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Prospect Watch: Austin Meadows Homers to Continue Hitting Streak

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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.

We’re working on a solution for the PHP stat codes not working in the app.

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 – Disabled List

 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, 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, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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25. Gage Hinsz, RHP, West Virginia  – [insert_php]
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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, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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P2 Top Performers

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Prospect-Watch-Indy

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Austin Meadows continued his torrid pace in a 6-3 win on Sunday for Indianapolis. He hit his first Triple-A homer and his seventh homer of the season, tying the mark he put up last season in 80 more games. Meadows hit a two-run homer in the third inning to give the Indians a 3-1 lead. He now has hits in 26 consecutive games and he has collected 26 extra-base hits during that stretch.

Josh Bell had two hits, scored two runs and drew a walk, raising his average to a .319 mark. He is third in the league in batting, trailing league leader Adam Frazier by 17 points, after Frazier went 1-for-5 on Sunday. Max Moroff collected his ninth double and also walked twice, with a run scored and an RBI. Dan Gamache had three walks and scored a run, while Ed Easley drove in two runs.

Frank Duncan gave Indianapolis 6.2 solid innings, throwing 14 more pitches (98 total) than he did in any outing this season. He allowed three runs on nine hits and no walks. He had a 10:4 GO/AO ratio and struck out four batters. Indianapolis is short-handed on the pitching staff with all of the recent changes by the Pirates, so Duncan helped with his extended outing, and Trey Haley finished off the game with 2.1 perfect innings, striking out two batters.

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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ALTOONA, PA – Tyler Eppler battled early control problems and got some help defensively to get through six innings. The only run he allowed was the result of an early first inning walk and wild pitch; otherwise, he walked three, struck out three, and scattered five hits in his six innings of work.

Eppler looked shaky to begin the game, not really able to find the strike zone very well. Amid two walks, Hartford hit the ball fairly hard the first time through the lineup. The first inning ended with Jose Osuna tracking down a fly ball to the railing in foul territory – a very nice play for Osuna who was only making his second start of the season in left field.

After a few hits in the second, Eppler picked off Hartford’s lead-off hitter at first base for the final out of the inning. He settled down come the third inning but was still helped out defensively, with Jin-De Jhang throwing out a runner at second to end that inning. Altogether, Eppler faced two over the minimum over his last four innings of work. He did make a very nice catch on a line drive right back up the middle towards him in the sixth inning, showing off some good glove work.

Pitching Coach Justin Meccage said after the game that he thought Eppler was trying too hard to work the corners rather than just pitch in the early parts of the game. He went to Jin-De Jhang and asked him to set up more down the middle to try to get Eppler back on the plate – not being afraid to pitch to contact. Eppler was able to recover to give his team six strong innings and put them in line for the win. Eppler’s changeup and curveball both looked very good, and his fastball command was spotty at times.

Offensively, Edwin Espinal singled in the second, sixth, and eighth innings to raise his average to .319 on the season. He has recently worked on some changes to his batting stance that has helped him drive the ball more, and it has shown with his best stretch of baseball since his time in West Virginia. He is hitting .408 so far in June with an OPS over 1.000.

In other hitting notes, Jose Osuna and Anderson Feliz both had multi-hit nights for Altoona. Jin-De Jhang has looked very good offensively lately, and he added a deep sacrifice fly tonight.

Jhang also threw out two runners tonight, and his defense has continued to improve as the season progresses.

Interestingly, Montana DuRapau came in to save the game in the ninth inning with a 3-1 lead. He struggled with a walk and single before letting up a long line drive double that brought in a run. Pitching Coach Justin Meccage came out to visit the mound, and DuRapau got the next batter to popup in the infield for the second out of the inning. Rather than allowing the closer DuRapau to finish the game, Joey Cora brought in Jared Lakind for a left-on-left matchup. Lakind walked the first batter on a close ball/strike call, but he got the next batter swinging on a curveball in the dirt for the save. That ends up being 25 consecutive scoreless innings pitched for Lakind.

“That’s a situation for Lakind where, if he pitches in the big leagues, he’s going to have to do,” said Meccage. “That’s the other side of the development coin – you want to get those guys in different situations as much as possible.”

Both Meccage and Cora said that they feel it is extremely important for the team to experience winning. They both feel that winning is an extremely important part of a player’s development – learning how to win and what it feels like to be a winner. The Curve won 3-2 tonight in Altoona. -Sean McCool

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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Bradenton has off until Monday for the All-Star break.

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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CHARLESTON, WV – The Power offense was powerless against the Charleston RiverDogs on a hot Sunday afternoon. The team was held hitless until the fifth inning and failed to score until the ninth. The top Power hitters, Tito Polo and Ke’Bryan Hayes, rode the bench, and consistent producers Mitchell Tolman and John Bormann sat out as well.

Ryan Nagle picked up the slack, going 2-for-2 with two doubles, a hit by pitch, a walk, and the only RBI. Carlos Munoz also hit a double.

Starter Gage Hinsz escaped two bases loaded jams, but his penchant for fly balls caught up with him as he allowed Chris Gittens to score twice, once after a double and once on a homer. Ultimately, Hinsz scattered eight hits over five innings. He had three walks and two strikeouts, while throwing 46 of his 76 pitches for strikes.

Reliever Daniel Zamora struggled, walking two and giving up a homer. He exited after one inning with the Power trailing 5-0. The Power picked up a run in the bottom of the ninth but ultimately lost and dropped to 35-34 before the All-Star break. – Abigail Miskowiec

Prospect-Watch-Morgantown

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Morgantown batters did a good job of getting on base on Sunday..a really good job. They racked up 16 hits, nine walks and five hit batters, giving them 30 base runners in the 12-2 win over Batavia. Lead-off hitter Sandy Santos led the way with four hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly in his six plate appearances. He scored four runs. First round pick Will Craig was the only player without a hit for the Black Bears, but he reached base three times via hit-by-pitch. Craig scored two runs. He is 1-for-7 so far, though his OBP is .455 thanks to four total HBP in two games.

Catcher Arden Pabst had a strong game for someone who was drafted with a very questionable bat. He had three hits and a walk, scoring once and driving in a run. Third round pick Stephen Alemais had two hits and he was plunked twice. Jordan George had two hits and three walks, while Albert Baur had three sacrifice flies.

Sixth round pick Cam Vieaux lasted 2.2 innings in his debut, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks, with one strikeout. He threw 52 pitches total, 32 for strikes. Vieaux had a 6:1 GO/AO ratio. He was followed by Neil Kozikowski, who retired all seven batters he faced, three on strikeouts and three on grounders. After 2016 15th round pick Danny Beddes threw three scoreless innings, Billy Roth came on and retired the side in order in the ninth, needing just 11 pitches.

You can view the Morgantown season preview here.

Prospect-Watch-DSL

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The DSL Pirates are off on Sunday

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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