Usually when I’m doing the schedule section below, I’m also planning out my coverage for the next night. Indianapolis usually wins out because they have the most important prospects at this time, with Chad Kuhl, Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow making regular starts. That’s besides the prospects in the lineup. Trevor Williams should return soon, so I’ll want to see him pitch at least a couple times. Altoona gets some priority if Clay Holmes, Tyler Eppler or Brandon Waddell are on the mound and they aren’t going up against any of the big three for Indianapolis. I can always watch their starts later thanks to the magic of MiLB.tv.
Poor Bradenton is never shown online and they don’t even have an announcer at this moment with Nate March moving on to announce some worse sport. I listened to a couple of their games before he left, but there had to be nothing else going on at the same time. Then we have West Virginia, a team that has been broadcast online about ten times this year because a few teams in the league have the cameras rolling. I’ve watched Logan Sendelbach pitch twice, JT Brubaker twice and Mitch Keller three times. I’ve wanted to see Dario Agrazal, but he’s never been on at a good time.
So basically, I watch a game whenever I can, then occasionally listen to the radio feed if nothing else is on. Tonight is one of those nights that goes against the grain. I’ll be tuning in to hear Mitch Keller pitch, but it’s more than just him in this game. He is going up against Dillon Tate, who we covered here during the draft last year until late in the college season when people started calling him a possible first overall pick. Tate was a reliever-turned-starter, so there were questions about his stamina, but no questions about the quality of his stuff. That got him picked fourth overall by the Texas Rangers.
The pitching match-up makes it interesting because they are both high upside players. It goes beyond that though, as Hickory is the second best team in the league and one of the better hitting teams. It’s a good test for Keller, and it’s a good test for the position prospects to face Tate.
Keller has taken on better offensive teams, one being Lakewood in his last start. He went seven innings and allowed two solo homers, one was wind-aided. He also threw six shutout against Hagerstown and five shutout against Greenville. That’s three of the four teams that are better than Hickory in OPS and Keller has a 1.00 ERA against them. Tate really hasn’t got going yet and he missed three weeks with an injury, but he does have 22 strikeouts in 17 innings. He also has plus stuff, so if his command is on, he’s a tough test for young hitters.
So I’ll be passing on watching David Whitehead again, and Kyle Lobstein for a first time with Indianapolis. We have two people covering Indianapolis tonight, and Sean McCool gets the nod for Altoona coverage. Mitch Keller against Hickory. Ke’Bryan Hayes, Cole Tucker and Tito Polo versus Dillon Tate. Those are the big match-ups for prospects tonight, even if I can’t watch them.
PLAYOFF PUSH
Bradenton is 6-4 in their last ten games. They are in third place in their division, trailing first place by two games. The first half of the FSL season ends on June 22nd.
West Virginia is 4-6 in their last ten games. They are in fourth place in their division, trailing first place by six games. The first half of the SAL season ends on June 19th.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates won 8-2 over the Braves on Thursday night. The Pirates now play three games against the Rockies, starting tonight with Gerrit Cole on the mound. He threw eight shutout innings in his last start against the Cubs. Cole faced the Rockies on April 26th and allowed two earned runs over six innings. Colorado will go with Eddie Butler, who has a 4.74 ERA in 19 innings. He has made three starts and one relief appearance. Butler gave up four earned runs over five innings in his last start against the Mets.
In the minors, Kyle Lobstein will start in place of Wilfredo Boscan, who was called up to Pittsburgh. Lobstein hasn’t pitched yet since being sent down last week. Stephen Tarpley makes his third start for Bradenton. He allowed one run over four innings in his debut, then stepped it up to two runs over six innings in his last game. He is holding batters to a .161 average. In case you skipped the top part, Mitch Keller starts today for the eighth time.
MLB: Pittsburgh (22-18) vs Rockies (20-20) 7:05 PM
Probable starter: Gerrit Cole (3.05 ERA, 12:39 BB/SO, 41.1 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (20-19) vs Scranton/WB (24-18) 7:15 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Kyle Lobstein (4.79 ERA, 9:14 BB/SO, 20.2 IP with the Pirates)
AA: Altoona (22-18) vs Portland (15-26) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: David Whitehead (7.36 ERA, 33:18 BB/SO, 29.1 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (20-19) vs Dunedin (17-24) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Stephen Tarpley (2.70 ERA, 4:8 BB/SO, 10.0 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (20-19) vs Hickory (26-14) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Mitch Keller (1.10 ERA, 3:48 BB/SO, 41.0 IP)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is a fun one. Edgar Santana driving in two runs in his first professional at-bat. Since he’s a reliever, he may not see many more at-bats and I can’t imagine there are a lot more hits left in his bat…probably someone else’s bat actually.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
5/19: Starling Marte activated from paternity list. Alen Hanson optioned to Indianapolis
5/19: Elias Diaz placed on 60-day disabled list.
5/19: Wilfredo Boscan added to 40-man roster and promoted to Pittsburgh. Cory Luebke optioned to Indianapolis.
5/16: Starling Marte placed on paternity list. Alen Hanson recalled.
5/16: Juan Diaz added to Indianapolis roster.
5/15: Pirates activate Cory Luebke from disabled list. A.J. Schugel optioned to Indianapolis.
5/13: Pirates release Daniel Bard.
5/13: Kyle Lobstein optioned to Indianapolis. Pittsburgh Pirates recall Cole Figueroa.
5/12: Cesilio Pimentel activated from West Virginia disabled list. Julio Vivas assigned to Extended Spring Training.
5/9: Mel Rojas Jr. traded to the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations.
5/8: Cole Tucker added to West Virginia Power roster. Logan Ratledge assigned to Extended Spring Training.
5/7: Billy Roth added to West Virginia Power roster.
5/6: Jung-ho Kang activated from disabled list.
5/6: Mel Rojas Jr. assigned to Extended Spring Training.
5/5: Jason Rogers optioned to Indianapolis.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Two former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, one of them is among the most underrated players in team history. George Grantham played seven seasons for the Pirates, spending time at first base, second base and outfield. He was a member of two teams that went to the World Series, the 1925 and 1927 teams. He had a .901 OPS in 913 games with the Pirates and never posted an OPS below .850 with Pittsburgh. That OPS ranks him fifth in team history and second only to Ralph Kiner among players with more than 3200 plate appearances.
The other player born on this date was Joe Harris, who was not only a teammate of Grantham for two years, he also played first base. He is a lot like Grantham in that he is relatively unknown despite a solid career. He was a .317 career hitter and batted .329 with the Pirates in 145 games. Harris once got a lifetime ban from MLB for signing with a semi-pro team, but was reinstated based on his service during WWI.
