passed ball, but couldn’t score.

That’s when the bullpen took over for Indianapolis and blew the lead. The offense couldn’t do anything the rest of the night, going down in order in the eighth and ninth innings. Indianapolis will look to even the series tomorrow with Wilfredo Boscan on the mound. – Tim Williams

Altoona Curve Prospect Watch

 

Altoona was eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday night.

Bradenton Marauders Prospect Watch

 

Bradenton has completed their season.

West Virginia Power Prospect Watch

West Virginia was eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday night.

West Virginia Black Bears Prospect Watch

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P2 Game Notes

Morgantown went up against first round pick James Kaprielian on Tuesday night with a chance to win the NYPL title. Kaprielian was shaky at the start, issuing two walks to begin the game. Third place hitter Ty Moore popped up a bunt, failing to move the runners up. Danny Arribas struck out next, then Logan Hill struck out as well. The Black Bears were unable to score, but they forced Kaprielian to throw 27 pitches. That looked like a good sign, but he turned things around and gave a strong performance for Staten Island.

Dario Agrazal Jr. worked quickly through the bottom of the first inning, retiring the side in order. In the top of the second, Kaprielian gave up a two out single to Casey Hughston, who was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

In the bottom of the second, Logan Hill made a diving catch for what looked like the first out, but the ball popped out of his glove when he hit the ground(this game was shown on MiLB.tv). Agrazal walked the next hitter to put two on with no outs. He then got a strikeout, followed by another strikeout. The third strike got away from catcher Christian Kelley, which allowed the lead runner to move to third base. A wild pitch then moved the other runner up, but one pitch later, Agrazal picked up his third strikeout of the inning.

Kaprielian really settled down after the first inning, needing 21 pitches to get through the next two frames. Agrazal matched him in the bottom in the third, retiring the side in order. He was at 47 pitches, with 35 strikes, which resulted in six strikeouts. Not to be outdone, the first round pick stepped up and retired the side on eight pitches, sending the game to the bottom of the fourth with no score.

Agrazal picked up two more strikeouts in the fourth, giving him a career-high eight strikeouts in the game. To start the fifth, Carlos Munoz laced a single that just got under the first baseman’s glove. Ke’Bryan Hayes sacrificed him over to second base, then Casey Hughston grounded out to second base to move Munoz to third base with two outs. Erik Forgione struck out to end the inning.

Staten Island got on the board in the fifth with a solo homer to lead-off the inning. After Agrazal picked up his ninth strikeout, he gave up a double. The next batter flew out to center field and that was followed by a ground out to third base to end the inning. Ke’Bryan Hayes had three plays up to this point and showed a strong arm on all three throws.

This was the end of the day for Agrazal, who extended his season-long streak of going at least five innings with three earned runs or less. He threw 80 pitches, 58 for strikes. He painted the corners all game and wasn’t afraid to pitch inside. Agrazal also did a good job of keeping the ball down.

The sixth started with what looked like a home run from Mitchell Tolman, but the umpires ruled that it hit off the wall and Tolman has a double. The three Staten Island announcers believed that it hit off the top of the wall, which is a home run there. With a runner on second and no outs, Christian Kelley was asked to bunt Tolman over and failed to get it down, striking out. Ty Moore grounded out, getting Tolman to third with two outs. Danny Arribas popped out to end the inning. Should have been 1-1, but Staten Island had a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.

Cesilio Pimentel came in to pitch the sixth for Morgantown and struck out the side on 16 pitches. Kaprielian faced one batter in the seventh, getting a pop up from Logan Hill. He was removed for a lefty, who came in to face Carlos Munoz. That was a bad decision for Staten Island, as Munoz tied it up with a homer, which the umpires had no trouble calling right. Ke’Bryan Hayes followed with a walk, then Hughston struck out. Erik Forgione singled, putting two runners on and it chased one lefty reliever and brought on another.

With Mitchell Tolman up, a wild pitch allowed both runners to get into scoring position. He struck out on a pitch he believed he fouled off and had some words with the umpire, but the call stood and it ended the inning. Pimentel got out of the seventh on just nine pitches, collecting another strikeout.

In the eighth, Ty Moore hit a one out double. Danny Arribas came up and hit one to the wall in left-center, just missing a home run. Moore moved up to third base on the play. Logan Hill couldn’t bring him home, hitting a ball that went about ten feet in front of the plate.

The bottom of the eighth started with a bloop that fell in front of a diving Casey Hughston. A bunt moved the runner up 90 feet. A hard single into left field put runners on the corners. The was the end off Pimentel’s night and it brought on Julio Eusebio to try to get out of the jam. Eusebio struck out the first batter he faced, then got a grounder to Ke’Bryan Hayes to end the inning, sending it to the ninth tied.

Hayes picked up a one out single in the ninth and he was followed by a huge two-run homer from Casey Hughston to give Morgantown a 3-1 lead. Hughston looked bad in both playoff series and really had a bad regular season as well, so he was the last player you’d expect to get a big hit. Even earlier in this game, he swung and missed at a lot of pitches, but he stepped up at the perfect time.

Eusebio tried to close it out in the ninth, starting the inning with a strikeout. He then went 0-2 on the next hitter, before taking it to 3-2. Eusebio painted the outside corner with a fastball for another strikeout. The next batter grounded out on the first pitch to Hayes, who made the play to end the game and give Morgantown a title in their first season.

Bristol Pirates Prospect Watch1

 

The Bristol Pirates have completed their season. The season recap will be posted soon.

GCL Pirates Prospect Watch

The GCL Pirates have completed their season. Season recap and top ten prospect list can be found here.

 

DSL Pirates Prospect Watch

The DSL Pirates have completed their season. You can read our full season recap here, with reports on 41 different players. There is also a list of 12 players to watch, which can be found here.

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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