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Prospect Watch: Jung-ho Kang Begins Rehab in Indianapolis With Taillon on the Mound

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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, 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 2016 prospect guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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2. Austin Meadows, CF, Altoona – Disabled List

3. Josh Bell, 1B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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4. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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5. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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6. Harold Ramirez, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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7. Reese McGuire, C, Altoona -[insert_php]
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8. Elias Diaz, C, Pirates – Disabled List.

9. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

10. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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11. Kevin Newman, SS, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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12. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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13. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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 14. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Bradenton – Extended Spring Training

15.Cole Tucker, SS, West Virginia – Disabled List

16. Chad Kuhl, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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17. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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18. Mitch Keller, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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19. Clay Holmes, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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20. Willy Garcia, OF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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21. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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22. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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23. Barrett Barnes, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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25. Gage Hinsz, RHP,  – Extended Spring Training

26. Adrian Valerio, SS, – Extended Spring Training

27. Adam Frazier, INF/OF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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28. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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29. Jordan Luplow, OF/3B, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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30. JT Brubaker, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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P2 Top Performers

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Prospect-Watch-Indy

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Quick Analysis from John Dreker – Jameson Taillon went 4.1 innings on Monday before leaving due to a high pitch count. He allowed seven hits and some of them were hit hard, so it wasn’t anywhere near as good as his first start, but it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. Taillon didn’t walk anyone, though he did go to 3-2 on multiple batters. His fastball looked as good as the first game, sitting 93-95 MPH, topping out at 96 once. His 79-81 MPH curve was working well and he threw some great change-ups (87-88) in this outing. So all three pitches looked very good, he just wasn’t as sharp as his first outing. He was hurt by two errors that extended innings, and the batters doing better this game might be due to him facing the same team he saw on Wednesday. This is more what I expected from his first start coming back, though I’m still impressed because he had three pitches looking like plus offerings at times. Just like the first outing, he worked quickly and looked focused, regardless of the situation.

INDIANAPOLIS – Allowing just one infield single in the first inning, Jameson Taillon picked up just where he dropped off in his first outing. The frame started with Taillon in the 93 range, but ended on an elevated 95 MPH fastball for a strikeout.

Indianapolis stranded two runners after singles in the first, and another in the second, but the baserunners were an upgrade from recent droughts in the department. In the first inning, Jung-Ho Kang, in his first day of a rehab assignment, popped out softly to the left side.

The second inning saw Taillon consistently at 94-95. However, when he got elevated with the fastball at 95, he was greeted with a lead-off triple that just missed leaving the park. Taillon was able to pitch around it, aided by a drawn in Alen Hanson throwing a runner out at the plate. He also picked up his second strikeout on an 82 MPH curve.

Continuing a trend in this game, the lead-off hitter smashed a double to left center on the first pitch against Taillon in the third. This time, it came back to bite the right-hander. While the velocity was there and the curve was strong, his stuff was quite hittable during the frame and three hits and two runs resulted. Josh Bell may have cost him one with a fielding error at first. While drawn in, Bell booted a fairly soft hit ground ball and got no outs.

In his second at-bat, Kang struck out on a high and away 92 MPH fastball out of the zone.

Taillon got out of the fourth without any damage, but Alen Hanson did commit a throwing error. He was shifted behind second base on a right-handed hitter and had a hard time coming up with the bouncer. Then he threw it away, but Bell was slow to come off the bag for assistance.

In the fourth inning, Jason Rogers just missed a home run on an 80 MPH change up, but was thrown out trying to go to second after some indecision.

Taillon seemed to run out of gas in the fifth, allowing two hits before getting pulled with his pitch count at 90 pitches. Guido Knudson came in and retired the next two batters, stranding the inherited runners. Bell made a strong defensive play for the second out, as he got in behind the runner on a pick off from the catcher. Bell also made a nice jumping stab to end the top of the sixth as well.

Kang led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk, went to second on a throwing error, and scored on a two-run double by Bell. Jacob Stallings then picked up a two-run single to cap the four-run inning.

In his final at-bat in the seventh, Kang struck out on a high and inside 93 MPH fastball, but did foul off a couple of tough pitches. He finished 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk.

Knudson continued his strong start to the season with 2.2 more scoreless innings of work. Jorge Rondon finished it off for the save and a 4-2 win for Indianapolis. – Ryan Palencer

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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Altoona won 12-5 on Monday night and got some power from two very unlikely sources. Jason Creasy started this game and looked really bad in the first inning, giving up a lot of hard hit balls. Harrisburg put four runs on the board and it looked like it could be a long night, but things changed in a hurry. Counting the last out of the first inning, Creasy retired 12 batters in a row. That streak ended on a walk, and that walk came around to score from first base on a throwing error by Reese McGuire. Creasy ended up getting through five innings, throwing 60 of his 89 pitches for strikes.

Josh Smith followed Creasy with three shutout innings. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 24.1 innings, covering 17 appearances.

As for the offense, Reese McGuire, Erich Weiss and Chris Diaz all homered, driving in a total of eight runs between them. Weiss isn’t a power hitter, but he’s also nowhere near the other two when it comes to home run droughts. McGuire last homered on August 29, 2014 and he had just three in three years coming into this season. Diaz had two homers coming into this season in four years. His last homer came on August 5, 2013. All three players had two hits in the game.

Harold Ramirez had a big hit in the second inning with the bases loaded, clearing the bases with his first triple of the season. He still finished the game going 1-for-5 with two strikeouts, so he isn’t out of an early season slump that has his average at .179 with one walk out of the lead-off spot. Eric Wood, Jose Osuna and Stetson Allie each doubled in this game. Allie has a .324 average through 37 at-bats.

 

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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BRADENTON – After combining for 11 shutout innings in his first two starts with the Marauders, Brandon Waddell showed he was human tonight, giving up just two runs in five innings of work, while striking out six and walking one. He now has a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings this season, with a 13:2 K/BB ratio.

Waddell did a great job tonight of getting ahead of hitters, using his five pitch mix to keep guys off-balance, and overall making it look easy. He ran into some trouble in the third, giving up a lead-off walk, followed by a double that scored the first run. He retired the next three batters in order to escape the frame and leave the runner stranded at third.

The second run came in the fifth inning. Joey Pankake led off the frame with a solo homer to left field, and for a moment, it looked like the runs were about to… stack up. But Waddell got a fly out in the next at-bat, and got two of the next three hitters to strike out to end his outing. Stack up because of a stack of pancakes. Waddell was a bit unlucky with his runs tonight, as he only allowed three hits in those two frames, but the sequencing was enough for two runs to score. Pancakes because his last name is Pankake. Waddell did give up the home run to Pankake in the fifth, but had a much butter result in his other at-bat, striking him out in the second inning, as one of his six strikeouts on the night. I’ll stop.

The Marauders got a big boost in the fourth inning, when Pablo Reyes hit his second home run of the season, once again pulling the ball over the left field wall. The two-run homer came after Kevin Newman grounded out with runners at second and third, bringing in a run. Newman only had one hit on the night, but made it count, knocking in a run in the second inning.

Luis Heredia came on and pitched the final two innings, picking up the save. Heredia has been flashing a mid-90s fastball when working with his four-seamer, but tonight he went almost exclusively with his new two-seamer, which he added in winter ball over the off-season. He started off rocky, issuing three balls to the first hitter. After a strike call, he got a fly out. He then retired five of the next six batters on quick groundouts, thanks to the two-seamer. Heredia is far from being a top prospect again, but so far it’s looking like he’s got a better shot at making the majors as a reliever, rather than as a starter. – Tim Williams

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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West Virginia started play at 7:05 PM on Monday and their game ended on Tuesday. They won 8-7 in 16 innings, with Mitchell Tolman picking up the walk-off hit. This game had a lot of offense for the Power, as their hitters reached base 29 times on the day, with 14 hits, 13 walks and two hit-by-pitches.

Ke’Bryan Hayes led the way, continuing his impressive season as one of the youngest players in the league. He finished the game going 4-for-6, with two walks. One of those hits was his first career homer. Another hit drove home two runs in the bottom of the tenth to tie the score. He has a .415 average through ten games, with five doubles and a homer. That extra-base total matches what he put up in 56 games last year.

Tito Polo had three hits, extending his season-long hit streak to ten games. He also scored two runs. Tolman had four hits, including two doubles, to go along with two runs scored, the game-winning RBI and a walk. The bottom six hitters combined to go 3-for-35 in this game, though they also combined for ten walks. The Power went 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position.

Logan Sendelbach had a solid outing, giving up one run on five hits and no walks in 5.1 innings. He has a 1.80 ERA through three starts. He was followed by Eric Karch, who allowed four runs in 2.2 innings. Next up was Tate Scioneaux, who allowed two unearned runs over four innings. Tanner Anderson was the fourth reliever and he put in three scoreless innings before the Power went to the end of their bench and put infielder Logan Ratledge on the mound. He threw a scoreless 16th inning and got the win. Besides the fact a position player won a game, it’s odd that he picked up his first win this year before he collected his first hit.

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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