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Morning Report: What’s Left in the System from the 2008-11 DSL Pirates?

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The DSL season began on Saturday and the preview will be up later today. For this morning, I thoughts I’d go through the progress of the players in the DSL from 2008 until 2011. Tomorrow we can take a look at the 2012-15 teams. Here are the players still left in the system from those clubs:

2008: There is only one player left from this club, but you would hope that all DSL clubs produce a player of this caliber. Starling Marte was 19 when he hit .296/.367/.455 with nine homers and 20 steals for the DSL Pirates in 2008.

2009: This club has two left, though one is a technicality. It is also very similar to 2008 in that the one player you would take every time. Gregory Polanco hit .267/.370/.357 as a 17-year-old in 2009, doing that without a home run. Clario Perez is also still in the organization, though he was re-signed as a minor league free agent this off-season, then got suspended for 100 games, so you won’t see him for over a month still.

2010: This club only has three left and one of them is Clario Perez. I’ve seen the in depth scouting reports for the players signed in 2009 and it’s shocking that all they have left besides Perez are Alen Hanson and Willy Garcia. There were a lot of high upside 16-year-old players in this group, both on the pitching and hitting sides. Hanson and Garcia combined could still give the Pirates some decent production, but there were some other big time players who went nowhere.

2011: There are eight players still left from this group. Clario Perez was there for a third season, and he was joined by Danny Arribas, Edwin Espinal, Adrian Grullon, Jose Regalado, Cesilio Pimentel, Yunior Montero and Rinku Singh. Perez and Espinal both made it to Altoona, while Arribas is hitting well for West Virginia this season. Grullon has potential, but Tommy John surgery caused him to miss a lot of time. He was the player who was (and still is!) listed at 6’0″ when he signed. When he came to the States and we got to see him for the first time, he clearly wasn’t that tall. According to Grullon, he is 6’8″, and he looks the part. He will return this season for either Bristol or Morgantown.

Regalado and Pimentel are lower level fillers, while Montero has a lot of talent, but missed a lot of time due to MLB voiding his contract three times before the fourth stuck. Singh had a movie made about him and he’s currently still in the rehab process in Extended Spring Training. Of this group, Espinal has the best chance to add something. The Pirates have moved him quickly despite being young at every level he is at and the fact he has never had a big season. I think that throws off people who look past the age and only see stats. He is younger than some players in Extended Spring Training who are headed for a short-season team this year.

PLAYOFF PUSH

Bradenton is 8-2 in their last ten games. They are in first place in their division, three games ahead. The first half of the FSL season ends on June 22nd.

West Virginia is 6-4 in their last ten games. They are in fourth place in their division, trailing first place by seven 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 8-7 on Saturday evening. They will send Gerrit Cole to the mound today, making his 11th start of the season. He threw 6.1 innings against the Marlins in his last start, allowing three runs on nine hits and three walks. Cole threw five shutout innings in his previous start, but did allow ten base runners. The Angels will counter with Hector Santiago, who has a 4.96 ERA in 61.2 innings, with 52 strikeouts and a 1.26 WHIP. He has allowed four earned runs or more in each of his last three starts, getting knocked out before three full innings in two of those games.

In the minors, Indianapolis has a doubleheader today with Kyle Lobstein and Chad Kuhl scheduled to pitch. Masterson will be making his Triple-A debut after pitching five innings for Bradenton on Sunday. Kuhl will be starting today to keep him on his normal rest and Masterson has been moved to the bullpen Lobstein has pitched twice for Indianapolis, making his appearances between stints with the Pirates.

Frank Duncan returns to the Altoona rotation today after making four starts for Indianapolis. He posted a 3.38 ERA in Triple-A, with 22 strikeouts in 21.1 innings. Alex McRae has allowed two earned runs or less in eight of his 11 starts this season. The DSL Pirates are off today (and every Sunday). West Virginia is also off.

MLB: Pittsburgh (30-25) vs Angels (25-30) 1:35 PM
Probable starter: Gerrit Cole (2.72 ERA, 18:48 BB/SO, 59.2 IP)

AAA: Indianapolis (28-25) @ Toledo (25-28) 4:05 PM DH (season preview)
Probable starter: Kyle Lobstein (1.29 ERA, 1:5 BB/SO, 7.0 IP) and Chad Kuhl (1.24 ERA, 9:46 BB/SO, 58.0 IP)

AA: Altoona (31-23) vs Binghamton (22-32) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Frank Duncan (1.31 ERA, 6:20 BB/SO, 20.2 IP)

High-A: Bradenton (31-24) @ Lakeland (28-27) 1:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Alex McRae (2.51 ERA, 14:30 BB/SO, 61.0 IP)

Low-A: West Virginia (29-26) vs Delmarva (30-24) 6:05 PM 6/6 (season preview)
Probable starter: Dario Agrazal (3.60 ERA, 7:31 BB/SO, 50.0 IP)

DSL: Pirates (0-0) vs Rangers1 (0-0) 10:30 AM 6/6

HIGHLIGHTS

Here is a three-run homer from Alen Hanson in the 13th inning on Friday night to give Indianapolis a 14-11 lead. He also had a triple, stolen base and an RBI single in this game.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

6/4:  Pirates option Rob Scahill and Wilfredo Boscan to Indianapolis. Recall Curtis Partch and Cory Luebke.

6/4: Ryan Vogelsong transferred from 15-day disabled list to 60-day DL.

6/4: Guido Knudson added to Indianapolis roster.

6/2: Gage Hinsz assigned to West Virginia. Mitch Keller assigned to Extended Spring Training.

6/2: Justin Masterson assigned to Indianapolis. Frank Duncan assigned to Altoona.

6/2: Arquimedes Caminero assigned to Indianapolis on rehab.

6/2: David Whitehead assigned to GCL Pirates.

6/1: Pirates release Michael Fransoso.

5/29: Justin Masterson assigned to Bradenton.

5/29: Jhondaniel Medina assigned to Altoona.

5/28: Tony Watson reinstated from paternity list. Kyle Lobstein optioned to Indianapolis.

5/28: Cole Tucker promoted to Bradenton. Jess Amedee added to West Virginia roster.

5/27: Trevor Williams and Jim Fuller assigned to Indianapolis.

5/27: Kevin Newman placed on disabled list. Colten Brewer added to Bradenton roster.

5/27: Logan Sendelbach added to West Virginia roster. Jess Amedee assigned to Extended Spring Training.

5/26: Jhondaniel Medina promoted to Indianapolis.

5/25: Pirates place Tony Watson on paternity list. Recall Rob Scahill.

5/25: Pirates place Arquimedes Caminero on disabled list. Recall Kyle Lobstein.

5/24: Pirates place Ryan Vogelsong on disabled list. A.J. Schugel recalled from Indianapolis.

5/23: Logan Sendelbach assigned to Extended Spring Training. Jess Amedee added to West Virginia.

5/22: Trevor Williams assigned to Bradenton. Colten Brewer sent to Extended Spring Training.

5/22: Trace Tam Sing added to Bradenton roster.

THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY

Two former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus some draft news. Outfielder Ray Rohwer from the 1921-22 Pirates, was born on this date in 1895. He is overshadowed by the other player born on this date, Hall of Fame pitcher Jack Chesbro. He is best known for winning 41 games in 1904 for the New York Highlanders, but Chesbro pitched for the Pirates from 1899 until 1902, helping the team to two NL titles. During the 1902 season, the Pirates had their best winning percentage ever and Chesbro won 28 games, which is the highest total for a Pirates’ pitcher since 1900. You can read more on Chesbro here.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have used first round picks on June 5th to select Pedro Alvarez (2008),  John Van Benschoten (2001), Sean Burnett (2000), Willie Greene (1989), Mike Bielecki (1979), Rod Scurry (1974) and Steve Nicoscia in 1973.

On this date in 1915, the Pirates defeated the Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) by an 11-0 score, with Hall of Fame center field Max Carey going 5-for-5, with two doubles, two runs, two RBIs, and two stolen bases. Honus Wagner added two hits and drove in a run, while pitcher Al Mamaux moved to 7-1 on the season with the complete game shutout. The rest of the pitchers for the Pirates had a combined 12-20 record at the time. You can view the boxscore 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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