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Prospect Watch: Duncan Pitches Gem in Indianapolis Victory

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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, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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3. Josh Bell, 1B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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4. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pirates – In the Majors

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, Altoona – [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 – [insert_php]
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15.Cole Tucker, SS, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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16. Chad Kuhl, RHP, Pirates – In the Majors

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, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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25. Gage Hinsz, RHP, West Virginia  – [insert_php]
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26. Adrian Valerio, SS – Bristol – [insert_php]
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27. Adam Frazier, INF/OF, Pirates – In the Majors

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, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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P2 Top Performers

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Prospect-Watch-Indy

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INDIANAPOLIS — He allowed a lead-off single in the second inning, but two pitches later he induced a double play.

Frank Duncan had his best outing at the Triple-A level, pitching seven shutout innings against Gwinnett on Wednesday afternoon. He didn’t allow a walk and struck out seven.

And anytime he got into some mild trouble, Duncan quickly found a way out.

“He put the ball on the ground,” Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor said. “If you can put the ball on the ground when you need to, to get that double play, that’s always huge no matter who’s out there. He’s shown the ability to do that.”

Duncan has now allowed one run or less in four of his last five starts. Opponents have scored a run against Duncan in just five of the last 30.2 innings that he’s pitched.

“When he can locate and command his slider, it’s pretty good,” Treanor said. “When the sinker is down, you saw some swings and misses on the sinker today.”

The seven innings is a new career high for Duncan at the Triple-A level, previous completing 6.2 innings at Charlotte on June 19. He’s thrown at least six innings in each of his last four starts.

Duncan said he was able to command his slider on both sides of the plate, using it late in counts for some swings and misses. And his sinker looked good, allowing him to get some ground balls when needed the most — including two key double plays.

“That’s something I’m always going to have to do because it’s the kind of pitcher I am,” Duncan said. “I pitch to contact and sometimes you’re going to give up some hits but you have to maintain your focus and confidence in the sinker, keeping the ball on the ground and getting your ground ball to roll a double play

Gwinnett’s Rio Ruiz led the second inning off with a single to right field, but Duncan erased the base runner by inducing a 6-3 double play two pitches later. Matt Lipka reached on a two-out bunt single, but Duncan struck out Braeden Schlehuber to end the inning. That was also important in order to not allow the lineup to flip order, forcing pitcher Aaron Blair to lead off the next inning.

Duncan’s first inning started well, striking out Mel Rojas. But the next two batters reached — one on a single and the other on an error by shortstop Gift Ngoepe.

But Duncan induced a 1-4-6-3 double play, on a grounder that deflected off his glove to second baseman Max Moroff, to end the inning. The biggest downside of the first inning was that Duncan needed 21 pitches in the frame.

But Duncan made up for that high pitch count by posting some efficient innings later in the game. He needed just seven pitches to get out of the third inning, despite allowing a single to Mel Rojas Jr. The inning opened with Gwinnett pitcher Aaron Blair hitting a fly out to center. After Rojas’ single, Duncan got a fielder’s choice and hard flyout.

Duncan needed just 11 pitches to retire the side in the fourth and fifth innings. He worked around a two-out single by Reid Brignac in the sixth inning, before retiring the side in the seventh inning.

Duncan threw 63 of his 90 pitches for a strike, making it three consecutive starts with at least 90 pitches thrown.

The Indians scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Dan Gamache had a two-run single up the middle with the bases loaded in the first inning. Willy Garcia added an RBI infield single off the glove of a diving third baseman. Pedro Florimon had an RBI on a drag bunt down the first base line.

Josh Bell had an RBI single in the seventh inning that scored Max Moroff after his two-out double. Bell, named a Triple-A All-Star on Wednesday, was 3-for-3 with a walk.

Austin Meadows was not in the lineup for the second consecutive day.

“I just wanted to give him a break for a couple of days,” Treanor said. “He’ll be back in there tomorrow.” – Brian Peloza

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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Altoona took one on the chin Wednesday night, with outfielder Justin Maffei coming on to pitch the ninth inning of the 13-4 loss. Starter Brandon Waddell threw seven shutout innings in his last start, looking like he turned a corner after a difficult stretch in late May and early June. Unfortunately, Waddell looked more like the pitcher we have seen a lot of the last month or so. He allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks, with four strikeouts in five innings. The only good part of his outing was the 9:1 GO/AO ratio. He now has a 4.88 ERA in ten Double-A starts.

The offense wasn’t bad in this game, even with Kevin Newman, Harold Ramirez and Erich Weiss on the bench. Reese McGuire went 2-for-3 with two runs and a walk. Filling in for Weiss, Chris Diaz had two doubles and a walk. Eric Wood had a single, two walks and a heads up stolen base. On a failed bunt attempt by Waddell, the third baseman charged in and no one covered third base, so Wood outran the shortstop to third base for his fourth steal of the season. Ramirez came into the game late and had an RBI single. Jonathan Schwind drove in two runs with a single and an RBI ground out.

After the game, it was announced by Cory Giger that Jose Osuna has been promoted to Indianapolis.

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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Bradenton lost 6-2 in a game that saw both manager Michael Ryan and pitching coach Jeff Johnson get tossed for arguing calls. This game also had the worst outing of the season from Luis Heredia, who allowed two runs on two hits and three walks in two innings. He came into the game with just two earned runs allowed over his first 30 innings.

The bullpen saw a lot of work in this game, as starter Jose Regaldo was removed after two scoreless innings. Tate Scioneaux followed and got the loss despite allowing just one run over three innings. Henry Hirsch followed and had two rough innings before giving way to Heredia.

The offense put together six singles and two walks, going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Tito Polo played a part in both runs, scoring one and driving in the other. He stole his fourth base since joining Bradenton, which gives him a total of 24 steals on the season. Catcher Tomas Morales had the only multi-hit game and Connor Joe had a single and a walk.

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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CHARLESTON, WV – Dario Agrazal finally has something to smile about. As the least consistent starter in the Power rotation, Agrazal’s ERA has exploded from 2.36 at the end of April to 3.60 at the end of May to 5.14 going into tonight’s start. He has struggled to keep his sinking fastball low in the zone and averages 1.67 home runs per nine innings.

Tonight, Agrazal looked like a completely different pitcher. His fastball velocity sat between 90-92 and touched 93 a few times in the early innings. His last pitch of the seventh inning hit 91. In 2015, his fastball hovered in the high 80s.

“[Agrazal] is a groundball machine,” said pitching coach Matt Ford. “If he keeps his sinker low, he’ll have success. It’s hard to have a ball sink if it’s elevated.”

Agrazal kept the ball low, finishing his seven innings with a 10:9 GO/AO ratio. This is the first start since mid-May in which he has gotten more outs via groundball than in the air. That May 15th start also saw Agrazal go seven innings of one-run ball.

This marks the third start of the season in which Agrazal has pitched seven innings. He is averaging more than five innings and 73 pitches per game, proving the sinker baller has the stuff to go deep into games. In the past eight starts, Agrazal has thrown more than 80 pitches six times.

“If he keeps pitching efficiently, he’ll have a chance to go into the sixth, seventh, eighth inning,” said Ford.

Even with Agrazal holding the Legends to one run, the Power batters missed several opportunities to put the game out of reach.

West Virginia took the lead early with Mitchell Tolman and Ke’Bryan Hayes taking advantage of a pair of throwing errors. The Power would be held to those two runs until the bottom of the sixth when Daniel Arribas blasted his eighth home run of the season, leading current Power players.

The offense squandered chance after chance, stranding seven runners in scoring position and ten runners overall. Logan Hill must be feeling particularly left behind, as he had to halt his trip around the bases at third in the second and sixth inning. Hill finally scored on a two-run error when the Power extended the lead to 5-1.

This habit of stranding baserunners has been plaguing the Power for some time now. Since the All-Star break, the Power has left 52 runners on over the course of six games. Luckily, the missed opportunities didn’t burn the Power this time around as Seth McGarry came in and slammed the door in the last two innings for a 5-1 Power victory. – Abigail Miskowiec

Prospect-Watch-Morgantown

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Morgantown looked like they were poised for their seventh straight loss until the seventh inning on Wednesday night. They trailed 3-1 and the offense looked hapless. Then Batavia went to their second reliever of the night and that led to an eight spot in the run column for the 9-4 victory.

The Black Bears went to Danny Beddes for his first pro start and he went five innings, allowing just one run. The 15th round pick from this season pitched twice out of the bullpen in long relief prior to tonight, extending to 3.1 innings last time out. He was followed by Matt Frawley, who ended up with the win despite giving up two runs in his only inning. Yunior Montero got the three inning save.

The scoring outburst in the seventh started with two walks, followed by an attempted sacrifice bunt that turned into an error and loaded the bases. Will Craig then picked up his only hit of the game, a two-run double. That was followed by three singles and then a two-run triple from Hunter Owen, who would score on a sacrifice fly one batter later.

Sandy Santos, Arden Pabst and Hunter Owen each had two hits in the game. Craig is hitting .147/.348/.206 through his first ten games.

Prospect-Watch-Bristol

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Bristol has been scoring a lot of runs this season, but on Wednesday night, it was their own pitching allowing all those runs. They lost 10-2 to Burlington, as three pitchers combined to allowed 15 hits, four walks and three hit batters. Nicholas Economos started and lasted 4.2 innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and two walks. He was followed by David Whitehead, who is on a rehab assignment from Altoona. He allowed two runs on five hits and a walk in 3.1 innings. Robbie Coursel finished up and surrendered three runs in the ninth.

The offense outside of Victor Fernandez had a very bad night. Bristol had four hits total, one walk and 12 strikeouts. Fernandez had two hits, including his fourth double. He also picked up his second stolen base. He’s hitting .480 through 25 at-bats. Raul Siri had the toughest night, striking out in all four at-bats. Adrian Valerio singled once in his four trips to the plate. He is hitting .357 through the first seven games.

Prospect-Watch-GCL

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The GCL Pirates lost 3-1 to the Tigers West on Wednesday in a rain-shortened game. All three runs for the Tigers scored in the first inning on a one out bases loaded triple. After that, they were held to six hits the rest of the game. The game was called in the top of the eighth with the Pirates batting. With one out, Raul Hernandez singled and moved to second on the throw. That ended up being the last play, taking away any chance for a late rally.

Argenis Romano started for the Pirates and pitched well after all of those runs in the first. He finished with five hits and no walks over four innings, striking out five batters. He was followed by Ivan Cespedes, who threw three shutout innings despite giving up four hits.

On offense, Yondry Contreras had a big day, going 3-for-4, with his second double of the season, which drove in Nelson Jorge with the only run. Jorge, Felix Vinicio, and Johan De Jesus each had two-hit games. The Pirates had plenty of opportunities to score, but they went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Prospect-Watch-DSL

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The DSL Pirates lost 9-5 on Wednesday to drop to 7-15 on the season. Starter Yeudry Manzanillo allowed eight runs in his four innings, giving up seven hits and five walks. He now has a 10.19 ERA in five starts. While numerous position players got bigger bonuses last July 2nd, Manzanillo was the highest paid pitcher at $150,000. He’s a 17-year-old righty, who is 6’3″ with a projectable frame.

After Eumir Sepulveda allowed one run over three innings, Julio Gonzalez pitched the last inning for the Pirates and retired the side in order. It was the first appearance on the mound for Gonzalez, who was a third baseman last year and originally signed as a catcher.

The offense was led by Gabriel Brito, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Ramy Perez had two hits and drove in two runs. Kevin Sanchez went 1-for-4 with a walk, run scored and an outfield assist. The top prospect on the team is now hitting .340 through 14 games. Rudy Guzman had a triple, a walk, an RBI and a run scored.

Larry Alcime went 1-for-4 and has hits in three straight games. He was 2-for-40 before this mini-streak. He also struck out three times, giving him 20 strikeouts in 52 at-bats.

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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