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Prospect Watch: Trevor Williams Cruises in First Start Back

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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.

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

 14. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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15.Cole Tucker, SS, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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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, Altoona – [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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24. Trevor Williams, RHP, Bradenton -[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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Tyler Glasnow  came into Sunday’s start with a 2.05 ERA and 54 strikeouts, which ranked third in the International League. It didn’t take long for him to add to that total. He struck out the side on 14 pitches, with 12 going for strikes. All three batters went down swinging, two on the curve and one on a 94 MPH fastball inside. Glasnow was sitting 94-95 and threw four curves, all 79-80. It was an impressive inning, especially when you factor in Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge were the last two batters, two of the top three prospects for the Yankees.

In the second, Glasnow started with another swinging  strikeout, this time on 95 down the middle. The next batter reached on a slow grounder to first base that hit the bag and kicked up in the air away from first baseman Dan Gamache. Just an unlucky hop for Indianapolis. With a runner on, Glasnow had a little bit slower velocity, hitting 92-94 with the fastball. He got a fly ball to left field, follow by a fly out to right field to end the inning. This was 14 pitches, ten fastballs, two curves and his first two change-ups. Those changes were 88 and 90, both for strikes.

The third inning started with a single lined to the left center gap. The next batter sacrificed the runner to second base. That was followed by a four-pitch walk. Glasnow got out of trouble with a ball grounded right to second base, where Alen Hanson made the easy 4-3 double play. Despite losing his control for a batter and giving up a hard hit, Glasnow still only threw ten pitches. The count was seven fastballs, two curves and one change, which went for a ball at 87 MPH.

In the fourth, Glasnow really used his curve effectively, getting two strikeouts on it, and also making a batter bail on one that just missed the inside corner. He gave up a well hit single down the left field line, but got some help from Danny Ortiz to erase that runner. On a steal attempt, Jacob Stallings threw the ball into center field. The runner tried to go to third base, but Ortiz charged the ball and made a great throw to retire him at third base. Glasnow worked hard in this inning, throwing 16 pitches and a few pick-off throws. He needs to work on his pick-off move, and it seems like he has been told to focus on that whenever a runner gets on. He threw two change-ups this inning, one at 88 got a swinging strike, while the other at 89 was the hard hit ball into left field.

In the fifth, Glasnow had some trouble and got some help from others. The first batter lined a single into right field. He then got a line drive right to shortstop Max Moroff, who got a double play with the runner taking off on the pitch. Glasnow walked the next batter, then looked like he finally picked a runner off (I believe he’s never done that), but the runner got in a rundown and made it back to first base when Glasnow didn’t cover the bag, standing about ten feet away while the play went on.

Glasnow then got some umpiring help on a 3-2 fastball that was both low and outside. The ump probably owned him a couple from early in the game, but this one was definitely a ball. Glasnow threw 17 pitches, just seven for strikes. He also threw 4-5 pick-offs. He threw one change which was a called strike, and three curves which were all balls. He hit 96 this inning (first time today), but it was well up and out of the strike zone.

In the sixth with 71 pitches (43 strikes) already, Glasnow gave up a soft liner to center field to the first batter. After a towering pop up to first base, Gary Sanchez hit a two-run bomb to left field that was well over the wall despite the wind blowing in at the time. One pitch later, Glasnow allowed a bunt single. That was followed by a line drive into right field, which put runners on the corners. Glasnow got out with two straight strikeouts on curves, running his pitch count up to 22 for the inning, which ended his day. He gave up two runs on eight hits and two walks in six innings, striking out nine batters. The eight hits are the second most he has allowed in a game during his career.

The game started off great and slowly got worse for Glasnow, as he threw 55 pitches in his last three innings, plus a lot of pick-off throws throughout the game. He was commanding his fastball early, hitting spots great. After the second inning, his fastball was very erratic and lost some velocity. Glasnow threw 14 first pitch balls to the last 21 hitters of the game. The curve looked very good this game throughout, using it six times for strikeouts. He threw eight change-ups, six for strikes, though two ended up as hits.

Indianapolis lost 2-0 and never put together much of a threat on offense. The only time that had a good chance to score was when Alen Hanson doubled off the right-center field wall with one out in the sixth, then stole third base, his eighth steal of the season. That double was his first hit since being sent down by the Pirates. Willy Garcia, Max Moroff and Jacob Stallings each added a single, accounting for the only other three hits for the Indians. Adam Frazier had his 13-game hitting streak snapped, though he did draw a walk to keep his on base streak going. Josh Bell and Stallings also drew walks. Indianapolis went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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Altoona’s doubleheader was rained out.

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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BRADENTON – The Marauders got a great start from the rehabbing Trevor Williams today, although they didn’t exactly need it with the way their offense performed. The offense combined for 12 hits and five walks, leading to eight runs on the day in an 8-2 victory.

Williams threw five shutout innings in his rehab outing, showing great control, which is to be expected from a Triple-A pitcher throwing in A-ball again. You can read my report on him here. Bradenton Manager Michael Ryan used his performance as a teaching moment for the other pitchers in the clubhouse.

“It’s fun for us to watch guys like that, just the way they go about their business,” Ryan said. “We just talked about it in the room there, just how he was in control. He had a plan going into the game. He got his work in, and was just under control, and was super professional. It’s great for those guys to see, to learn from, and understand that someday they’re going to be at that point. That’s the excitement, and that’s why we’re here.”

Ryan noted that Williams was locating everything, and making quick adjustments when his command was off.

“He was down, attacking, getting strike one,” Ryan said. “Perfect recipe for success, no matter what level you’re going to pitch at.”

As for the offense, the Marauders struggled offensively at the start of the year, but have been doing a much better job in the month of May. Kevin Newman, Kevin Kramer, Pablo Reyes, and Connor Joe each had multiple hits, with Reyes reaching base four times today. Ryan said that the team has a new aggressive approach on the bases, which he believes is taking some pressure off of this offense to knock guys in.

“I think our aggressiveness on the bases has taken a little bit of pressure off some guys with runners in scoring position,” Ryan said. “The goal was just to try to get to third base as quick as possible, any way that we can.”

Kevin Kramer showed this off in the third inning, doing a great job to go from first to third on a bloop single to right field. Ryan credited him with a good read on the play after the game. Pablo Reyes was also aggressive on the bases, although he ran into a few outs, which was a bit counter productive. He was thrown out at second twice — once trying to steal, and once trying to extend a single to a double. He did steal third base with one out in the eighth, starting off a five-run inning that gave the Marauders plenty of insurance.

Kevin Newman had a big game, picking up two hits, including a double, and a walk. His single was rather entertaining, as he bunted Trace Tam Sing over to third base, but reached on a hit when the ball settled in foul territory, barely touching the line. The ball came to a stop, and the opposing third baseman didn’t touch it, thinking it was foul. The umpire ruled it fair. This led to an argument where the umpires and the Dunedin infield and manager surrounded the ball, looking for signs that it was fair or foul. In the end, the umpire ruled that it was still touching the line, barely, and Newman got the hit.

Newman has done a great job this year of placing well hit balls anywhere he needs to put them for hits, but this was a bit extreme. Trevor Williams joked about the play after the game on Twitter.

The Marauders got four innings in relief from Jose Regalado, who gave up two runs on three hits, with no walks and four strikeouts. Regalado threw 57 pitches, with 37 for strikes, and got credited with a save. He’s the sixth starter right now in the Bradenton rotation, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him start game two of Friday’s double header, getting more of a look in a starter role. – Tim Williams

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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CHARLESTON, WV – An otherwise uneventful game ended in shocking fashion with a 3-2 Power win. For the first four innings of the first game of today’s doubleheader against the Hickory Crawdads, Power starter Logan Sendelbach worked perhaps the best game of the season.

His sinking fastball stayed down in the zone and bounced between 90 and 92 mph. The second, third, and fourth innings required a mere eleven, seven, and six pitches, respectively. He allowed one base runner. Then came the fifth inning. The two things that can hurt Sendelbach, as a pitcher who relies on a low groundball pitch, are walks and long bombs; both came into play today. Sendelbach got two outs on very hard hit balls to start the inning and then issued his second walk of the game. After the third, the Hickory batters stopped biting, and the umpire kept the strike zone tight. The runner stole second, and Chuck Moorman plated the run with a double to left-center. In the end, Sendelbach threw 30 pitches in the fifth, compared to 40 in the first through fourth combined. He left the game with the Power trailing 1-0 with two outs in the fifth.

Daniel Zamora, he of the devastating slider, took over from there. He struggled to keep his fastball in the strike zone, but his slow, sweeping slider proved effective. Zamora struggled through a scoreless, 22-pitch seventh inning, before giving up the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth.

Two of the three new roster additions made appearances in the game. Logan Ratledge, who has been up and down all year and is the only position player with a 0.00 ERA after a 16-inning game earlier this year, played locked down defense at third and scored the Power’s first run. Logan Hill, on the other hand, struck out twice and grounded out twice a day after being demoted from Bradenton.

The game ended with the wackiest finish of the season so far. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, the Power loaded the bases on a walk, a bloop single, and a swinging bunt. John Bormann popped up to the left side of the infield, and the Hickory pitcher and third baseman bumped into each other while tracking the high fly. The ball bounced benignly off of the pitcher’s glove, and Daniel Arribas and Ryan Nagle crossed for the walk-off win. – Abigail Miskowiec

Game Two recap:  In his first starting opportunity of the season, Billy Roth couldn’t find the strike zone. Roth has been coming out of the bullpen for the West Virginia Power after working as a starter in the lower levels; he infamously started his career 0-13. However, in his three appearances with the Power this year, Roth has pitched well enough to earn two wins and earn today’s spot start. Things did not go well.

Roth was pulled in the fourth inning, after giving up five earned runs. Roth threw ten consecutive balls to begin the inning and left with runners on first and third. One of those scored on an error by first baseman Daniel Arribas, leaving the Power down 6-2 entering the bottom half of the inning. Reliever Julio Eusebio didn’t fare much better. In the fifth inning, he gave up two walks and a two-run home run. Coming into the game, Eusebio had the best ERA on the team at 0.63 in eleven appearances, having only allowed one run this year. Eusebio’s replacement, Cesilio Pimentel, also fell victim to the Crawdad bats. He allowed a solo shot that landed on the street beyond the left field concourse. Ultimately, the Power entered the bottom half of the sixth trailing 9-2. That score would hold.

Offensively, the Power couldn’t muster much aside from a homer by Arribas and three singles by Cole Tucker. In total, the team scattered seven hits and were retired in order in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. – Abigail Miskowiec

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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