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, 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 – Disabled List
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 – 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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INDIANAPOLIS — Trevor Williams definitely would like to have one pitch back, but considered his second Triple-A start this season a step forward.
In his third start since returning from a mild rotator sprain, Williams allowed nine hits and five earned runs over five innings. He threw 83 pitches, 68 for a strike.
“Not as bad as the line looked,” Williams said. “I got ground balls in situations where I needed ground balls. They just had ground balls with eyes today, that got through the infield.”
The biggest mistake Williams made was on the first pitch of the fifth inning. Eddie Rosario took that pitch — a changeup that was up — opposite field for a solo home run.
“Other than that I feel I did alright,” Williams said.
Williams struck out four batters and walked none. His fastball velocity reached 95 MPH.
Indians manager Dean Treanor said Williams would throw 85 to 90 pitches, which is pretty much right where he finished. Williams threw 67 pitches in his previous start with Indianapolis on May 28; and threw 62 pitches in a rehab start with Bradenton on May 10.
“My arm is 100 percent and it’s been a 100 percent since I’ve been back,” Williams said.
Williams hopes the next step is to “let him loose.”
“It’s just keeping that stamina up and hopefully next time around go 100 pitches,” Williams said. “I think it showed tonight that I was able to battle through some innings and make some high-stress pitches. And I stayed strong through the game. I didn’t feel like I had a decrease in velocity or decrease in sharpness with my pitches.”
Williams left his opening start of the season after nine pitches with what ended up being a mild rotator strain. So, these early starts feel like the beginning of his season.
“For me it kind of feels like opening weekend, especially pitching at home for the first time,” Williams said.
Williams loaded the bases to open the fourth inning on two singles and a walk. Rochester scored three runs in the inning – two on sacrifice flies and one on a single to center.
Williams found himself in an early hole. Wilfredo Tovar opened the game by reaching on an error by third baseman Max Moroff, who booted a grounder. That’s the sixth error at third by Moroff this season in 19 starts at the position.
Rosario later would single Tovar home for the game’s first run. Williams loaded the bases
Josh Bell broke out of the slightest of slumps — at least by his standards. He was hitless in seven at-bats over the previous two games. But despite that, he was still hitting .351 in the previous 10 games.
And Bell got back on track with his recent surge, going 2-for-3 on Thursday. As a right-hander, he crushed a double to the left-center field gap to lead off the second inning. Jason Rogers followed that with an RBI single to left that scored Bell.
Bell’s success at the plate isn’t complicated.
“He’s going up hunting the fastball,” Treanor said, “and he’s getting it and not missing it.”
In his only at-bat as a left-hander, Bell struck out while attempting to check his swing in the eighth inning on a breaking ball in the dirt. He singled to left field in the fourth inning.
Alen Hanson had a nice game offensively, appearing to get back to what made him successful prior to his recent three-game promotion to the Pirates during Starling Marte’s paternity leave.
Hanson entered Thursday hitting just .094 in his previous ten games and has struggled since being sent back to Indianapolis on May 20.
During the recent slump, Hanson has been trying to hit for power, instead of looking to hit line drives or keep the ball on the ground to use his speed to his advantage, Treanor said.
That’s what Hanson was doing prior to his promotion. And he showed that ability again on Thursday. Hanson reached base safely three times, going 2-for-3.
He reached on a nice bunt single in the eighth inning, while hitting a line drive single to left field in the third inning. He walked in the first inning.
Hanson stole second base twice in the game, but was caught trying to steal third on the first pitch after his first stolen base.
Moroff was the lead-off hitter for the first time this season. He was hitless in 11 at-bats over the previous three games. In the lead-off role, Moroff went 1-for-4, with a single in the fifth inning.
“Just a different look,” Treanor said. “In the lead-off role, especially in the first inning, you want your guy taking pitches. We put him at the top of the order to try to get him a little more aggressive. Now he’s got to think about getting on base for us.”
Rogers had both of the Indians’ two RBI in the game – scoring Hanson on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, which went along with the RBI single that scored Bell. – Brian Peloza
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Clay Holmes came into Thursday night’s start five days removed from his longest career outing, yet that game had some odd stats attached. He went seven innings for the first time, doing it while allowing three solo homers and he didn’t record a single strikeout. Coming into that game, he had the highest ground ball rate of any starter in the system and he had allowed just one homer in his first eight starts.
In the first inning on Thursday, Holmes started with a slow grounder right back to him, which hit off his glove and went to Erich Weiss, who made the play. That was one pitch after he broke the batter’s bat on an inside fastball that was fouled off. The next batter flew out to center field. That was followed by a strikeout of top Indians prospect Bradley Zimmer, who chased a 94 MPH fastball up in the zone. Holmes threw 13 pitches, nine for strikes
The second started with a strikeout swinging on a low fastball. That was followed by a ground ball single up the middle. The next batter grounded into an easy 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Holmes started mixing in his off-speed pitches this inning. This inning had the exact same pitch/strike split as the first inning.
In the third, Holmes got a line drive to first base on a 3-2 pitch for the first out. He struck out the next batter swinging on a fastball that ran down and in. That was followed by an easy grounder to second base. Despite facing only three batters, Holmes worked a little in this inning because he couldn’t throw his curve for a strike each time he got two strikes, going to the pitch three times with no success. This was a 16 pitch inning, putting him at 42 through three frames.
Back at the top of the lineup to start the fourth, Holmes started with a strikeout looking on the outside corner. The next batter walked after a couple two-strike foul balls. That brought up Zimmer with a man on and he grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Holmes faced the minimum through four, though this was an 18-pitch inning. He has relied mainly on the fastball, spotting it well on each side of the plate.
In the fifth, Holmes gave up a double over Austin Meadows’ head in straight away center. That was followed by a five-pitch walk, putting him in trouble. Holmes then got his third double play, putting a runner at third now with two outs. Holmes then made a terrific 1-2 pitch that looked like a strike on the inside corner. One pitch later, Akron was on the board with a hard line drive single to right field. Holmes struck out the next batter looking, and it was probably a little frustrating. The 1-2 pitch to the previous batter was nearly in the same spot, except that one looked like it caught more of the plate. His innings kept getting longer, with 20 pitches in the fifth.
The first pitch of the sixth was lined down the right field line for a double. The next pitch was hit to shallow center field for the first out. Holmes then gave up a two-run homer to make it a 5-3 game. He got Zimmer to pop out to shallow center on the next pitch. With two outs, the next batter put a double in the left-center gap. The inning ended with a soft grounder off a curve hit right back to Holmes for the easy out. He was getting some swing and misses through the first five innings, but not in the sixth.
Holmes threw 98 pitches (61 strikes), which is a new career high. So one start after making his longest outing, he throws more pitches than any previous outing. He was getting hit hard in the last two innings, mostly because he wasn’t commanding his curve, relying mainly on his two fastballs for strikes. His control (minus the curve) was pretty good for most of the game and like he has done all season, Holmes did a good job of keeping the ball on the ground. One thing I’ve noticed this season is that he has broken a lot of bats and there were at least three in this game. They usually come off fastballs that run in on the hands to righties, though he shattered a lefties bat on an inside fastball tonight. From what I’ve seen just this year, he breaks more bats than anyone else in the system.
Altoona won this game 5-4 with Austin Meadows and Erich Weiss each scoring two runs. Meadows collected his fifth triple of the season, singled and drew a walk. He has an 11-game hit streak and he has reached base safely in 16 straight games. Weiss had two singles. Jose Osuna hit his 11th double, which followed the triple from Meadows for Altoona’s third run.
The Curve got help from errors on back-to-back plays in the first inning, both leading to a run being scored. Edwin Espinal drove in a run in the third inning with his sixth double of the year. Osuna capped the scoring in the the fifth with a sacrifice fly. Jin-De Jhang went 1-for-3 with an RBI and hit the ball well three times. An indication of how well Altoona has been hitting lately is that Jhang’s .284 average at the end of the night was the sixth highest average in the lineup.
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Bradenton won 8-3 Thursday night, putting 17 runners on base and coming up with some clutch hits against Palm Beach. The Marauders were down 3-0 going into the bottom of the fifth. Taylor Gushue led off the inning with his fifth home run. That was followed by a Jordan Luplow single, with an error getting him to second and a passed ball advanced him to third base. Connor Joe then singled Luplow home. Joe moved to third on an Elvis Escobar single, then scored on a sacrifice fly from Kevin Kramer, who was the only Marauder without a hit in the game.
In the seventh inning, bases loaded singles from Cole Tucker and Jerrick Suiter each brought home two runs. Luplow capped off the scoring with another bases loaded single, this one bringing home Pablo Reyes. Tucker had three walks in this game, tying a career high. Reyes hit his 13th double of the season, tops on the club. Joe had two singles and scored two runs. The Marauders went 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Colten Brewer started the games and allowed three runs over five innings. After the bats bailed him out, the bullpen shut the opposition down. Jose Regalado and Nick Nuemann combined for four shutout innings, allowing a single and a walk, with four strikeouts.
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It his last outing, JT Brubaker threw five shutout innings to break a streak of five straight starts with at least three earned runs allowed. He built on that nice start with an 11 strikeout performance on Thursday night. Brubaker allowed a run on four hits and two walks in six innings. He had at least one strikeout in every inning and picked up three in both of the second and sixth innings. With 68 strikeouts on the year, he passed teammate Mitch Keller for first place in the South Atlantic League. Brubaker also had a 4:1 GO/AO ratio in this game.
On offense, Carlos Munoz, Danny Arribas and Christian Kelley each had two hits, a double and an RBI in the 4-1 win. Arribas and Munoz also scored a run. Munoz has ten doubles on the season, while Arribas now has nine. Munoz is 13-for-24 in his last six games, which followed an 0-for-17 in his five previous games. Logan Ratledge had a double, scored a run and stole his fourth base.
Tanner Anderson and Seth McGarry combined to retire all nine batters they faced, eight on ground balls, to finish off the win for Brubaker.
